Hey there A Bottled Rose, It’s a Mood Scent 4 week. WOO HOO! This month the crew are looking at Unsung Heroes. Yes, those under the radar beauties that feel like we are the ONLY people on earth who love them. They rarely get chattered about on the scentbloggosphere, don’t come up in frag nerd conversations and you never see their names and pics in SOTD threads. We all have a few of them. Maybe we bought it blind, it came in a group from a yard sale, spritzed somewhere and fell madly in love, or maybe it’s just a few years old and seems to be forgotten. Doesn’t matter why it’s not being talked about, now is your chance to tell us some secret loves you’ve been keeping to yourself. SHHH! We won’t tell.

Obviously, these choices are subject to change, daily.

Can’t wait to read about your favourite Unsung Heroes perfumes in the comments too.

So excited to be blogging with these three superstars again: Esperanza L’Esperessence, Megan Megan In Sainte Maxime and Samantha I Scent You A Day. Check theirs out too.

Mood Scent 4: Unsung Heroes

Boronia by Grandiflora

Boronia is happily weird. Based on an Australian flowering shrub that has a distinctive scent as you rub against it walking through the bush. It is also available to grow in suburban gardens but Mum and I never had any luck with them. I’m not sure why this fragrance never got any love but I think it may have something to do with the new bottles and labels which look cheap and shit. The brand downgraded from elegantly beautiful packaging to boring, ugly and poorly thought out. Seriously, I can’t think of anyone who would display this current flaccon proudly. The fragrance though is brilliant. Quite dark and woody but with the amazingly Aussie herbaceousness floating effortlessly above it. Floral but not as you know it.

Batucada by L’Artisan Parfumeur

Batucada is a substyle of samba and refers to an African-influenced Brazilian percussive style. One of its opening notes Cachaça is a distilled rum like spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. The fragrance Batucada is fresh and boozy. It smells like a cross between a lethal cocktail and a pine/lime ice cream. It’s tropical heart is very nights out dancing after days on beaches, and it even has a sting of salt. For something so sheer it has remarkable longevity and keeps softly but insistently pumping the holiday vibes for more than half the day. Such a lush fragrance should be a huge hit with perfumistas, especially how freaking unusual it is but so wearable. A perfect change for those that love their coconut/citrus/sandalwood/white floral extrvaganzas for summer. Why isn’t half the world drenched in Batucada all summer long?

Isle of Man by P Frapin Co

Recreating dreams of a motor bike ride around the Isle of Man, this is the scent of freedom. Herbs and grasses, cool salt winds, a little bit of motor oil and bike exhaust, the warm, slightly stake head and hair smell of a bike helmet and the warm human leather of a vintage bike jacket. Hints of all this and even the smoke from a beach bonfire at the end of the day. Isle of Man is so good to me, even though I think the fragrance collapses a little at the end. Such a wonderful opening and heart tops a slightly generic base. Still, it feels generic because it’s a simple good smell that goes to make up quite a lot of the bases of modern niche. I like the way it hums softly after the fireworks are done, it doesn’t distract, it’s calm and it will stay that ay till you shower. The opening hour or so though, is spectacular, such a wonderful ride.

Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d’Orange

When it came out we could think and talk of little else. Tom of Finland’s outrageously sexual imagery made into a fragrance? OMG! It wasn’t the screaming sexual powerhouse we all expected. Not even close.
What it does smell like to me is, or maybe just my imagination playing along with the copy, a freshly showered man about to get dressed into his jean shorts, well loved leather chaps and white singlet. He’s a fine looking dude and ready to party.
So it’s a skin scent with a soft focus leather and some functional fragrance type florals.
Totally unisex, wears softly, smells great and has this huge wealth of history attached to the name.

Tubereuse Couture by Parfumerie Gemerale

Gasoline, green, stemmy, tart citrus juicy, tuberose that is cool and frosty on open. A magnificent assault that never overwhelms but feels like it should be. A few years ago Gaia from The Non-Blond reviewed it saying its medicinal/tropical vibe was a revelation to someone who is not usually a tuberose aficionado. She smells sugar and I smell hints of the famous Fracas bubblegum accord. One of the things I love about fragrance is that it is open to every interpretation because we are all referencing our own histories and scent memories. I do agree that Tubereuse Couture has a very milky disposition through the heart, it feels more fig than coconut to me. One thing I don’t understand is why it isn’t one of Pierre Guillaume’s best sellers. It is a seriously lovely fragrance that should be better known.

Un Jour d’Eté by Keiko Mecheri

Another tropical destination perfume. Un Jour d’ere must be selling OK because it’s still in the pared down lineup but this 2012 released beauty is never talked about anymore. It’s a crying shame too because I think it fits its niche perfectly as a floral freshie. I have talked about this beauty a lot over the years but I seem to be the only one. It came as one of the samples in my very first LuckyScent pack back in 2012 and I fell madly in love from first sniff. Coconut, ambergris, citrus and creamy white flowers give a unique twist to the tropical genre, a little more animalic and sensual. Very sophisticated for its type.

Don’t forget to go across and read the other three members of the Mood Scent 4 crew:
Esperanza L’Esperessence
Megan Megan In Sainte Maxime
Samantha I Scent You A Day.

So what are your favourite Unsung Heroes fragrances, and why?
Portia xx