This concludes Katie’s Round 2 with mods R2/E, R2/F, and R2/G.

Dear Laurent,

It’s taken me more than a while to wend my way through the three new mods. The differences between them are comparatively more subtle than those in the previous two mods.

I’ve tried writing up a review of the three several times, and each time ended up crumpling my notepaper up due to a lack of any coherence. I’m flummoxed over what sort of feedback to give you, nor am I at all sure where we should go from here. Eeeek! Help! What do you think would be some interesting and better approaches? I’m sure you’ve got strong opinions on the subject, and certainly yours would be comprehensive and informed. Is there something I’m missing? Ach, of course there is.

I do want to keep the slight crusty saltiness that I liked so much in the earlier mods, specifically “C,” I know that for sure now. It’s like a good hook, or a tasty guitar riff. And the darker corners on “G”s drydown were intriguing. Outside of that, I’m feeling weirdly indecisive.

I feel like “E” more closely stems off the earlier mod “C” in a way. Perhaps consequently, it was this one that nearly all my guinea pigs preferred the best out of these three. I liked it, well enough also. But after smelling “E” off and on during all this time, I feel like an asshat now. Mostly because I can’t help but compare it directly to the “C” mod you created. It’s hard not to wonder if perhaps “C” was superior, and thus didn’t need me trying to stick my spoon in the soup before it was served. “E” is darker than “C,” but what it gains in edginess, it kind of loses some of “C”s brittleness.

I like the drydown of “F,” but overall I wonder if the opening is not too citursy, and if it’s not too soapy overall. I tried it out on folks at a party, and the general reaction to it was “whoa.” I would like our fragrance to give folks a nice jolt, but I don’t want to scare anyone with it, heh. “F” demonstrates decisive phases of devolopment the best of the three, bearing more distinct phrasing when it dries. Which is nice. I like the way the notes come tumbling down slowly.

“G” was the mod I ended up gravitating the most towards personally. I really, really enjoyed the darker shadowy feel to it. I do wonder if it would be less satisfying to others compared to “C” or “E,” and not just amongst my random collection of willing victims (aka friends and family.) My guinea pigs were saying it was “nice,” but didn’t particularly seem to find it as interesting to wear as did I. It strikes me as a slightly linear composition, especially compared to “F” and “C.” But… urgh… there’s something quite enjoyable in “G”s drydown that would be wonderful to use, if possible. I gave turns off and on to all the mods, but it was the base on “G” that turned out to be the most deeply addictive.

All three mods were described as “soapy” at various times, and I too feel perhaps they were a bit TOO soapy. Which is my fault, I am sure. Did I just send us off on a wild goose chase for this round? I hope not.

In short, I don’t really know what to say. I’m… at a loss. Lost, lost, lost. What shall we do next?

Katie

7 Comments

  • Sali

    Is this the right place to write about the 2nd set of samples I’ve received? I hope so. I’m testing “F” and right off the bat, it smelled deeper than the last batch of samples. It’s not richer per se but definitely lower-pitched. It has a powderiness that I didn’t find in he earlier versions, and the smokiness is strong in the beginning, hen mellows. I like it, although the opening powderiness is a bit overwhelming for me. The dry down stage is interesting as it turns a bit “boozy” and sweet. It’s a bit strong, but then, the dry down gets better and to my surprise, it turns into something very close to a cross between Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque (which I love) and their new one, Chypre Rouge. In the end, it’s a lot smokier (like real burning smoke) than Fumerie Turque (which to me is a cooler, ashier type of smoky, and not so dry but rather sweet and fluffy in comparison). The ending stage of “F” reminds me more of Cumming (which is so smoky-strong, I haven’t been tough ebough to try it on my skin yet, but I have smelled a tester at Sephora) so hopefully, it’s getting closer to what Katie wants. I’ll check back when I test the others.

  • Sali

    I’m trying “E” now and call me crazy but I think it smells a lot like Fumerie Turque. I won’t call it a replacement of the SL but it’s in that spicy smoky powdery sweet vein with a combination of something cool and something warm. It dries down soft with a delicious spiciness. It even has a touch of something medicinal about it, like FT. I really like it!

  • Sali

    Sorry to annoy with so many posts in a row but I thought I’ll test all 3 Auxeos samples tonight while I have a moment so here’s my thought on “G”: It’s the booziest of all 3 and it feels a bit too heavy and maybe dry for my taste. Also, I think all 3 dry down in a similar way, reminding me of Cumming, Tabac Blond and Cuir de Russie, also a little bit of Bois des Iles only in that I smell something dry and woodsy like that. Only one thing I’d change about these samples and that’s the powerful citrus note they open up with, but that’s just my feeling at the moment. I might like that note on another day.

  • Sali

    I just need to point out that although structurally, I can find similarities with Fumerie Turque or Chypre Rouge or Tabac Blond, they’re not really similar in terms of overall sweetness and richness/dimension. The Auxeos are like snapshots of these compositions I love, like fresher versions of them. They dry down a little high-pitched and acidic on me but that could be due to the citrus note mentioned earlier. If I were having a signature made for myself, I’d add some Bourbon vanilla or something to give it a more tactile, mouthwatering richness (I can dream).

  • kuri

    My impressions are nowhere near as precise as Sali’s, but I’ll offer them anyway. When I first tried these (2 or 3 times), the differences were too subtle for me to make any sense of. So now I’m trying F and G together to compare directly.
    F: I get a lot of leather at first, with some leather winding through. Then citrus appears (which I didn’t identify until I read Sali’s comments). Leather and smoke are still apparent but the citrus is still pretty strong after 10 minutes. 2 parts citrus to 1 part leather and 1 part smoke. I rather like the citrus.
    G: I got a lot of smoke at first, with the leather a bit quieter. But after 10 min., the leather is predominant. A rich, smoky leather. There’s a faint reek but only enough to make it interesting.
    The strength of both mods is quite interesting. As before, I don’t notice unless I’m a couple cm from my skin, but at that point it’s quite a dense scent.

  • kuri

    Comparing E and G, G seems much richer (after 20 minutes). Although the citrus? in E makes it quite pretty, G has a nice deeper feel. E seems pale in contrast.

  • StickyKeys

    I know you have another interview with L that addresses some of the concerns with the mods. I’m going to read that before making an actual post, but I really just wanted to say HI!

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