PERFUME REVIEWS
ON FRAGRANTICA
(as of 11/22/20)
No.
9 Victor Milton Lloyd
Actually, I like this better than Aventus, which never impressed me.
It starts with a strong fruity accord, and dries down to a musky-rose accord,
more rose than musk. I detect no smoke at all, however. (Isn't that the main
thing to get right about an Aventus clone, a pineapple-smoke accord?) Also,
there isn't any oakmoss within miles of this stuff. It's not listed on the box
and I don't smell any.
It lasted about five hours on my skin before it turned into a very faint skin
scent. Not a bad piece of work at all, especially considering the money.
My wife hates it - but she had a head cold.
⁝
Very retro - and not in an especially good way. It's not that I am opposed
to the way this stuff smells - it smells okay - it's just I am completely
underwhelmed by it. I sprayed some on my wrist and it was gone pretty quickly.
No projection or longevity. Instead skin scent. So.... I pass.
Also, I recall that in the early 1970s musk scents smelled very new and
exciting. Now they remind me more of laundry than anything else. The thrill is
gone.
⁝
I stumbled across this one in a kitchenwares store in Boise. My
expectations were not high but I was pleasantly surprised to discover in this
one a fine boozy aromatic cedar wood. Very nice. So I bought a bottle as it
wasn’t expensive at all.
I detect no smoke and only a hint of vanilla.
----------------------
After a month of use I have discovered that this stuff has tragic performance.
It doesn't last. On me it's gone from skin and clothing after a couple of
hours. Essentially, I smell it when I spray it on and that's it. I won't be
replacing my bottle...
⁝
Great stuff! Mmmmmm... cork. I used to have a cork board in my bedroom as a
teen and Akro Smoke smells just like it. A very appealing scent! Even my wife
likes it... she normally hates the "Grandma's ashtray" note she
detects in smoky scents. She detects a boozy note that I only faintly get. For
me, this is all about the smoke and cork.
Problem, though: This stuff doesn't last on my skin. After a couple of hours
it's almost entirely gone - which is a problem I have with almost all modern
scents.
⁝
I bought a small bottle of this for myself for Christmas. I haven't opened
it yet. It's a total blind buy since The Scent Bar in LA didn't have a tester.
But I loved the New York original and so I think I shall like this, too.
----------------------------------
After a wearing: Yep, it's great! But I can't tell how it differs from the
original New York; it's been too long since I had a bottle. I suppose that if I
compared them side-by-side I could tell. The Intense flanker has a bit more of
a pepper note, perhaps? I'm not sure. But it smells great - an old school
chypre - and it lasts!
I see comparisons to Bois du Portugal (what I think is Creed's best scent)...
it's of the same genre but not at all the same. Frankly, I think this stuff is
better.
⁝
After reading the news about this house in a Fragrantica article I had so
wanted to reward Manuel Cross for sticking up a big middle finger at IFRA by
buying a bottle of this, and traveled to The Scent Bar in West Hollywood to try
it. Real oakmoss is back! Oh, boy!
But... sad to say, on my skin this struck me as being strongly feminine. That
white floral is all to the fore here, and it's just not for me. I was very
disappointed.
Don't get me wrong - it's an excellent perfume of obviously high quality and
with a real retro/classic vibe. But not for a male seeking out a perfume that
is masculine in character. I bet it would be gangbusters on my wife...
⁝
I actually bought and owned this one - for about an hour. I liked the
opening tobacco-chypre notes and based on that, made a purchase. About an hour
later, however, in the car, I noticed that it had turned to a sickening,
overpowering soapiness on my skin. No, no, no. So back it went to The Scent Bar
in West Hollywood, to be exchanged for Parfums de Nicolai New York Extreme.
⁝
I just noted that it was sweet with a very slight poopy note, but both my
wife and a friend sniffed it, put thoughtful looks on their faces, and
independently said the same thing, "Twizzlers!" So I guess it smells
like Twizzlers. (I kind of get that.)
It doesn't seem to last especially long on me - but then, almost nothing does.
⁝
This appears the be the replacement for Prada Infusion d'Homme, which I
really liked. It smells the same. I'm glad it's still with us, even with a
different name. This stuff was just too good to go away. But, GEEZ: $160/bottle
at Bloomingdales? Yikes.
It is unique in one good way: it lasts.
⁝
"...blue licorice with voluptuous white amber..." Huh? Blue
licorice? What's that? This is not bad, but not significantly different from
the original green Mugler Cologne to my nose. Very similar.
I know what the twisted "E" note is! (1) Marketing, and (2) the
original Mugler Cologne.
⁝
I love the original, wear it and know its characteristics very well. How
does this flanker differ? Well, the first thing I detected for a second or two
after spraying on my skin was an intense lacquer note which resolved very
quickly into a pronounced skank note. This has a very brief dirty smell that
the original TL doesn't own. And then... green. After five minutes or so on my
skin it dried down into pretty much the original Tuscan Leather. Perhaps a bit
greener. After a half hour it became a skin scent, so I'm not sure this lasts
as long as the original scent.
On a card I detect what my wife calls the "Grandma's ashtray" note. I
don't find it objectionable as she does, but I do not believe it's in the
original.
I like it - but I prefer the original
⁝
Very nice. It's clean but interesting and avoids the usual boring
"freshie" (I hate that term) and sporty vibe. A simple but effective
mix of citrus and pine. A good summer scent and a nice thing to wear with a
crisply-ironed shirt.
Does it last? Not especially - but rarely does anything last on me.
Hey, I'd try a bottle.
Actually, I sort of did already. It reminds me very much of the bottle of
Penhaligon Blenheim Bouquet I used to have. Same notes, same vibe.
⁝
I like this, but I read it as a fougere. Like Paco Rabanne DNA. And I don't
smell any mint. BUT - I had my sinuses operated on last week and my sense of smell
is all messed up and comes and goes! I wonder if I'll like this in a few months
when I heal up? I bet I'll smell the mint then, and won't like it. Generally,
mint-based frags remind me too much of toothpaste and dentistry.
⁝
Well, I liked the top-most citrus notes. They fairly sparkled. And then...
it transitioned into the familiar stench of a blue scent on me. I do not have
good luck with blue scents. One reviewer here called the drydown "rotten
egg," and that's about as close as I can get to describing it. A lot of
scents smell this way; it's a very common smell and it never works for me.
"This perfume reminds me of..." ...just about every other blue
perfume.
⁝
I actually like the fruity top notes, which are well-wrought. Usually I
don't like perfumes with an apple note, but this one works and actually does
smell like an apple. For a short while. Sadly, as the lighter components
evaporate (and I'm talking about five minutes or so), what happens on my skin
is that the whole thing becomes sour and nasty. Ugh. From nice apple to
scrubber in mere minutes.
Spicebomb Extreme (aka Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille) is the one to get.
⁝
Tom Ford Tuscan Leather is my signature scent, so based on the rave reviews
and the ridiculously low price, I bought a little roller bottle of this stuff.
It arrived in the mail yesterday. However, I presently have a bad case of
sinusitis and can't smell a thing!
So I got my wife and two other women to do a smell test, Macho Man on my left
wrist and Tuscan Leather on my right. They all agreed that the two scents are
indeed similar. My wife still prefers the Tuscan Leather, but says this stuff
is good, too.
I'm now on antibiotics. When I get over this sinusitis I'll be able to judge
for myself!
------------
(Sense of smell returned)
Yep! Very close to TL. There are differences but they're pretty subtle.
⁝
My very first impression of this scent was not good; it smelled like a
dusty citrus fruit. That is, a citrus fruit set aside in a room that has not
been dusted or cleaned in a long time and takes on a dirty/musty smell.
But then I tried again with another skin spray and got a better sense of the
subdued (not fresh or zingy) grapefruit note mixed with that seems like a
juniper or cypress (green) note, a camphorous note and the musk. It now makes
more sense.
I like it better than I did at my first whiff, but, overall, I think Atelier
does a much better job with citrus and, especially, grapefruit. In no way does
this grapefruit "sparkle."
But yes, I'd wear this, despite the undeniable fact that it does smell a bit institutional
(like a cleanser).
Secret "C": note - oh, please. It's really an "M" note for
Marketing.
⁝
Atelier makes some great-smelling citrus scents, to be sure, and this is
another one of them. The orange in this is very accurate, fresh and cheering.
