Fragrance & Visual Kei

[lilliecharlotte]

calling all fragrance likers! if there are any about …
(a semi-revival of the Fragrances topic, but with a bit of a spin)

rather than creating a topic on fragrances that bands have created (e.g. the multiple acchan-involved ones), or ones that they are known to wear, i wanted to have one based on these two questions:

• are there fragrances that remind of you certain bands/bandmen/albums/songs?
• are there ones that you think the member(s) would actually wear?

to kick it off, i have often thought that 黒UNiTE. is very suited to blood curse by nui cobalt. it is a beautiful blend of sickly sweetness, tinged with blood and smoke. it reminds me of the ice pv!
its note, according to their website, are:

sicilian figs, oak-aged bordeaux, tunisian incense, blackcurrant preserves, louisiana pralines, tart dried cherry, a spritz of red grapefruit and smooth sanguine musk.

[zeetabyte]

HELLO!!

For Aki of Sadie, he once used this Samourai one that he says that Asagi of D had used it before.

The perfume should be this brand, but I do remember there are at least two varieties with a similar-looking bottle…

For one of them, at least, the top notes are pink pepper and cedar; the middle notes are jasmine, rose, bergamot and lemon; the base notes are sandalwood and vetiver.

Lately, Aki has also made his fragrance for goods. Regrettably, I swear I remember seeing the kind of ingredients for it, but maybe it was in real life (there was a pre-order form at the venue), and probably no one had been kind enough to write it down obviously on the interwebs what it contains.

which makes me think… I think of him and a few bandmen fitting that woodsy with a kind of fresh, um, idk what’s the word or terminology used for it, but something as refreshing and invigorating as the sea. Probably more invigorating than anything.

[lilliecharlotte]

thank you so much for all the info!

for the samouraï, it doesn’t surprise me that he would wear something with a pink pepper note forward, but i wonder how it would smell with the vetiver dry-down!! basic, but very interesting still <3

fun fact about that fragrance: it is SUPER popular in japan, and as far as i know, it’s discontinued pretty much everywhere else? don’t quote me on that tho. lots of people describe it as both medicinal and playful, so idk how that works.

i had no clue they also sold a fragrance. i too wish there was someone who cared to write it down … frankly, the band should have themselves

i agree tbh, a lot of bandmen definitely fit that profile you mentioned towards the end. the Crispness is something very common to men’s fragrance, plus marine notes!
what are there other specific bandmen you think of with this? (i’m honestly pretty keen on matching them with a specific scent, LOL)

[etrange]

@lilliecharlotte

fun fact about that fragrance: it is SUPER popular in japan

I was a bit shocked because this fragrances are cheap and not so long lasting… absolutely not my type but I think it still ok for men who buy their cosmetics and fragrances in the nearest drugstore
Girls if you read this please buy a good perfumes for your honmei!

[lilliecharlotte]

THANK YOU LMAOOO that’s why i said i am not surprised that he would wear something like this, most would! easy to buy pretty much anywhere as you said. but, it honestly does look like he has the deadstock version which can be better, but i can’t help but view it through the lens of ones like d&g light blue– basic.

[zeetabyte]

I’m pretty sure Aki has since upgraded or uses something better since it’s been a hot minute since that post, but…yes after using various different cheap japanese fragrances the short-lifespan of the fragrances is a big minus…

@etrange

Girls if you read this please buy a good perfumes for your honmei!

TAKING NOTES

Curious, what’s usually given? and is there a fairly common scent/vibe? haha

@lilliecharlotte

what are there other specific bandmen you think of with this?

anybody blue and outdoorsy xD hmmm this is an interesting question. Strangely my head is coming out with a lot of “forest fragrance” bandmen since so many of them go camping…hahahaha. I’ll come back to this thread if i think of specifics!

[etrange]

@zeetabyte

Curious, what’s usually given? and is there a fairly common scent/vibe? haha

Sometimes I think that it would be something opposite that we used to call masculine, like warm vanilla scents, or sweet alcohol… as far I know a guy from dazzling bad is using tom ford’s lost cherry🤔 a bit personal but I like serge lutens fragrances, because they have that unique and mysterious vibe, like an old church or a hospital…

[etrange]

Ah! How could I forget…
Versailles「aesthetic violence」

Set of five different perfumes released by Provence Esthetique. Each fragrance was produced by a member of Versailles and features a small necklace made to be filled with the perfume.

The set includes a bonus DVD featuring an interview with the member who produced the perfume and a digest live video from the event that took place at Shibuya O-EAST on August 31st 2007. The background music of the digest clip is the studio version of Shout & Bites.

