Hey Crew! Narcotica? What a fabulously evocative name from a fragrance house. It runs in line with some of the biggest blockbusters of perfume history. Opium, Hindu Kush, China White, Cocaine, and Black Afghano are just a few. Though this perfume from the house is called Happy Dust I haven’t smelled any true drug reference within. When I read the name while trawling Surrender To Chance I thought it might be a pollen reference and hoped for a feral honey and bee scent. Anyway, without looking at the notes I popped a 2ml decant into the cart.
Am I the last to know about Narcotica? Have any of you readers heard of them or tried any?
Interestingly, I couldn’t find a website for the brand. Only a FB page and sellers. I asked some of my mates if they knew the brand. Only one had and said Happy Dust was a competent, not too sweet vanilla. So I’m going in with a very moderate expectation.
Happy Dust by Narcotica 2023
Surrender To Chance gives these featured accords:
Mango juice, green mate, coconut, Bourbon vanilla, matcha, jasmine, vanilla Madagascar absolute, brown sugar, amber, black vanilla, sandalwood, white musk, peru balsam, tonka
AHA! So on first spritz I get crunchy caramel vanilla. A similar feeling as Eau d’Italie Morn to Dusk and not far from Guess Woman by Marciano, both of which I own and love. It’s a boozy, coconut rippled vanilla ice cream but not even close to as tapestried or sophisticated as Guerlain’s Shalimar. Pretty much linear and though it does start caramel ice cream, go through baking biscuits and end up amber/sandalwood the story is actually quite a short one.
Happy Dust is smoothly done and worthy of interest if this is not something you already have in your collection. A perfect spritz through winter and even here in Sydney today at 40C/104f it has been a very enjoyable wear. Leaning into the heat, as it were. Though wearable by anyone it’s aimed directly at the gourmand loving women. I’m going to say probably at the new-to-niche because anyone who’s been a perfumista for a long time will have had their skirt blown long ago by something similar and already own at least one iteration.
Projection, sillage and longevity are good, if that’s important. Give yourself a couple of blasts in the morning and there will be some remnants on your way home.
Another Vanilla you might like to try is DIOR Vanilla Diorama.
Do you have your perfect vanilla? Are you still looking?
Does Happy Dust sound like it might fit the bill?
Portia xx
You make this read really interesting and fun, but looking at the LuckyScent website I don’t think it’s ggoing to be $300 fun. At lease not for me.
Yeah, if you had never met a vanilla done nicely it might though Tom. I think we suffer from ennui sometimes because we have smelled so much and often the earlier iterations are full of now illegal ingredients that really made them hum in our brains.
Portia xx
Huh. You are making this sound really nice! I’m on a weird vanilla gourmand kick at the moment. Although I think what I really want is Guess Woman. I love a long lasting, fuzzy vanilla.
Guess Woman is SO GOOD! A big crunchy caramelized toffee vanilla that goes and goes March. Can be bought for next to nothing on the discounters. One of my go-to cheapies.
Portia xx
I purchased a sample but haven’t yet tried. Vanillas are my jam and yes it does take something special to get me to whip out the credit card. Nothing in recent years has done it and I’ve tried a whole lotta overhyped, overpriced, and completely forgettable creations. My perfect vanillas are Tahita, Vanille West Indes, Lune Feline, and FSSA Vaniglia del Madagascar.
I never heard of Farmacia SS. Annunziata VerbenaLuvvr,
Thanks for the tip.
Portia xx
Hmmm. I don’t need more gourmands at the moment. As to vanilla, the Queen among my bottles would be Shalimar perfume.
Ahhh Cinnamon, Shalimar Perfume is the queen of all perfume.
Portia xx
I’ve seen Happy Dust popping up on Insta but like you couldn’t find a website.
I’m selling all but a couple of vanillas. I went on a hunt but learned I like my vanilla more tapestried. (Brilliant description). More a part of an orchestra than the lone honking of a ship in fog.
Weird that they don’t have somewhere we can buy that isn’t a perfume department store Alityke.
Good luck on the cleanup.
Portia xx