Going tropical tonight with Borikén from RDZ Parfums. Passion fruit, mango and coconut set the direction, with bergamot and green tea bringing freshness to the fruit. Tiaré and ylang-ylang give it that tropical floral character, while the sea-breeze and solar accords carry the island theme through the heart. The base brings together guaiac wood, cedar, sandalwood and vetiver, with musk, amber and vanilla adding warmth and softness. There’s more going on here than a fruity opening the floral and woody sides give the composition somewhere to go. This is the kind of profile I enjoy for a warm evening, a casual dinner or vacation., I’d put it in the Summer , Spring, Fall category in Arizona with room for mild Arizona winter days when I’m in the mood for something tropical. I’ll give it a full wear before putting numbers on longevity, projection and sillage. So far It was projecting for 2 hours and got whiffs of it for 4 hours before I fell asleep. Boriken takes its name from the Taíno name for Puerto Rico. Created with the Puerto Rico Fragrance Expo, it’s RDZ’s tribute to the island through tropical fruit, flowers, ocean air and woods a fragrance built around the house’s Puerto Rican roots. This is fresh, tropical and very vibrant can be worn mostly all year and I love how the brightness mellows out and you can feel the florals and a nice green then transitions to a very nice blend of woods with a touch of vanilla. Not your typical tropical as this one can cover many seasons basically year round because of the depth in the construction, Definitely a must have. The blending is phenomenal especially with so many fruits working in perfect harmony, so nothing really stands out, but makes it into a beautiful medley. This should have been the fragrance to represent the Island. I put this right up there with P FKN R. Which also represents the island or maybe the people. One in which @Ben E and myself own. And if this comes out as an Extrait I will purchase as well although I like the way that this projects as EDP which is my usual sweet spot.

Part 6 - Coffee Beans Reset Your Nose Between Fragrances: THE MYTH: "Smell these coffee beans. They’ll clear out the last fragrance and reset your nose so you can accurately smell the next one." THE REALITY: Coffee beans don’t provide a proven, special reset for your sense of smell. They introduce another odor, and smelling something different is not the same as restoring your sensitivity. THE EXPLANATION: We’ve all seen the little containers of coffee beans sitting on fragrance counters. After several fragrances, someone hands you the beans as if they’re an eraser for your nose. But your nose doesn’t need cleaning out. With repeated or prolonged exposure, your sensitivity to an odor can decrease. This involves olfactory adaptation and habituation, often casually called nose fatigue or nose blindness. Coffee beans have actually been tested for this purpose. In a 2011 exploratory study, participants repeatedly smelled fragrances, then sniffed coffee beans, lemon slices, or plain air before trying to identify an unfamiliar fragrance. Coffee beans did not produce better performance than lemon or air. That doesn’t settle every possible testing situation, but it doesn’t support treating coffee as a reliable reset button. You may feel refreshed after smelling coffee. You’ve changed the smell and paused your fragrance testing. That feeling alone doesn’t prove your ability to distinguish fragrances has returned. My practical advice is to slow down: - Step away from the fragrance counter and its cloud of competing scents. - Breathe normally in relatively unscented air and give yourself a break. - Test fewer fragrances at a time. - Come back later if everything starts smelling similar or difficult to distinguish. Some people like briefly smelling an unscented area of their sleeve or skin. That can be a familiar reference, but I wouldn’t present it as a scientifically proven reset either. A shirt carrying detergent, fabric softener, or perfume simply adds another scent.