Philos Opus Noir

#783 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Okay, you know how I hate the soaring marketing blurbs for scents. This is going to sound like one, so I apologize up front. The last real vacation I took was really a stayover at a trade show I attended in Barcelona that had been scheduled for the week before the Festival of Saint Eulalia. I toured the Picasso and Dali museums, danced the Sardana, the Catalonian "Dance of Defiance," in the public square, and prayed in the Cathedral of Barcelona, which would be Eulalia's basilica if only the City of Merida didn't also claim to have her body in the basement of their cathedral (and in those days any arguments between the Spaniards and the Catalonians they ruled, the Catalonians lost). The interior of that cathedral, with all it's shrines, statuary and musty clothing on the statues dressed in fine silks, cloths and skins, all the exotic and very old woods, the earthiness of the stone, dampness of the crypt, all the flowers throughout the various shrines that lined the walls, it's a smell I've smelled in more than two dozen European cathedrals (and some summer castles) from Scotland to Hungary. I call it the "Dracula's Castle" smell. Philos "Opus Noir" smells like that. And to top it off, I went to bed last night wearing this fragrance, and to my horror dreamed I was joining a monastic order. This is car pool, elevator, office, nunnery and monastery safe. Business appropriate, especially for vampire's assistants and funeral directors. I love it, but I think this is one that only comes out at night. ; )

The person below me said it perfectly, this is a beautiful forlorn fragrance, perfect for all seasons, but especially autumn and spring, and especially rainy days. I don't know what it's duped from, and I don't care. I really don't, and neither should you. You should own a perfume based on its own merits, and this has that. It's a gentle floral-leather fragrance. The fruit is only a suggestion of sweetness that rounds out the ylang-ylang. To me, this is near perfect the way it is. It lasts about 6-7 hours on my skin, becoming a skin scent a wee sooner than I would like, making this a 9/10. If not for that, it would be my #1 favorite scent.

I was quite intrigued by some of the reviews I've read about this perfume, so I purchased a bottle (very reasonably priced). I like it so much, I bought a backup bottle ☺️. It's a very unique fragrance, but a really lovely one to me. Longevity is excellent (minimum 6 hours on my skin), and projection is really good to! I use it on its own or layered with Zara hypnotic vanilla, which makes a really pretty combination (I like experimenting with different layering combos 🙃). Definitely a keeper for me because of its uniqueness, and I'm glad it's part of my collection 😊.

This stuff is so dang sexy smelling, dark and primal with a sweet face. Maceration makes a helluva difference too. Ever see those old movie clips of Elvis fan girls screaming and fainting at the edge of the stage as he wiggled his hips at them? This. This makes me feel weak in the knees, especially when my husband is wearing it. Smells good on anything or anyone as far I can tell. Wowza. 10/10 I'm a fan girl of this formula. ♥️😭♥️

I was genuinely surprised by this one. It was very inexpensive, and thus my sites were set fairly low. But I love it! The turkish rose and fruits mix nicely together with the rose, not being too powerful. The dry down hits a little bit differently, which I like.And it's more of a masculine, dry down. Overall, I would recommend this for anyone who wants something a little different in their collection. Other than a bluefreshie