So much better than Clinique Happy, which is what I think they were going for.
But, alas!, as is the case with just about all citrus scents based on light
molecules, this one doesn't last, either.
I give them credit for coming up with a great orange scent, however...
⁝
I'm glad I'm not the only one who detected the likeness to Guerlain Vetiver
(one of my favorite scents, btw).
A very nice scent and it smells good on me. I do detect some pepper... but it's
a nice pepper and there are some orangy notes as well. It seems to last better
than average, which I attribute to its EDP concentration.
Is it soapy? Perhaps a bit - but it's a good soapy.
Would I buy a bottle of this instead of Guerlain Vetiver? Possibly...
⁝
The top notes are strongly citrus; these are quite nice. The drydown moves
into Ambroxan territory which isn't bad but hardly original. I found it...
okay. "Safe for work" (the perfumery equivalent of damning with faint
praise). It's also somewhat soapy.
"Ice?" Nah.
My wife is completely unimpressed. She thinks it smells too much like the
cleaning agents she uses. In other words, functional perfumery instead of fine
perfumery.
⁝
My wife glommed onto this one at a local Sephora and said she liked it.
Always anxious to please, I got a sample. Yes, it's dry cocoa powder and some
undefined woody notes. It's not bad - cuddly and likable, in fact - but as
other reviewers here state, projection and longevity are tragic. I sprayed it
on my shirt and an hour or so later I can barely smell it.
I don't detect any ginger at all.
Pretty, unique bottle.
⁝
Wow - a Tom Ford scent with poor longevity and projection (at least on me).
That's unusual.
The name had me hoping for a good agarwood scent, but this is really a somewhat
wifty marine scent. It's a bit like smelling a piece of driftwood that washed
up on the beach. It's not bad, but it's not really successful, either. It's too
subtle to have any "wow factor," and it's not different enough from
the usual collection of marine scents to convince me.
Oceanics aren't a big deal for me, and I really haven't found one I like better
than Outremer Oceane.
I pass.
⁝
greyhoundmom has it right: "...was surprised to find that it smells
almost exactly like TF Tobacco Vanille!" Yes, I think so, too. A tamer
version of TF TV but very much in the same vibe. Very strongly tobacco and
vanilla - not so much spice. (The pepper note is very downplayed.) I like it. I
like it better than Spicebomb, in fact.
It's also a cousin to CK Shock, I think.
My wife's comment was, "It's okay. At least it's not soapy like a lot of
the others."
⁝
Here I thought I was done with fragrances, and I get this one as a blind
buy/gift. I put it on my amazon wish list based almost wholly upon people
thinking that this reminds them of Creed Bois du Portugal - the only Creed I
really like. Does it remind me of Bois du Portugal? No.
It opens weird - strongly citrus but also somewhat skanky. It's somewhat
off-putting. But that soon dries down into a nice, traditional and classy men's
scent with lavender and vanilla in the lead. (I don't really get the woodsy
notes.)
I think my daughter paid less than $30 for the 100ml bottle. Wow. Well done,
Lalique! (I also once had - and liked - my bottle of Encre Noire.)
---------
I'm about 20% through my bottle; I have come to like this a lot! It's a nice
vanilla variation.
⁝
I played rugby, so as much as I wanted to like this... no. The initial
blast is quite nice and citrusy but it dries down to something somewhat soapy
that smells like functional perfumery - something you spray on linen, for
example. My wife thought it smelled like the dish soap she uses. It's not bad,
but it's not really successful. Zero WOW factor.
I suppose you could say it's a "good work scent," which, to me, is
like damning with faint praise.
The green notes make it smell like a cousin of Mugler Cologne.
What does real rugby smell like? Hot turf, sweat, blood, cotton, Ben-Gay and,
sometimes, men whose hygiene needs some attention. (Especially if you're in the
scrum like I was.)
⁝
On paper and then wrist: Smoky wood which eventually dries down to a woody
vanilla. Very, very nice. If you like the smell of campfire smoke (and I do)
and you can't find or afford the Cadillac of campfire perfumes, Naomi Goodsir
Bois d'Ascese, then get this. $125/bottle at the Nordstrom near me. I got a
sample so I'll be trying it as soon as I use up my five year old bottle of
Bogart Pour Homme this week.
---------------
I'm now wearing my Nordstrom sample. Very nice stuff, woody/smoky. I would have
thought it overpowering, but no. It wears very nicely. And I don't think I'm
broadcasting it... Also, I would have expected to be cloying, but, no, it's not
that, either.
I'd like a bottle!
⁝
I've been waiting for a long time to smell this one; I finally found it in
an Ulta store. That green bottle certainly stands out!
So do the top notes - and not in a good way. Okay, it's settled: I do not like
mint scents. They all seem to remind me way too much of toothpaste. The dry
down is okay - A-Men - but, yuck, those top notes. Scope, Crest, Orbit gum,
etc.
I pass.
⁝
From the title I was expecting an animalic musk, but no - this is a cookie.
It falls into the "yummy" category of scents. My wife swears there's
an anise note which makes it smell like her Christmas Pizzelle. Whatever...
this is a very nice gourmandy scent. Put me on the bandwagon: I like this
stuff.
⁝
This is the stuff! Pine, oakmoss, leather - and it lasts. (I don't get any
mint from it.) Retro and masculine. But... I didn't buy it. $160/bottle at the
Scent Bar in L.A. I'm kind of done with expensive scents, to be honest. But
this is a good one!
--------------
I bought a sample. It smells terrific on skin, but, wow, doesn't last at all.
There's a surprise. I don't know why I wrote that it lasted above... that
wasn't my experience actually wearing it.
⁝
Hooray! I finally got to try this. (It normally isn't sold in the states.)
I tried it on skin at the LAX Duty Free shop.
The first blast is lemony... and then it dries down to a nice, oakmossy scent.
(Indeed, oakmoss is listed on the box.) But, sadly, it is very light. Chanel
meets Jo Malone. It turned into a very weak skin scent on me in less than an
hour.
I get Luca Turin's love for this, but longevity and projection on this one are
dire. How thoroughly disappointing!
Well... I won't be wasting my time with it as planned when I go to Paris next
year. I guess I can skip the Chanel Boutique.
I prefer the Chanel Monsieur Concentree sold in the States!
⁝
Most people detect aldehydes, ink and magnolia in this one? Wow. I'll give
it points for being daring and different, but... I don't like it. It's strange
and way too powdery.
The very first thing I get from this is a blast of something sharp and very
much like enamel or lacquer paint - that solvents nose burn. The drydown
reminds me too much of the scented talcs my mother used to get from Avon when I
was a little boy. It doesn't seem to last long... the long term scent here is
mildly floral/woody.
No like.
⁝
Not bad. No WOW! factor, but not bad. I like the fruity opening - that
seems well-wrought. It dries down to an inoffensive, somewhat generic scent.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't buy this, but I wouldn't turn down a bottle if it
came my way.
One of those "office scents." Projection and longevity are average
for scents these days, which is another way of saying disappointing.
-----------
On a second wearing I have changed my opinion because I've detected a somewhat
sour note in this. It is not prominent and I don't know how I missed it before,
but it is unpleasant, so, no.
⁝
This doesn't smell like fine perfumery. It smells like functional
perfumery. The original Neroli Portofino smelled like Spray and Wash - this
stuff even more so.
It appears that the only reasonable way to extend a light citrus scent (and
keeping it light) is via Hedione, as Roudnitska did with Eau Sauvage. This
stuff is like a sledgehammer. My wife sniffed my collar and made a stink face.
And, wow, $100 more than the original? I pass!
⁝
The top notes on this one are pretty hard to take (yes, "poopy"),
but it dries down to a quality oud like Hayat Kemi Blending Magic. Problem is,
wearing this one is going to be harder. It's just... hard to take. This is not
one of those rapidly-vanishing scents. And, happily, it's also not one of those
medicinal ouds. High quality oud.
Much better than M7!
⁝
Yes, it seems like a soliflore orange blossom, but does it have Hedione in
it to provide a white flower note? It reminds me of Eau Sauvage - but this is
still a very pleasant scent.
My favorite orange scent remains Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo - Arancia di
Capri, but this is good, too. It lasts longer.
⁝
Well, that was a surprise! I have found that I normally like men's scents
with iris (Prada Infusion d'Homme being the main example), but I sure don't
care for this! It's too green, too wild, too strong, too floral. Scrubber, in
fact.
