I’ve been a Scentbird subscriber for about 4 years, and it has helped me discover some new favorite fragrances.
Two of my core scents, Oriental Lace by Oscar De La Renta (reviewed here) and La Mia Perla by La Perla (reviewed here), I found via Scentbird.
With Scentbird, you can take a survey to help discover the type of scents that would best suit you. Or you can go with their Scent of the Month. Or you can create your own list of scents you want to try. I’ve written about how Scentbird works, but in a nutshell, if you’re a subscriber, you pay $14.95 for a 30 day sample in a spray vial that fits nicely into a Scentbird atomizer. Scentbird has a mix of designer, classic and indie brands, and they seem to be getting more indie and unusual brands as time goes on.
Though I’ve been a long time subscriber, I don’t usually get a scent every month. I often suspend my membership for a few months at a time till I’m in the mood to try a new fragrance. But recently, because Scentbird has broadened their horizons and brought in new options, I have a few scents in my Wish List.
This month, I received Velvet by Commodity Goods.
Commodity is a relatively new fragrance, home and body products brand based in the U.S. It was started in 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs who joined forces with accomplished artisans and perfumers to create a contemporary brand. Their fragrances for men and women come in simple, clean round bottles that look totally modern. The scents come in different collections: White, Black and Platinum. The Black scents are dark, moody and intense, the White scents are bright, fresh and uplifting, and Platinum scents are rich, indulgent and luxurious. They also discontinue scents over time so if you find one you like, maybe buy a second bottle!
Velvet is a new scent from the Black collection, and the full size bottle is black glass.
Created earlier this year, Velvet is a gender-neutral scent, and to me, it definitely contains both masculine and feminine notes. The three key notes are roasted almond, rose petals and black amber. Here’s how Commodity describes the scent:
“Mysterious and elegant, this fragrance evokes the pure indulgence of a soft texture meeting bare skin. Its woody oriental blend is infused with roasted almond, rose petals and black amber.”
Not surprisingly, I selected Velvet to try because it was described as an oriental, gender-neutral scent, my favorite combo.
Here’s how the Master Perfumer Jerome Epinette described the concept of the fragrance he created: “(Rose) is simultaneously dewy fresh and petally soft…I was inspired by the image of vibrant pink Turkish Rose Petals floating gently over a mysterious, dark background of richly warm vanilla and black amber with a delicious touch of roasted almond drifting in the air.”
To me, the initial scent is strong, sweet vanilla, almost candy-like. The dry down has a bit of a masculine sharpness that I wish I could identify better that makes the scent much more interesting than the top notes – perhaps it’s the woodiness. Other notes associated with Velvet by Commodity are coconut nectar, heliotrope, birch, rose petals, white woods, and cloves.
Although I wear any scent at any time, I think Velvet would traditionally be considered a scent for evening and for autumn and winter. It could definitely be described as a heavy-ish scent, but it’s not overpowering. It stays close to the skin.
My body chemistry is so odd. It takes a while for a new scent to “stick” on me, so I’ve been trying to wear Velvet almost everyday so it can “take hold”. After several days, it’s starting to cling and last longer on me.
I like Velvet by Commodity. It is a modern unisex oriental scent that reminds me of another of my favorites, Serge Lutens Chergui. They both have notes that are woody, ambery and sweet.
While this is not a scent for everybody, if you like unisex, oriental unusual fragrances, Velvet by Commodity might be right for you. It’s sold at Sephora in a travel size spray for $26 and a full size bottle for $105.
If not, check out Commodity’s collections coz you just might find another scent that intrigues you.
Have you tried Scentbird? If you’re interested in subscribing or just buying a one-off 30 day sample for $16.95, consider checking Scentbird out via the ad on the right hand side of my blog. If you already subscribe or did in the past, have you discovered any favorites through Scentbird?
This brand is very popular all over social medias but I personally haven’t try anything from them.
I just noticed on the Commodity Goods website that they have a sampler of all their scents. I think I’ll give it a go at some point.
These notes sound very appealing for the fall and winter!
Yes, but for me it’s an anytime scent lol.
The packaging is great and the fragrance sounds excellent. I think your needing time to make the fragrance work well with your body chemistry makes sense which is why Scentbird is such a great program.
Marcia, that is such a smart assessment of one of the important benefits of Scentbird! I never thought of that!
I don’t usually go for darker unisex scents but this one sounds amazing!
Although this is a scent for vanilla lovers, knowing the kind of scents that you like, I don’t think it’s for you 😉
That is such a great way of putting it, that it takes awhile for a scent to stick. I have the exact same issue so I tend to stick with the same scents over and over because it takes so long for my body to decide to like a scent and “keep it” lol
Yes, I have the same problem with perfume. Such a pain coz I do like to change it up from time to time
Scentbird is my FAVE! I’ll have to smell these perfumes!
Glad that you’re a Scentbird fan, too! Such a great way to discover new fragrances
The scent you chose sounds like something my mom would love! She also favors these kind of intense perfumes!
I’m glad to hear I have a kindred spirit in your mom!
I do like heavy scents, with musks, woodsy notes and amber. I think I have this one in the queue actually!
I hope you do, Anastasia. It’s a nice fall/winter scent – very vanilla-y with definite amber and wood notes. Reminds me of Serge Lutens Chergui