Ionde
Reviews
Ionde
Expectedly (and unexpectedly) familiar
This is the second time ever I blind-bought a perfume, and the first time it didn't backfire. I tend to learn from mistakes but 60€ for a brand-new 30ml bottle was just too good to resist.
Olfactory memory is a powerful thing, I've smelled the sprayer a couple of times before, and it always gave me a deja vu of overcast days around upscale cafes and shops. I was surprised to read that people regard Oud Wood as a daily/office scent. I could smell this on a professional, always on the move on a cold day, wanting to leave an impression beyond his suit and tie but I wouldn't wanna be in the same office with someone who over-sprays.
Opening ranges from bitter-spicy to sweet-woody at times, at first spray the memory persisted, it brought up the same feel of a well-dressed professional at work, which I would credit to Sandalwood and vetiver accords forming the bases of multiple scents used in such occasions.
Then it slowly evolves to such a well-blended combination of wood and spice that it could pass off as chocolate. Some websites list Vanilla in the notes, I wouldn't go that far. The spice is the last to leave my skin after 6 hours of solid projection, still detectable at 8, and complete skin scent after 10.
A surprise came in the morning of the first week of testing, a full 14 hours after application when I could still detect a green scent reminiscent of blv pour homme. Granted during COVID times I must have washed my hands multiple times in-between.
Overall Oud Wood is the definition of a crowd-pleasing scent, you’d hardly find someone who finds it offensive. It is long-lasting and has a projection good enough to be overbearing at multiple sprays.
Olfactory memory is a powerful thing, I've smelled the sprayer a couple of times before, and it always gave me a deja vu of overcast days around upscale cafes and shops. I was surprised to read that people regard Oud Wood as a daily/office scent. I could smell this on a professional, always on the move on a cold day, wanting to leave an impression beyond his suit and tie but I wouldn't wanna be in the same office with someone who over-sprays.
Opening ranges from bitter-spicy to sweet-woody at times, at first spray the memory persisted, it brought up the same feel of a well-dressed professional at work, which I would credit to Sandalwood and vetiver accords forming the bases of multiple scents used in such occasions.
Then it slowly evolves to such a well-blended combination of wood and spice that it could pass off as chocolate. Some websites list Vanilla in the notes, I wouldn't go that far. The spice is the last to leave my skin after 6 hours of solid projection, still detectable at 8, and complete skin scent after 10.
A surprise came in the morning of the first week of testing, a full 14 hours after application when I could still detect a green scent reminiscent of blv pour homme. Granted during COVID times I must have washed my hands multiple times in-between.
Overall Oud Wood is the definition of a crowd-pleasing scent, you’d hardly find someone who finds it offensive. It is long-lasting and has a projection good enough to be overbearing at multiple sprays.
Memories of youth?
I found an almost full bottle of this perfume while preparing to move into another house, it is a backup bottle I was given because I wore this pretty consistently 11-12 years ago. Ravel was an interesting house. Most of its creations are lost to the annals of time though. I eventually decided to use it again and see whether it's similar to what I remember. I don't want to elaborate a lot because It smells different than I remember, probably due to Its age - the juice yellowed out from cyan-like a lot of older perfumes do and it has this ghastly rubbing alcohol smell at first spray. Back then I over-sprayed until content and I stopped wearing it because I started to hate it and have forever associated it with those blunder years.
Notes:
After the pungent start, it follows with a strong floral note accompanied by marine notes.
Then it progresses to a strong floral-vanilla scent that might or might not be affected by age.
It settles after 45 minutes or so towards the synthetic floral-aquatic smell I remember.
Durability:
Back then I clearly remember the scent lingering around me for hours, considering the over-spraying I believe it was pretty average durability. The performance in this bottle now is non-existent, it goes away in less than 2 hours.
Notes:
After the pungent start, it follows with a strong floral note accompanied by marine notes.
Then it progresses to a strong floral-vanilla scent that might or might not be affected by age.
It settles after 45 minutes or so towards the synthetic floral-aquatic smell I remember.
Durability:
Back then I clearly remember the scent lingering around me for hours, considering the over-spraying I believe it was pretty average durability. The performance in this bottle now is non-existent, it goes away in less than 2 hours.