Unisex? No, I don't think so. I think it is very feminine. Not for me at all.
And how exactly is this a "chypre?" No oakmoss, bergamot or labdanum.
Patchouli alone does not a chypre make.
⁝
Oh, this is VERY nice. It may be the best citrus scent I have ever smelled.
Anyway, it's up well there. It starts as citrus and dries down to... green.
Greenish. I want a bottle!
My wife likes it, too.
Update: I have a bottle. Longevity and projection sucks! I like it but I won't
be replacing it.
⁝
"Tom of Finland is beyond sexuality – he is sex, in all its fullness
and magnitude, open and erect."
Oh, puleese.
Not a bad scent. I seem to almost automatically like scents that contain iris.
And I'm no fan of the "clean/fresh" genre, but this one is tolerable.
Too soft and clean to be much of a leather scent to me.
⁝
More like Cartier Declaration than Terre d'Hermes, I think. (I have owned
both.) I don't get the pronounced bitter orange note that forms such a
distinctive part of the Hermes product.
I like it, but I think I'd prefer another bottle of the Cartier or the Hermes
than this.
It's... okay. I'd wear it.
⁝
Oud is almost always a miss with me. Either I can't smell it as a distinct
note (Tom Ford Tobacco Oud or Oud Wood), or there's a nasty cough medicine
aspect to it (M7). Or, with an oud attar, it smells like a rotting log. The
only oud that I have liked thus far is Hayat Kemi Blending Magic - $400/bottle.
But this stuff is complex, wonderful and I'd wear it! It's not really me - but
I'd wear it.
Like the Hayat, the top notes are a bit overwhelming and unpleasant, but that
soon fades away to a deep, completely unique scent. This is oud done right.
Yes, there is some skank here, but it's a good skank, if that makes sense.
Problem: My wife gets her hated "grandma's ashtrays" note from it.
(Encre Noir and Creed Royal Oud also has this for her.)
⁝
I'm a smoke fan, so yes, I love this stuff! As eilismaireg pointed out,
it's Autumn in a bottle! A lovely scent. To my nose it is not as
campfire-smokey as Naomi Goodsir's Bois d'Ascese (which I also like a lot).
Don't be put off by the "patchouli" in title. There is indeed an
earthy, potting soil aspect to this, but it's a well-blended mix of smoke and
patch.
I don't detect much vanilla here... I guess it modifies the raw/soil note of
the patchouli more than asserts itself as sweet. This is not sweet.
I think I like this as much or more than the Tom Ford Patchouli Absolu, which
is very much a potting soil scent.
Yes - I want a bottle!
⁝
I found this plain bottle on the shelf at Nordstrom, my favorite department
store. I've never seen it there before. Hm. So, Nordstrom being Nordstrom, I
filled myself one of their little sample sprayer bottles to try it out.
It smells nice - musky, woodsy - but there is no WOW factor at play, here. And
it doesn't really seem to assert itself on my skin - I suspect projection is
virtually nil.
So while I like it, I must admit that it's kind of a personality free sort of scent.
It falls into the category of "safe for work," which is the same
place one of my favorite scents, Prada Infusion d'Homme, inhabits. But the
Prada has a much more welcoming radiance... I always feel well-groomed wearing
it.
This Loewe scent is just kind of there but doesn't really do anything for me.
Once again, I like it, but, no.
⁝
What happened to my original review?
Anyway, I bought this and wore it only to find out, over time, it struck me as
just plain weird. I tried and I tired, but no, I could not come to terms with
it. So I don't really like it anymore and shall be giving it away as a white
elephant exchange gift this Christmas!
⁝
I tried this via a Nordstrom sample and, yes, I agree with everyone else:
It's sort of a toned-down version of Tuscan Leather, which I own and like. As I
have quickly scent-neutralizing skin, this stuff doesn't last as long as TL on
me. So if it's the same price, why buy it?
It's... okay. It's a good leather scent but not one of my favorites. For Tom
Ford cost I expect more Wow Factor.
----------------
Smelled it again in a big department store in Paris. Yep, same conclusion. The
underwhelming little brother of Tuscan Leather.
⁝
I smelled this one on paper at a Nordstrom. Yes, it is green. Very green.
At times it reminded me of grass, which recalled memories of me as a child
lying on grass and feeling itchy. (I think I am mildly allergic to grass.)
I agree with the reviewer who thought this not unisex. After the assertive
greenness of the opening it indeed becomes floral. It's not for me. I have
smelled other scents with violet leaf notes and find them to be turn-offs.
It might smell terrific on my wife, however...
⁝
Awful stuff. It's a good thing I test sprayed a bit of my Nordstrom sample
on my arm before doing a general spray or it would have made for a long, long
day. The top notes have a piercing, cloying floral note that smells like the
world's worst scented candle - or unbearably soapy, I'm not sure which. This
pungency only lasts for a half hour or so and then the scent settles down, but
I don't care for the floral drydown, either. (Suspicion confirmed: geranium is
not for me.) This is one of the least attractive Hermes scents I've ever
smelled.
Scrubber.
⁝
When the Nordstom associate picked up the bottle to prepare a tester she
noted the little leather zippered suit for the bottle and said, "That's
cute." Indeed. Hot Topic cute. You know, Corporate Goth/Corporate Rebel cute.
I like the top notes! A smoky leather...very nice. The drydown, not so much. It
gets kind of trashy within about a half hour... it loses its allure and
character.
Longevity is indeed tragic. I sprayed two wet sprays of this stuff on my arm at
9:20 AM. By 9:55 it was a very weak skin scent and at 10:20 AM it was almost
entirely gone. Why waste your money on stuff that doesn't last?
So far I have not cared for any of the Varvatos scents I have tried and this
one joins the crowd. A pity. The top notes are great!
And I still maintain that the true rock and roll rebellious scent is Knize Ten.
⁝
Hm. I wonder about the notes. First of all, I don't get any eucalyptus -
and bear in mind, I know what the stuff smells like because I used to play
among eucalyptus trees and leaves all through my childhood in California. This
doesn't smell like that. And gin? Again, hm. All of the gin scents I've smelled
from Tokyomilk were sour and awful - and yet this isn't.
I read it as mildly floral. It's not bad... I could grow to like it. It smells
upper crusty and British.
⁝
A classy citrus scent in a superlative bottle. It lasted about two hours
max on my arm. There are better citrus scents out there for me - Terre d'Hermes
and Terre Eau Tres Fraiche leaps to mind - but this one wasn't bad
That bottle is outstanding. Heavy and substantial. But who wears a bottle?
⁝
As I sprayed this one on the adjective that came to mind was
"yummy." Even gourmandy. That's the vanilla, which is quite
prominent. It goes through a phase when it becomes soft and powdery, but every
now and then I'd catch something else - the skank element, which, in this, is
quite subtle. I couldn't call this animalic...
Labdanum is described as "deep, powerful, leathery and ambery note."
I don't detect any leathery note... if I do it's a soft, powdery leather.
This is an interesting and nuanced scent of obvious quality - I like it!
Longevity is good.
⁝
Not a fan.
My initial impression is that it was like spraying sweetness on myself - not
quite cotton candy, but not far from it. It's not my thing. I kept hoping and
expecting that the rather more bitter chocolate A*Men base would emerge, but it
didn't. The long term note in this is a sort of generic sweet coffee.
The lavender in this is pretty subtle to my nose.
Pure Malt is still the best of the series, in my humble opinion.
⁝
Let's see: Rasasi La Yuquawam is like Clive Christian C is like Montale
Aoud Leather is like Tom Ford Tuscan Leather is like this one, Parfums de Marly
Godolphin. Yes, I definitely see a resemblance between all these. And this one
is another solid leather scent contender.
If I did a wrist by wrist comparison with this and TL I suppose the differences
would become more obvious, but suffice to say that, like TL I love it and it's
a very luxurious leather scent. Longevity seems to be about the same as TL.
Nordstrom pricing is about $65 an ounce for this vs. $88 an ounce for TL. (The
Rasasi is the best value here, but it doesn't last as long on me as TL.
Eventually you get what you pay for.)
Geez, that bottle cap is heavy.
⁝
Tuscan Leather is one of my very favorite scents - I own a bottle of it and
know it well - so, mindful of the comparisons between that and Clive Christian
C I tried a Nordstrom sample.
