Plutonic Rainbows

Albums 2020

Short list this year - not reflective of the number of releases or their quality. I just wanted to concentrate on what I truly enjoyed. These are in no order. Often, they are difficult listening but also sometimes haunting and yet life-affirming too.

  • Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
  • Votel, Canty & Shipton - Popular Mechanics 4
  • Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
  • Blod - Livets Ord
  • Yellow Swans - Going Places

Xerjoff Alexandria II

Trying out this fragrance for a couple of days now. I bought the first sample some weeks back and felt unsure about it. Now I'm starting to get into it more. It does have a rather addictive quality that sort of creeps up on you.

There is a lot of lavender in the opening. Some apple and a few other rather gorgeous things going on that make it feel regal and expensive smelling.

Is it worth the money? No, absolutely not.

But is it worth it for you? That's an entirely different question that only you can answer.

Nishane Ani

Spectacular winter fragrance featuring vanilla and ginger. Incredibly rich and opulent. A lovely fresh opening that has blackcurrant and bergamot. It leads on to a creamy ginger. Great sillage and longevity. It's expensive but if you love vanilla, this fragrance is for you

JFK Airport

Waiting for a fragrance. Currently at JFK Airport.

MFK Amyris Homme Extrait de Parfum

Superb. A man absolutely cannot go wrong with this. A super-sexy scent, to say the least. Projection and longevity are very good on me.

At times, it does remind me of Chanel Allure Home Sport but then you get whiffs of other things that set it apart. I suppose I'd say it's like a better blended Allure Sport but with higher quality ingredients. It evolves very nicely as time passes.

The ingredients in this fabulous composition are:

Top Notes:

  • Mandarin oil from Sicily.
  • Cinnamon oil from Ceylon.

Middle Notes:

  • Saffron Accord.
  • Iris oil from Florence.

Base Notes:

  • Amyris from the Caribbean.
  • Vanilla accord.
  • Tonka beans absolute from Brazil.

For me, this is one of those scents that make you keep smelling your wrist. Very addictive indeed. I think this would be extremely attractive to a woman of any age.

The only downside is the cost. No matter how you look at it, £245 for a 70ml bottle is something you should consider buying only very carefully. However, I think with Maison Francis Kurkdjian, you do get what you pay for. It's mainly the quality of the ingredients.

Also, this is a very versatile scent which helps you justify the high price. You'd certainly get the wear out of it.

A superb entry into niche quality while retaining a few designer sensibilities.

Final thoughts:

  • Don't think of this as an Allure clone. I only mentioned the Chanel as a point of reference. Maybe it's the Tonka in the base. Some days, it only faintly reminds me of that fragrance. It is still very much it's own thing.

  • Get a sample first. You should probably be doing that for any expensive fragrance you are thinking of buying.