A Passionate Endeavor: An Interview with Claude Gratianne of ZGO Perfumery

 

Hello, folks! I'm back again with another article. This is one that I am SUPER excited for you to read. I have had this for a while, but I am just now getting around to posting it due to how busy I have been. 

Claude Gratianne is the owner of ZGO Perfumery, a small indie and niche store located at 600 Castro Street in sunny San Francisco. They carry a wide range of perfumes for your enjoyment. They even have tea, candles, and incense! 

I have shopped at ZGO many times after discovering it last year due to a good friend suggesting it to me. I have been speaking to Claude through email for over a year now. He's such a kind and personal person. I just had to ask him for an interview. He exceeded my expectations with his answers. I am so pleased to bring this to you and I am excited about it. 

Full disclosure: I am affiliated with ZGO. When this interview was done, I was not. So, I just want you to know that this was not done as a promotional tactic for my affiliation. I asked him to do it because I wanted to give his store more exposure because it's simply an amazing place to buy fragrances. 

With that being said, MUSINGS10 will get you 10% off anything in the store except Diptyque, Comme des Garcons, and Byredo. Sadly, they are not allowed to discount those brands. They sell many fragrances that Lucky Scent does and they have spray samples instead of vials. On that note, when you buy a full bottle, you get money credit towards choosing your own samples with it. So, it's pretty awesome

Now for my affiliate link. I will be transparent once again and say I do earn a small commission from sales with this link. If you have any questions, you can message me on Facebook or IG and I will be happy to assist you. Even if you only need some advice on what I suggest from the store. 

Link to ZGO's site

Okay, you are not here for what I have to say. Let's hear what Claude does!

1. Can you tell us a little bit about where you are from and what led up to you creating your own business?

I was born and raised in sunny California to a family of French immigrants. Having grown up in the town of Sonoma, the heart of the wine country, as a child I spent time in the French Pyrenees on our family's small farm, in Sonoma harvesting family friend's vineyards, washing planes at the local airport to earn my flight license and went to school to one day be an engineer. I did become a civil engineer and worked on quite a few projects before deciding to "retire" as it were, from an otherwise "normal" career job with my partner Tani. We had always been fascinated by the under-appreciated impact of our sense of smell. So we decided to embark on a personal olfactive adventure.  With nothing but a vision of what could be a great fragrance shop, we resolved to put ideas to action and established ZGO Perfumery.

2. ZGO stands for "Zen Garden Oasis". Can you tell us why you chose that name?

From our travels throughout Asia, we had a deep appreciation for Buddhist practice (Tani grew up Buddhist, and I was Catholic). I've been a lifelong space enthusiast watching almost every space launch live if I can. Our notion in the name of our business was that the planet Earth is a garden in a vast desert, like an oasis. So this duality of desert and garden gave us the name Zen Garden Oasis). 

3. Where did your perfume journey begin?

Olfactive journeys begin for all of us when our sense of smell is first awakened and we start to process the world through the olfactory colors of our nose. It's so underappreciated because smell is not as tangible as our other senses and far harder to describe in a precise way. Yet our world is telling a lot about itself through the sense of smell. Looking back to my childhood, the strongest impressions of various scents were formed on the small farm in France, where odors are very keen, not always pleasant but very distinct- especially hay, manure, mud, animals, mountain air and rain, and of course the cheese aging in the cheese room next to the barn. The small farm is an olfactory zoo. 

4. At what point did you decide that you wanted to work with niche and indie perfumers over designers and why?

Our story at ZGO is only one of many stories. We always thought that what we are bringing forward to our customers isn't our story, but that of the brands in our store. Each brand has its own personal fascinating story and our goal is to tell those stories. Every person has an olfactive story and some lucky people make a career out of it by being a perfumer- a storyteller through scent. These people are artists in every way and so it's the art of olfaction and the perfume artist and their interpretation that is of interest. Thus when it becomes a mass market tool, it's just not as interesting.

5. What is your most prized fragrance in your collection and why?

I went through a period, a sort of rabbit hole I guess, of a fascination for oud. It's an onion that has so many layers- Like studying the various scent profiles of oud from different regions, the history, the cultural and religious significance of oud, the harvesting and exploitation of this wondrous resource, and the sustainable practices of farming agarwood trees (the tree that oud is harvested from). After all this, I had a chance meeting with an Agarwood farmer in Thailand and thought about importing his oud to the U.S. There are some oud oils already for sale in the U.S., but their sourcing and legal importing were too clear, so we set out to import this farmed oud through proper channels, get it permitted in Thailand and in the U.S., which we did, and actually sold it in our store under our own label. So, all that effort for about a liter of oud, but sold out in a few months. I don't know if we'll import that again since the logistics were daunting, but I'm glad we did it. So that was my prize- an oud journey. I still have an Agarwood chip from this journey, so that's my prize I guess. 

