Lovers and Strangers

A warm, powerful fragrance, sexy in a dark way. To my nose, it is extremely boozy in the first hours, with an opening dominated by rum and spiced up by coffee. After a while, the patchouli is revealed, which I personally really like in here and perceive it as herbal and a bit gourmand rather than earthy. On my skin, the projection is very strong in the first 4 or so hours. After that, the dry down is super subtle and drastically different in tone, more of a soft vanilla. It stretches up to 7-8 hours. It is a great fragrance for the right occasion and can give a boost in confidence, though too powerful and boozy for day-to-day office wears.

Very warm spicy and a bit boozy. It is cozy and perfect during the winter. I think it leans a bit feminine but anyone could probably pull it off. Surprisingly good!

This is an odd fragrance. My first impression from the initial spray was "I already have this, where's my bottle?" Intense Café is an accurate comparison for the first hour. It's much softer and refined than any Montale as it wears down. The tobacco is sweet and pronounced. Where this really loses me is about three hours in, where the patchouli takes over. It's the dense, woody, acrid kind sitting on top of rum and amber. It's one of the hardest turns I've experienced in a fragrance. I put on a rosey coffee floral and it ended up smelling like Nasomatto Pardon. Fortunately, it doesn't last 12 hours like the Montale or Nasomatto. What ever type of patchouli this is, is my death note. If you can't wear fragrances like Lidge or Idole you will be in for a nasty surprise.

If you wear this you should be arrested. Genuinely awful, smells like ozone damaging hairspray and ashtray.

This is absolutely magical. The opening is a burst of dark and smoky coffee laid out next to some spiced rum and tobacco. This smells like an amazing weekend. There is something incredibly appealing in this that is hard to identify. I believe it is the prunella and cloves. It gives this an amazing addictive quality that makes me sniff my wrists like an animal. There is a smokiness running through it all that comes from the coffee note but also from the cade oil that adds amazing depth and character. The base is your classic amber, sandalwood, vanillin and patchouli set of accords that provide a rich and sweet basis to allow the head and heart to shine. I absolutely love this. It is gorgeous in the way that dark haired stranger in the bar is when she makes eye contact with you and you forget what you were talking about. It goes sweeter in the drydown but retains the coffee and rum that defines what Lovers And Strangers is all about. It is properly addictive and it has that slightly breathless vibe that reminds you of the edge you felt - real or imagined - when you used to go out as a singleton looking for a lover or a stranger. It has been many, many years for me since I did that. It is tempting to make a juxtaposition between being addicted to intimate human contact so that all your behaviour and emotional energy going into attaining it on whatever level it is availed to you, and getting the same rush from buying niche fragrances like this one. *Especially* ones like this one. What does this smell like? The noise of the grinder didn't wake her up and she only started to stir when I walked into the bedroom carrying the two mugs. The curtains were not fully closed in the breathless haste of the previous night. Razor blades of brilliant white light etched lines of pure daylight on her pale skin, running indulgently down the fine curves of her back and hips and away into the oblivion of the duvet sheets crumpled chaotically all around. Her dark hair scattered around the pillow as if dropped from the sky and she moved it out of the way as if peering out of wild greenery as she sat up, looked at the almost-empty bottle of Kraken by the bed and gave me a sheepish grin. "I brought you some coffee." I momentarily locked with her deep set dark eyes right as she saw me lick my lips to taste her again. Memories of the previous night flooded back with synchronicity for us both, for what had gone on and what would hopefully happen again after the coffee and a shower. Is she a lover or a stranger? Three Word Summary - A Stranger Lover Layering combination - sweat, rum and second hand cigarette smoke. Outfit suggestion - You can keep your clothes on. Scent - 10/10 Drydown - 10/10 Sillage - 7/10 Bottle/packaging - 7/10 Performance - 7/10 41/50

Smells like you are in a bar filled with cigar smoke and the man in front of you vomits all the booze he had earlier, absolutely repulsive, and that is from a woman who enjoys boozy and tobacco scents.