Tag: january scent project

Vaporocindro by January Scent Project

June 19, 2019

Notes: lilac, green leaves, green apple, turmeric, black pepper, narcissus, mahogany, agarwood, black currant, cumin, coffee, sandalwood, and ambergris.

Vaporocindro was the first scent I sniffed out of the January Scent Project discovery set and it’s the one I personally connect with the most. I’ve waited to write about it because I want to do right by this scent. The word “vapor” is in the title and this scent is fittingly airy and fleeting. It can smell a bit amorphous at times, hard to pin down. Other times, the notes come through stark and clear: green leaves and black pepper. Like the other JSP compositions from John Biebel, Vaporocindro is a bit of an oddity, but lovely in its uniqueness.

Vaporocindro opens with a crisp and stark green leaf note. This opening reminds me of two compositions by Olivia Giacobetti: the green fig leaves of Philosykos and the herbaceous green of En Passant. I don’t get a fruity fig from Vaporocindro, but there is a tart fruity note. I wouldn’t have identified it specifically as green apple without looking at the notes, but it’s a pleasant tart accord that rounds out the vibrant green opening.

Then the lilac comes in and brings with it both a heady floral aspect and a black pepper spiced facet. I have not smelled a floral accord done quite like this one. It’s substantial — you can clearly sense it. And yet, it’s fleeting, hard to catch hold of, and hard to define. The sillage at this point is a pleasant cloud, and it seems to reinforce Vaporocindro’s airy-fairy nature.

The base notes soon become apparent to help anchor the composition. The ambergris is subdued on my skin, but it does its job as a fixative to keep the composition going. I sense the mahogany note as a deep woody note, close to cedar. I also get incense-like wisps of a black pepper-spiced smoke. I wish I got the coffee note, but I can’t sense it anywhere on my skin. The sandalwood is truly the dry down and the final traces of Vaporocindro on my skin.

If this is all sounding quite floral and girly, it’s really not. I think Vaporocindro would smell very compelling on a man. (And, remember, fragrance has no gender!) However, there is something fairy tale-esque about it. Maybe it’s the “cindro” in the name that makes me think of Cinderella. And the overall airy quality makes the composition feel quite dreamy. I love to wear Vaporocindro in the evenings, when I’m winding down from the day, and I have the free time to sit down with a book and use my imagination.

Thus far, Vaporocindro is the fragrance from January Scent Project where I can see myself springing for a full bottle. (Although I am on my full bottle low buy!) It’s the one I can see myself wearing often and truly being in the mood for it every single wearing.

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I ordered the JSP discovery kit directly from the brand’s website. Nothing in this post was gifted or sponsored.

The list of notes is via Fragrantica.

The photo of my sample and mini Vaporocindro retro artwork was taken by me.

Selperniku by January Scent Project

May 1, 2019

Notes: petitgrain, cypress, lemon, apricot, immortelle, butter, cardamom, chamomile, juniper berries, sandalwood, milk, salt, and tobacco leaf.

Selperniku was the first sample I sprayed when I got my January Scent Project sample kit. Even on the JSP paper test strip, it smelled so strange at first sniff! I was both put off and intrigued at the same time. Just looking at the list of notes, you can tell this is not your typical crowd-pleasing scent. It would never be a mainstream designer release. Scents like Selperniku make me so happy and grateful for the indie perfume scene, because smelling Selperniku is really an experience.

I get that dairy/butter smell right away in the opening. This is not buttery as in creamy (like the way we would describe a buttery Chardonnay). This is real butter. To me, it smells like Kerrygold butter. It’s salty as well, and I can actually visualize the sea salt sitting atop a pat of perfectly yellow butter. I have to say, wearing butter as a scent is extremely odd. It’s distinctly different from wearing a scent with a creamy or milky note (I have Jo Malone’s Sweet Milk cologne, for example). Selperniku is not almondy or powdery, which is the route many milky scents take.

The composition begins to develop on my skin after about an hour into wear time. This is where I feel I can actually wear this scent, rather than feeling as though butter is wearing me! All of a sudden, Selperniku is aromatic. I sense green cypress, zingy cardamom, and a slightly bitter petitgrain. This is where Selperniku radiates a little bit off my skin and I get some projection. This part of the composition really balances out the butter opening, which is rather dense. I appreciate the balance.

The apricot note appears around 3 hours into wear and anchors the composition for the rest of wear time. I also have a sample of Vaporocindro from January Scent Project, and I smell a bit of Vaporocindro here, right at the mid way point. The tipping point from the aromatic green cypress over into the apricot smells like Vaporocindro to me. I’m not sure exactly why, because those notes don’t overlap between the two scents, but I’ve gotten that sensation multiple times now. The main thing is that like picking out connections between different scents from the same perfumer and the same brand. It makes the brand feel cohesive.

