Enamoured

in BDCommunity2 years ago (edited)

A part of me has always had a thing for perfumes, starting with the classic CK One, Jovan Musk, Aspen by Coty and then hovering around the much "cheaper" options like Old Spice and its other counterparts. Even to this day, those strong and classic fragrances feel as vigorous and fresh. Like it was just yesterday that my nose got its first dose, and instantly fell in love with the citrusy, green and woody notes, a classic combo which is still preferred by many, even to this day.

My father is without a doubt the one who is at fault here haha, he used to keep quite a collection of proper fragrances at his disposal. Even my uncles and cousins always had a thing for designer fragrances, nowadays whenever I'm at their place, I get to try out quite a few designer and niche fragrances. Which then pushes and pokes me even more towards "investing" in this category of products.

On top of that, Axe body sprays were quite the hype when I was growing up. Whether it be on TV, a big banner somewhere, or a local store, you'd see these cool little things everywhere. I doubt you'll find a guy who has never had one of the classic Axe body sprays.

Even I myself used to have a small collection of Axe body sprays. I'd stack up a bit of tiffin money, and then head towards the nearest shop, just to get the latest bottle and then add it to my collection. They wouldn't even last that long, since they were mostly filled with air. On top of that, I used to spray the shit out of those bottles haha.

In the past decade or so, I've managed to try out a lot of these common and much affordable options of body sprays, and some of the top rated designer stuff too. I've received a lot of them as gifts, I've "seized" a few bottles from my father's collection too haha, and I have now somehow managed to build a small collection of my own.

I still have a few small bottles left, with a bit of "juice" in them too. Most of these still have the classic formulation, and some of them date all the way back to 2011 and more. I don't know how all the juice or formulation hasn't gone bad yet. I guess it's just the strong formulation, and also the premium you pay for such products. A fake might have smelled sort of the same, yet it wouldn't have lasted this long.


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Now, time to step it up a notch. Going from the common body sprays to the common perfumes, somehow managing to "salvage" and add one or two designer fragrances, after all that, for some unknown reason I hit a plateau.

The last time I had invested in a perfume was back in 2018, I got myself a classic Swiss Army EDT for my birthday and that was that. After that I lost interest I guess, I shifted my focus towards other categories that looked interesting during that time.

Yet, here we are in 2022, and I've finally managed to add a niche fragrance to the collection, which is the "end-game" category when it comes to perfumes.


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However, there's a quite a heart-warming story behind all this, it's the reason for me making this comeback I'd say.

The journey continues, with a replicated formula of Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis, custom made and put together by the hands of Yusuf Bhai.

Around last year I guess, I stumbled upon a video about a perfumer who resides in UAE, Dubai, a man who goes by the name of Yusuf Bhai. This man and his love for perfumes and fragrances quite instantly managed to get my attention. You can tell from most of his videos that he was just born for this trade and art form. He is an artisan, a master, when it comes to the art of formulating perfumes.

I'll leave some of the videos featuring him and his story below.





If I ever manage to go to Dubai, then you can bet that I'll be going out of my way, just to meet this man. I want to see it all live, witness a master at work, maybe even challenge him to replicate one of my favorite fragrances lol.

For now Yusuf Bhai and Dubai will have to wait, a long way to go still, and that is why I decided to invest in something which is much more "affordable" for me.

I also have to thank a dear friend of mine for making it all happen, for bringing this little creation by Yusuf Bhai all the way from Dubai, and then handing it over to me.

Guess I'll be signing off for now, I thank you all for sticking around till the end, take care now.

Cheers 🥃

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Oh boy! How I wish I could meet the legend! I only wish there was some easier way to order from him and get it shipped to BD. *sigh

 2 years ago  

Who doesn't wanna meet this legend? Especially if we're talking about fragrance freaks haha.

And yes, the overall procedure can get quite hectic when importing these things from abroad, but it's surely worth the trouble I'd say.

