u/DEGABGED

I think most of us here strongly suspect that the album is about a breakup, potentially specifically about the time he dated a married girl by accident (as was discussed in a previous post here IIRC, and as strongly hinted in “Hi!”). For “Enjoy” specifically, he said in the AMA that the meaning behind “Enjoy” was quite unbelievable…

Listening to it again, I wonder if it’s about them having sex specifically? The chorus and some of the lines implies a really good feeling (“I can tell this is better than love”, “But I enjoy the feeling”), but others imply some sense of regret (“I’m awake in the dead of the night, it’s just I can tell I better give up”), and even a sense of secrecy (“I’ll tell you you’ve got nothing to fear… I’ll keep it a secret”). As the next song Red Jacket hints, there was also an element of anger at the partner, and there’s bits of it here too (“I’m gonna make you pay for this”)

Moreover, some of the lines seem to imply that this was written from the partner’s POV (“They don’t know how to have fun, so I show them a sip of the sun”), but I’m a bit shaky on that theory.

Anyway, curious to hear the interpretations of other people. One reason I’m still quite shaky on this interpretation is that it feels too obvious. This was just something I noticed while looping the album for like the 25th time or something, and yapped on the train home.

So I broke my “no blind buying” rule when Private Blends’ EOFY sale came and I ended up picking up these 2 :’) they were not available in the outlet I went to, but I have tried and enjoyed Lutfah once in a different outlet, so it wasn’t as much a blind buy. I haven’t macerated or done full wears yet but I have tested both on skin now.

Aariz: clone on Sospiro Vibrato

So I wanted to get Lutfah specifically but wanted to add another one to meet the free delivery quota, so I picked this discounted cheapie. For context, I have not tried Vibrato the OG, but I have tried Tygar clones and Ingenious Ginger. So this was about as blind of a buy as it gets.

This one starts off with that familiar grapefruit as with the Tygar DNA, but then dries down to something floral woody and powdery. Initially I didn’t like it that much, but I kept sniffing my wrist and ended up really liking it. It smells clean in a way that I don’t find a lot of clones are able to get, as the woods I’ve smelled in ME clones tend to stink. On paper the citrus is much more pronounced, but on skin the powdery notes pop out a bit more.

The downside? It’s REALLY weak. I don’t mind non-beast mode stuff but this one goes skin scent almost immediately. I’m hoping this is something maceration improves but for now I can at least overspray it.

Lutfah Light in the Heart: hybrid of PDM Althair and MFK Grand Soir

So a bit of a background: I HATE Althair and its clones, I find the white florals to be screechy and overly sweet. But, I LOVE Grand Soir. The powdery labdanum to ambery drydown is so regal and addicting. I tried Lutfah on paper and remember being impressed by the blend of the 2 DNA’s, so I ended up chasing it again to add to my winter rotation.

Right off the bat I could smell the signature Althair opening, but much less sweet and screechy, and with a bit more of that labdanum spice almost. The mid is where the differences between skin and paper really show. On paper it slowly moves towards a Grand Soir-esque amber, but on my skin it starts to smell burnt, almost like cigarettes. I don’t mind incenses but this just smells off. Luckily it disappears after a while and reaches that amber smell, though leaning a bit smoky still.

Remember what I said about Aariz being weak? This is somehow WEAKER. I had to bury my nose in only a couple hours after. The silver lining is that the atomizers are like hoses so it’s easy enough to overspray, but I don’t really like the feeling of a lot of perfume on your skin.

Verdict

All in all I must say while the quality is there on paper, both scents change quite a bit on skin, and coupled with the poor performance, I must say I’m disappointed with these 2 scents at the moment, but I’m hoping that with maceration it’ll improve on that front. All that said I’d rather have a poor performing good quality scent than the opposite, so I’m at least glad for that. Aariz will be a pretty good spring office scent, but I feel like I may get the OG Vibrato in the future anyway. As for Lutfah, I’ll probably wear it casually and see if I warm up to it or not.

Lesson learned, DO NOT blind buy, lol.

Other scents sampled

I tested a few while I was at Private Blends looking for more perfumes to get:

* FA Aether Extrait - My delivery came with a sample of this. It straight up smells like my hand soap. Quality is good, but no thanks.
* Afnan Lynked Freedom - This started to pop up at the chemists. It smells like the worst versions of YSL MYSLF and Azzaro TMW combined. Nothing against Afnan because I feel like no clone just gets the balance of MYSLF correct.
* SA Enigma of Taif - Really really good rose-oud fragrance, but man I just don’t see myself wearing this LOL
* Zenith Tobacco - Really nice chocolate opening, but kinda fell apart on the drydown which is a shame. I smelled the OG Dior Tobacolor on paper and it gets pretty close, but the quality of the tobacco is much higher in the OG, and that difference is most noticeable in the drydown.

Meaning behind “Enjoy”

New Pickups: Arabiyat Prestige - Lutfah Light in the Heart and Aariz (first impressions + some others)