Being an incense obsessive myself, it's important to note that while there's a loose parallel with the sticks you light at home, incense colognes are far more malleable and dimensional. On the skin, incense becomes an atmosphere built from resins and woods that shifts and evolves with your chemistry as it diffuses throughout the day.
I love a good candle, but I'm not very good at burning them correctly. Even when I follow all of the instructions, I still end up with tunneled candles that are unusable halfway through their burn life. That's why I was so excited when I tried out the Dark Cypress candle from San Soli - it's the first candle I've ever been able to burn all the way to the end, and the scent is right up my alley.
Ralph Lauren Polo Blue Eau de Toilette Here's a classic worn snagging on sale. The mingling of washed suede accord, fruity cantaloupe melon, and fresh herb notes of sage, basil, and verbena is fresh and youthful on the initial spritz but grounded and mature on the dry down.
The sandalwood in the middle note of this very woody fragrance acts as a smooth, warm bridge between the floral top note and the wood-heavy base. The warm sandalwood is a subtle temper to the more distinctive rosewood and cedar, but is a welcome addition, along with white musk, to turn what could be a lot of wood into something more wearable. It's the thinking man's wood fragrance.
I'm not convinced that Santal 33 is the ideal perfume choice for fall. Dozens of TikTok videos and Instagram posts will tell you just that. The product and Le Labo, the luxury fragrance brand that makes it, have a cult-following. I'm not part of that group. I tried the unisex fragrance last year and found it to be sharp, overpowering, and reminiscent of pickle juice.