My quick updated impressions on a few…although I think I only tried Rosenthal when I previously posted:
Mown – a sweet yet dry hay, orris, and dried fruit scent. Dried fruits are subtle and not syrupy or overly sweet, and they pair well with the low-key champaca note, creating an interesting accord. Strikes me as sharing some similarities to Imaginary Authors O’Unknown in the drydown (sweet orris and a dry hay note). I like this. I don’t really get much in the way of tobacco, maybe just a whiff of a freshly opened pack of a Camel filters, which I think smell delicious…until they are lit. Definitely not that sweet tobacco from Pure Havane or B2B or anything, not lit tobacco either.
It feels like the most well-edited composition to me. Probably my second favorite next to Rosenthal. Seems pretty linear to me, which is fine. My sample dates to when it first came out and is a transparent greenish color. The juice Hendley currently has for sale is deep brown and nearly opaque. He does release things as “2017/2018/whatever year batch” so maybe the current batch has been tweaked and smells more like tobacco.
Amora – a sweet, fruity, red berry (strawberry, seems like) and floral (rose) scent. The rose is rather dominated by the syrupy fruits for me, and while it does create a jammy rose accord, I wish there was a little more balance…okay, I wish there was less fruit, less sweetness. I did wait 3 hours to see if it developed into something I liked but this not for me, and off it came. I can’t really speak to whether its decent for the genre, because I strongly dislike wearing this style of fragrance in general- that said, I could probably think this might smell great (with a light application) on a woman. It’s in the style of “happy teenager fruity floral” but with enough grown up elements (…intangibles I guess, since I can’t put word to them) to make it not seem cheap and dumb.
This smelled much better on paper than it did on me.
Jade – a bracing, fresh, minty, carnation scent with a touch of a vegetal element. Aromatic spices in the drydown, I get an astringent, clovey star anise clear as day at some points. The opening is quite potent and a little jarring at first, not sharp but more angular, if that makes sense. While fresh and minty, I wouldn’t call it clean. It’s not dirty either, but it’s definitely not clean. Later in the drydown, it kind of collapses in on itself and becomes one basic accord – although I do find it somewhat interesting. Kind of like a sea foam green (or the color of mint chocolate chip ice cream) colored balloon deflated into a pool of scent on my arm. Not a bad release and it grabbed my attention, but the opening is aces compared to the drydown.
Overall I enjoy sampling these, but don’t see myself with bottles of any at this time. **October edit – within two months of this post, I bought Mown. Some of these really grew on me** Maybe one of the 9ml travel sprays, priced at $18 (for Amora), $28 (Mown, Rosenthal, Blonde, Fume, Jade) and $48 (Bourbon). My feelings about Amora is more a statement on my distaste for that style than on the skill of Hendley. Based on everything else of his I’ve tried, I think he’s got solid skills perfumer with a mix of creative ideas but an appreciation for “simply smelling good”.
What I like about Hendley as a house is that unlike some other indie perfumers, he doesn’t seem like he’s trying to win anyone over with weird loud esoteric crazy shit. He makes perfumes that seem like they are simply meant to be pleasurable to wear, but bring something new to the table. Don’t get me wrong, I love trying weird crazy shit (key word “trying” – I rarely buy them). They seem focused and honed and just easygoing. Mown is really cozy, as it Rosenthal. The materials seem decent and the resulting perfumes (aside from Amora, but that’s just me) are admirable. I’m guaranteed to sample any and all subsequent releases.
I don’t think so at all, personally. They both smell like shades of brown to me, but really not much in the way of any similar notes or overall feel or anything. Mown is great but I much prefer Sova, it’s probably my favorites of Josh’s releases. Some think Fume is similar to Norne. I’ll give my take on that once the samples make their way to me.
