Phase 3 Parfum blog

I found this brand through a social media advert and having not heard of them before and checking out the description, I was keen to give them a try. The brand’s modus operandi is a return to natural perfumery, without synthetic ingredients.  This is arguably more impressively as restrictions by perfume regulatory bodies before more restrictive with each periodic assessment. I purchased the sample set of five of their eight perfumes.  With 5mls each totalling £30 you get a good wearing for a relatively low price compared to other artisan brands (I also used their code WALDEN30 for first time customers).  The samples do not have a nozzle, so I recommend atomising these yourself first or otherwise carefully applying manually to your skin.  The brand sell their perfumes in sprays of 15 & 50mls (the most expensive being £70 for 50ml & £24 for 15ml) and for those who prefer a non-alcoholic perfume, they sell coconut oil based rollerball perfumes at 10ml for up to ...

London based Czech & Speake specialise in niche perfumery along with luxury bathroom & grooming products.  Cuba is an aromatic cologne with Caribbean summers in mind, and brings an exotic twist to the barbershop accord.  A bright, fresh, opening will invigorate you on a hot day with mint and citruses dominating.  This is smooth without being cloying; it glides through the air rathe than punches.  The rum accord smooths out the harshness of the citruses but doesn’t perform the heavy lifting through the lifetime of this fragrance. An hour in and the mint has blended into the background with a smoother spicy rose accord underpinned by woody notes and a tonka accord, common in fougeres.  After three hours there’s a trace of a scent bubble but at this stage you’ll still get pleasant wafts of an earthy vetiver and woody.  I don’t pick up on the frankincense in any significant way through the lifetime of this scent.  By hour five, the temp...

This unique composition by indie London based perfume house 4160 Tuesdays opens powerfully with a powerful and slightly skanky cannabis accord heavily supported by a grassy accord, producing a heavy scent bubble.   This is almost too polarising for the first 15 minutes, after which it settles into a lush but unconventional green accord.   This fragrance is bottom heavy, and the lime and coconut top notes are barely noticeable over the boozy rum which sears through and thickens. An hour and a half into wearing I for me and the tobacco accord smooths out the composition with the words continuing a loud but pleasant bubble, the harshness of the cannabis opening in the background at this point. After four hours wafts of fragrance are more occasional through the air.   I’m getting the coffee with a woody green accord at this point.   This fragrance is powerful, tenacious, changing through its lifetime and a reason indie perfume houses are so important in m...

Most of us, who have an interest in perfume and fragrance beyond the most popular lines in Boots, will be able to identify at least one key oil or ingredient. Fragrantica, the online encyclopaedia covers the vast majority of designer, niche and indie houses and provides a useful guide to direct you in the direction of the style of fragrances you generally gravitate to. Retrospectively I've found I've naturally preferred fougeres and woody aromatics, and made a lot of incredible discoveries subsequently. Another way is by having a go at mixing essential and synthetic compounds myself (more of this in a future blog). Being familiar with specific oils have helped me make more nuanced choices in subsequent perfume purchasing. Having said that, always sample where you can or wear from a tester before purchasing a full bottle.

Hi all and welcome to my blog.  I'm based in the United Kingdom and I here to talk all things perfume and fragrance. I have a modest fragrance collection and I've recently started dabbling in the world of home perfumery. I will be blogging about both sides of the fragrance game and look forward to sharing my journey with you. Carl