Selperniku lasts around 6 hours on my skin. I’ve discovered that it lasts much longer on my clothes and my PJs in particular. Luckily my PJs don’t smell like butter! Rather, the last vestiges of Selperniku smell like faintly sweet apricot and something slightly herbal. Perhaps the chamomile note? It’s strangely comforting. On my skin, a milky dairy note comes back during the dry down, however, it’s not butter. It’s much more like a typical creamy milk note. I have a milky serum from Kypris that I use on my face. The texture of Selperniku’s base is exactly like this serum: milky, substantial, but not too dense. And even though the apricot note is still there, it’s not gourmand at all. It’s such a fascinating composition.

I wouldn’t wear Selperniku every day. I don’t think it’s intended to be that type of eminently wearable scent that you can find at any Macy’s counter. Selperniku is something else. And yet, it is also wearable! With notes of butter and salt, it’s remarkably wearable on the skin. Like haute couture, Selperniku is a piece of art that you can wear. I will say, this scent more than any other scent I’ve tried recently, absolutely must be sampled. Do *not* blind buy! I can imagine the butter note coming across very differently according to skin chemistry. Luckily, John Biebel makes it easy with the sample kit.

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As I’ve stated, my Selperniku sample is part of the JSP sample kit that I ordered a couple of months ago.

The list of notes is via Fragrantica.

The photo of my sample and John Biebel’s Selperniku mini art poster was taken by me.

Smolderose by January Scent Project

April 3, 2019

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Notes: Damask rose, bergamot, saffron, roasted seashells, frankincense, elder flower, patchouli, cade, agarwood, and labdanum.

I feel a bit embarrassed that I’ve been into perfumery for so many years now, yet I’m only now trying January Scent Project. What took me so long?! This is one of the really creative indie houses out there right now. John Biebel is the perfumer. He also creates artwork for each of his scents. You can see the mini retro poster for Smolderose in the photo! I ordered the January Scent Project discovery set back in February and I’ve had such a fun time trying all the different scents. Smolderose is one that stood out to me right away. It’s floral, and yet has so much depth. It was a perfect scent to wear during this past winter.

Smolderose opens, of course, with the Damask rose. This is a crisp and clear rose. I actually get the frankincense here in the opening as well. It wafts and weaves its way around the rose. The scent is so clear and vibrant that I can practically visualize incense smoke curling in tendrils around a rose in a vase. It’s quite stunning. I also get a hint of bergamot to add more vibrancy. Overall, it’s a well-balanced opening. It has a prettiness to it and there’s enough depth with the incense to really grab your attention.

Smolderose develops in even more interesting ways from here. One note that stood out to me when I first glanced at the list of notes is the roasted seashells. I can’t say that I’ve ever encountered that before! As Smolderose wears and settles into my skin, I smell something a little salty mingling with the rose. It doesn’t smell like a seashell to me, but more like being at a clambake! This sounds quite strange from a rose fragrance, but it somehow works. There’s a texture to this seashell note. I can sense something fleshy, like the meat of clams or mussels. It’s absolutely fascinating and it mixes shockingly well with the rose note. It works for me because the rose remains quite crisp and pretty. It doesn’t develop into a full-bodied floral, which actually works here. In this case, that funny clambake texture adds the full-bodied fleshy aspect. And the salty roasted accord blends into the frankincense, patchouli, and cade of the base.

The dry down is definitely a smoky/earthy accord on me. The patchouli runs very earthy here. I was afraid the cade might turn a little too smoky and birch tar-esque, but it sits just on the edge of wearable for me. I tested Smolderose alongside Tauerville Rose Flash just for a fun little wear test. This really brought the more earthy aspect of Smolderose’s dry down into relief. Smolderose also held up really well in terms of longevity. Rose Flash is one of the longest lasting scents I’ve tried recently, but I still get a very respectable 8-9 hours from Smolderose.

I can’t wait to write about more of the JSP scents from the discovery kit. One of my issues with discovery sets in general is that they can be overwhelming. I usually like to try 3-4 scents at a time. Any more than that and I can’t properly concentrate on the scents! I chose to focus on Smolderose and give it several good wear tests before writing about it. This just means that it will take me more time to write about some of the other scents. But overall, the discovery kit is well worth it if you’re interested in trying out this house! Smolderose stands out for me as a creative way to showcase rose. It’s also a beautifully balanced composition, which I always appreciate when evaluating scents.

What have you all tried from January Scent Project?

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I ordered the JSP discovery set directly from January Scent Project. Smolderose is available as an individual sample, a 30 ml EDP, a 100 ml EDP, and a perfume oil. Personally, I really appreciate the options! There’s truly an option to suit everyone. I’d love to try Smolderose in the oil format.

The info on notes is via January Scent Project.

The photo of my sample + mini artwork was taken by me.