(And I bet this constant comparison with Tuscan Leather drives the Clive
Christian people nuts!)
Same general vibe, yes, but TL is more of a leather scent. CCC is leather with
something else. There is a somewhat astringent, medicinal note in CCC that is
not in TL that puts me off a bit. It must be the oud. Also, I find that I
usually don't like amber - perhaps that's what's causing me grief.
In general, I like this (it is obviously a quality scent), but... no. I
wouldn't buy it. My ranking of the TL's and TL smell-alikes is as follows:
1. Tuscan Leather
2. Montale Aoud Leather
3. Rasasi La Yuquawam Homme
4. Clive Christian C
⁝
I was sold on this one at the Scent Bar in Los Angeles. I've smelled many
of the leather scents - it's my favorite note - but this one is superlative due
to the woods and booze notes. It smells like... a club. A fine club. Very, very
nice. A little more sillage and longevity would be good, but...
------------------
I've been wearing this off and on for the past six months. The more I wear it,
the more I like it. This is seriously good stuff! Leathery, boozy... it hits
the right notes for me.
⁝
Well, I sprayed on an entire 1 ml sample on myself and, after an hour or
so, it was virtually gone.
When it comes to whiskey/boozy scents, I prefer Tim McGraw Southern Blend
(which has longevity about as bad but is much cheaper) and, for a more complex
scent, A*Men Pure Malt. This one didn't show me anything.
⁝
I once owned a bottle of Royall Bay Rhum. $40 (and that was discounted),
Nice bottle - didn't last. I like this stuff just as much. $7, much bigger
bottle - doesn't last.
It's what I wear when I don't feel like wearing anything, or when my nose is
congested and I don't want to waste my bottle of Tuscan Leather...
⁝
Commonplace, unoriginal, boring. Makes no real impression, has no
"WOW!" factor. It has a scent, but it's almost indistinguishable from
a freshly-laundered shirt. I suppose that's the musk in it.
Is it "safe for work?" Sure. If your goal is to get your co-workers
to yawn in your face, this is your frag.
⁝
Yes, it invokes the sea. No, it is not pleasant. It dries down smelling
like a stinky pier somewhere. The odd thing is that it is somewhat reminiscent
of Outremer Oceane, which I like, but this stuff turns me off somehow. Some
errant note, I guess. I would not want to smell this on myself all day.
So... not quite scrubber, but close.
⁝
The top notes are zingy, citrusy, sparkly, fresh and very pleasant. Sadly,
it all turns to soap on my skin. There is good soapy (Prada Infusion d'Homme,
Mugler Cologne) and bad soapy. This is one of the bad ones; sniffing it
irritates my nose.
A pity. I really liked those top notes.
Longevity on my skin is a couple of hours.
⁝
As the name suggests, it is a woody scent, cedar coming to the fore, then
pine notes. It is quite nice - I like it. In fact, I like it better than Le
Labo Chant de Bois, which was previously my woodsy favorite, and almost as much
as Creed's Royal Oud, which costs more than three times as much. And it is so
much better than Mugler's Pure Wood. I want a bottle someday.
However, again, longevity on me is an issue.
I detect no citrus.
⁝
My local Sephora now carries some of the Comme des Garcons line, so
naturally I got samples.
This is one of the relatively few incense-based scents I like. It's complex...
my first take on it was woody-spicy, but then the stuff settled down and the
incense came to the fore. But I read this as sort of piney-smokey. Like
aromatic burning wood.
Somebody made a comparison to Encre Noire, and I agree, although this seems to
be a sort of second counsin to that popular fragrance. This is more of an
incense-smoke scent rather than EN's vetiver-smoke scent.
I don't detect mint at all, and any leather is very subtle.
Weird bottle!
Longevity is about the usual thing these days: disappointing. On me it's nearly
gone in a few hours. On cotton, very faint. Can we please go back to making
scents that last?
------------
A second test:
This and Wonderwood are two excellent woody scents. I like Comme des Garcon's
use of incense... this smells mysterious and somewhat campfirey. Dry, too.
Austere. And I can detect the nutmeg. I like it.
Problem, though - it doesn't seem to last at all. A pity.
⁝
Lo and behold I found a tester of this stuff at a Nordstrom. No bottles for
sale - just the tester! So I had a sample made.
I like the opening, I like the drydown. It doesn't especially smell like a
coffee that I have ever had, but it does strongly suggest coffee. A sweet,
milky sort of coffee, but a coffee nonetheless. And somehow it manages to avoid
smelling like, say, I just spilled coffee on myself. It's a fully realized
coffee scented perfume. Nice!
I don't like it as much as Pure Malt, but I like it better than Pure Havane,
Pure Wood and A-Men.
Longevity is decent.
-------
Second wearing: Same overall opinion as before. Not much WOW! factor but I'd
wear it.
⁝
I wasn't sure I'd like this... It's a deep, rich, earthy, potting soil kind
of scent. It reminds me of a small bottle of Tsar I once had (and traded away),
but this doesn't have the geranium scent that was such a turn off. It's quite
nice.
Really? This is just patchouli? Nothing else? I once smelled some patchouli
essential oil and don't recall liking it much. How is this different?
Wore it for a day: Yep, I like this stuff. It smells great! Longevity is
acceptable.
⁝
A helpful perfumisto at The Scent Bar in Los Angeles showed me this one,
and because I bought some fragrance I got a sample! He told me that this is
what a quality oud-based scent smells like. (I really wasn't sure. I thought
oud was either cough medicine or a rotting log.)
The top notes, at first, repelled me... No, I didn't care for it. And then,
amazingly, it changed into a truly marvelous scent... A lovely, deep, complex
wood. So *this* is oud! Ah, I can see why it is prized now!
The development of this one is the most radical and pronounced of any scent I
think I have ever smelled. Truly amazing! Finally, an oud I like!
$400/bottle.
------------
I wore some of the sample and a female cop asked me what it was I was wearing.
I told her and she wrote it down. I'll be very sorry to see my sample go away.
⁝
I liked it better than I thought I would. I'm not sure I'm smelling any
cranberries, but what I get from this one is a sort of candy scent that is
approaching the Joop! line of obnoxiousness but never crossing it. This one
seems to be an amber variation scent. Normally I don't care for amber scents.
It's one of the better fragrances in the Polo line.
This is for a younger man than I. It doesn't really suit me.
It makes my wife sneeze.
⁝
It's a tonka bean and vanilla bomb in the manner of LeMale. I like LeMale
and so I like this... but it's not the vanilla scent I hanker after. I haven't
found that yet. It's my favorite in the Luna Rossa series, however.
But credit goes to Prada for avoiding the usual thing and *not* making a
"sport" scent clean/fresh.
HOWEVER... I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the drydown; the way this
stuff ends up smelling after about two hours. It smells common and
over-familiar.
More credit: this stuff lasts and projects better than average.
Nice bottle.
⁝
I tried this in a Barney's store in Las Vegas. It's a good lavender scent,
but, for the money, I could probably be just as happy with the less expensive
Pour un Homme de Caron, which strikes me as nearly the same sort of thing. (I'm
sure somebody will chime in and state that this product has subtleties that the
Caron does not, and I suppose that's true.)
Note: I am not an especial fan of lavender, which, to my nose, smells bitingly
of some kind of astringent lemon-limey thing. But I recognize that I could get
to like it in time.
⁝
Mildly woody, mildly spicy, mildly rummy, mildly citrus, mildly leathery.
The emphasis is on mild - and this fragrance is very much in the modern style
in that it is light. Sadly, it is also in the modern style in that it doesn't
have much longevity or projection - and this is an Eau de Parfum concentration!
I like it, but it's nothing special and I won't be buying a (overpriced)
bottle.
⁝
I like Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille and I get the comparison to this, but I
find this stuff somewhat gagging and headache-inducing, and I'm not sure why.
It has a cough medicine note that reminds me of original formulation YSL M7; at
first I thought there may have been some of that same synthetic oud in this. What
is it that's annoying me? The benzoin? I find I almost always don't like
predominantly amber scents, so that could be it.
MysteryBuff: I have and love De Nicolai New York and Chanel Pour Monsieur
Concentree and I love Creed Bois du Portugal, but this Odd Fellow's Bouquet
doesn't appeal to me - I don't get the comparisons.
Yes, it does strike me as gourmandy... that was my first take on it until I got
that it's mainly a ambery tobacco scent.
