Part 3: The Bottles Have Landed Hey guys, Joe A. here with another one for ya’! Welcome back to SHELF CONTROL, where one man attempts to bring order to a fragrance collection that clearly stopped respecting boundaries, triggered mild family concern, and may or may not have been one blind buy away from needing a full-blown intervention! Well gentlemen… The Great Bottle Migration is officially complete! The drawers, cabinets, boxes, shelves, corners and mysterious little fragrance hideouts around the house have finally surrendered their contents. For the first time, my collection feels like ONE collection that's together, visible, accessible and staring back at me with the collective expression of, “Yeah Joe… you bought all of us.” And seeing everything together has been eye-opening! There are forgotten gems I’m excited to wear again, bottles that immediately reminded me why I bought them, obvious phases I apparently went through and more than a few fragrances quietly challenging my repeated claim that, “I don’t own anything like this...” BUT... something else happened that I really wasn’t expecting. Once every bottle was finally sitting in front of me, the question stopped being, “Where am I going to put all this?” and quietly morphed into: “What exactly am I trying to build here?” When a collection is scattered around the house, it’s surprisingly easy to focus on what you’re missing. When it’s all staring back at you at once? Gentlemen… suddenly you become very aware of what you’re NOT missing. Maybe the next step isn’t automatically buying another bottle. Maybe it’s finding the ACTUAL gaps. Rediscovering something great that got buried three years ago. Giving more attention to fragrances that never got their fair shot. Or realizing you already own six answers to a question you were about to solve with bottle number seven. And maybe that’s the biggest surprise of Shelf Control!! I built all this shelving because I wanted to see and enjoy my collection better. I didn’t realize that seeing it better might actually change the way I collect.

Part of my all time favorites Top 5 - 10/10. One of the most significant lounges of 2024. It’s a woody, leathery, sweet, aromatic and resinous powerhouse, that isn’t offensive, but very exotic, luxurious, intoxicating, alluring, compliments getter, cooler weather, special occasions, great projection and longevity. I just can’t have enough of it.

It’s an alternative to YSL 6 place Saint Sulpice (I haven’t try this one). III Thriller is one of those fragrances that you smell and can’t really pinpoint what you are smelling (here is where it own its name 😅). It’s so well blended that when you approach your nose to it seams ethereal, but in the air, it’s magical making its notes to shine in every wave. It’s opens subtle a bit fresh, sweet and spicy. It has an oriental backbone, that isn’t too strong, but makes it very interesting, mysterious and complex. As it dries down turns to a more sweet, resinous, woody and ambery scent. It comes across very refined, sophisticated and elegant. IMO, this could easily work all year round (will not be too much on regular heat) and any occasion. Projection and longevity are great!

It’s an alternative to Omanluxury Caden. This individual has a wow factor. The opening has a strong and a Middle Eastern edge: spicy/aromatic/sweet, leathery, smoky and a bit animalic. But, as it transitions to the dry down, the Middle Eastern edge disappears turning to a more resinous, ambery, woody, dark, sweet and delightful aroma. This dry down is where the fragrance shows off, as an intense, stunning, thick, rich, delicious, magnetic, and luxurious feeling that will make you stand out and get compliments. It’s a cooler weather, special occasions scent, with great projection and longevity.

We all like compliments, but what's the worst comment you have heard, about a fragrance that you like?