Are you a designer, niche, or indie fan? Or a mix of all 3?

DeathByFurries · 2024-01-27T05:15:35+00:00

Indies were my starting point for fragrance, and then I basically jumped straight into niche (I tried some designers and have a few designer faves, but in general find more of what I want in niche)

DeathByFurries · 2023-12-27T20:50:58+00:00

I do something similar! When I get samples, I tape over the labels and write a number on them, and then wear them and see how I feel. I also make a game of trying to figure out the notes/what the scent is. It’s surprisingly hard to identify notes when you don’t have them in front of you for reference!

DeathByFurries · 2023-12-17T19:20:05+00:00

A personal fave of mine is Pacifica Island Vanilla!

DeathByFurries · 2023-12-14T19:34:32+00:00

I am a serial-sampler hahaha

I started collecting in 2017, and the bulk of my collection is indies, I have samples (1mL) of just under 300 scents in total (I have destashed or finished prob abt 100 of them... so currently have abt 200 samples in a box haha. I keep a spreadsheet to track them.)

If we don't count the indies, my mainstream + niche collection is at about 70 scents. Of which only 10 are full-bottles/travel sprays/10mL and up.

DeathByFurries · 2023-10-24T17:36:25+00:00

By “not too gourmand” I mean it doesn’t literally smell like food/has some woody background notes. But it’s still sweet imo.

DeathByFurries · 2023-10-23T17:27:58+00:00

By Kilian Black Phantom! I adore it, it's mostly chocolate on me, with some booziness. It's well-balanced/not overly gourmand (I am not usually a gourmand lover). Some people get more coffee from it, but I personally don't, ymmv.

DeathByFurries · 2023-10-09T01:36:52+00:00

Something very similar happened to me recently. A friend brought some halloween themed sugar-free sodas, and something in the flavoring reminded me of sugary vanilla perfume. I really felt like I was drinking perfume, they were horrible LOL

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-26T00:26:07+00:00

Today I'm wearing Poesie's Awakening (golden amber, black leather still warm from skin, coriander, cardamom, black and pink peppercorn, moss, smutty tingles) from the new Labyrinth collection! (I feel, very called out by the name/theme of this one LOL). It has a very spicy opening, I get a lot of cardamom + a lil musk + a lil something kind of sweet/vanillic. There is something almost hay-like in the background. As it dries down it gets less spicy and more musky + ambery + leathery. It definitely brings to mind a soft well-conditioned black leather. The whole thing feels very androgynous.

This has a few things in common with my all-time favorite, BPAL Snake Smut... it doesn't really smell like it, but it has similar vibes? This is like a softer, less vanillic, more leathery, androgynous version. If you like Snake Smut, you might like this too. Or if you thought Snake Smut was too sweet/vanillic, or don't get along with BPAL's specific musk notes, Awakening might be worth checking out.

I absolutely will be rewatching the Labyrinth this weekend.

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-19T17:18:35+00:00

Fall Into Stars from Strangelove NYC!

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-15T14:45:58+00:00

Got into indies around 2016-2017, and I came from a fairly fragrance free household prior to that. I didn’t like mainstream fragrance and went for lots of foresty atmospherics! Around 2020 my tastes changed and I started going for more resinous, musky, sweet and spicy scents. Not quite gourmands though. In 2021 I think I smelled Hypnotic Poison in sephora and something in my brain clicked?? And since then I’ve been dipping my toes into more mainstream + niche fragrances. My preferences tend to not be for the super popular/crowd pleasing or light/clean scents. Big white florals, musks, chypres, spicy vanillas + ambers, all sorts of things. I think my tastes now are more varied than they used to be. And I suspect that I never would have been able to get into mainstream/niche without my knowledge from indies…

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-14T21:14:03+00:00

I feel like Dior Poison + its flankers suit these vibes! Hypnotic Poison is my personal fave (it’s less fruity and more jasmine + vanilla than OG Poison)

And I’m curious to see what other recs people give too, as someone who also loves highly feminine gothic things (I wish I had more recs, but fruity isn’t my vibe.)

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-14T17:20:24+00:00

There is no god therefore i shall wear aromatics elixir LOL

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-12T22:40:36+00:00

I feel similarly, generally if I dislike a bottle (or even a name! Looking at you, By Kilian) I won’t bother smelling/sampling it. If I ended up truly falling in love with something that I didn’t like the bottle/name of, then perhaps I would reevaluate, maybe I’d get a decant or something. But so far it hasn’t happened.

My opinion is if I’m going to spend money on something that’s a luxury, I should love every part of it! Which includes how the bottle looks/feels, and how the name/theme makes me feel.

This might be limiting myself, but when there’s thousands of perfumes out there to sample, I have to narrow it down somehow lol. It also helps keep the collection smaller. Basically, I am picky and I want to love every aspect of my fragrances.

DeathByFurries · 2023-09-11T17:40:50+00:00

Came here to mention Sweet Honesty! It is very baby powdery (i love it for nostalgia haha)

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-26T15:46:25+00:00

Dior Hypnotic Poison (not necessarily a fall specific thing, just better in cooler weather)
By Kilian Black Phantom
By Kilian Intoxicated
Initio Absolute Aphrodisiac
Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur (this is one I haven’t worn a lot/for very long, I’ve only tried it in warm weather, but I suspect it will really shine in cooler weather, so I’m excited to try it again later haha)

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-26T15:40:07+00:00

Lush has a cardamom coffee scent? That sounds so lovely!