Longevity is better than average.
----------
Second wearing on my hand: Yes, it's confirmed, this stuff bugs me. That ambery
benzoin note is fierce on me.
⁝
Wow - this one is weird! It opens with an incredible mustiness that reminds
me of Salvador Dali Pour Homme, then transitions into a rotting grapefruit
accord rather than a floral note like the Dali.
It's like a roll in the hay - and not clean hay, either.
I'll hand it to Frapin for coming up with something unusual, but I don't want
to smell like this.
Fortunately it doesn't last long on me or my sample would have resulted in a
long, long day.
⁝
Okay, last week I was in Las Vegas, and one day my wife and I covered eight
miles of shopping walking through Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio and the
Venetian.
One stop was at the Prada store. I asked the SA if Infusion d'Homme was really
discontinued and she gave me a blank stare. She then resorted to her cheat book
and we noted that, no, Infusion d'Homme was not listed therein.
I heard that the old Infusion d'Homme is now Iris, so I sprayed some of their
tester of that on my arm. Yep - smelled just like! So the SA gave me a sample
of Iris - nice.
But hang on. I put some of it on one arm just now and some Infusion d'Homme on
the other to do a side-by-side test. They seem different. The new one, the
d'Iris, is weak and has a brighter, more citrus top note.
Curious, I dumped more of the sample on my arm... this stuff certainly isn't
Infusion d'Homme. It's far more citrusy and far less interesting than Infusion
d'Homme. More floral. More feminine. less barbershoppy and powdery.
Hmf.
⁝
A very fine nutmeggy-suede scent... soft and comforting. It's a bit like
visiting a leather shop. It is one of the oddest fragrances I own in that when
I first spray it on I'm a little annoyed by it; it seems somewhat off-putting.
But then, after a little while I get used to the smell of it and realize,
again, that I really like it. No other scent I have is like that.
Lacha has superior longevity - on me it survived a shower! That doesn't happen
very often.
I found this one after an exhaustive try out of the scents at the Barney's
store in Las Vegas. Had to have a bottle!
I do not detect any pepper, BTW.
---------
I liked it before, but after a number of wearings I got to the point where, at
the end of the day, I sniffed the top of my tee shirt and went Mmmmmmmm. I
cannot mentally force myself to do this. It's my final confirmation of approval
and all my favorite scents have this reaction for me.
It's a very nice stablemate to my Tuscan Leather. One is assertively leather,
the other is mildly suede.
⁝
Suggested for me by a fellow in the Las Vegas Barney's store.
Nice, but that opening is way feminine... Not for me. Not my style.
Interesting in that I saw a datura plant today on an ancient Native American
rock dwelling tour. Apparently the datura leaves can cause 24 hour
hallucinations!
⁝
Incense scents usually don't impress me, and this one is no exception. It
goes on with the same sort of mysterious dry mustiness found in Salvador Dali
Pour Homme and doesn't develop much on my skin. In fact, after about 40 minutes
or so it almost entirely disappears. It's very timid. So this one isn't showing
me much.
⁝
Much more bois than feminite, I think.
This has a very nice woody vibe and is in nature, I think, really unisex. It is
light (longevity and sillage are not especially good on me) but not
unmasculine. I liked it, but when it comes to woodsy scents, not as much as Le
Labo's Chant du Bois or Creed's Royal Oud.
I don't especially smell the cinnamon note, either.
I've never smelled the Shiseido version.
⁝
Sampled via a generous fragrantican.
On me this is too "perfumey"; what I'm probably objecting to here is
the jasmine. I could detect what I thought was a white flower/indolic note
right away. It reminded me a bit of the classic Guerlains: Shalimar, Jicky,
L'Heure Bleu. Not in a good way on me, however - this stuff was driving me nuts
all day.
But! On somebody else this is probably stellar!
The vanilla here is vanilla bean, rich and strong.
So I like it. Just not on me.
⁝
A very accurate and delicious vanilla scent; it reminds me of Outremer's
Vanille. People seem to like this a lot and I can see why - it smells great! In
the bottle there's a bit of a vanilla liqueur note; it smells a bit boozy. This
isn't a part of the spray, however.
The only problem: on me it is very timid. On skin it disappears quickly. I
sprayed most of my 1 ml sample on my shirt, and it was only faintly noticeable.
If I got a bottle of this I'd be using a lot, I think.
⁝
Root beer float!
I was in a Sephora one day and tried this on a paper strip out of curiosity
(full disclosure: the bottle and concept lured me). Wow! This stuff smells
great! Yes...a root beer float. That describes it as well as anything else.
It's yummy.
After another couple of visits and re-tests on paper strips I wondered - how
would this smell ON ME?
Well... it still smells great! Just like some sweet, delicious gourmet food.
And there's the problem. Do I want to smell myself smelling like a sweet
gourmet food? Or a root beer float? You would think this is a non-issue, but it
is as it influences my self-image. Bad ass or teddy bear? (I am a big, tall
guy.)
I wear A-Men Pure Malt, which is very foody/boozy just fine. But somehow that's
different.
I'll have to ponder this one. I've been looking or a vanilla scent, but as
things stand it's probably Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, not this. But my opinion
could change!
And this stuff smells great! I need to get another sample for my wife...
(Update: I did, and she agrees: root beer float. But she's not a fan.)
⁝
Found in the men's section of a Nordstrom - why, I have no idea. Unisex
this is absolutely not!
Sorry, folks, but I fully agree with Luca Turin: this is an obnoxiously heavy
and gagging floral scent that, yes, Hermes would do well to discontinue. Is it
for men? Sure - if the man in question is on a stage performing dressed as Mae
West or Cher.
Wary and suspicious, I sprayed one shot to my arm. It came at me for the next
few hours, and alarmed my daughter-in-law who smelled it all the way up the
stairs. It greeted me the following morning from my pillow, sheets and
comforter. Egad.
To paraphrase David Bowie, this ain't a perfume. It's genocide.
⁝
A trickster at Nordstrom put a bottle of this in the men's section, so I
obtained a sample.
Whew! The opening is way too perfumey, way too floral, too feminine. But
wait... it dries down to what could be a second or third cousin to Bel Ami.
Soft and somewhat leathery. But there are no leather notes listed... it must be
a clever olfactory trick of Hermes.
And, on me, a third phase is somewhat soapy - which I do not like.
We tried a spray on my wife's arm - she doesn't like it.
So... not for me. It's a distinctive, quality scent, though, no doubt about
that.
⁝
Some trickster put this in the men's fragrances section of Nordstrom, and I
see why. I got a sample.
It starts with a gentle iris note that reminds me a bit of Prada Infusion
d'Homme. A dressy, squared away laundry scent. But after awhile it becomes
sharp and bright, and here's where we part company as it strays and settles
into the usual clean/fresh/sporty territory of many men's scents. If my bête
noire dihydromyrcenol isn't in this, I'm smelling something very reminiscent of
it. Or the same effect, anyway.
But I must say, if I were forced at gunpoint to wear a clean/fresh/sporty scent
it would be this one.
Unusual bottle.
⁝
Hooray! I found another Bvlgari scent I like! (In addition to Au The Vert.)
This one is very nice... the rum and spice accord is right on the money and
smells great! The top notes are enchanting. I see this has iris in it...
another reason I like it. I like smelling iris on myself (Dior Homme, Prada
Infusion d'Homme) and on my wife (who loves Guerlain's sadly discontinued
iris-heavy Shalimar Parfum Initial).
And yes, I do detect the resemblance to Spicebomb.
The only problem: as is the case with most modern fragrances, sillage and
longevity is wanting. Even sprayed on cotton this becomes quite soft. On skin
it's a skin scent right away on me. At the end of the day it's utterly gone,
even from cotton.
This is an Eau de Parfum? Really? It has Eau de Toilette performance.
⁝
Wow, that opening takes some getting used to! It almost smells like
eraser... black pepper and vanilla? Is that what I'm smelling?
It dries down nicely, however. I can detect a soapy House DNA in this one, not
unlike Infusion d'Homme, which I like.
I wasn't greatly impressed with the original Luna Rossa, which I found generic
and boring. I cannot say that about this scent. I like it!
Once again, great bottle.
⁝
It had to happen eventually: I finally found a Declaration flanker I didn't
like!
The original d'Un Soir is subtle and charming. This one is crass. That opening
is pretty unbearable; I agree with the others - it ventures too far into
gagging Tom Ford Black Orchid territory.
