Perfume Last Week – Oud, Leather and Cloying Tuberose

Last week started with an oud and leather combination that has raised a couple of complaints, and ended with the strongest tuberose perfume I own. I did go easy the rest of the week though. Here’s my Monday to Friday perfumes:

On Monday I wore Rania J’s Oud Assam layered over Tom Ford’s Tuscan Leather. It’s quite a strong combination, and to be honest the first time I discovered it I was deliberately trying to come up with something strong and potentially offensive. Maybe you’ve found yourself in that situation at some point!

I ended up really liking the combination, although when I got in my car and closed the door I have to admit it was like a punch in the face, so don’t go too crazy with the sprays if you give this combo a try. It’s one I’m definitely going to keep going for though.

Oud Assam has top notes of Bergamot, Sweet Orange and Bitter Orange, heart notes of Oud Agarwood, and base notes of Cedarwood, Vetiver, Incense, Black Pepper, Tonka Bean, and Musk. It’s definitely not one to go for unless you’re into Oud, as it’s heavy and powerful, and to be honest I don’t get any of the top notes at all, as the Oud seems to overpower everything else. It’s one that grows on you though, and the drydown is amazing.

If you’d like to buy it, here it is at the Rania J website, and it’s available in 2ml and 8.8ml sizes along with the 50ml and 100ml so you can try it before committing to a full bottle. You can also find it here.

Tuscan Leather from Tom Ford has top notes of Raspberry, Saffron and Thyme, heart notes of Olibanum and Jasmine, and base notes of Leather, Suede, Woody Notes, and Amber. The leather note is strong, which I really like, as I’ve smelt other perfumes with leather notes where it hasn’t been as strong as I would like. I don’t really get much Jasmine, or Raspberry. If you want a leather perfume, this is a great choice.

If you’d like to buy it, you can get the 50ml Eau de Parfum here, or the 250ml Eau de Parfum decanter here.

Tuesday’s perfume was No 05 Incense Extrême by Tauer Perfumes, an Eau de Parfum which has top notes of Coriander and Petitgrain, heart notes of Incense and Orris Root, and base notes of Cedar, Woody Notes, and Amber. When applying it the incense is really intense, but it fades slightly after an hour, and I prefer that.

I got lots of compliments when wearing this perfume – it was noticeable but not too strong. You can buy it from the Tauer Perfumes website.

On Wednesday I wore Bikini Questa Sera from Christian Louboutin, which was the perfume that got me into fragrance. I had received multiple samples of this fragrance when buying Christian Louboutin lipsticks and nail varnishes but never actually committed to buying a full size bottle, and then when I was finally trying to get one, found out it was discontinued.

I searched everywhere, contacted the brand, checked ebay on-and-off for years, then finally managed to get a bottle that was delivered a couple of weeks ago. But until I actually managed to buy a bottle, I spent about 4 years looking for perfumes with the same notes as Bikini Questa Sera, which then ended up with me becoming quite obsessed with perfume, and collecting quite a few bottles along the way. (None of the perfumes I bought or sampled were a good replacement, by the way.)

Bikini Questa Sera is an Eau de Parfum with top notes of Green Notes, heart notes of Jasmine and Tuberose, and base notes of Ambergris, Vetiver, and Sandalwood. Of the two floral notes, it’s mostly Jasmine that comes through, and there’s none of the cloying effect that you can get with Tuberose (I left that for Friday). There’s also a really nice fresh, green note to the perfume that is really quite prominent, while the Sandalwood is super light.

Like I said, I never found anything that would make a great alternative to this, and it’s discontinued, but Oscar de la Renta’s Bella Blanca has similar notes – top notes are Green Leaves, Pear, and Lily-of-the-Valley, heart notes are Jasmine, Tuberose, Orange Blossom and Rose, and base notes are Musk, White Iris, and Sandalwood.

Thursday was Nasomatto’s Extrait de Parfum, Narcotic V. This was actually a blind buy, but it worked out really well because I love it. It’s not overwhelmingly tuberose, but it’s still noticeably there. The top note is Tuberose, heart notes are Jasmine and Lily, and the base note is Spice.

The heart notes really balance out the tuberose, so I find this perfume quite light, but I’m into really strong perfumes so my idea of light might be a bit skewed. I’ve occasinally layered this perfume with Ouds, and I really liked the extra depth and longevity that added, as Narcotic V unfortunately doesn’t last all too long, despite being an extract. I found that I had to reapply after about 6 hours.

If you’d like to buy it, you can find it at the Nasomatto website.

Miu Miu’s Fleur d’Argent was my choice for Friday, and this is the most cloying tuberose perfume I’ve ever come across and I love it. It’s a strong scent that will remain on your clothes and your skin all day, and it’s definitely not for anyone who doesn’t like strong perfumes.

I bought this while in a Miu Miu store in Berlin; I smelled all their perfumes to be honest, but as soon as I smelt this one it was clearly tuberose and I bought it. I really love the bottle too, it’s kinda old-fashioned and classic, and in a way this perfume is kinda old-fashioned too, but in a good way. If you have this one maybe you know what I mean.

The top note of this perfume is Tuberose, the heart note is Musk, and the base note is Akigalawood. I’d never heard of Akigalawood before – this is a synthetic note that combines elements of patchouli and agarwood.

I couldn’t find Fleur d’Argent for sale anywhere – it’s out of stock on the Miu Miu website, so you may need to try find it in store. I found Bella Freud’s Close To My Heart Eau de Parfum which has similar notes so could be an alternative worth trying.

Nothing to report for the weekend, I stayed in! I’ll keep track again next week, and we’ll see how that goes.