No.09 Vallée de Farney

The complaints about this smelling like an old man nearly scared me off...but I had a great gut feeling and I'm glad that I heeded my hunch, because I think this is beautiful. It's definitely more traditionally masculine, but I don't mind wearing some male things if they're not overly "blue" or full of bay rum. I don't feel uncomfortable in the slightest wearing this. In fact, I'm wearing a dark olive colored shirt, and it matches the synesthetic impression I have with this scent, it's a dark green. This is just really heavy on the vetiver, so it smells rustic and outdoorsy. However, the grapefruit included alongside the vetiver (these two notes are made for each other, it's almost unbelievable how well they pair) is absolutely perfect. There's a bit of geranium too, which clearly emerges distinctly, though I cannot claim the same for the rest of the notes here. *HOWEVER *; the issue might be my nose, because vetiver feels peppery to me anyway (I sometimes like using straight essential oil, and it has a peppery quality). If black pepper is here, it's deployed in a genius manner, because it doesn't overpower anything and helps to assist the vetiver, which is clear the centerpiece of this composition. Same with the patchouli, it's a supporting feature and it doesn't jut out even as this dries down. This is just...evocative to me, which is a determining factor sometimes between me loving a fragrance or merely liking one. This is grounding and naturalistic, I think of a chilly breeze during Indian summer, toward the end of September. It's cleansing to the palate, and it's going to be perfect for me if I'm ever weary of gourmonds. It's also quite gorgeous on my skin...if I do say so myself, it works with my chemistry. I love things like this. Beautiful perfumery without smelling overly complex nor overly blended and *perfume-y* (though I like that style too sometimes), it puts my mind at ease. 💚🤎💚🤎 (Cross posted from other entry.)

I went to Sephora one day a few years back and was introduced to this wonderful house. The sales associate told me that based on my preference of lighter fragrance at the time that I would enjoy this and I did. It is just a very comforting cozy and beautifully blended work of a fragrance. A little fresh citrus and black pepper open the composition that blends in with a smooth nice patchouli vetiver and soft musk. Very delicate soft and impressionable. Let it sit on your skin for a few minutes because it does have a strong scent of alcohol in the beginning. But then the darker notes come out especially after about a half hour to an hour. I would wear this definitely in the daytime in the spring preferably. During the fall it would work as well. The longevity and silage is very good for a lighter scent. It also would be a great signature scent given it’s safer clean vibe. This is unisex for sure and smells just as great on women as men imo. Some say it’s more masculine but always test before buying. Will definitely be trying more from this house.

This is special. I have 3 perfumes from this house currently and they all give you a more personal experience, but are great performers with longevity on your skin. Vallee de Farney is a seamlessly curated soft citrus on cedar. I also get the vetiver, and musk through the whole wear. It’s unisex/ leaning masculine. I do get an almost aftershave element that’s delicious and raw, but clean. I wear this openly whenever I’m in the mood, but I secretly imagine myself wearing my dark red framed eye glasses, messy curls and tailored blazer, with a crisp white button down. I live in a large New York residence and am trying to answer emails and finish my coffee simultaneously before running out the door, BECAUSE I’VE GOT PLACES TO BE !!! Lol...but in all seriousness, it’s that I don’t care, but go ahead and tell me how good I smell, smell. Absolutely recommend and I intend to get the entire collection.

A blast of citrus out the gates, which quickly dries down into a delicious, creamy, soapy sauna scent. To me it smells like cedar shingles that have been soaked in a fog of luxurious soaps. It's the platonic ideal of a sauna to me, with none of the chlorine or sweat that usually comes with it. It's like staying in a luxury resort where there's a wooden cedar bath on the balcony so you can overlook the turning leaves while steeped in a soapy haze. It has a small hint of spiciness that transports it from a spring to a fall fragrance to me, especially when the base notes pull on the golden amber smell to balance out some of the green of the higher notes. Unisex leaning masculine. Very work safe in my opinion but could also be dressed up. Easy reach for me, will be upgrading my sample to a full bottle ASAP.

I love this fragrance. I wore it for a few years on and off. This was around the time I became obsessed with Aesop Resolute lotion. When I layered both I’d get compliments of smelling like a spa. It was herbal and bright and green with pings of woody vetiver. Depending on body chemistry I can see this leaning either way on the masc / fem scale. On me it ran more masc. I would say it is more on the mature side and aimed at an audience over 30.