Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2024!

I hadn't been to an in-person Sniffapalooza event in years. I'd say at least ten, but probably more. Sniffa's regular Zoom events during the pandemic were a real life-saver though, giving me something to look forward to during the days when we weren't allowed to do much at all. Certainly not live perfume-sniffing. But live perfume sniffing is back, baby, and I'm here for it. Though I've done some solo sniffing the past couple of years, I thought it might be fun to do it in a group and with my BFF Andree, who had accompanied me on my earliest Sniffa excursions.

Back then, Sniffapalooza was a two day event. On Saturday we'd start at Bergdorf Goodman and work our way down 5th Avenue to Takashimaya, Henri Bendel, and Saks. Each of those stores was large enough to contain our crowd, making for a festive atmosphere. Sundays were spent at much smaller boutiques downtown--Le Labo, Lafco, Aedes de Venustas, Bond No. 9, Min New York--which meant we had to break up the party into more reasonably sized groups. Now, with the lack of uptown department stores, Sniffa is a downtown-only extravaganza. This year's agenda included visits to Le Labo, Malin & Goetz, Korres, Naxos Apothecary, Scent Bar, Mizensir, D.S. & Durga, Olfactory NYC, Trudon, and Harney & Sons. Most of these shops are the size of a luxurious broom closet. After stepping into the first shop, Malin & Goetz, and realizing there were already at least seventeen other people already crammed in there, I beat a hasty retreat as soon as I got my name tag and souvenir tote bag. Andree and I then scurried down the street to Scent Bar which had only two other customers. I figured most attendees would take the shops as they came upon them, but I thought it best if we skipped ahead to beat the crowds. 

the display at Korres

Korres sister company, Naxos Apothecary

We were able to visit each of the shops on the list at some point--excepting Olfactory NYC because I've had enough experience recently creating my own perfume. And since that neighborhood is chock full of other perfume boutiques, we added a couple more that were not part of the tour: Osswald and Diptyque. I had also wanted to check out Elorea, Fueguia 1833, Santa Maria Novella, and Byredo, but we ran out of time. Because in addition to sniffing, Sniffapalooza also involves eating. The customary lunch spot for some years has been La Mela, which has a private room large enough to accommodate 75 fragrance fans. Over nearly four hours, we enjoyed a five course family-style Italian meal that included salad, antipasti, pasta, a meat course, and dessert, while guest speakers told of indie and niche brands and plied us with samples. 

lunch at La Mela

Among the more intriguing scents introduced at the luncheon were those by Banomaria. The company's owner spent a lot of time explaining why she chose that name, but not nearly enough time giving us contact information. I hope to explore her scents more in an upcoming post, provided I can learn more about them. We also had a presentation by Maison Trudon, who was very generous with the samples and included a lovely scented wax cameo in addition to a few of their eaux de parfums. And visitors to their boutique were given a travel spray in a black velvet pouch (just under the DS & Durga box in the photo at the bottom of this post). I chose Bruma, a peppery green floral. Trudon is another line I will examine in depth at some point in the future.

Nils Beeman from Trudon

Unfortunately, when 75 enthusiastic people are enclosed in a small space, it can get quite loud, which makes it somewhat difficult to hear everything that is being said by presenters. Regardless, the lunch was quite good (the pasta was impressively al dente despite having been produced in large quantities and served on large platters) and the three-plus hours passed rather quickly.

So what did I buy? Just two fragrances: D.S. & Durga Steamed Rainbow and Naxos Apothecary Yria. I didn't have anything like either one in my collection. I was happy to be able to smell all of D.S & D's current scents in one place at one time. My past experiences with them led me to believe that all of their perfumes smelled literally of dirt (with other notes), but they actually have plenty of variety in their line. And Naxos fragrances were totally new to me and all quite lovely. 

The weekend's haul, including samples from side trips to Bergdorf's and Saks.

D. S. & Durga Steamed Rainbow

Blood Mandarin, Orange, Elemi, Grass, Almond Blossom, Cedar, Violet, Vetiver

This scent is bright sunshine and literal rainbows. Perfumer David Seth Moltz wanted to create a scent that smelled like an actual rainbow, so he used ingredients that matched the colors. red mandarin orange, yellow elemi resin, green cedar, blue almond flower, indigo grass, and violet vetiver vapors. Steamed Rainbow smells like a garden immediately after a thunderstorm, when the hot ground has been cooled by the sudden rain and is now steaming with humidity. There's definite citrus and grass and flowering trees anchored by a resiny and almost honeyed sweetness. I've read some reviews that say there's a mildew quality to this fragrance, and I can see where they're coming from. Steamed Rainbow doesn't actually smell like mildew, but rather gives that sensation of dampness, and the pitch of the notes--if I may use musical terms here--is of the same frequency as the pitch of the scent of some mildew. (The scent of a damp basement, for example, is quite different than the smell of a wet gym bag that has been left in the truck of the car for too many days.) I honestly don't have anything like Steamed Rainbow in my collection and hope to wear it a lot this summer.

Naxos Apothecary Yria

Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Cereal, Rose, Jasmine, Benzoin, Patchouli

With its sparkling pink pepper opening and unusual cereal note, Yria would not have been out of place in L'Artisan Parfumer's fragrance collection circa 2003. I have several bottles of their scents from that era, when they were probably my favorite fragrance house. Their scents were fun, for instance, evoking peppers--both green chiles and sneezy white pepper--or Turkish delight, or wheat. Yria's cereal note is like a bowl of shredded wheat steeped in milk. It's unusual and stands out amid the bright top notes, floral heart, and base of sweet woody benzoin and patch. It was love at first sniff when I lifted the Monclin-style glass vessel to my nose. The pink pepper--which has recently become a favorite note of mine--grabbed me and the cereal note said "buy me." So I did. Yria is the kind of scent that can be worn most of the year, but I think I'll get most use out of it in the spring and summer months.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks