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The Monday Mail ~ help Alissa find a new fragrance

Posted by Robin on 17 August 2015 31 Comments

Pink post

The Monday Mail is our not-so-regular feature where readers help other readers find the perfect fragrance. Today's subject: Alissa. When Alissa was young, her grandmother gave her some cute perfume samples and started her on the road to collecting, first for the bottles, later, as she grew older, for the juice.

She needs help today on a very specific quest. On a trip to China with her boyfriend, they visited several temples. Inside the temples, there was incense burning. She loved the smell, and after doing some research she thinks the incense was probably sandalwood. Alissa wants to find a perfume that will smell like the incense from those temples. She is willing to spend up to €250 euro, but she'd like that price to fetch her a large bottle (150-200 ml).

Here is what we know about Alissa:

She's in her 20s, and lives in the Netherlands.

She is currently a physics student who wants to become a teacher.

She loves cats, metal music, playing guitar and video games.

Alissa loves woody notes (and incense obviously). She also likes iris, white florals, and powdery notes. Aldehydes don't scare her. Perfumes she likes include Love, Chloe; Lolita Lempicka Le Premier Parfum; Dior Hypnotic Poison; Armani Acqua di Gioia; Chanel No. 19 and No. 19 Poudre; Chanel Chance Eau Tendre and The Body Shop White Musk.

Alissa doesn't usually like unisex fragrances or leather. She also dislikes notes of rose, patchouli, and chocolatey/cacao/syrupy things. Perfumes she doesn't care for include Thierry Mugler Angel, Narciso Rodriguez For Her, Chloe Eau de Parfum, L de Lolita Lempicka, Aquolina Pink Sugar and Lancome La Vie est Belle.

Her is what Alissa has tried so far:

Yves Saint Laurent Opium: incensey, but not (sandal)woody enough.

Prada Infusion d'Iris: lovely incense note, but also without sandalwood, and no longevity or sillage.

Estee Lauder Sensuous: plenty of sandalwood, lacking a bit in the incense, and she didn't care for the honey note either.

Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant: the closest she has found so far, but again no strong sandalwood note, and it was nicer on paper than on her skin.

Estee Lauder Cinnabar: too much cinnamon/spice and she didn't like it at all.

Chanel Coromandel: too sweet, not woody enough.

What say you?

Note: top image is pink post [cropped] by jenny downing at flickr; some rights reserved.

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: monday mail

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31 Comments

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  1. Coumarin says:
    17 August 2015 at 11:44 am

    I would try L’Artisan’s Dzongkha. This one is a personal favorite of mine, with iris, dry incense. It imparts a very cool feeling, and smells quite like the given back story, inspired by the Dzongs of Bhutan.

    Even better, at least in the US, bottles can be gotten from discounters for 40% of the retail price!

    Good luck!

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    • karen B says:
      18 August 2015 at 12:22 pm

      I second that, and I am another sandalwood lover. I don’t want to sway Alissa’s opinion so will say no more.

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  2. thegoddessrena says:
    17 August 2015 at 11:50 am

    10 Corso Como is the first thing to come to mind and maybe DSH Perfumes Ashram (can’t remember if that one has woody aspects)

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    • Eroica says:
      19 August 2015 at 9:56 am

      I second 10 Corso Como!

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  3. austenfan says:
    17 August 2015 at 11:51 am

    I’m not a huge incense fan, but one incense fragrance really impressed me and that was the Armani Privée Bois d’Encens. It even gets 4 stars in The Guide in spite of it’s aspirational pricing. Obvious choices are of course the Comme des Garçons incenses. I remember them as quite dry though.

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    • Mariann says:
      17 August 2015 at 1:45 pm

      I second trying out Cdg, especially Kyoto.

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  4. Lovestosmellgood says:
    17 August 2015 at 12:20 pm

    Have you ever tried Samsara?
    Or Shalimar?
    Shalimar is not floral and Samsara has a nice sandlewood
    I love Holland! Wish I could eat a bossche bollen right now

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  5. sweetgrass says:
    17 August 2015 at 12:22 pm

    I’d second the Comme des Garcons incenses (specifically Kyoto or Zagorsk), and I’d also suggest L’Artisan Timbuktu.

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    • C.H. says:
      17 August 2015 at 3:28 pm

      Seconding Timbuktu!

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      • missionista says:
        17 August 2015 at 3:37 pm

        Thirding!

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  6. Robin says:
    17 August 2015 at 12:25 pm

    Worth trying if you can find them:

    Donna Karan Black Cashmere

    Comme des Garcons Eau de Parfum or Comme des Garcons Avignon

    Diptyque Tam Dao

    Cheap, but possibly hard to find outside the US: Demeter Holy Smoke

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  7. Hamamelis says:
    17 August 2015 at 12:26 pm

    I second Dzongkha, one of my favorites at this point in time. Also good to try is YSL’s Nu (but maybe it is lacking in sandalwood), and maybe SL Santal Majascule or Santal Blanc (maybe lacking in incense but plenty sandalwood)?

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  8. Elisa P says:
    17 August 2015 at 12:49 pm

    Some sandalwoood-heavy fragrances a I can think of:
    Sonoma Scent Studio Champagne deBois: sandalwood heavy, with white florals.

    Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black

    Tom Ford Santal Blush
    Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore
    Diptyque Tam Dao

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    • missionista says:
      17 August 2015 at 3:38 pm

      Seconding SSS Champagne de Bois. Sandalwood up the wazoo!