Claude's prized piece of oud

6. What do fragrances personally mean to you?

The fragrances we smell are our universe telling us about itself. It took how many billion years of evolution for a rose to smell like a rose? The universe created that rose scent- Amazing when you really think about that. It's offered up to us to experience through our God-given sense of smell- Do you accept that gift? Can we appreciate it? What does it say about the universe and ourselves? If we weren't here at all, a rose would still smell like a rose, but our being here makes it significant. So, let's appreciate that, and each other on this little raft called Earth. 

The inside of ZGO Perfumery

 

7. Can you name some of your favorite perfumers and/or fragrance houses and tell us why you enjoy them so much?

(John's note: Sorry for the white box. I have tried and tried to edit it out and it just won't go away. Pesky little bugger.) 

I've come to enjoy a challenge, to push limits, and even if it's not so good, I still appreciate the effort. So anyone who's a creator- I appreciate that they are out there doing that. 

 

8. If you could make your own perfume, what would it be and why?

If I could be a perfumer I would be living a personal dream. I did make a perfume- only for me, and it wasn't very good- so I'm not yet ready to make a living as a perfumer. 
 

9. Can you tell us about a memorable sale you made in your store and why it was memorable? 

We get quite a few customers that don't know where to start and so helping them figure it out is always rewarding. However, one particular day, a mother came in with her young daughter for her first perfume. The little girl was so curious and enthusiastic- She was trying quite a few she liked and didn't like- we found one she loved. Kids trying perfumes is always fun because they don't hold back their opinions about it. 

10. Do you have any future projects that you can tall us about? What is your goal for ZGO going forward?

Well, we always have some plans on the burners and back-burners. Some turn out well and others not so well, but that's what keeps it interesting for us. Our latest project is to develop an online Fragrance Fitting that has enough intelligence to be able to actually provide a good fragrance recommendation over our website. We've been working on that for months and it is still a work in progress. Our first version of this was made available through the Match It app created by Michael Edwards- the world-renowned fragrance expert. We're continuously updating this app and are going to roll out version 1.3 soon. We've kept it low-key because it is still buggy, but it is available to try on our website by clicking Fragrance Fitting in our website footer at the bottom of the page. After that, well, I probably shouldn't talk about it...TBD.   

The gateway into a magical world

Conclusion

Thank you very much, Claude! I appreciate the effort that you put into the interview and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so I am sure others will as well. It's always interesting to me to get a look inside someone's brain and what they think. I also love hearing about their memories. It really gives you a sense of connecting with someone. This is one reason why I like to connect my reviews to stories. I think it helps people like myself be able to feel the fragrance and not only smell it. 

Now, I would like to say something about paying it forward. We all have probably received kindness in the fragrance community. I am not only speaking about physical things. I am speaking of emotional aspects, advice, and many other intangible things. Pay forward your kindness. Pay forward your love. Pay forward your passion. It helps all of us stay positive and grounded in these tumultuous times we live in. The person who introduced me to ZGO is the same person who taught me the importance of paying it forward, so I am mentioning it here.

As always, don't forget to say something kind to someone today. You never know what they are going through. One kind word can keep someone grounded when everything is crashing around them. We all share this planet together. It will be what we make it. Let's make it a better place. 

Thank you for all of the support. Much love to all of you and until next time, keep smelling great and being great!


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

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Samy Andraus Summer Peach: A Peachy Good Time

 

Hello, folks! I am sorry that I haven't posted in quite a long time. I have had some major financial struggles that had to be taken care of. I am still not out of the woods yet, but I will hopefully have a job shortly. 

I have been meaning to review this for a while. I wanted to check out Samy Andraus because I heard good things about the house. So, I purchased this one from his site and he gave me a free Hessonite Kosmos to review, which will be coming next week. I was looking for a peach fragrance, so I couldn't resist purchasing this one. 

You folks aren't here to watch me babble. On to the review!


Notes

Peach 
Elderflower
Champagne
Blackwood


The Review

Samy Andraus Summer Peach opens up with a bright fizzy champagne note that is followed by peach. This reminds me of the fuzzy texture on the outside of a peach, like when you smell the raw fruit in your hand. This isn't a juicy sweet peach scent. The smell is almost airy and transparent at times, but it is also ever-present. It's quite unique to me. 

A bit of an earthy woody smell comes forth in the dry down. This is no patchouli-leaning earth. This is clean and almost dry. The peach because a bit sweet during this, but it is still not juicy. It just reminds you more vividly of the peach's skin over the delectable juicy fruit once it is cut open. 

This fragrance makes me think of a late summer/early autumn peach orchard. Peaches grow late summer to early autumn, so I must have some sort of memory of it in my brain that takes me to that. Walking through groves of fruit is a favorite pastime, so the scent memory reminds me of those warm days picking refreshing fruit. 


My Opinion

This is a great fragrance for a mere $30 bucks for 30ml. I honestly didn't think it would be as good as it is for that price. At first, I was confused since I was expecting a sweet peach note like the majority of fragrances use, but once I came to understand this one, it spoke to me. 

