Kalgoorlie Bud Parfums for men

*Many many thanks to "Sea Elle" for the gift of not one...not two, but TWELVE Bud Parfums sample bottles!!*

BUD Parfums are simply amazing! From the names, to the notes to the actual aromas...this man is truly a genius and an amazing perfumer. Many houses tend to spend more time (and money on raw materials) for their women's versions. Here however, Mr. Jarvis shows just as much (if not more) attention to his male offerings.

Having never been to Australia (but having lived in the Upper Sonoran desert for five years) I was dying to smell rain on the desert again. It comes so infrequently there (sporadically for two weeks during the summer monsoons and one week in the winter, if you are lucky) and there is nothing that smells like those first moist drops as they hit the hot sandy earth and dry air meets wet wind. BUD has caught that scent here and so much more. Kalgoorlie is a dry scent, yet sweet but in an almost dusty way. I detect amber (golden, resiny) behind the woods and the musky grasses. The "spinifex" listed in the description is a grass that grows on the coastal plains and dunes of Australia. The aborigines use the resin (perhaps what my "yank" nose detected as amber) from this grass to repair spears and coat their weapons. The "ochre spice" adds some hints of spiciness, but to my nose this scent is earthy dry, mildly sweet and so very intriguing. I wanted a more "rain-soaked" desert scent at first; this gem is more like the rains have already fallen and the sun has returned to begin to dry them. If there are any flowers here they were dessicated by the scorching sun long ago, and now blow by in a hot outback wind. There is a subtly cool woodiness surrounding this scent as well (many desert trees HOARD their water as rain is scarce, and their bark and branches are often smooth and cool to the touch). There is a sheer muskiness here also, but more of a hint of dankness than anything remotely animalic. Overall, Kalgoorlie is a fragrance that DEFINITELY reminds one of arid lands and stark landscapes; broken here and there with soft plants and sweet winds.

Sillage: very good
Longevity: good
Overall: 4.25/5

It is cool and rainy here in Pennsylvania today, and Kalgoorlie is JUST what I needed. Something comfy and soothing that surrounds the wearer in dry sweetness without being too piquant or spicy and keeps the "chill" at bay. I do not think it is a woody floral musk at all...more of a semi-sweet dry oriental woody with the vaguest hints of musk. Call it what you will, this perfume is simply stunning and I cannot wait to wear the others that I received from my dearest friend in the whole WIDE world!!

;)