The Great Fragrance Search of 2018

I have been happily wearing Hanae Mori’s Butterfly for about three years. It’s a lovely perfume – floral but not too sweet, not very ubiquitous. The latter consideration is more than simple vanity; it feels weird to me to wear a perfume that I associate with someone else, so there are certain perfumes which I would have to avoid because they remind me of people I know. My relationship with scents is complicated all around. I find scents to be strongly linked to memories and moods, which means that they can have a huge impact on my day-to-day. On the other hand, I absolutely hate spending money on perfumes which is unfortunate because (a) see above, and (b) they are expensive. A search for a new fragrance is a very fraught exercise for me. Nevertheless, earlier this year, I embarked on precisely that quest. It felt like time for a change – not coincidentally, I’m sure, around the same time when my aesthetic preferences underwent their own evolution.

I have been a lover of floral scents for a long time, but this time around, I have noticed by preferences shifting away from the sweet end of the spectrum. One of the first scents that stood out to me was Jo Malone’s Earl Grey and Cucumber. The unexpected combination hooked me, but I also liked that it had a crispness to it. What didn’t hook me was the price; about $185CAD for a small bottle of eau de toilette. After switching to eau de parfum with Hanae Mori, I became cognizant of the better staying power of the latter, which means that one can use less (and get better value for money, typically). I couldn’t commit to Jo Malone, so I kept looking.

I’ll skip over some of the less inspiring options I tried, to jump straight to my most recent trials because this is where I’ve had the most success. After running into several articles on Le Labo and their hipster-beloved scents, I decided to take advantage of their sample option and see what the fuss was about. For a fairly reasonable $27CAD (including shipping), I got three 1.5 mL samples: Santal 33, Rose 31, and Iris 39. Santal 33 is the one that all the cool kids wear, it seems. I picked the other two based on the descriptions on the Le Labo website. (They arrived quickly, which is always a nice surprise with international shipping.) The samples are mini sprays, so they are easy to apply; I would estimate that there is enough perfume in each sample for at least a solid two-week trial.

Right off the bat, I was intrigued by Santal. It is extremely different than any other perfume I’ve ever worn, but I quickly became obsessed with its smokiness. To me, it feels like a bit of an enigma, a mood that is hard to pin down. (I hasten to add that, as popular as it may be in other parts of the world, I’ve never smelled this on anyone locally, and it’s not worn by anyone in my immediate circle. No scent associations!) In contrast, I found Iris to be almost too clean and crisp; still pleasant but not as memorable. Rose was lovely, but too straightforwardly sweet, though I kinda liked the result of layering it over Santal.

After about a week, I was more or less ready to pull the trigger on Santal, but as soon as I went back to the Le Labo website, I started having second thoughts. The price is $205CAD for 50 mL. I just couldn’t talk myself into it, but I also didn’t want to give up the scent (no pun intended). I started researching “dupes” and made a list of possible contenders. These included Commodity’s Book, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Splash SPJ, and Maison Louis Marie No. 4 Bois de Balincourt. In the process, I also discovered that one of my old favourite perfumes, Stella McCartney In Two Peony, which was discontinued years ago, was recently reissued. Armed with my list, I decided to head to Sephora.

After a headache-inducing hour of smelling approximately a bazillion fragrances, I walked out with 2 Commodity mini perfumes: the aforementioned Book as well as Velvet, each $30CAD plus tax (10 mL). First, the good: I love both a lot. Book has similar sandalwood notes to Santal 33, but smells fresher/less smoky to me. Velvet, in my opinion, is also something of a dupe for Santal 33, though it hits different notes than Book; it has the same smokiness as Santal, with a slightly sweeter edge. I preferred it over Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace, which is also similar but, frankly, a bit too close to the fire, as it were.

Both Book and Velvet are perfect scents for the more androgynous side of my aesthetic. With that said, the bad: neither of these has huge lasting power, even compared to Santal 33 (which itself has less than Butterfly). One spray on the wrist is initially quite strong, but it fades within 3-4 hours to the point that I can only get a faint whiff if I vigorously sniff my wrist. In particular, with Velvet, the smoky notes fade first, leaving behind a lovely (but more bland) floral scent. As a result, I’m in two minds about whether I would re-purchase either, or keep looking for other alternatives.

At Sephora, I also tried Stella Peony, and found it to be very similar if not identical to the way I remember the original perfume. However, whereas in the past, I recall thinking it was a spicier fragrance than my usual florals (it has notes of pepper in it), this time I thought it was definitely on the sweet side as compared to something like Santal 33. I think it would be a good match for the more femme side of my aesthetic; like my Artist style avatar, Peony is soft but not without its edges. It’s going on my short-list as a possible buy. I have typically only had one “signature” perfume at a time, but with the way my style has evolved, it would make sense for my perfume library to expand a bit.

So that is where my search has currently brought me. If you’ve been experimenting with fragrances recently, tell me all about it – especially if you have the inside track on other possible dupes for Santal 33.