It is unique enough while still being mass appealing. You could pull this one off in a suit or a T-shirt and shorts. It's quite versatile. This is also perfectly unisex due to the implementation of the peach note and not being overly sweet. 

The performance is just okay. It's not a fragrance that will fill a room because it has a light and airy quality, but this is a summery fragrance that you could wear to work because the champagne doesn't come off like alcohol to me. It lasts 6-7 hours on me, which is perfectly acceptable for any summer fragrance, especially with the lack of ambroxan and hedione in this one. 


Conclusion

Samy Andraus has impressed me with this one. I think it's a fragrance worth purchasing. I would still suggest sampling it first, since he does offer samples. However, you won't be out too much if you blind buy it and happen to not like it. I will be buying more from his brand when my finances stabilize. 

I hope everyone has a great evening. Be good to one another. Don't forget to say something kind to someone. You never know what that person is going through. You could bring them back from a dark place. Much love to all of you and I appreciate you still supporting me through the struggles of the past year. I love all of you and just want you to know someone cares. Feel free to reach out to me on Facebook if you ever need anything. 


Buy Summer Peach here ( I do not get any sort of commissions if you buy it)

Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

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Paying it Forward in the FragComm

 
Hey, folks! I hope everyone is doing well today. I am doing pretty well. It's a cool spring day here and these are probably favorite days when the temperature is in the high 50s Fahrenheit. It's perfect for me. 

This is a sponsored article. Not the way you would think though. A friend of mine wanted to sponsor an article about paying it forward and kindness. I am such a sellout now! Seriously though, this is the one type of sponsored article that I don't mind doing at all. I think they mostly just wanted an excuse to give me some money to help me out, but that is okay. It gave me the motivation to do this. They actually sponsored a few, so you will see this theme in a few upcoming articles. 

Just let it be known that you can PM me and I might do an article you request. I don't have to be paid for it. In fact, this is the only article I have ever been paid for. So, I just wanted to be transparent about it. This person is not affiliated with any fragrance brand or company and wants to remain anonymous. I certainly have a deep appreciation for this person though, so thank you!

One more thing, this person only gave me a subject. They did not tell me how to present it. So, all of these words are my own. 

I have blabbered enough, so let's get into it! 


Kindness at its Core

People often speak about the negative stuff in the fragrance community. We talk about shills, scammers, reformulations, perfumers, and all manner of negative things. In fact, I just did yesterday and I am guilty of this as well. The bad things stick in your mind a lot more.

Maybe I am wired differently, but the acts of kindness are never forgotten by me. Every gift, kind gesture, and kind word is remembered. I hold these close to my heart. It is what motivates me to keep doing this, even though I am not a popular reviewer. I am too honest and hold some different ideas about fragrances. My goal was never to be popular though. My goal was to be honest and kind, at least as much as possible. 

I know how much a kind word can mean. Someone can be in a dark place and a kind word can show them the world isn't so bad. You can seriously change someone's life with a kind gesture. Not everyone has had the same upbringing as you. Some people have had it rough. Some folks might look happy now, but they came from nothing. The point is that we don't know someone's life story, so we should treat everyone with respect and help them if we are able. 


Paying it Forward

If someone is kind to you, then you should return the kindness to someone else. I had someone who purchased a few fragrances for me as gifts and they told me to pay it forward when I was able to. I did pay it forward to some of my friends when I was able to. I won't say how I exactly did it, but I gave in the same manner that was given to me. I still have a few on my list to give something to, but that will have to wait until my finances stabilize more. 

It's a reward in itself to make someone else happy. I was selfish when I was younger. It made me depressed. I felt like I was owed something for growing up poor. This mentality is not helpful to you or anyone else. You might think it benefits you to only look out for yourself, but it doesn't. It only makes the world look like a bad place, as the media describes. However, in reality, the world is a wonderful place...if you know where to look. It's all about perspective. 


The Perspective

We should never take more than we give, There needs to be a balance in life. Just like a relationship, both sides need to put effort forth to make it work. The amount you take and the amount you give needs to be the same way. I am not saying to give with the same monetary value, but with the same heart. 

Giving because you "have" to or feel obligated to is not the way. You should give with an open heart that expects nothing in return. I truly believe this is the only way to really enjoy the joy that you bring to people. What you give with is what will be returned to you. If you give with a happy heart, then that is what you will get from it. If you give while expecting something in return, then you don't get it, then it will be ruined for you. 

When I speak about gifts, I am not just speaking of monetary things. I am talking about a wide spectrum of words of encouragement, material gifts, or even physical ones. A poor humble man has just as much to give as a rich and generous one. You just do it in a different way. 


Conclusion

This is an article that you won't see many reviewers cover. It's not popular to encourage people to be better. I just wanted to say some things about this and hopefully, we can make the fragrance community a better place for all of us. 

I always say at the end of my articles that we should be kind. Kind words are free and use them often. I mean this and that is why I say it every time. That is not a copy and paste. I type it differently almost every time. Doing this helps remind me to do it as well.

The world is not so dark when you let your light shine. Shine bright like a star burning hot in that diamond-filled sky, you wonderful-smelling people. Keep being great and smelling great. Much love to all of you. 

 
I am working on some historical articles for my Patreon. So it is taking a bit more time to do them. 


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

About my Patreon- I decided to start a Patreon to give people an inside look at my life and my actual thoughts on some things. There are going to be some very raw and unfiltered posts on there about the fragrance community and reviewing, as well as some exclusive fragrance articles. I have been doing this for 3 years now and never made any money off of it.

I am still not asking for money. This is just a way for you to support me more if you'd like and I will give you some exclusive stuff for doing so. The top tier includes you being able to choose an article topic(within reason) for me and have the article dedicated to you on this blog. I wanted to make this cheaper, but it's just not efficient for me to charge less. It takes me 5-6 hours to make an article. Sometimes more if a lot of research is required.

I am working on trying to start a podcast for interviews with perfumers and business owns, along with weekly discussions on fragrances.

The 12/25 tier now includes a free Musings of a Fraghead mug with my winter logo on it. You need to sub for 3 months before it ships. (This is Patreon's rule and not my own)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it if you choose to subscribe. The base price is 4 bucks and gets you access to all of the articles, which I plan on doing two per week. I already have my first post up and it's free to everyone, future posts will need a sub though.

Patreon Link

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

Want to learn how to support my work? Click here

Follow me on Instagram!

A Failure of a House: Michael Malul House Review

 

Hey, folks! I hope everyone is doing well today on this Easter Sunday. Happy Easter, Ramadan, Passover, or a normal Sunday if you don't celebrate those. My scent of the day is Nicolai L'eau Mixte and it's wonderful. A review will be coming soon. 

I hate being negative and talking poorly of houses. I normally don't do negative house reviews, but this brand just deserves it. I will explain why soon. I won't talk too much. Let's get into it!


The Review 

Michael Malul is a house that seems to have come out of thin air and got some massive hype from Youtubers. It made me curious about the house. My friend sent me some samples of this house and it allowed me to try them.

So, before I get into the bad stuff...I will say that Jet Black Enigma is okay. That is the one they did with Ashton from Gent Scents. I do not think it's worth its retail price, but anything under 70 is acceptable for the scent. It's a nice boozy and warm woody scent with vanilla. Not bad at all, but not amazing either.

Now for the bad...

Visionair- A cheap smelling aquatic that is so synthetic that I think it's a clone of some Wal-Mart body washes in perfume form. Nauseatingly mundane and screechingly like a high school lock room and their thought of something "fresh". Utterly terrible. 

Visionair Night Blue- Slightly better than the first one, but still very synthetic and makes me think of another body wash that would be called "Deep Blue Ocean". 

Ktoret Bloom- Citrus and a headache-inducing cheap metallic musk. This stuff is so strong that it made me nauseous. No rose or jasmine as the label claims. Just an overload of musk. 


I think I have some more samples somewhere, but I am not going to try them. I have had enough of this house. 1 out of 5 fragrances is decent. They are supposedly made by actual perfumers. These must be the formulas they sold them for 5 bucks because no one else would want them because they are so bad. No self-respecting professional perfumer would release such terrible scents and attach their name to it. 

These are seriously the most confused and synthetic scents I have ever smelled. Cremo has better quality and they are a fraction of the price. Let's talk about the price...90-110 USD for this stuff? This is a huge ripoff. These things belong on the bottom shelf of a rack store on clearance for 15 bucks, not for the same prices Chanel. If you are going to charge those prices, then you better deliver at least a decent product. 

The influencers who pushed these fragrances should be ashamed. This isn't even subjective to me. I tried a few of them and they are all bad, except for Enigma. There is no way any reviewer would say these are good if they weren't paid to do so. Enigma might be subjective, but the rest aren't. They don't care one bit about your pockets and want you to purchase this cheap junk for 90+ bucks. It makes you wonder if some of these guys know anything about perfume. 


I know that I might be flamed for this, but I don't care. This is MY truth about this house and I want to warn people about this house. Also, what's up with them putting London on their logo like they are from England? They are from London, Ohio.

This brand is just sketchy all around and I would not support them if I was you. You can get far better things in this price range. Buy a Chanel, something from Prin, or a 30ml of a Nicolai. These are real houses that create good fragrances and not this rubbish. 


Conclusion

I am sorry for being so negative in this post, but I am insulted that this house was ever given praise for their stuff. It makes me angry when influencers try to take advantage of their viewers who trust their words. If you don't believe me, get some samples for yourself and see. 


I hope everyone has a wonderful day. Remember to say something positive to someone today. You never know how it could help them. I know I wasn't positive here, but sometimes the truth isn't. Much love to all of you who have supported me. Keep smelling great and being great. 


Also, I am working on some historical articles for my Patreon. So it is taking a bit more time to do them. 


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

About my Patreon- I decided to start a Patreon to give people an inside look at my life and my actual thoughts on some things. There are going to be some very raw and unfiltered posts on there about the fragrance community and reviewing, as well as some exclusive fragrance articles. I have been doing this for 3 years now and never made any money off of it.

I am still not asking for money. This is just a way for you to support me more if you'd like and I will give you some exclusive stuff for doing so. The top tier includes you being able to choose an article topic(within reason) for me and have the article dedicated to you on this blog. I wanted to make this cheaper, but it's just not efficient for me to charge less. It takes me 5-6 hours to make an article. Sometimes more if a lot of research is required.

I am working on trying to start a podcast for interviews with perfumers and business owns, along with weekly discussions on fragrances.

The 12/25 tier now includes a free Musings of a Fraghead mug with my winter logo on it. You need to sub for 3 months before it ships. (This is Patreon's rule and not my own)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it if you choose to subscribe. The base price is 4 bucks and gets you access to all of the articles, which I plan on doing two per week. I already have my first post up and it's free to everyone, future posts will need a sub though.

Patreon Link

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

Want to learn how to support my work? Click here

Follow me on Instagram!

Desires Unraveled: Libertine Fragrances Sex & Jasmine Review

Source

Hello, folks! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I decided to give this one a review after wearing it today. I have only worn it three times, but it inspired me to go ahead and write about it. So, I hope you enjoy it. I picked up my sample from Ministry of Scent. 

Some of the content in this review is sexual in nature. If you are under 18, then please leave now or get a parent's or guardian's permission to continue. Thank you. 

 I won't talk too much this time. Let's get into it!


Notes


Jasmine Sambac, Neroli, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Geranium, Bourbon Vanilla, and Ambergris



The Story


It's a sunny day in our apartment. The door is ajar and letting a gentle breeze blow the delicate white curtains. It's one of those lazy summer days that makes you not want to get out of bed.

It's a hot day, so the gentle touch of nature cools the skin. The look in her eyes shows her thoughts. As sweat beads down her skin, the embracing smell of her musk captivates you. Liquid ecstasy. Lust. Longing. The scent of her passion and love is undeniable.

The world withers away as you caress her face and take in her beauty. Nothing else matters at this moment. Only her. As your hand slides down her skin as she leans in, you feel the silky sheet fall off of her figure. A time when all inhibitions are thrown away and you fully embrace each other. 


The Scent

Sex & Jasmine opens up with a clean floral jasmine that has an audacious naughty side. This is not the jasmine that is used in a clean garden scent. This is very indolic. Animalic ambergris joins the fold and creates a musky skin feeling. It only gets naughtier from here. 

The floralness of the jasmine withers and the indolic aroma dials itself up. I believe that there is also a naughty musk in this fragrance, but don't quote me on that. It just feels musky. The vanilla comes forthy like a silky sheet gently sliding through the composition. The patchouli here is a bit musty and the sandalwood feels smooth to me. I don't really pick up creaminess from the sandalwood. I feel like that creaminess is coming from the vanilla alone, but I could be wrong. 


Other Notes

I am not one to judge a scent by feminine or masculine, but this feels like it leans feminine to me. That is probably because I'd love for a woman to wear this. 

The performance is decent. I was clocking around 6-7 hours. The first 2 hours were pretty strong on projection, but not too strong. 

This is more of a flirty or romantic scent to me. I wouldn't wear this casually. It's probably best for summer and spring. 


My Thoughts

I read some other reviews before I purchased this sample that said this is a very wearable and it's not animalic. However, in my experience, this is not true. Maybe my skin amplifies the animalic notes. I am not sure, but this is not a pretty mass-appealing jasmine scent in my eyes. This is why this fragrance is fantastic. 

Ladies, give up your Ariana Grande Cloud, BR540, and Lost Cherry. This is what is sexy and attractive...At least to me. I would much rather smell this than saccharine sweet candied stuff. I don't compliment women often because I don't want them to think I am a creep, but I might have no choice but to compliment one wearing this. 

Sex & Jasmine is beautiful and fully lives up to its namesake and delivers it in droves. However, I can't see myself wearing this one. I just don't think it fits me, but as I said, this would be one of the best things for a woman ever. 


Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this review. I usually don't do reviews like this, but I was so inspired that I had to. It was just calling to me. 

Be sure to say something positive to someone today. You never know who it might help. A kind word can save a life. They are free to use, so be sure to use them often. Much love to all of you and have a wonderful day/evening. Keep smelling great and being great. 


Until next time, keep smelling great and being great. Much love. 

Also, I am working on some historical articles for my Patreon. So it is taking a bit more time to do them. 


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

About my Patreon- I decided to start a Patreon to give people an inside look at my life and my actual thoughts on some things. There are going to be some very raw and unfiltered posts on there about the fragrance community and reviewing, as well as some exclusive fragrance articles. I have been doing this for 3 years now and never made any money off of it.