And yes, there is a bit of a candy accord at play early on. It reminded me a
bit of a fragrance I can't stand - Joop!
The original is much better.
⁝
For the life of me, I don't know why this fragrance gets so much attention.
It goes on smelling of pineapple - and if you're lucky you also get a smoke
note. I did with a previous sample but I didn't with the present sample. I
guess this is what's at the heart of the whole Aventus batch variation
controversy.
At any rate, on me it dries down to a boring sweet/fruity thing. Also, it
doesn't last. And it doesn't seem to project.
I'm convinced, when it comes to nude emperors, this is the one with its junk
hanging out.
⁝
A nice orange scent with an additional zing of ginger. I like it... but
longevity and sillage is pretty bad on me. I get an hour, tops, with this.
Oakmoss? In this? I don't detect any!
It's a pity it's so timid.
Actually, when I first put it on the very light white flower floral aspect of
it reminded me of Eau Sauvage, except with orange instead of lemon. But Eau
Sauvage lasts longer.
⁝
Is this the stuff that's being marketed now as "Signature?" Looks
like the very same bottle and both are oud scents.
Anyway, a sales assistant at a Nordstrom begged and petitioned me not to walk
away from the Bond No. 9 counter before I sniffed this on a paper strip. So I
did. What gives? I could barely smell anything at all and so I told her this.
So she gave a sniff herself and her face betrayed her - there was nothing
there. So she muttered something about it being light and changed the subject.
A weird experience. Did we get a Bond bottle full of perfumer's alcohol?
BTW, the Nordstrom at the Pentagon Center in Northern Virginia has WAY too many
sales assistants. They won't leave you alone.
⁝
Wow, this stuff has a punch!
The best description I've read for the opening is "acetonic." Yes -
and to my nose easily confused with a camphorous note. After a very sharp
fanfare, the scent settles down to a leathery patchouli. The vetiver is there,
too, but this isn't as rooty or as pungent as Guerlain's 1959 vetiver. But it
is intensely green. I'm reminded of a grove of bamboo near my backyard where I
grew up, but this is more of a suggestion than the same literal smell.
I suppose there's sandalwood in this mix, but it's not as prominent as the
patchouli or the leather. As time moves on this becomes more balsamic and
softer. Or is that the sandalwood? This one's hard to read!
This fragrance is bold and individual, and not to be blind bought. Longevity
and projection are above average.
I like it!
My wife, however, declares that it's somewhat "Pine-Solly."
⁝
The topnotes on this are wonderful, a very sharp citrus.
But... uh-oh. On my skin the lemon scent is virtually gone after about a half
hour (no kidding - I timed it), replaced with a very faint and somewhat
unpleasant soapy smell. No sillage unless sprayed on clothing.
I think Creed's Bois de Cedrat is still my all-time fastest evaporation king,
but this one's a contender.
⁝
A generous fragrantican sent me an evaluation sample of the La Yuqawam; I
own and greatly enjoy the Tuscan Leather. I put a little on the top of each
hand and made a fool out of myself continually sniffing.
Observations:
These two scents, indeed, smell very similar, just as people claim. My wife,
doing a comparison sniff, confirmed this. With more inspection, however, she
claimed that she preferred the Tuscan Leather.
The La Yuquwam has a more pronounced berry note than does the Tom Ford product
- it is right up there as a top note. Certainly, any jasmine or woody notes
(listed as notes) are hard to detect among the heart or basenotes.
The Rasasi product has a bit more of a smoky cork note to it.
The Tuscan Leather lasts a lot longer on my skin; I'm guessing that the concentrations
differ. The Rasasi behaves like most Eau de Toilettes on me.
Overall I prefer the Tom Ford Tuscan Leather - but would gladly wear the Rasasi
product!
There is a considerable difference in cost!
⁝
Atelier joins the ranks of Hermes (Eau de Pamplemousse Rose) and Guerlain
(Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune) at getting the elusive grapefruit note right! There
are so many nasty, synthetic efforts to create an olfactory impression of a
grapefruit out there - so full credit to Atelier.
Another reviewer called the top notes of this "hyperrealistic," and I
concur. It's like squeezing a grapefruit onto yourself, which I unexpectedly
found to be a nice experience.
The drydown is a gentle ambery note. The same structure as the Varvatos scents,
really: a citrus top end on amber. Iris? Okay, but I don't get that.
I like it a lot! A nice scent with a real zing... This kind of scent isn't
normally my thing but I can see myself wearing this on warm days.
Longevity: As usual with citrus scents, a problem. I put it on at 11 AM and
it's 2:30 PM now and it's pretty much gone. I can barely smell it on my cotton
tee shirt top. Pity.
⁝
Urged to try this one by somebody on this page's forum, I duly visted a
Nordstrom for a paper strip and a spray.
I was hoping for a sort of distant cousin to Tuscan Leather, which I like very
much. Or perhaps some variation of a light white musk of the type found in
Mugler Cologne. Anyway, that was the expectation.
What I got was a sort of hard-to-define collection of notes that didn't make me
think of either. Worse, it didn't play well with my skin chemistry, becoming
rather sour or "off." There's a note there that is just not
flattering or pleasant on me.
What's more, it's very light. I'm a big guy... this is like wearing a tie made
out of Kleenex. It just doesn't work.
My wife didn't like it, either. It reminded her of a cheap musk that somebody
she used to know used to wear.
So... no. Not for me.
⁝
Guerlain is my favorite house. But there is no getting around it, this one
is disappointing. My take on it is that it's a bit too mainstream. No WOW!
factor at all. It's Guerlain merely filling a market expectation, but not
redefining it or doing anything really new.
It's nice, but I don't expect or want nice from Guerlain - I expect more.
It goes on "yummy"; the almond notes are certainly there. It
disappears pretty quickly on my skin. In fact, longevity is awful.
This one has me wondering, if you like almonds why not find a bottle of
Givenchy Pi in a Ross and get about the same thing for less?
--------------
Another try: My wife likes this one a lot on me. She thinks it's
"yummy."
⁝
After seeing this constantly suggested on this website's men's forum, I
decided to pay for a sample to see what all the fuss was about. (It was less
than two bucks and made my fragrancenet shipping free, so I consider myself as
coming out ahead.)
I still don't know why people recommend this.
A synthetic trash heap, that's what this is. It went on smelling very generic;
the top notes are undoubtedly the same-old same-old stuff you constantly smell
in the mass market bottles for sale at a Ross. (I'm looking at you, Usher,
Giorgio and Michael Jordan.) It then dries down to a nasty, sour smell that
reminds me of nothing so much as what my daughter calls "trash
juice," the liquid matter that occasionally oozes out of trash cans.
Phew! Nasty.
I'm not afraid of "dirty." After all, I love the castoreum in Antaeus
and the civet in my wife's perfumes. But this isn't a well-wrought dirty in any
way, shape or form. It's just... trash.
Fortunately Dirty English doesn't last. (Because it's cheap, people!) This is
the one time a scrubber didn't last forever on me, and boy, am I glad.
Better yet, it's discontinued.
⁝
I'm sure there's a difference between this and au the vert (which I like),
but I'd have to have them on side by side paper strips to judge.
I like this one, but, wow, is it ever light! I tried a sample on myself and it
just sort of disappeared. It's way too subtle and dainty for me.
⁝
I get the oranges at the beginning, and it does have some zing, but I
prefer the orange notes in Terre d'Hermes more. The drydown is similar to the
A-Men gourmand. But this is not my preferred orange scent.
I prefer this to A-Men Pure Wood and A-Men, but I like Pure Malt better.
Longevity is so-so. A few hours.
⁝
A friend of mine found a vintage bottle of this and was kind enough to make
me a 1 ml sample.
I'm not a fan of the top notes... it was somewhat alarming going on me. (That,
"Oh, no, what am I doing?" feeling.) It struck me at first as being
overwhelmingly... floral? Can that be? It then settled down into the musk note.
Sadly... I do not care for it. It just smells too dated. I'm okay with Kiehl's
Musk Oil and the white musk in Mugler Cologne, but this one comes across as
being just too cloying.
I don't get the tobacco note that's supposed to be in this.
I'm not especially a musk person, I am finding out.
⁝
I tried some of this in the Norway store at EPCOT; sprayed some on my arm.
I didn't like it at all because it's way too floral for me.
