Serin

I think I finally found the key to this one for me- spray VERY lightly, and from a distance so the fine mist settles. I keep coming back to my samples of this, and each time in the past the marigold has bludgeoned me about the head and face in the opening, and stayed a little too bitter for me to be able to relax into the scent throughout the dry down. I never scrubbed- I always rode it out, but I never reached a point in the dry down where everything felt balanced to my preferences. Still- underneath the prize-fighting marigold there was something so intriguing, so I kept coming back for more- trying different weather conditions and different moods, but never having a fully enjoyable wear. Today I sprayed only 1/2 squirt from the official sample on each arm, and from a distance of about 2 feet, so only a small fine mist settled on each arm. This time I am loving this creation! I'm getting a soft dusty hay-like accord (mentioned by only one other- Daphne2Laurel, but to me it is a clear impression) with florals floating above it- there is suede (not listed, but as Bubbles also noted) and earth underpinning it. The marigold is still clearly there, but now it's a beautiful collaborator with the rest of the brew rather than an overbearing overlord. 4 hours in, and I am finally experiencing the incense that I never perceived in any of my previous wearings. Performance is still at the level I prefer, which is strong enough to enjoy without bringing my arm to my face. I am impressed by the experience delivered with this tiny application. After this revelation I look forward to wearing this more often and becoming truly acquainted with it! *I just wanted to add that this may sound as if I dislike the scent of marigold. It is such a unique and strong and bitter/medicinal scent (I'm talking about the whole plant, not just the blossoms). It's not a plant that I seek out sticking my face into and inhaling deeply (like I do with so many others), but I actually love it in the garden as a light backdrop to everything else floating on the sun-warmed breeze, and with a super light application that is now what I am getting :) Edit a few months later: Yep- subsequent wears have confirmed that when I apply very lightly and diffused it is gorgeous to me, and like nothing else I own! A 30 ml is definitely in my future when my samples run dry.

The first few minutes after spraying, Serin smells a little like natural, herbal medicine.... edible-like, I could imagine adding it to tea. If you rub marigold stems and leaves between your fingers you will know that distinctive smell, and it’s here, upfront and center stage. Then Serin morphs and smells like suede with herbs on the drydown. I’m guessing the suede note is a combo of sandalwood and a note I’m not familiar with, possibly Cypriol (or maybe it’s Guaiac reminding me of suede?). Anyway, there’s also smoke and some spices entering the composition. Last summer I grew — from seed —two different kinds of marigold and tagettes (tagettes, I believe, are a type of marigold). I swell up like a balloon if bitten by mosquitos so I like anything with marigold in it because it’s a natural insect repellant. Not that Serin reminds me of repellant, but I am curious to wear Serin in warmer weather. And the longer I wore Serin, the more I liked it. My final impression was of a Buddhist temple, there’s something very peaceful and healing about this perfume.

I have been enjoying my full bottle of Serin I just got yesterday. I suspect I was one of the first who ordered. I love all of January Scent Project's work. This one is a very unusual but very pleasant incense vibe as if you burned a fine incense in a summer marigold and heliotrope garden. It isn't excessively floral but has a complexity that keeps it interesting and not too femme. I am very comfortable wearing it even though I am a big hunky super masculine male, or at least my wife tells me I am when we are in bed. I think this is a little similar to some of John's other work, so if you like Vaporocindro and Eiderantler you'll love this. It isn't the same, but it's in similar themes. The sublime cedar Burvuvu remains in a different (and wonderful) planet and is one of the finest perfumes of all time, I think.

This is like walking through fields of marigolds and dry hay, smelling some woodsmoke in the air in the early fall. I love a scent that is so natural and yet so interesting & intense. If there are synthetics in this, they are in the service of enhancing the naturals, making it bright & airy. There's an underlying incense for depth. I love that the marigold is like a top note that is bright but not a citrus, & more lasting than citrus. Just so fascinating & I can't stop smelling it at different stages of development.

I might wear this sometime and post a fuller review but I came here to say: My boyfriend wears this and I love it on him. The woody notes combining with the mint gives me the impression of being in a California bay forest, which is one of my favorite local landscapes. Very different from other incense frags... dry as a bone, herbal. I was surprised by the champaca note because that flower can often give me a headache, but here it is lovely.