FL/18

“A sweet leather with a candy top and a chic, musky dry-down”

FL/18 by A. N. Other is built around an idea that shows up clearly on skin: leather, but made playful. It is not a pure smoke-and-tar leather, and it is not a simple sugar rush either. Instead, it balances a candy-like brightness with a warm, musky base that stays wearable and surprisingly easy to like.

The first minutes are where FL/18 makes its point. The saffron and resinous lift of elemi can give the opening a polished, slightly spicy glow, but the sweetness is what most people remember. If you are expecting a literal cotton candy cloud, you might be surprised. On some skin it does read as cotton candy, but on others the “candy” turns into a fruity bubblegum impression, even the kind of bright, chewy gum sweetness that feels a little tart. This is also where a few people get that “fun perfume” effect, the kind of sweetness that makes you decide quickly whether you want to keep wearing it.

As it moves into the heart, FL/18 tends to smooth out. The herbal mate note can add a gentle green, tea-like shadow under the sweetness, keeping it from feeling flat. Ambrette and cashmere musk do a lot of work here too, giving the fragrance a warm, clean-fuzzy texture that reads modern. The jasmine is present more as a night-floral glow than as a loud bouquet. Some wearers call it a floral-and-leather blend, while others barely notice the floral side at all, which tells you how skin chemistry can steer this scent.

The leather is often the slow reveal. For many, it comes through more clearly after an hour or two, adding shape and a slightly animalic edge around the amber and musk. This is the phase where FL/18 earns its “cool girl” reputation in reviews, chic, dark-leaning, and sexy, but not heavy or overly serious. The leather stays toned down rather than rough, like a suede-like contour that grounds the sweetness instead of fighting it.

Performance is generally comfortable and practical. Community feedback leans toward moderate to long-lasting wear, with projection that most often sits in the moderate zone. In other words, it can get attention in the opening, then settle closer and warmer, leaving a musky, ambery trace on skin and clothes. If you like your scent loud all day, you may wish it pushed harder. If you prefer something that becomes more intimate after the first act, it usually behaves.

The biggest deciding factor is taste. If you dislike candy notes, FL/18 can feel like too much, and one negative take even calls it generic and compares it to a sugary mainstream style. But if you like the idea of sweetness paired with leather, FL/18 is a strong sample candidate, because it keeps that contrast wearable and modern. It also has a clear seasonal sweet spot. It tends to fit fall and winter best, and it often feels most at home at night, on a scarf, under a coat, or in a setting where a sweet leather aura feels intentional rather than distracting.

If you are shopping by comparisons, FL/18 often gets mentioned in the same conversation as Byredo Black Saffron. The overlap makes sense, both play in a saffroned, sweet, slightly leathery space, especially later in the wear. Some also connect it to an ambrette-forward woody musk style (with a nod to fragrances like Bois d’Ambrette), though FL/18 is typically sweeter and more playful. Either way, FL/18 stands out most when you want leather that feels youthful, smooth, and a little addictive, with a candy wink at the top.