I am still not asking for money. This is just a way for you to support me more if you'd like and I will give you some exclusive stuff for doing so. The top tier includes you being able to choose an article topic(within reason) for me and have the article dedicated to you on this blog. I wanted to make this cheaper, but it's just not efficient for me to charge less. It takes me 5-6 hours to make an article. Sometimes more if a lot of research is required.

I am working on trying to start a podcast for interviews with perfumers and business owns, along with weekly discussions on fragrances.

The 12/25 tier now includes a free Musings of a Fraghead mug with my winter logo on it. You need to sub for 3 months before it ships. (This is Patreon's rule and not my own)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it if you choose to subscribe. The base price is 4 bucks and gets you access to all of the articles, which I plan on doing two per week. I already have my first post up and it's free to everyone, future posts will need a sub though.

Patreon Link

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

Want to learn how to support my work? Click here

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Cheap Rose: Moschino Toy Boy Review

 
Hey, folks! I hope everyone is doing well today. I am sorry for not posting for a while. Life has been very busy for me lately. I have a lot of new stuff to bring to the table soon, including some reviews of incense and other aromatic materials that can be burned. 

So, Moschino Toy Boy was hyped to the moon as a niche style rose fragrance for warmer weather. I hate the bottle, so I just got a decant from my boy Dino at Scentual Charms. I am not affiliated with his shop at all. I am just telling you where I got it from. This review doesn't impact Dino's service at all. It was excellent. 

Without further ado, let's get into it!


Notes

Top 

Pink Pepper, Pear, Nutmeg, Elemi, Bergamot

Heart 

Rose, Magnolia, Clove, Flax

Base

Cashmeran, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Amber


The Scent

Toy Boy opens up with a moderately sweet rose that tickles with hints of fresh lemony magnolia, which is no doubt used to give the rose a lush feel. Along with a crisp pear note and rosy pink pepper, this creates a somewhat vague interpretation of a rose with a slight hint of crushed leaves in the background. 

It stays pretty linear on me with the added cashmeran musk which gives the rose more body and texture. A slight bit of grassy vetiver is also found, so it does give a somewhat bright and sweet rose on a sunny day feel. 


Other Notes

Moschino Toy Boy has good performance lasting around 7-8 hours with moderate to strong projection. This is a loud fragrance that lacks finesse and class. 


The scent is quite unisex and can be worn in any season. Any age group can easily pull this off. 



My Opinion

Moschino Toy Boy is a failure to me. I heard people talk about this being a nice summery rose and I wanted to try it, even though I know that lower-end designers very rarely nail a rose scent properly. I have worn it around 4 times and in different weather situations and it's just not good. 

The rose is very synthetic, sweet, and unrealistic. I am not asking for natural rose at this price point, but it's like they didn't even try. It's like candy-infused cheap rose water that is sold in a plastic vial for 5 bucks. If this is natural, then so is Axe. This is on the same level to me. 

This fragrance isn't niche to me. When I hear niche, I expect something different and groundbreaking. This is only niche to some people because they have little to no experience with rose.There is nothing new and exciting here. 

Toy Boy could have stretched some boundaries, but instead, it fell flat with a terrible bottle design that even the liquid inside can't save. Cheap rose boosted by cheap musks that a decent magnolia accord cannot help. 

To each their own. If you like it, then like it. I am not stopping you from wearing it. This one just failed on many fronts for me. 


Conclusion

I don't like doing negative reviews. I have very few of these on my blog, but this one just keeps getting hyped and I do not think it's worthy, so I am offering my opinion on it. I am not trying to dissuade you from purchasing it. I am just trying to give you a different viewpoint. 

I hope you enjoy my review. Don't forget to say something positive to someone today. You never know how you can change someone's life by just being kind. 

Until next time, keep smelling great and being great. Much love. 

Also, I am working on some historical articles for my Patreon. So it is taking a bit more time to do them. 


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

About my Patreon- I decided to start a Patreon to give people an inside look at my life and my actual thoughts on some things. There are going to be some very raw and unfiltered posts on there about the fragrance community and reviewing, as well as some exclusive fragrance articles. I have been doing this for 3 years now and never made any money off of it.

I am still not asking for money. This is just a way for you to support me more if you'd like and I will give you some exclusive stuff for doing so. The top tier includes you being able to choose an article topic(within reason) for me and have the article dedicated to you on this blog. I wanted to make this cheaper, but it's just not efficient for me to charge less. It takes me 5-6 hours to make an article. Sometimes more if a lot of research is required.

I am working on trying to start a podcast for interviews with perfumers and business owns, along with weekly discussions on fragrances.

The 12/25 tier now includes a free Musings of a Fraghead mug with my winter logo on it. You need to sub for 3 months before it ships. (This is Patreon's rule and not my own)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it if you choose to subscribe. The base price is 4 bucks and gets you access to all of the articles, which I plan on doing two per week. I already have my first post up and it's free to everyone, future posts will need a sub though.

