Commodity: Milk, Moss, Book

Today we’re reviewing three Commodity fragrances, but first, a fun little quiz, let’s call it “what’s that perfume?”  It’s no secret that I ask strangers what lovely scented thing they are wearing. I’m friendly and not a creeper about it (I don’t think) and they seem pleased. I asked this young, hippie girl at the plant nursery what glorious fragrance she had on; I thought it might be some sort of body product, but it was indeed perfume. She said it was called “Rogue One.” I hadn’t heard of that, although it could certainly exist; then she got her phone out and showed me a photo of the bottle. I’ll put the answer at the bottom of this post; what’s the name of the scent she was wearing? A hint: it’s “fancy” and mainstream enough to be sold at Nordstrom, and it’s been wildly popular.

So, Commodity fragrance ads are all over social media and I’d largely ignored them, but a couple of online folks I follow were talking about how much they loved Milk and another one – Gold, I think. I went to the Commodity website and they have six fragrances in their current lineup plus some older ones they re-release annually? It turns out they have a sample program. Each of the current fragrances comes in three concentrations (with slight variations in notes) and okay, I was intrigued. Anyway, six fragrances x 3 strengths = an 18-vial sample set (look at me, doing math!) for $56 including shipping, and then you get a $46 credit toward a full bottle. I split the cost with my fellow perfumista/now roommate, Carolyn.

They came in a very nice boxed set with a multipage user’s manual about how to try them out, details on each scent/variant, finding your favorite(s) etc. It’s straightforward and honestly kind of refreshing compared to the usual vague and/or mystical folderol you get from brands.

Trying to list the notes for each scent/variants would drive me (and possibly you) up the wall, so I’ll drop in the “gist” and if you want details you can look at the website. Here are our thoughts on the three we tried thus far. The Commodity scent nomenclature: “personal” = light, “expressive” = medium, “bold” = strongest.

Milk – the one that initially piqued my interest. “Rich in sweet creams and fresh woods;” marshmallow, tonka bean, mahogany wood. The Personal version is my favorite – it’s not lighter on me so much as softer, with a skin musk at its base. It has a creamy, almost buttery quality to it? Heavy cream vs. milk. I’d like Bold more if I got more of its advertised smoky accord, and whatever the particular “wood” note is in Expressive I find too sharp and screechy, although it does go away.

Carolyn had to scrub the Bold, which was way more like rancid sesame on her (!) no smoke, and smelled sour. She preferred the woods (my nemesis!) in Expressive, and found the Personal sweeter, but she wasn’t especially drawn to any of them.  We were both surprised at the longevity of these in general, which we could still smell on our skin the next day.

Moss — the one Carolyn was most excited about. “A trilogy of fresh, green scents highlights bergamot, oakmoss and petitgrain.”  I loved the personal version of this, a musky skin scent with a cologne vibe. I also really enjoyed the Expressive version which amps up the woods.

Carolyn, on the other hand, was wild for the Bold version, with juniper, amber and patch, which read the most traditionally “masculine” to my nose (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) The personal version had a big wallop of lime on her – very citrus cologne, so different than on me!

Book – “centered around cedarwood and sandalwood.” Hmmmm. I didn’t love these at the outset – they made me think of an ambient spray, maybe for a spa? The Personal has a tea note and was (again) sweeter on me which I liked, and I found the Expressive irritating (okay maybe not the ideal spa scent.) After about an hour though, I found them both strangely compelling; a vegetal skin scent? Like being in a cool, quiet room in a conservatory in winter, surrounded by plants.

Carolyn liked the Personal all right but didn’t get any tea; it was musk and veeery close on the skin. She was much more excited about the Expressive, which smelled strongly of cypress on her (and, once again, we had very different feelings about the woods!)  She said something along the lines of citrus forest; so the Expressive was her second favorite of all our samples.

Neither of us loved the Bold which smelled almost like a different fragrance, murky/sour rather than the advertised velvet musk/smoke boost.

We had a great time testing these, and it’s always interesting to note how differently a fragrance can unfold on two different people.  There are more scents but three seemed like plenty for this go-round. Have you tried any of the Commodity line?

Quiz answer: the scent she was wearing was MFK Baccarat Rouge. I’m assuming she’s reading “Rouge” as “Rogue”? How that turns into Rogue One is a mystery. Anyway, she smelled amazing.

Images via Pexels