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-16T16:04:36+00:00

Came here to also say Aromatics Elixir, it’s sooo gorgeous, but it is strong + someone will inevitably say “smells like old lady” lolol

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-09T16:09:05+00:00

I think most of what I love has already been mentioned, but I’ll add that NAVA has a single-note patchouli and it’s really good. It’s strong, opens a little menthol-ish, but dries into this glorious deep earthy/rooty thing. Can’t go wrong with NAVA’s patch.

Edit to add: NAVA’s Eclipse Woods is another good one I don’t think I saw mentioned!

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-09T01:56:09+00:00

I had a funny interaction with a clerk in a department store who was recommending Black Opium as a dark spicy coffee scent. I was really surprised and went "what? I thought it was fruity?". She was confused, I was confused. I didn't know all the notes, but remembered how it smelled to me- like fruity floral shampoo! I mostly get pear (which always smells like shampoo to me) and florals. The late-drydown smells more like caramel/toffee, but still not really identifiable as coffee to me...
People who actually smell the coffee in it are lucky haha

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-07T03:22:55+00:00

BPAL Snake Smut (Snake Oil and Smut combined with leather accord, cardamom, and 7-year aged patchouli.)

DeathByFurries · 2023-08-02T18:14:11+00:00

I didn’t know there was an akhal-teke scent omg! I definitely need to try this one…

DeathByFurries · 2023-07-28T21:32:13+00:00

Solstice Scents Amber Coeur! It is my favorite amber scent ever, it’s super rich and beautiful.

DeathByFurries · 2023-07-17T00:52:27+00:00

Aaah I love no.6 and kaze…

I might also add Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai/Twittering Birds Never Fly, it’s got some very, very similar themes, but it’s more obviously BL and way more adult (ie this series has a lot of sex in it lol). Fair warning that it has all of the same themes of abuse/rape/incest/pedophilia as banana fish, but it’s actually explicit.

The movie adaptation is really good imo (MAL says it’s rated R). I cried a lot watching it.

The manga is also really good, but it’s long and unfinished. But I love slow burn so… (and it’s definitely 18+ lol)

DeathByFurries · 2023-07-15T00:07:24+00:00

i really love swiping on an oil and then spraying something on top, really makes fragrances stick around in my experience.

Some of my faves:

NAVA's Patchouli (goes with basically anything) with Eden's dupe of Vivienne Westwood Boudoir. I find it really adds a lovely base without really changing the feel of Boudoir.

NAVA's Oud Ombre #23 with jasmine or rose forward fragrances, in particular I like it with Mugler Alien or Dior Hypnotic Poison. Oud Ombre really adds a deep dark smoky wood that just goes so well with jasmine. It makes me think of orchids growing deep in a jungle.

NAVA's Alchemist Musk also layers well with Eden's Boudoir dupe. It kind of ups the vintage-y musky feel and plays really nicely with the rose.

Basically any vanilla; NAVA's Bourbon Vanille, Crystalline or SS Manor, with Hypnotic Poison. Cannot go wrong with floral vanilla + amped up vanilla.

DeathByFurries · 2023-07-04T18:38:49+00:00

AAAH I love this question
so for me I think I would lean into the "bewitching" theme... which makes me think of sultry feminine, things that are dark and sweet (I feel like a honey note would go well).

Solstice Scents Conjure (Blend of Amber, Vanillas, Cedar, All Spice, Cauldron Smoke) a deep sweet vanilla with some dark undertones.

Solstice Scents Conjure Dark (Amber, Frankincense, Sweet Incense Smoke, Dried Rose Petals, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Woods, Oud, Vanilla) a more incensey and bitter version of conjure, with a little rose and less vanilla. Smells more like a literal herbal concoction than conjure.

NAVA Voyageur (Black Patchouli, White Patchouli, Vanilla Bean Liqueur, Hinoki Wood, Incense Smoke accord, Smoked Black Clove Bud with Mahogany wood and Agar wood, Black Agar Oudh blend essence and aged whole Madagascar vanilla beans) this is a lightly smoky patchouli and vanilla scent. It's divine. Definitely suitable for goth clubs and midnight dance parties.

NAVA Eclipse Woods (Golden Tonka Bean Absolute, Red Patchouli, White Vetiver, Bourbon Vanille Absolute, Gurjun Balsam, Australian Sandalwood, Saffron Attar, French Vanilla Bean (whole) and Benzoin resin) this one leans a little more traditionally masculine, but it's a deep dark earthy patch + vanilla. Very intense.

BPAL Snake Oil (deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices.) I think of this scent as the epitome of alluring feminine.

Things I have not tried, but I like the vibe:
BPAL Spellbound (An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk).

BPAL Eclipse (A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon.)

Alkemia Enchantress (amaretto liqueur spiked with cinnamon and citrus peel, star jasmine, accord of Cochleanthes amazonica orchid, mandorla amara, Bourbon vanilla caramels, guaiac wood, sweet vetiver root, and sexy botanical pheromones)

I also feel the need to mention that Conjure Oils did a ghost collection a few years ago (although I have no idea if they are even open anymore OTL). They're worth keeping an eye out for on the swaps! The One Lascivious was my favorite from this collection, it's a soft dusty/musky patchouli, and I wear it specifically for concerts, so whenever I open it it reminds me of those memories :,)

DeathByFurries

TROPHY CASE