A Wren Says

I have been testing out Mixed Emotions from Byredo, and for me this perfume has me feeling its name. I cannot tell you what led me to go ahead and just buy this after a little sniff on a card. That is so unlike me. What happened to me that day?  

The brand describes it as intense and woody. Boy are they not lying. It was intense in a way that made me uncomfortable. Although, I don’t quite understand how the notes listed get to what I smell. I am not sure know how I would explain to someone why I smelled the way I did.  Rather than tea, I get something herbal, almost medicinal. Every now again I will get something that seems smoked (maybe just earthy?), which I want more of. But mostly it is expensive rub for your inflamed knees. You should infer I that I don’t like the scent on me.

I tried this in-store during a marathon smelling session as I tried out multiple fragrances from the line. I only smelled it on paper. Another mistake. Here’s my note from one of the testing days:

Today, I put on the scent mixed emotions at roughly 1 PM. Did I put on moisturizer first? Could smell it faintly on my skin at 10 PM. No comments from others on it, which I am okay with, since it is an interesting scent.

But it just doesn’t have the kind of longevity I would have liked. It disappears very quickly on me. Two hours later, I couldn’t smell it at all. When this happened the first day, I assumed my skin wasn’t moisturized enough. After slathering myself in lotion, I resprayed only to get the same result. Then I tried a layer of Vaseline. Same result. Even more body cream. Same result. And finally I sprayed some Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid on top, because I wanted something fruity on it. The daggum fragrance disappeared again, taking the Flowerbomb with it. I don’t understand.

At this point, you might be trying to figure out how my emotions are at all mixed on this. I have been wearing this on skin over a couple of weeks trying to fall I love with it to justify my purchase. I really wanted to love it, but it just wasn’t right for me. Although, I would like to try it as a body wash or hand soap. The way the scent is expressed on me aligns with some of the spa-like scents I noticed in selfcare products.  

This is a tough one. I didn’t like this one, but that doesn’t mean you won’t. Get a sample, test it out over a few days and come to your own conclusion.  Tatjana Freund of Marie Claire seemed to fall in love with it. If you are just looking for a tea scents, I highly recommend you try the Secret Teas and Spices collection from Floraiku.

(Image credit: Byredo)