Telekinec

Beginning is tart and juicy with blackcurrant and mandarin orange while pomegranate adds that red fruity sweetness. The trio of fruits in the top notes give off that sophisticated, girls' only night out vibes. It's fun, playful and a bit on the youthful side. White amber appears slowly after, giving warm hugs while jasmine and lily of the valley adds that soft, feminine, white floral kind of scent. The base is slightly spicy, but still filled with warmth and fruity sweetness. Patchouli is well-dosed: I do not get any dark, earthy or dirty notes coming from it, but rather some much needed depth. Musk and vetiver also temper down the sweetness and fruitiness of the top notes, offering a nice contrast to the beginning of the perfume. The dry down reminded me of a high quality fruity body cream.

It's definitely feminine-leaning and should be pleasant for all. It has nice performance: I could still smell it at the end of the day and a nice scent bubble surrounded me while I wore it. The fruits lasted way longer than what I though it would, although amber and musks did end up taking a bit too much space on my skin towards the end. It's an easy pick when you just want to smell like that effortless girl.

The first thing that jumped to my nose was this refreshing, tangy note of sweet lemon, closely followed by the calming, soothing scent of french sage. It's a beautiful mix of herbal smoothness and citrusy freshness. Absolutely stunning. I was about to add it to my wishlist, when a strange note started to rise up underneath it all. Is it the geranium? The australian seaside moss? Whatever it is, it started clashing with the citrus and the herbs. The strange accord is buttery, almost like popcorn, with an undertone of sweet florals and some aquatic freshness mixed in. I was hoping it would end up dissipating over time, but it remained. Strangely enough, it ends up contributing to giving the fragrance a clear aquatic direction despite the buttery (popcorn?) accord I still smelled. Overall, the scent smells like the ocean, like clear blue skies and like a day by the oceanside. A lovely fragrance for summer.

I have to admit it, it's a strange vibe for me, a fragrance that hasn't won my nose over. Might be because I'm not too much of an aquatic fragrance girl, but this has saddened me a bit since I did love the tangy lemon and herbal french sage at the beginning. Oh well, on to the next!

There's nothing wrong with this perfume, other than the lack of excitement or wonder it provided me when I first smelled it on my skin. While perusing the Inspiration section of the fragrance's page, I could see why. It smells quite similar to "Cloud (Eau de Parfum) | Ariana Grande" with an added marshmallow sweetness that is reminiscent of "Sci Fi | Ellis Brooklyn". Both scents I have already smelled and ruled out from adding to my collection (although I did briefly own Cloud at the beginning of my journey).

The beginning is slightly tart from the raspberries with a strong powdery pear. Italian mandarin orange provides an added fruitiness and sweetness to the beginning. Coconut cream doesn't take too long before appearing and, along with jasmine sambac, adds this creamy, marshmallowy feel to the perfume. Ginger and green mango give it a spicy, green-like kick to it that avoids it from going down the indolic route or the overly powdery path. It doesn't take long before sandalwood rises up. It gives the perfume a woody base with a creamy sweetness. Benzoin and cashmere woods add warmth towards the end. It fades away rather quite fast for a niche perfume at that price point.

Like I've mentioned before, it's not that it isn't good, it's just an uninspiring scent. It doesn't stir any particular memory in me or any sense of wonder. It's lovely if you love sweet and fruity perfume, but other than that, I failed to see what others have seen in it. If you're looking for a more mature, grown-up version of Cloud with a fruity facet, this could be the one for you. Unfortunately, the sun will be setting on any hope of this perfume making it in my collection.

It was supposed to be a hit as the notes were right up my alley for a perfect fruity perfume for summer. But there's a note in there, underneath the tangy pineapple and the fresh mango that doesn't sit well with my skin chemistry and my nose. It clashes weirdly with the beautiful fruity notes. It smells kind of woody (which made me suspicious of cedarwood) and smells a bit like sour cereals? It's very hard to describe. This undescribable note unfortunately remains during a good part of the perfume's life on my skin which is the main reason why I won't be going further than a decant.

Apart from this unfortunate discordant note, I do smell some green notes and some undescript floral notes. Pineapple and mango are a little bit synthetic, but they do remain quite strong, blending into a fruity, fresh note that remains up until the end. There's some creaminess at the beginning of the fragrance that fades away in favor of fruitiness and sweetness. The drydown is musky, with a lovely vetiver note while cedarwood remains ever so strongly on my skin (my skin chemistry really loves cedarwood for a reason).

I have the impression it's a me problem and not the perfume's fault. Maybe my skin also doesn't react well to Xerjoff's DNA as I have yet to find a perfume from them that works. I've seen the positive reviews and I wished I was part of the hype train, but unfortunately it's not the case. Oh well, I guess my wallet is safe again!

I bumped up Lumière Blanche on my list of decants I had to try as I saw it was on sale at Etiket. Since I already had a sample waiting, I was curious to see if I'd love it enough to grab it while it was on sale.

This one is a gentle, but gorgeous olfactory experience. A strong alcoholic beginning which gives way to a trio of spices. Cardamom, star anise and cinnamon give the fragrance a spicy, almost woody beginning. It's not a strong, in-your-face spice mix and it'll never become stronger during the duration of this scent, but it's present. The magic happens after about 10-15 minutes when the middle notes start to rise up. Almond milk is the star at the center and gives this fragrance a beautiful creamy, milky facet, adding depth to the spices that were already present. It's comforting, gentle, yet pleasant. Cashmere wood add this comforting and soothing feeling with a supporting wooden presence while iris is subtle, evanescent and powdery. At this point, the fragrance did remind me a bit of chaï. Not a strong chaï scent, but a pleasant, remnant scent like an echo or a ghost of it. It's a truly beautiful thing. The drydown further solidifies the warmth, soothing and relaxing aspect of this perfume. Cedar adds woodiness while sandalwood is creamy. Tonka beans are powdery and deeply warm, adding some vanilla sweetness to the perfume.

Even now, I'm considering adding this perfume to my collection. The one thing that's making me hesitate is the performance of it. Sillage is non-existent and longevity seems weak like others before me have pointed it out. For the price it's at, I would've loved if it had a stronger presence on me. Nonetheless, I've got to admit it's a pretty elegant and gentle perfume that is fine for office use. It stands out among recent decants I've tried and I'll be pondering on maybe acquiring a full bottle despite its lackluster performance.