Petite Fumee

Yesterday I received my travel size of this beauty, in search of a distinctive palo santo scent. At the moment this is the best fragrance I have found that satisfies my craving for this particular note. Opens up being fresh spicy, cardamom sometimes gives off a cooling sensation (minty like) and here this smell lasts from the beggining to the end of the lifewear of the scent BUT the mint calms down after 20 minutes (a friend of mine didn't like the opening as it reminded her of toothpaste but then got hooked on the scent and couldn't believe the evolution it has). The cloves also contribute to this fresh spicy feeling, this note is noticeable too. Regarding the black pepper, it is noticeable at the beggining but only that, which I appreciate. The Palo Santo is present all the time and gets rounder and creamier as time progresses. There is sweetness colliding with the spice/woody aspect to make it rounder and not dry. I have sprayed 10 times (clothes, neck, wrist, arms...) and I find it meditative, edgy and addictive; longevity on skin is not good though. Usually, I stay away from incense but palo santo gives me an aromatique/herbal sensation that I love and I am here for this. Let's see if it keeps getting stronger with time... Atm I rate it 8/10 and consider it unisex. On spring and fall, intermediate temperatures, it will shine even more. Regarding comparations: Starlight is way sweeter and more almondy whereas I don't get specifically almonds here, but they share the prominent cardamom laying on a bed of sweetness. Jaipur Chai by Ineke gives me the same feeling in the opening as PF with the combo of cardamom+clove that smells minty like. Edit: I got a full bottle with a discount code for Valentine's day and I have no regrets at all!

A fresh spicy perfume. I can smell pepper, cardamom, palo santo and clove. A spark of freshness meeting the Amazonian Palo Santo. More for fall and spring. "A sacred wood with spicy accents burns like incense. The powerful and vibrant atmosphere around the shaman guides my thoughts beyond the smoke. I find my spirit animal, I join the spirits of the Earth: the thousand facets of Copal and Palo Santo support my journey."

Since I first smelled Palo santo as a material I've been fascinated by it. Smells like the kind of thing that would be poisonous to humans, strangely enticing but deadly. My perception of the smell is creamier and more opulent than even the finest 80 year aged Mysore sandalwood, thick, lactonic, with lovely woody nuances. Sounds great right? However, it's SOOOO creamy it amkes you dizzyingly billious. What makes matters worse, is that weived into that is a latex rubber note and of all things mint. yeah mint. so it's mega sandalwood with milk and cookies and melted rubber gloves and then unsettling mintiness. It's fucked up frankly. I NEVER thought that anyone could tame it or use it as the focal point for a perfume and if they did they would have to negate some of the those odder facets and perhaps tame it into a great material because it has more than the potential to be something amazing or create useful effects. Up steps legendary master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour a perfumer I associate with an eclectic commercial style but also somewhat stark, modernism as well, so it's interesting that he's doing this all natural perfume and surely NOW is the time for a great Palo Santo perfume and my wait is over yeah? NO! NO! it's not! I'm still waiting!!!! Petite Fumee is an olfactory nightmare. No that's a bit dramatic, it's a creepy smell, a really odd perfume. It has the sense in the top notes of a kind of implosion, you know something is lurking deep and heavy molecularly speaking, exactly like sandalwood perfumes do. I mean the sense of a kind of natural, hipster santal 33 only different, maybe rosewood, linalool, cuucmber, spunk? Papyrus? but minus any spicy sharpness or edge. Then the Palo santo starts to really come on, like Hunter S Thompson said '... good mescaline it takes time...' to take effect, but it creeps and crawls until it turns you into a raving madman. The only thing I can say is that Duchaufour has succeeded in taming the oil to a degree, it's much less rubbery and the composition sort of compliments the material, but it STILL manages to permeate and dominate everything else in here. It's an absolute creepshow. Strnagely though, I can't stop sniffing myself when wearing it, it's like rubbernecking an RTA, you know you shouldn't but you feel compelled to do so. I just can't hack this perfume but god love you if you can wear it, I doubt other people will thank you, unless they are oddballs too. Worth a sniff if you've never smelled Palo santo or you like briny, weird cucumber and cream cheese notes. I'm steering well clear though.