Patreon Link

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

Want to learn how to support my work? Click here

Follow me on Instagram!

Compliment Myths in the FragComm

 

Photo by Anna Kanifatova from Pexels

Hey, folks! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day today. I am doing just fine. I've been testing out some great fragrances that I will be bringing to you in the next week or so. 

Compliments...This word gets thrown out quite often in the fragrance community. YouTubers and Instagrammers use it as a kindling to start a firestorm of clicks on their pages. I very rarely cover this subject, but I was inspired by a conversation that I had with a friend earlier to write this. There are so many myths and misconceptions about this subject and I wanted to say my piece 

In this article, I will be referencing women quite a bit. This does not mean that every woman thinks this way. That would be asinine to state such claims. This is only based on my personal experience with women in my life. 

Furthermore, I am not claiming to be any sort of expert on women. Again, these are just personal experiences. I am not even an expert on myself, much less anyone else. 

This article is not directed at picking up a woman for a one-night stand in the club. I am not a fan of that lifestyle and I do not promote it.

This is my truth when it comes to these things. Let's get into it!


Preying on the Young

Photo by Jean van der Meulen from Pexels

Influencers often prey on the young and/or gullible with flashy titles that include promises of compliments or getting women to notice you. I am not saying that younger men are more gullible. Only that influencers specifically target them, This is a bunch of malarkey and it's designed to generate clicks. They would have you believe that a fragrance will get you the attention that you desire, but it's not like that in reality. Can a fragrance get you unsolicited compliments? Of course, but not at the rate they suggest.

This also happens in Facebook groups. People suggest that they walked into a room and every woman in it took notice. Tolkien couldn't even write something rooted in that much fantasy. It's just an attempt to get clout or make people jealous. I am not sure why people tell such exaggerated stories on social media, but I guess it's the cool thing to do.

Could this happen? It's possible, but you have as much of a chance of dying from a rabid wolf attack as you do experiencing this "dream" scenario. Take note that there have only been 21 rabid wolf attacks that led to a fatality in the US. That is not per year, that is ever since they started recording them. They are so infrequent that even Wikipedia lists every attack. 


Sprays are not the Way

Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels

A lot of these influencers will also tell you to just spray more or they can't smell you. I don't care how much you spray. I don't have to smell you. This is your choice, but I think spraying more to try to receive compliments is not going to increase your odds of getting a compliment. 

The majority of my female friends think it's terrible when someone smells like they bathed in a fragrance. This is quite subjective, but in my experience, many other females seem to share the same sentiment. 

I am not telling you how to use your fragrances at all. I am simply saying the mentality that some women have towards overspraying. You might be turning more people off from speaking to you than you realize. On the other hand, there are a few females who love strong scents. It's all about perspective. If you are targeting one specific girl(which you should be and not any that you can find), then figure out if she likes strong or softer stuff and go with that.

I am not telling you not to wear strong stuff if you like it. I am saying that maybe Red Tobacco could use 1 or 2 sprays instead of 14 until you figure out what she likes.


Manners Matter

Photo by Dinielle De Veyra from Pexels

Manners matter, gentleman. You may not think anyone pays attention or that gal you like doesn't see, but she does. There are some women who don't like polite men, but they are few in number from what I see. 

If you are out there thinking someone is going to sleep with you over a fragrance alone, then they can tell. How many other guys have hit on her and told her that she is beautiful? You gotta stand out. Be someone that respects her as a person and not just a body. 

How does this tie into compliments? Well, women can tell by your body language what type of man you are. Many of them are not going to speak to you if you come off as arrogant or rude. I am not telling you to change your body language to play a part. I am telling you to become a man that you would want your daughter to date and you will find that women are keener to compliment you. Body language is not a dead art. 


Appearance

Photo by Kevin Bidwell from Pexels

People will often tell you that appearance means everything. I say this is wrong, to some extent. Of course, bathing is part of your appearance and you want to bathe at least once per day to find off body odor. No one wants to be around someone who stinks. You should probably ditch the homeless look and wash your clothes too. 

However, these people make it sound like you have to be Idris Elba or George Clooney to get a compliment. This is not true. Just be yourself and make sure you are clean. One of the kindest men I have ever known is a guy named Joe. Joe was a tall biker who looked like he would snap you in half for looking at him. Joe was one of the kindest and most honest men I have ever known and he taught me a lot about life growing up without a father. Women adored him for his humor and kindness. He would often get compliments on his clothing just because they enjoyed his personality. This can work the same way with fragrances. Don't focus on superficial things and work on being a better man. 


Money means Mischief 

Photo by John Guccione www.advergroup.com from Pexels

A lot of guys will say money will get you attention from women. This is true. However, this is the wrong type of attention from the wrong women. Gentleman, look for a woman that values you for you and not your bankroll. That sort of thing is fickle and will end in heartbreak. I know. I am 36 and I have been down that road. Just trust me on this. 