[lilliecharlotte]

a dive into hideto matsumoto’s fragrance of choice + what i would recommend him instead…

the common consensus amongst hide enthusiasts is that his cologne of choice was égoïste platinum by chanel. (this, despite being a ‘dive into,’ is cursory, so i do not have the evidence to back it up. oops!) as shown in the image below, it is very aromatic and dry— a less-often seen take on masculinity that tends to be outshined by scents with more gunsmoke and musk. inoffensive and clean, malleable for whatever personality wears it.

i know that a number of visual kei and j-rock musicians wear this as well (rm gackt hyping this up, anybody?). as for hide’s wearing of it, i am not surprised. it’s easygoing, and deeply 90s. i think it smells like what people want class to smell like. other runner-ups for what hide might’ve worn include allure homme by chanel and poison by dior, surprisingly enough. i don’t put much faith in either of those, however.

now, here’s a two-parter. first, here is what i would recommend him:

tiangou by boadicea the victorious is what i believe he would WANT to smell like in his heart of hearts— boozy but with that floral and light angle to it, along with the depth & down-to-earth vibe of leather and smoke. along with that patchouli and saffron, it is an intoxicating scent, and quite expensive. but is it accurate to the man himself?

versus what i think he would actually wear/smell like:

fuoco by jijide is the first thing i thought of when i decided to write this nonsense. hide has this freshness about him, even with all the teasing of hair and elaborate make-up— there is a green and concise vibe, if that makes sense. a fragrance that has the aforementioned AS WELL as both the harsher aspects (esp. as top notes like the smoke) and the sweeter aspects (saffron, clove) is the most obvious of choices.

i’m surprised at how fun writing this was. hopefully someone besides me enjoys <3

[Xayide]

This topic is an interesting read, it’s a shame that it does not come with a small scent sample of every mentioned perfume

@lilliecharlotte

lots of people describe it as both medicinal and playful

I’m really curious about that one - I’m having a hard time imagining a perfume that smells medicinal as pleasant

@etrange

Each fragrance was produced by a member of Versailles and features a small necklace made to be filled with the perfume.

That necklace looks like… well, something I may would have wear if I was a ten years old girl again in the mid 90s.

I don’t know much about men’s perfume as my boyfriend and exes tend to either rarely wear fragrances or only so little of it that you can barely smell it (unfortunately, as a nice perfume is a big turn on for me).

I love perfumes for myself and have a nice collection of fragrances. I use nearly daily a different one, depending on my mood, the occasion and the season.

[lilliecharlotte]

i’m so glad you find it interesting! it was definitely started as an indulgence, hehe. how is it that this technological age has not found a scratch and sniff solution for such predicaments as these?! >_<

that curiosity was the exact reason why i mentioned it! i was tickled by it at first, but i think i do understand— it’s that pink pepper and lemon mix. not the best combo for the sensitive nose-havers…

[lilliecharlotte]

a dive into ‘twilight’ by kamijo…

my favorite track off of his latest EP, it is a deeply sad song. it details the story of a lover that has passed, her spirit seems to seep into all aspects of the protagonist’s life in the form of memories and dreams. he reaches out to her, and he knows that she is gone, yet he begs her to “stay by my side in the twilight.” in a thankfully chronological telling, by the end of the song, he seems to have come to terms with her being gone— “you are not here any longer, but my heart feels lighter.”

僕は歩いている
通り過ぎる想い出の
Flower Shop
君が好きな百合の花は
今日もないみたい

of course, reviews of songs are not why i am here: it’s the fragrances! luckily, this song mentions lilies, seen in the lyrics above (and at the end in english), as the favorite of the lover. therefore, that note will be present in both options i have chosen. let’s begin!

Lily & Spice by Penhaligon’s

pardon the morbidity, but this is what i see the lover as smelling like prior to her passing— at least, in the protagonist’s eyes. there’s a depth there that comes with the patchouli and spiced backgrounds, a warmth. coupled with the intense lily on the initial spray, the middle notes cut through that heady indolic scent that is so integral to how they actually smell! it’s pure elegant lily nonetheless, and not for the faint of heart— right up kamijo’s alley, lol!

Passage d’Enfer by L’Artisan Parfumeur

and this is what her memory smells like, familiar but distant. it’s a deeply somber scent, yet still distinctly separate, unreachable. it creeps up on you until it is all you can smell— but only if you are within forearm’s length. you have to truly get to know the person to understand the way it interacts with their skin. i hate to call a perfume unique, but it really is. every time i smell it, there’s something new to unpack. i think it is a good distorted version of the previous perfume, as the closest approximation the grieving mind could make when the original scent is lost.

I am walking past
the flower shop
of my memories
The lilies you like
They don’t seem to have them today

i believe that no matter the song, album, or era, as long as it’s kamijo-related, all the scents i choose shall be elegant. it would seem wrong otherwise, right?

[Xayide]

I love the way you write about fragrances Your passion for that subject expressed through the elaborate and imaginative way of your descriptions puts a smile on my face and I hope to see more of it in future posts in this topic

It also inspires me to think more differentiated about my favourite scents. I never put much thought in them besides “this one is better suited for summer” or “that one is clearly an evening perfume”

[lilliecharlotte]

WOW, this is so sweet, thank you so much! i am so glad that my passion shines through with these, i have such a fun time researching & writing them :–) this put a smile on MY face!

i so get that, i’ve always been rather esoteric with my perfume choices— focusing on vibes rather than specific day/evening or spring/autumn. but now, i do both, LOL