Worth the trouble, yes! But for now the only way seems to be through someone coming from there. I'd like a website or some third party that imports fragrances add option to order from him.

 2 years ago  

I'll look into it bhai. Let's see if I can find a site or something, I'll forward it to you if I can manage something.

That'll be great bro!

Man you know a lot of about these fragrances it seems! I've used axe body-sprays all my life and lately been sick of them. Want to test different Eau de toilettes but they are not that available locally in my city.

 2 years ago  

Order online bhai, there are some really good retailers now, ones who provide courier services or home delivery all around BD.

I suggest you to start your journey with something "cool", Davidoff Cool Water, Azzaro Chrome, Nautica Voyage, can never go wrong with these. I myself will be getting the Nautica Voyage I guess, it's dirt cheap, yet it's one of the best perfumes in the whole market.

Which retailer do you use?

I'd like to get the nautica as well then.
I started with this one from Jaguar
https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Jaguar/Jaguar-For-Men-6810.html

Bought from amazon via third party (airbringer).

I usually buy from "Perfume Bangladesh" and if I need decants to try out a small sample first, "Buyperfumeinbangladesh" is my go to. I have even visited their showroom in dhaka, the owner knows his stuff!

Wow, I had no idea you can try out small sample first. How does it work bhai?

Yes bro. You go to their website (or facebook page). You find the perfume you want to try out.

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Then you choose how much you want to buy. I'll usually get the 5ml bottles if I am entirely unsure...and I'll get 3-4 different samples. Then if I like any of them, I'll probably order the full bottle later.

Damn.... You have just given me the key to a whole new world bro! 😁 Many thanks!

 2 years ago  

Amazing move from your side by going with the Jag, absolute classic.

For the retailers I suggest Perfume Bangladesh or Sundora, you'll find their sites on Google, everything should be there on their websites.

This is the first time I read your post. What an amazing story this is. I enjoy perfumes myself. Currently I switch between Azzaro Wanted and Paco Rabanne 1 Million.

I looked up that perfume you described. I will ask my wife to pick it up for me when she gets to Dubai, as it is not available here.

 2 years ago  

Thank you for dropping by dada, truly means a lot to me. ♥️

And it surely does feel good to find out that we have something in common haha.

I know a lot of people who love perfumes, but I barely know any who actually try to dive deep in to the story and the making of fragrances. Whether it be the brand, a certain model, the formulation, or just the top notes, I try my best to scour through everyone's "pile". I try to find out what people prefer and why, with that I get the chance to test out the fragrances, hoping that one day I come across something that just feels right to me.

This is a fairly new hobby that I've picked up, not a lot of time has been invested so far, but I plan on putting in a fair amount of time and effort from now. I wanna see where it all takes me, as I go on testing and collecting. Problem is that these things are double the price over here, even if I could, I probably wouldn't pay that much, yet the people around me still keep on buying and collecting.


And about the perfumes you mentioned, the Azzaro Wanted has been on my list for quite a while, you can't go wrong with the combo it offers, 8 out of 10 people just love it. The Azzaro Wanted series has the "killer look" as well, I don't even mind having an empty bottle laying around somewhere, make it a part of the decor maybe haha.

The 1 Million is a classic, but I think it's not as versatile, I tried one of the older batches a few years ago. It's surely better suited for winter, because only then it performs well and lasts long, the performance does go up and down, depends on the formulation and batch really.

And the niche fragrance that I mentioned is the Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis. There are two variants though, both unisex, and a little bit on the sweeter side, better suited for winter. For more details you can check on fragrantica.com, everything is there, makes it a lot easy to choose. If you do manage to get it from Dubai then you'll surely get the best price and the real deal, and I think you'll like it too, it's surely not for everyone, but something tells me that you'll like it haha.

Cheers dada 🥃

Hi @riz611, your post has been upvoted by @bdcommunity courtesy of @rehan12!


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