How does this tie into compliments? Women can tell when you think money can buy them and they will probably be less likely to compliment you. When you have this mentality about women, they will take notice and probably steer clear of you. It ties into them being able to tell if you are respectful or not. Don't be arrogant and treat women well and others will take notice and be more open to compliment you. 


Fragrance Compliment Factor

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

I often see questions in the Facebook groups about compliment factors of fragrances. While there is nothing wrong with seeking a fragrance that most people will find enjoyable, I think there is a disconnect somewhere.

If you are purchasing fragrances just to get attention and compliments, then I think you are going about it in the wrong way. A fragrance is never going to do that on its own. You are just wasting money because a fragrance will never fill that void in your life. 

A fragrance can absolutely give you confidence and help you with your everyday life if you are emotionally impacted by scents like I am. However, I do not think a fragrant band-aid is what you are really looking for and it's only going to make the issue worse.

Don't take this as me judging you. I think we have all been there and sought to impress a woman before. We all learn from mistakes. I am not saying this is a mistake, but maybe you need a different perspective than what is being fed to you in order to find a solution, 


The Scent of Love 

Photo by Hannah Stevens from Pexels

Have you guys ever seen a woman and thought she was okay looking, then when you got to know her she became absolutely beautiful to you? Well, fragrances work like that too. If a woman is already into you, then she will enjoy your scent because it is probably comforting to her. It's the scent of your love and care for her. It doesn't matter what it is, usually. It's what she associates with you. 

Oftentimes, you are told that you can grab her attention with a scent and it doesn't work like that. A scent just accentuates what is already there. If there is nothing there then that scent does nothing for her. It might smell good to her, but that is the extent of it. 

If you really want to capture a woman's attention with a scent, then capture her heart first. After that then she will probably enjoy your scents unless she is allergic. This isn't always the case, but there will be at least a few that she associates with you and she loves when you wear them.


The Man makes the Fragrance

Photo by Marcelo Chagas from Pexels

The fragrance doesn't make the man, so don't use it as a crutch. You make that fragrance better by being you. Be kind, be respectful, and be happy. This is the most important point in this article and why I saved it for last. 

Don't try to be a man that you aren't with your fragrance. Pick stuff that fits you and your personality. Wear what you like to wear, not things that will bring compliments. Your confidence is far more important than any hyped-up fragrance. I don't care how many women say they love it. You need to do what makes you happy and extend that to others. 

Don't let the "alpha" males tell you that you have to wear something masculine. Don't like the hype followers tell you that you have to wear something that gets them compliments. Wear what makes you feel confident and shine like the gem you are. Women will notice and that will get you compliments because they want a conversation starter to speak to such an interesting and self-assured man. Don't be a prototype. Break that mold and show them that you are a really caring and kind man. 


Conclusion

I cannot stress this enough, there is no cookie-cutter way to get compliments. What works for me may not work for you, so some of this advice might not work. I am not claiming to be an expert or to know everything. I am just sharing the realizations that I came to from my own experiences. 

Women are not robots made to compliment you. My advice is not a replacement for anything in your life, but only a template to a new way of thinking if you want to embrace it. If whatever you are doing works and makes you happy, then disregard what I said. I am not telling you how to live. I am just telling you what I have learned in case someone out there is like me and searching for answers in the same way that I was. 

Remember to be kind and say nice things to someone today. You never know what someone is going through. One kind word can pull someone back from the brink. It costs nothing to do so. 

Until next time, much love to all of you. Keep being great and smelling great. 


Buy fragrances with an Italian soul. Mozzafiato is your one-stop shop for all of your Italian beauty needs. Mozzafiato (affiliate link)

About my Patreon- I decided to start a Patreon to give people an inside look at my life and my actual thoughts on some things. There are going to be some very raw and unfiltered posts on there about the fragrance community and reviewing, as well as some exclusive fragrance articles. I have been doing this for 3 years now and never made any money off of it.

I am still not asking for money. This is just a way for you to support me more if you'd like and I will give you some exclusive stuff for doing so. The top tier includes you being able to choose an article topic(within reason) for me and have the article dedicated to you on this blog. I wanted to make this cheaper, but it's just not efficient for me to charge less. It takes me 5-6 hours to make an article. Sometimes more if a lot of research is required.

I am working on trying to start a podcast for interviews with perfumers and business owns, along with weekly discussions on fragrances.

The 12/25 tier now includes a free Musings of a Fraghead mug with my winter logo on it. You need to sub for 3 months before it ships. (This is Patreon's rule and not my own)

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it if you choose to subscribe. The base price is 4 bucks and gets you access to all of the articles, which I plan on doing two per week. I already have my first post up and it's free to everyone, future posts will need a sub though.

Patreon Link

Want to see what is going on in my group and vote on my upcoming articles? We also discuss fragrances and fragrant topics in a drama-free environment. You won't see any troll Aventus and CDNIM posts in my group! Join my Facebook group!

Want to learn how to support my work? Click here

Follow me on Instagram!