Ex Scribblis

Ex Scribblis

Home
Notes
Chat
Archive
About

Bound By Grief - Iran, Being There (Hal Ashby; 1979) and Hamnet (Chloe Zhao; 2025)

READ THE LATEST
Finding Her Way To The Water - perfume review - Chanel Gabrielle L'Eau (Olivier Polge; 2024)
I confess I keep forgetting about the existence of Gabrielle. In my mind, the last high-profile, mainstream, feminine release from Chanel was Coco…
 • Dariush Alavi
Authors, Architects And Vegetarian Nuns - The Best Films Of 2025
The start of a new year wouldn’t be complete without some thoughts on my favourite cinematic outings of the previous twelve months, so here we go: a…
 • Dariush Alavi
Battle-ready Optimism - The Top 10 Best Perfumes Of 2025
It’s often people in the most dire situations, with few opportunities to enjoy the finer things in life, who insist that those with the ability to keep…
 • Dariush Alavi
Treasure The Light - Christmas Wishes 2025
Festivals of light — no matter what they may be called — are needed more than ever at the moment.
 • Dariush Alavi
Prepare To Be Dazzled - Serge Lutens Royaume Des Lumieres perfume review (Christopher Sheldrake; 2015, 2020 and 2025)
Reviews of Cracheuses De Flammes, Tarab, Sidi Bel-Abbes, Zurafa and Bois Roi D'Agalloche
 • Dariush Alavi
I Know Therefore I Tell - The Rise Of Knowledge & The Fall Of Truth
A few days ago, a conversation with a relative in his 20s somehow got onto the subject of the origins of Nutella.
 • Dariush Alavi
The Osmotheque Is Reborn - The FT Reports On The Refurbishment Of A Beloved Institution
An original 1921 glass bottle of No 5 sold at auction for $72,000 in 2024.
 • Dariush Alavi
There's Money In Hatred - TV review - Men Of The Manosphere (Pete Grant; 2025)
Two young men — a 16 year old and a 17 year old — are sitting up in bed, in a room at a rented apartment in Lisbon, typing away on their laptops.
 • Dariush Alavi
Tauer L'Air Du Desert Marocain Noir, BDK Impadia, Etat Libre D'Orange Above The Waves and other perfume reviews
Below you’ll find reviews of the following perfumes:
 • Dariush Alavi
Ex Scribblis
Ex Scribblis
Dariush Alavi's Substack - Thoughts on films, books, writing, the things that keep me awake in the middle of the night... and, of course, the other subject about which I've been blogging for years (as Persolaise): perfume and the world of scent.
Recommendations
View all 10
Bois de Jasmin Circle
Bois de Jasmin Circle
Victoria Belim-Frolova
Luca Turin on perfume etc.
Luca Turin on perfume etc.
Luca Turin 🇮🇹🇪🇺
In the Writing Burrow
In the Writing Burrow
Margaret Atwood
FirstNerve
FirstNerve
Avery Gilbert
Range Widely
Range Widely
David Epstein
Links
Persolaise
My award-winning perfume journalism website
DariushAlavi.com
My personal blog
Persolaise YouTube Channel
My Instagram
© 2026 Dariush Alavi · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture