I received this as a sample in my monthly Olfactif box. If you are not familiar with Olfactif- it is a monthly subscription service where you are sent 2 unisex, or men’s fragrances (depending on the box you choose) monthly. The scents are picked based on a theme. You are given a monthly credit towards the purchase of a full-size bottle, and there are often codes to share with friends. If you are interested in something like this please check out this link!
The notes on this one are- Immortelle, tobacco, narcissus, honey, grass, musk.
On open this is like nothing else I have ever smelled before. This really does smell like a bail of hay. On my skin, this smells like hay mixed with cedar chips (even though there is none listed). When I close my eyes I picture a barn with horses. This scent is fairly linear. I must warn my adventurous readers that this is not a safe blind buy! It should also be noted that on my skin this stays on the cusp of good and sour/urine; there are moments where this just smells foul on me. Musk is very present from beginning to end. I still highly encourage you to give this one a try because that may not be the case with you. Many others report this being a lovely fragrance on their skin.
This is a unisex fragrance. I would much prefer smelling this on a man. Because of the notes, I would say this makes more of a Fall/Winter scent. After the dry-down, it is musky/sweet/floral/hay hay hay. I was left longing for more tobacco, I really had to search for it.
Longevity: This fragrance did not want to stop! I did not apply a base to my skin (and my skin eats fragrance) and this lasted for 11+ hours!
Projection/Sillage: I got a good 2 -3 feet out of this one from beginning to end!
Price: It is very unlikely that you will find this one on discount. A limited amount of this is produced each year (you get a label that indicates the vintage), so people are not as likely to part with it. You may get lucky and find someone who is selling on e-bay but I can not recommend purchasing such a fragrance there unless you know the seller. 50 mls will run you $160.00.
Overall: While I can appreciate this beauty, I myself did not purchase a full bottle because of how it lays on my skin. You can definitely tell that high-quality ingredients went into the craftsmanship of this unique scent. If you are a lover of sweet/floral/animalic/hay type scents this is definitely worth a try, or if you like to have a collection of unique fragrances this is one to add!
Tabac Tabou by Parfum d'Empire
Pros
- Quality ingredients used.
- Beautifully blended, notes could have easily gone wrong.
- Can hold up in cold weather.
- Unique fragrance- very unlikely that you will run into someone wearing this.
Cons
- This is not a safe blind buy!!!
- Can easily smell like urine/sour on some skin types.