The Uncompromising Sohan Penhaligon's
The meaning of Sohan is—good looking or handsome. Perhaps this is how one feels when wearing this great creation from Penhaligon's. This one is so many things—it’s so fabulous! I have this one as being my #2 favorite. Rose and Laotian Oud and Rose, do I need to say more? Two of my favorite natural ingredients, one of them unfortunately is pricey $$$. I do aroma therapy at home, and Oud/agarwood is what eventually piqued my interest in to perfumery. I haven’t experienced all the many types of Ouds out there, but the one’s I’ve tried - I’ve loved. Oud to me, is just the right amount of barnyard scent. It reminds me of the country and pastures. You can probably imagine my general local on the map. Oud is very calming and therapeutical; and yet it can be shockingly-sensual and arousing by itself, or when combined with other aromatic material. Fantastic stuff!!
So, in the top notes you have rose, saffron, and pink pepper. Saffron is another favorite scent of mine. The natural ingredient is also quite hefty in cost but quite worth the olfactory rewards. Saffron is earthy and so naturally smelling-beautiful, indeed. The spiciness of pink pepper works to compliment the rose and saffron so well here.
Then you have Vetiver and Labdanum in the heart notes. What a great combination to bridge into the base notes of Laotian Oud and Sandalwood. The calming of Vetiver and powerful, sweet, and balsamic Labdanum. Labdanum alone has an ambergris-like back note that stays throughout the dry down. There are moments when the Laotian Oud shines through at its finest in this scent. That’s the most beautiful scent-mildly, but perfectly animalic to my olfactory senses.
It's a great fall, winter, & early-spring fragrance. Oud is something you can’t wear every day—it just to potent, but maybe some people disagree? I see Oud scents as a treasure, a treat; perhaps, something to look forward to wearing.
Anyway, a quick story about giving fragrances a chance. My #1 fragrance I like today is Tom Ford, Oud Minérale. Some of you may know that if you smell this one on a fragrance testing strip it smells badly—there’s no way around it. It just does not smell good on test paper, PERIOD. So, I was disappointed because I was sure I’d like it because I like Tom Ford, and I was fond of the notes in Oud Minérale. I went back to the perfume store that sold this brand and tried it on my skin this time. It was a different experience entirely, but I still wasn’t sold because of such a huge disagreement we had on the test strip the first time. I walked around in the store and picked up other items I needed. While doing so I kept smelling my wrist becoming more infatuated with this scent. On the way to check out, I grabbed a 30 ml bottle of Oud Minérale. I wanted to play it safe in case I changed my mind; Afterall, not long ago I couldn’t stand it on a test strip. Driving home, I became more infatuated with this fantastic, odd juice that everyone skips around on. I got home and waited a while, then went back to purchase a larger bottle because they no longer make Oud Minérale and it’s quite difficult to find and $$. My point is its funny how things turn out. Sometimes you need to give things a chance and evaluate them further. Perfume means many different things to people. It’s definitely a journey, a story, and it can be very personal as well as sharing. I find it peaceful for me, helping me with anxiety and PTSD—it’s a constant battle. It’s also much more than that, sometimes, more than words. Here’s to fragrances & scents!
