The Center Of The World

A haze. The powdery smell of sandalwood permeates the air while walking on the outskirts of your neighborhood. The smell of the cedar slightly damp and resinous, almost like an amber accord but somehow fresh as a dew drop. The smell of my neighbors sage and non specific flowers hits you and clears your sinus’ signaling the incoming summer. All the while, a beautiful clean musk, almost like a body fresh out of a shower (no scented soap), helps you all the way to the end. Mondo mondo is a beautiful brand, and it has some serious winners;this is one of them. I have not smelled Tam Dao, but I plan to in the future. This one is special, as I’ve always really liked powers wood scents. This is a really really high like, just not a love (yet). Will have to give it a few more wearings as this has ok projection and sillage. Kind of have to pump 8-10 times (1 mL per wear pretty much) it if you want others to smell you, but that can also just be my skin type. Unisex. Moderate price when on the twice a year sale (winter and summer sale), a pretty penny when not. Any time of the year, might lean night for some. Edit: Turned into a love. 9/10 EDIT 2: While there is clear inspiration from Tam Dao, that is part of the nature of being a sandalwood heavy fragrance. It falls in this middle ground between the fresh sandalwood of the EDT and the thicker, powdery, incense-y of the EDP. I think it does a bit of its own thing, and a must check out if you enjoy Tam Dao; but might be a bit redundant to own both.

Hmm. Okay. Sooooo Ive smelled tons of perfumes, especially woody ones since theyre my main favs in terms of scent profile. Tam Dao EDP is up there in my Top 10. I say 10 and not 5 where I wished I could put it, but unfortunately Tam Dao doesnt perform well on me. The SCENT, however? Incredible. ANYWAY, CotW is SURPRISINGLY the only other perfume I’ve smelled of aaaaaall the others that smells remotely similar to Tam Dao, even moreso than something like CdG Wonderwood. Others arent even close (I dont know of any dupes). I suppose that’s a good thing because originality and stuff 😅 If you like Tam Dao but want a stronger, louder version of it, this almost takes you there? THAT BEING SAID, you have to like WOOODDYYYY. You know how TD is smooth, beautifully blended, and all that? This is like... a step or two down. Having a heavier woody composition also gives this a rougher, lower quality aspect to it. The drydown gets smoky. Not charred firewood, but if a tree was 100ft near a bbq. That’s not to say it’s not worth it. I actually quite like CotW. I just wish that the loudness also translated into smoothness and... no smokiness. It’s just noticeably “sharper”. I still recommend it, though! Easy 7.5/10. My fav from Mondo Mondo is currently Tobacciana.