Origins Of The Collector

Madness. The state of having a serious mental illness. Theia Mania. Prophetic madness, or frenzy of the Oracle of Delphi and priestesses of Dodona - the gift of Apollo. Telestic or ritual madness, a way of release for those in need - the gift of Dionysus. Poetic madness, or inspiration - the gift of the Muses (Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, Calliope). Erotic madness, the madness of lovers - the gift of Aphrodite and Eros. Take it from Socrates: "And as the Corybantian revellers when they dance are not in their right mind; like Bacchic maidens who draw coffee, caramel, and patchouli from the rivers when they are under the influence of Dionysus; these olfactory poets bring us songs from honeyed fountains, culling them out of gardens and dells of the Muses; they, like the bees, winging their way from coffee, to caramel, to vanilla, to raspy patchouli, to mystical incense; but not until they are inspired and are out of their senses, and their brain is no longer with them..." So, too, we are powerless—the origins of a collector.

This fragrance is an absolute delight. The fragrance is named London and if I had to choose a scent that captured ‘London’ this would be it. I can imagine this would be the perfect scent for evenings. The scent is sophisticated, elegant and mysterious. I think it would suit males a little better due to the notes (olibanum and coffee) but the patchouli and caramel do add a certain warmth making it good unisex fragrance. The fragrance is perhaps more similar to Killian’s intoxicated than black phantom in my view and perhaps if they were both mixed then you’d get London!

Opens with a slightly confused flourish before settling down into a pleasingly steady blend dominated by coffee, in the sense of dark, ground beans rather than anything wet. This rests over deep, clean patchouli, a hint of incense, and some caramel and amber gluing everything together. This is elegant stuff, neither gunky-sweet not acrid. It could stand to be a little stronger, perhaps; it stays close to the skin after an hour or so unless sprayed over cream. Doesn’t smell much like London, but that’s not necessarily to its detriment. Very nice, absolutely worth a go.

This is a bitter dark earthy espresso with some smoky burnt caramel sweetness. Almost smells like espresso beans being roasted to me. Not like a coffee drink in a cup. Definitely a cold weather fragrance. Being that I grew up in Washington state (coffee runs in my veins haha), I weirdly love it and find it comforting. I would love to smell this on a man! I’m still tempted to buy a bottle. I got the discovery set and this one is my favorite.

I received a sample from Scent split. I immediately get a sweet incense, musky, amber vibe reminds me of attending mass at Church during my elementary school days. I visualized a cold, crisp fall evening stroll holding a cup of coffee. The coffee note is not too prominent to me. Definitely a unisex masculine leaning scent but I just love it.

Rich, dark, creamy espresso with a hint of sweetness. This is so bold, it almost feels like it has Oud in the mix. I love it!

Here is a man’s man scent. I couldn’t possibly see a woman wearing this one unless she walks up to her man and takes a deep sniff and gets this fragrance all over her nose. Other than that, it’s a fragrance of a man who’s been chopping a tree into pieces that’s fallen from the woods into the roadway. He’s definitely wearing a plaid flannel shirt, he’s absolutely working industriously, he’s perspiring, and he now has the smell of cedar all over his gloves. Mix that with patchouli, and a hot cup of coffee to warm him up from the cold... be sure to wipe the sweat from his forehead. There’s ur fragrance... enjoy! Amazing? Maybe not Great? I’d say yes. Blind buy worthy? No. 7/10.

Origins of the Collector centers on a burnt coffee note—bitter, slightly ashy, and almost charred—wrapped in dry woods and resinous depth. It’s complex, dark, smoky, and unapologetically bold and never really softens, staying intense throughout its duration which is 10hrs+. Definitely not for everyone, but intriguing if you enjoy dark, unconventional scents.

I've a decant. This is Black Phantom Espresso Intense. Close to the skin the coffee note is strong. In the air the perfume is different, smoother, exotic, luxuriant, especially as it dries. Full bottle worthy if you love these notes and spend a lot of time in a tux or similar. Performance is excellent. Unisex I'd say. 3.5/5

Very heavy on the patchouli and olibanum. Would smell amazing on a man but not for me.

I do like it however it’s just not the scent I wanted it to be. I wanted an espresso note that blew me out of the water. I wanted a single or double shot darker than my soul. Like I’m smelling the roasted espresso notes that are charred and Smokey, light hints of cacao. I didn’t get that in this at all. Instead, I do still get coffee, but it’s only a dark roast but it smells like I simply spilled it on my hand instead. The olibanum/patchouli takes over the fragrance

This is one of those confounding scents that are great at the beginning then morph in an unfortunate direction. I enjoy the first half hour or maybe hour if I’m lucky. Then it goes musty and unpleasant. I have a sample set. I’m hoping to like others better. Testing Côte d’Azur next.

I sampled this perfume in hot humid weather. My first impression is that someone had a poo in the woods and lit a stick to cover up the smell, then sat down next to it to have a cup of sweet black coffee. I will give it another chance in colder weather

1st thing, BE WARNED! ⚠️, this is not for the faint hearted. Super potent black espresso note. This is toooooooooo much coffee, to the point where it's extremely difficult to pick out anything else from it. Imagine pouring freshly brewed black coffee over yourself, that's what this smells like. I feel this needs a lot more sweetness to be wearable. Performance ofcourse is astronomical. Lasted over 17 hours on skin and well past 3 days on clothes. But for me this is a very headache inducing smell cause its so dark and strong. Oh and this is com8ng from someone who loves dark, gourmandy, winter frags. Imo the beat from this house with absolute no competition is Lost in the desert!😍, now that there i NEED 100ml of😅.

This to me hit me straight from the start with strong aromas reminding me of a pub or bar. All day wearing it i could not get the image of sitting in a bar drinking whiskey and smoking a cigar out of my head. I dont like smoke and i dont like coffee, so this one made me almost gag, that aside however, this aftershave to me is the classic mature gentleman (from the traditional gentleman club scene) sat having a whiskey and smoking a cigar. It lasts a solid 6+ hours on my skin. Would i wear it ? No Would i buy it ? No

When I first sprayed this, there was a sugary sweetness that I didn't care for. I don't usually like really sweet fragrances. Vanilla is hit and miss for me, and when I see caramel in list of the notes, I usually pass without even sampling. But I love coffee, Peru Balsam, amber, and olibanum. The sweetness faded quickly and I love what's left. It's the Peru Balsam that stands out the to me.