u/ItDepends27

i keep wanting that expensive/cozy/soft luxury vibe, but in actual heat a lot of sweet scents turn on me fast. i’ve been testing on the sleeve of a light cotton shirt because paper strips keep lying to me in warm weather, and it’s been way more useful: 1 spray on fabric, 1 on skin, then i check at 30 min / 2 hr / 4 hr. the pattern so far is marshmallow-gourmands can project better early but get sticky in humidity by hour 2, while rose-musk and tea-florals usually wear closer yet stay prettier longer. creamy woods are the wildcard on me: either cashmere goddess or sunscreen cabinet.

so now i’m trying to figure out my best warm-weather “soft luxury” lane. like, do i stop chasing fluffy vanilla and go rose-musk a la Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land, or are there tea/floral or creamy-wood scents that still feel plush without going flat? if you have recs, would love them sorted loosely by scent family + budget + how they behave in humidity. affordable, mid, higher-end, all welcome.

also curious about polished Middle Eastern/Arabian options that feel refined rather than loud - Ajmal, Afnan, Lattafa type territory, and i’ve been browsing RiiFFS too. side note, fragrance discovery is getting so noisy lately with beauty brands spreading across more retail channels too

someone told me this two years ago and it completely changed my approach.

in the store everything smells good. the opening is designed to impress. the sales environment is designed to make you buy. your brain is in acquisition mode not evaluation mode. every purchase you make in that state is based on the least important phase of the fragrance.

the true fragrance is what happens two hours later. four hours later. the next morning on your clothes. that is what you are actually going to live with. that is what other people are going to smell on you. the opening is gone in thirty minutes.

started requesting samples or buying decants and wearing things for a full day before deciding. my hit rate went from maybe fifty percent to closer to ninety.

the fragrances that won under the new system were consistently ones with strong bases. Riiffs Momento. Lattafa Teriaq Intense. Rasasi pieces with resinous amber foundations. the ones that lost were all opening heavy fragrances that dissolved into nothing by lunch.

I have watched many anime over the years and recently realized that I like the side/supporting characters (e.g., (Veldora from Tensura, Volg from Hajime no Ippo, Laxus from Fairy Tail, Primo from Hitman Reborn, Minato from Naruto Shippuden, Theron from New Saga, Urahara from Bleach, Fuji from Prince of Tennis, etc.) and ships (Shu x Ruri from Nisekoi, Satoshi x Mayaka from Hyouka, etc.) more than the main ones. I'm not hating on the main protagonists or trying to debate with anyone but supporting characters are much more interesting for me. I think Jaden Yuki from Yu-Gi-Oh GX is the only main character that I prefer over a side character in a series. Anyone relate?

Can anyone recommend UNDERRATED sword-magic manga with a medieval setting? Please don't recommend the famous ones like Berserk, Black Clover, etc. Thanks in advance!