Best November by CB I Hate Perfume Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

***

An intense, smoky herbal blend that, like all of Anna's creations, will transport you to an imaginary landscape.

It's inspired by Cossacks, the soldier-farmers who live in the steppes in the south of Russia, accomplished horsemen guarding the borders since the days of Catherine the Great.

You are welcome to devise your own story, but here at Bloom, we imagine a young Cossack resting among haystacks and wild herbs, smoking his clay pipe while contemplating the starry sky. His friends are sitting by the open fire nearby. Smoke is wafting through wild thyme and wormwood.

Starring

(these fragrant materials reanacted the Young Cossack story):

galbanum CO2 extract
artemisia annia essential oil
artemisia absinthium essential oil
immortel absolute
Seville lavender abs
thyme essential oil
tarragon essential oil
davana essential oil
guayak wood essential oil.
rose de May absolute
Morrocan rose  absolute
cumin CO2 extract
frankincense absolute
petitgrain essential oil
geranium leaves absolute
myrth essential oil
costus absolute
oakmoss absolute
patchouli essential oil
labdanum absolute
tabacco absolute
tonka bean absolute
agarwood essential oil
vetiver essential oil
castoreum tinctura

Important notice:

Anna Zworykina’s blends are olfactive smellscapes (but neither aromatherapy, nor ‘spray-and-go’ perfumes). Her blends are sensory experiences, closer to works of art created in the scented plane (rather than, say, visual or audio).

Certain essential oils and absolutes that are used in her 100% natural perfumes may potentially cause allergies in some people. Please spray Anna Zworykina’s blends on fabric (on sleeves, scarves, etc.). This said, Anna Zworykina has acquired a huge fan base over many years and people interacted with her blends for quite a while now. We are not aware of any reports of any skin reactions so far.

However, Anna advises that those who are prone to allergic reactions, pregnant and nursing women, as well as people with chronic illnesses to be extra careful. Before trying natural blends, study the list of ingredients and consult with a doctor if you are not sure or a had a history of allergies. If you do decide to put these blends on your skin (unable to resist the temptation) always test the blend on the inside part of your elbow first and wait.

Do not spray these blends liberally as a cloud in the way you would spray a conventional perfume. Anna’s smellscapes need to be… carefully applied and experienced. Be mindful that some oils can also make your skin hyper-sensitive to UV.

An ode to the Normandy countryside. Linden blossoms, fresh apple, sweet almond, radiant jasmine. Soft musk and suede. A golden sap of dried hay and ripe wheat evokes the pastures. And outside the farmhouse, sun-dried linens flutter on the line. All is well.

The perfumer: Prin Lomros (also the creator behind PRIN, Prissana and Strangers.)

The story: chillin in a mossy rainforest.

Sloth is beautifully slow green perfume. The formula is lazily climbing from the dark green of moss, hay and in the base – up – towards bright green of marigold and herbs in the top.

In the silence of the Alpine peaks, the scent of juniper berries rises, sharp and fresh, over the crisp bite of winter air. Pine trees stand tall, their resinous warmth mingling with the cold, while the soft whisper of sun-dried hay carries a hint of summer pastures. This fragrance echoes the wild contrast of the mountains, where the chill of snow meets the quiet warmth of the earth.

This woman is on a journey, a quest to discover the answer to that eternal mystery – where is love? She peels away the layers of her private needs, her personal longings. She follows an instinctive path, to that place where now meets then, and she recognizes that the answer was there all along. And how does it feel, to find the scent that brings you home? Like this.

After the first rains of autumn, the woods exhale salubrious scents of peat, moss and petrichor — the ideal antidote to the scorching summer heat. Chypre-Mousse was first launched in 1914 for the dandies of the new century, and this iteration reinterprets a classic fougere with contemporary materials. This explosively aromatic blend hums with wild mint and fennel in a swirl of earthy oak moss, peppery green angelica and fresh pine. Bring the outdoors in with Chypre-Mousse.

Perfumer: Hugo Lambert

The lone wolf roams the forest at twilight. Strong and resilient in the face of cold, crisp and hostile woods. Vetiver and pine evoke the dark green atmosphere, whilst plums and davana allude to the spicy energetic power of the wolf. Cedarwood and pepper are beautifully balanced with leather, with tonka beans adding a herbaceous bitter richness to the fragrance. This original EdP version offers a leaner, more frankincense-forward iteration to the bass-heavy extrait treatment.

An emphasis on amber and leather in this extrait version of the original EdP renders this Wolf darker and more dangerous. The higher perfume oil content means that the shadings of vetiver, pine and oakmoss are richer and deeper. The dark sparkle of cardamom holds its ground, providing a tantalising chiaroscuro to this sumptuous composition.

Year: 1986
Place: Los Angeles
Palm trees, a wild sweet breeze, fortunes told, green tea leaves, naked hips, Freudian slips, loose lips, sandalwood embers in warm amber sunsets, a city of angels with no angels, a haven for heathens, cowboys and nymphos.

From LO’s Parfum Intense collection, this is an amber with the darkness turned up to 11. There’s no white space here, just expensive raw materials piled high. Its vibrant opening with fruity notes is enriched by the bitterness of coffee, deepening into a powerful chorus of rose, iris, jasmine and lily of the valley. And this valley is a deep one, a soft black expanse of leather, nagarmotha and patchouli, cushioned by a dirtier-than-usual amber.