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      • C.H. says:
        17 August 2015 at 4:13 pm

        <3 Champagne de Bois especially for someone friendly with aldehydes! And potentially a light incense fragrance to layer on this could work…

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        • Elisa P says:
          18 August 2015 at 10:23 am

          And I think all of her fragrances layer well. The little box that holds all my SSS samples and decants smells divine!

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  9. Mariann says:
    17 August 2015 at 1:48 pm

    No incens but aldehydes and lots of lovely sandelwood, how about Chanel Bois des Iles?

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  10. Perfume Sniffer says:
    17 August 2015 at 2:11 pm

    I second Robin and Elisa P above me on several they said:
    Diptyque Tam Dao
    Sonoma Scent Studio Champagne de Bois
    Donna Karan Black Cashmere is a beauty

    Others I’d rec:
    YSL Nu (edp) discontinued but I hear the re-released version is good
    Parfum d’Empire Wazamba (insanely amazing incense)
    Etro Sandalo (nice smooth sandalwood)
    Serge Lutens Santal Blanc (Paris only now)
    Sonoma Scent Studio Incense Pure
    L’Artisan Safran Troublant

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  11. caffeinequeen says:
    17 August 2015 at 2:57 pm

    L’Artisan Passage d’Enfer is a great incense scent, and I echo the recommendations for the CdG incense line!

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  12. C.H. says:
    17 August 2015 at 3:52 pm

    Hermesssence Santal Massoia is a simple sandalwood that could work for layering in the event you find an incense you love and want to boost the sandalwood element.

    I think of Tauer L’air du desert marocain as something of an incense fragrance though I don’t know that the notes list it as such.

    Related to the Timbuktu idea above, I find Amouage’s Jubilation XXV to be an upscale version of that and maybe in your price range especially if you have access to discounters (right now 100ml is going for $162–USD–on FragranceNet.)

    On the other end of the price spectrum, I’ve only smelled it once, but I recall liking Pacifica’s Tibetan Mountain Temple (and if you go for the layering idea, you could add their Sandalwood and still wrap up the whole thing for super cheap.) Meanwhile I notice that Robin’s Incense Fragrances for Winter list compares the Pacifica to Donna Karan Black Cashmere–truth be told I can’t totally remember what the DK smells like but I’m sure it’s worth a try, given the popularity. And for that matter, the other items mentioned on Robin’s lists!
    https://nstperfume.com/2014/07/30/5-perfumes-incense-fragrances-for-summer/
    https://nstperfume.com/2014/10/09/5-perfumes-incense-fragrances-for-fall/
    https://nstperfume.com/2015/01/22/5-perfumes-incense-fragrances-for-winter/
    https://nstperfume.com/2015/04/24/5-perfumes-incense-fragrances-for-spring/

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    • C.H. says:
      17 August 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Oh! Also Lush Breath of God is sandalwood and incense, no?

      (Meanwhile apologies Robin for obliging you to moderate my comment, I forgot that adding too many links would do that!)

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      • Robin says:
        17 August 2015 at 4:18 pm

        It’s kind of hilarious though that it even flags comments with lots of links to this site!!

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        • C.H. says:
          17 August 2015 at 7:05 pm

          Haha yes it’s a VERY principled policy on links! :)

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      • C.H. says:
        17 August 2015 at 9:08 pm

        A good excuse to put on Breath of God as SOTE–my updated rec is now that it could work especially if you like your perfumes, 1, fairly lightweight, and 2, kinda weird (definitely a virtue, in my eyes :) )

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    • odonata9 says:
      18 August 2015 at 12:13 am

      What a great idea to layer Pacifica Tibetan Mountain Temple with their Sandalwood! I love TMT and was having a hard time thinking of any sandalwood + incense scents.

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  13. leathermountain says:
    17 August 2015 at 5:40 pm

    I haven’t smelled this in ages, but it came to mind now: Sombre Negra from YOSH. Maybe someone who has smelled it more recently can give it the thumbs up or down?

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    • leathermountain says:
      17 August 2015 at 5:49 pm

      Also I imagine there’s at least one from La Via del Profumo that would be worth Alissa’s testing, but I don’t know them well enough to say which. Maybe this will jog a more knowledgable person’s memory….

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  14. Sajini says:
    17 August 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Trayee is a gorgeous incense sandalwood perfume, really out of this world. I also adore Santal Carmin. Both are worth a try.

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  15. Earthscent says:
    17 August 2015 at 9:48 pm

    Alissa sounds like she and I share the same interests!
    Some recommendations:
    Diptyque Tam Dao
    10 Corso Como ( I don’t think she will mind the slight sweetness from the whisper of raspberry in it because it is just a miniscule amount)
    Czech and Speake Frankincense and Myrrh
    CdG Avignon
    Satellite Paparaschda (excuse the misspelling). It does have a chili pepper note but it is not overpowering.
    If she doesn’t mind incense smelling like chai tea, she can try Pacifica Mtn Temple.

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  16. Eroica says:
    19 August 2015 at 10:00 am

    I have a couple suggestions.
    * Mojave Ghost
    * Micallef Note Vanillee
    Best of luck!!

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  17. Cybele says:
    20 August 2015 at 9:22 am

    try Comme des Garcons Wonderoud

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