When I got to the Italian section at EPCOT, the guy at the fragrance section
sprayed the other arm with a sweep of Prada Infusion d'Homme. I bet you could
smell me coming from a mile away that day.
⁝
I'm trying to figure out if Creed is telling the truth about this perfume's
history.
So. Does anyone here definitively recall owning a bottle of this prior to 1975?
Please PM me if this is the case.
Of course, if you owned *any* Creed fragrance prior to 1975, please also PM me.
If you *didn't* own a bottle prior to 1975 and wish only to take me to task for
being a "Creed hater" or some such thing, don't bother. Same if you
want to inform me that prior to 1975 they were only making scents for the rich
and famous. I've heard that.
I am seeking evidence (not hearsay or copy from Creed's website) of Creed being
producers of perfume prior to 1975.
⁝
This is a curious one! It reminds me a little of Halston Z-14 and a little
of Van Cleef and Arpels Tsar. Spice and cinnamon are the two notes I get most
strongly - but then there's that x-factor that the incense also imparts for me.
I'm never quite sure what to make of it. I can smell the pine/fir... it smells
mildly Christmassy to me.
And there's a hint of floral, too. Is that the carnation note? Normally I don't
like carnation - it's what spoiled Tsar for me - but here it's restrained.
A very nice scent!
Not a powerhouse like Bogart Pour Homme, which is nuclear strength. But I like
the strength of this one.
I'll have to get a bottle!
A few hours later: No, I won't. That carnation-incense accord, which becomes
pronounced with the passage of time, is a deal-breaker for me. As the hours
passed that accord kept "coming at me" (to use my wife's phrase). A
pity.
⁝
A very pleasant beachy scent. I wasn't a fan of the initial blast, but the
drydown was quite nice. The only problem: strength. I can tell just from a
paper strip that this stuff won't last on my skin at all.
For me, the king of sea scents is Outremer's Oceane and Backpacker's Cologne
Big Sur, but this one could take third place.
C'mon, Jo - up the concentration!
---------------------------
A wearing:
It's ephemeral and timid in the usual Jo Malone style. Like some perfumer
dipped a piece of wood into a mildly salty alcohol solution and called it a
perfume. No silage to speak of. Little longevity.
I like it, sort of, but it's just sort of not there on me. Yes... I can see why
some might call it boring. Given the above and the Jo Malone price point, I
won't be buying a bottle of this.
I'm not a fan of the House of Jo Malone, as you can see, and this one doesn't
convert me any.
I see there's grapefruit listed as one of the notes. At least it's not that
obnoxious, weird synthetic that gets used nowadays in place of a more
convincing grapefruit note.
Sage? I don't get that at all. Sage is a note that never fails to invoke in me
memories of the California coast and I don't detect that in this. The Sage King
is Backpacker's Cologne Big Sur.
⁝
Leather? I don't smell any leather at all. Just an indifferent
sandalwood/generic woody smell. Not impressed at all with this one.
But at least it doesn't have that weird apple pie note the original has. (James
Bond/apple pie?)
No longevity.
Nice bottle, good tactile feel. I also like the mechanism that blocks the spray
opening. Now put something worthwhile in it!
⁝
Meh. Aquatic, blue, somewhat sporty... doesn't last long. You could safely
spill the bottle all over yourself. Very mass market, unimpressive. Not my
thing at all.
Lime? Really? Okay, I guess there is some in this, but it doesn't strike me as
a lime scent at all. Very synthetic.
Guerlain Homme is SO much better than this, with the same intended vibe.
I suspect that the Tommy Bahama line isn't for me at all.
⁝
Hmmmm. On my arm, yes, it is a nice, lemon meringue scent. Pleasant. My
wife's verdict, however, was harsh: "lemon dish soap." And, indeed,
on my neck where I sprayed, a bit of perspiration seemed to have rendered it
somewhat soapy.
The jury is still out on this one.
p.s. When I first put it on, it made my wife sneeze. Not good.
⁝
My mother-in-law's favorite perfume. It smells wonderful! I can see why
it's so popular for women.
But for me - not so much.
I like the powdery vanilla, but I think the incense notes are the deal-breakers
for me. There's something in this that kind of hits me in the side of the head.
I couldn't wear it.
⁝
After seeing "DHI" getting endlessly recommended around these
parts, I finally decided to try it via a Nordstrom sample.
I can see what all the hype is about; this stuff is quite nice and one of the
very few florals I am willing to wear. (Although I suppose it's really a
gourmandy floral.)
The vanilla/cocoa drydown is very pleasant. And it's long-lasting! That's rare.
Well done, House of Dior!
⁝
For years in stores I would spray some on myself thinking that it was
classy somehow (I was subject to the marketing from my youth: "So fine a
gift it's even sold in jewelry stores") and my wife would report, "I
like it. It's okay." But no Mmmmmmmmmmmm from her like I got with Antaeus,
Santos, Bel Ami or Tuscan Leather.
So last year I got myself a little bottle of it at a colossal discount store in
North Carolina off I-95; I may have paid $3! I'm wearing it today, as it turns
out.
karlovonamesti nails it: "A cheap, hollow forgettable fougere." Yeah,
that's my opinion, too. I don't like it and I don't dislike it. Just sort of
"meh." I have moved on.
I suppose I might say that it represents a sort of absolute minimum of
acceptability for a men's fragrance. Any lower than shalt I not go.
(Actually - I can't see myself ever wearing this ever again. There are far too
many better scents out there.)
⁝
Not bad - but not especially good, either. It begins very astringent and
sharp, then settles down, more or less, to the same fougere vibe as the
original Drakkar. But I'm pretty sure I prefer the original.
Longevity on me is not good; in about an hour it becomes a very subtle skin
scent.
⁝
Yawnnnnnn.
Doesn't have much character or personality. Generic woody/ambery. And it's gone
from my skin in about an hour or two.
But then, I didn't like the original Pasha, either.
"...freshness in green and fresh citruses, balanced perfectly with warm
and cuddly aromas": How is this even remotely "noire?"
Fail.
⁝
The top notes and heart notes are pleasant enough, and this has a kind of
Son of Derby/Son of Polo Green vibe going for it with additional sweet boozy
notes. Nice. The basenotes begin to smell a bit cheap, synthetic and
overly-familiar, however. Not a fan of those.
The real problem here is longevity and sillage, which is tragic. This stuff is
just way too faint. It's still barely on my cotton shirt an hour after
spraying.
So... no. If this kind of formulation is your thing try Polo Green, Derby or
even Mugler Pure Malt instead. And if you're on a budget, try Tim McGraw
Southern Comfort (another boozy scent that doesn't last long - but it costs
less).
⁝
Inoffensive, light, safe for work - and boring. Yes, for beginners. Yes,
generic. Yes, disappointing.
Soon to be found at a Ross near you.
I can understand the comparisons to Chanel Bleu; I don't care for that one,
either.
Still, this one did firm up a suspicion I had: I need to avoid fragrances with
pineapple notes and the great majority of the ones with grapefruit notes
(exception: Hermes Pamplemousse and Rose). Those just do not work for me at
all.
⁝
My wife is away for a week so I'm taking this opportunity to try certain
women's scents. I don't normally like them (I am not a floral person at all),
but.. what the heck.
Look - there's my wife's Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial sitting on the
bathroom sink. One spray, that's all. It's a powdery vanilla Guerlain; I'm sure
that might be good. Smells good on her. Why not? One spray.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!
Well. I won't ever make that mistake again.
p.s. It smells terrific on my wife, where it belongs.
⁝
At the urging of some women on the men's forum here, I tried this. (I don't
normally like women's perfumes or florals.)
My wife is away for a week. I got home from work and took off my dress shirt; I
could smell some of the Declaration L'Eau on it from this morning but none on
my skin or tee shirt, as I suspected might be the case.
I looked at my wife's bottle of Chanel No. 5 and it looked at me. After some
hesitation I sprayed one spray.
BANG! MOM. Seriously, MOM. My wife wears this all the time and she smells like
my wife wearing Chanel No. 5. I wear it and I get an instant olfactory
impression of my mother! At some point in my life she must have worn this - I
don't remember when - but when I wear it I smell exactly like my mother.
Moral: When my daughter was a cute little four year old, she used to suck her
thumb. One night, when I put her to bed, she was sucking her thumb, and I told
her that that thumb was vanilla and this one - taking one thumb out of her
mouth and putting in the other - was chocolate. What did she think?
