I’m persnickety when it comes to wearing and sniffing fragrance, so it’s difficult to find one that I can live with on a regular basis, either on myself or on someone in close proximity. Most are either too musky, or too rife with synthetic chemicals, too full-on floral, too sweet and sugary, too reminiscent of a fruit bowl, too scant, too laden with patchouli, too clingy, or too attention-seeking. So when I find one that balances everything I look for in a perfume or a cologne in just the right measure, I feel like shouting its name from the rooftops. In this case, the brand name is Fragrances by A+J – No. 7 – a clean-ingredient unisex blend from Kuwait, ostensibly positioned as for men, but as the Irish Spring soap motto goes, “I like it too!”
Everyone is unique when it comes to how scents interact with the skin, which is one of the many things that makes the world so fascinating. I can admire a perfume on someone else that will smell completely different on me. But I love Fragrances By A & J’s subtle sophistication on both the people around me and on myself. Derived from a combination of Amberwood, Oud, Musk, and Incense, there is something reverent about it, something admirable for its restraint and subtle genius, much like being in an ornate but solemn temple. It’s not so long-lasting that you tire of it, nor is so insubstantial that you have to keep reapplying it. It lasts long enough for you to make an entrance and mingle for a while, but by the end of the night, it will have disappeared along with the lipstick you applied earlier. A great gift for all people who love safe, genuine fragrance.
Find it here.
Price: $130