She pulled the thumb out of her mouth, said, "I don't wike it," and
put back in the original thumb.
Chanel No. 5 on me and smelling like my mother? I don't wike it.
⁝
It opens with that horrible, synthetic, not at all convincing grapefruit
note I have smelled way too often in modern mainstream perfumery (Hermes Eau de
Pamplemousse Rose gets grapefruit right - this one doesn't), and closes with an
equally annoying marine scent that sours on me very quickly.
This stuff is nasty and repulsive, cheap-smelling and common. It's a cacophony
of unfortunate ingredients. And, what's more, its mother dressed it funny in a
silly bottle that looks like the little plastic "just being there"
awards my kids used to bring home from elementary school.
Paugh.
("Haters gotta hate." Translation: "I don't agree with
you." Can we please retire this phrase?)
⁝
I was prepared to like this one: I own and love Pure Malt and I also like
A-Men.
The initial blast of Pure Wood is nice - I get the caramel A-Men base quite
strongly. But it soon subsides and one can indeed detect wood. But the notes
are very quickly experienced and disappear. It dries down to... what? I'm not
sure. A indefinite sort of woody note that becomes faint pretty quickly.
I am just not impressed. Not much wood here, and there's little WOW factor. And
it's way too faint - on me it becomes a skin scent very quickly.
Much better woods are found in Le Labo Chant de Bois and even Tom Ford Sahara
Noir. As for Mugler, I'll stick with Pure Malt.
I don't really "hate" it, but I don't especially "like" it,
either.
----------
Update: I wore some again, and on the second wearing the woody notes seemed
more pronounced. My daughter likes it a lot on me. I still prefer Pure Malt...
⁝
After all these reviews I was really prepared to smell something, well,
amazing. So I get to the Scent Bar in Los Angeles, where they have a bottle. A
paper strip is dipped in and handed to me. With some wariness I raise it to my
nose and... nothing. I can smell nothing. What's going on, here? So I give the
strip to my wife. She, too, smells nothing. The sales assistant sniffs -
nothing. Is this a joke?
⁝
Yes, indeed, this is what the California coast smells like! I used to work
at Camp Pendleton (near San Onofre) when I was a Marine, and vividly remember
this green, pungent, sagebrush and camphorous (eucalyptus) note. Takes me right
back... very evocative.
It goes on quite strong, but then settles down. On cotton it will last for many
hours - on skin, not so much.
$60/ounce? Not a bad price to revive one's twentysomething memories!
----------------
Update: I bought a bottle. Had to have it.
⁝
It's a very nice, unusual, exotic, woody scent which opens green and
mellows into my olfactory memory of the wooden items (boxes, etc.) and oils
available at The Akron, a place in my home town not unlike Pier One Imports. I
can see why Luca Turin - and everyone else - rates this one so highly.
It is the smell of faraway places, of jungle woods.
Alas!, it is faint. I put it on two hours ago and it is gone, even on cotton. I'd
need to use a lot more than the tester I got at the Scent Bar in L.A., I think.
----------
A different tester: Uh-oh. After a couple of hours this one got unpleasantly
soapy on me. Not so good.
⁝
The title suggests that it's an orange scent, and indeed it is. It's not a
bad one - and it lasts somewhat better than average - but I don't think there's
anything really special here to justify the $200+ price.
I do not smell civet - not at all.
If I want an orange scent that lasts at a reasonable price, I think I'd pick up
a bottle of the justifiably popular Terre d'Hermes.
Pretty bottle.
⁝
Nothing real exciting here. It's nice and I like it... is there such a
thing as a neroli soliflor? If so, this is an example of one. I don't smell
anything here other than citrus (but it's a good citrus!) and an undefined
"green" note. No, it doesn't last long on my skin. I didn't expect it
to. It's good for an hour or so, which is pretty standard for colognes and
citrus-based scents.
It does not smell like Spray and Wash, which is what the sharper and more
pungent Tom Ford Neroli Portofino is for me, so this neroli is a success!
Would I buy a bottle? No. I'd opt instead for Eau Sauvage, which is a more
refined and longer lasting citrus scent. Or Terre d'Hermes Eau Tres Fraiche,
which has the same vibe and decent longevity.
⁝
I have a sample of the extrait, not the EdP - but I don't see it on the
database.
It smells great, but on me it's all rose, powder and vanilla. Way soft - and I
usually don't care for soft. This would smell wonderful on my wife and I think
I'd prefer to smell it on her than on myself.
Oud? I don't get any of that at all. A slight leather note, yes, but, again,
it's very soft.
I'm somewhat conflicted about Habit Rouge and its variants, I see.
⁝
When is extreme not extreme? When the word is used in the perfume industry,
that's when.
I got my sample of this from the Guerlain boutique in Toronto, so I know it's
legit. Problem is, it's very timid. I have a bottle of the 1959 Guerlain
Vetiver that inspired this, and it is almost an all-day fragrance, even on my
fragrance-neutralizing skin. It's rooty, pungent, woody, green and all around
delightful. This "extreme" flanker, however, has great top notes and
that's about it.
Seriously, about an hour after I sprayed it - on cotton, yet - it's essentially
gone. What gives?
What a disappointment! I'll be sticking to plain old original Guerlain Vetiver,
which is a masterpiece.
⁝
I first tried this one at the Guerlain Boutique in the French section of
EPCOT and was won over. It's a delightful citrus and mint scent; it reminds me
a bit of Dior's Eau Sauvage and a bit of Cartier Roadster - but it smells
distinctively elegant and well-wrought, like a Guerlain.
However, my fragrance-absorbing skin does it again: longevity is not good
unless I spray it on my cotton tee shirt top. This is the fate of all such
light cologne scents on me, I am sorry to say.
So - I'll just stick with my inexpensive 4711. Same vibe, costs little, use
lots.
⁝
I like the top notes! Dried fruit and incense, which to me always smells
woody, so I interpret this as a fruity-woody scent. Nice!
But Pure Malt it ain't. I have a bottle of that. Pure Malt is much more complex
and better.
The deal-breaker arrives as it dries down about a half hour later - then I get
that all too common synthetic note that I associate with the inexpensive scents
always found in Ross. It's sort of a pungent "yellow" note. I suppose
it's used in perfumery to suggest tobacco. Anyway, I dislike it. It says
"I'm cheap."
Projection and longevity is about the usual thing, which is to say
disappointing.
⁝
"Lovers of Tuscan Leather will be enamored by this one."
Well... not quite. I vastly prefer Tuscan Leather, which smells like sheer
luxury to me. This is a good leather scent - make no mistake - but it doesn't
have the amazing WOW factor that TL and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Montale
Aoud Leather have. Instant Mmmmmmm.
This is a very good leather scent, but I'd rather have a bottle of the Montale
or, best of all, TL.
Longevity and silage are better with TL, too.
-------------------
Subsequent wearing, years later: Yep. Exactly the same response. A good leather
but no WOW factor and I don't like it as much as Tuscan Leather.
⁝
Very strongly cacao, very gourmandy and very nice - if you like that sort
of thing. I've decided that I do; A-Men finally sold me. (I have the Pure Malt
flanker.) My wife also likes it, but thinks it a bit too soft for me; she
thinks it would work better as a woman's perfume. I'm inclined to agree.
Not sure whether or not I'd buy myself a bottle of this.
It reminds me somewhat of CK Shock, only without the tobacco note.
Interesting bottle!
⁝
Tested on an arm: Will wonders never cease? I normally don't like fresh,
clean light "blue"/"water" scents - but I like this one. It
starts out citrusy and eventually makes its way to the mild spices of familiar
Declaration territory.
That means that I still like the original Declaration (I have a bottle) and all
of the flankers.
I'm not sure if I could wear this one, however. I suspect it's better on a
younger guy. Longevity and silage are about average for a modern scent.
-------
All day wearing via a Nordstrom sample: Scratch that last part about longevity.
I own a bottle of Declaration - it's one of my "go to" frags - but
the longevity on this flanker is just not as good. I'll stick with the original
Declaration, thank you very much.
Pretty bottle hue, though.
I prefer Terre d'Hermes Eau Tres Fraiche or Eau Sauvage for the same sort of
vibe.
⁝
Like Hermes Equipage, this is one of those soft, cuddly, reassuring scents.
It's... okay. Not really my thing. (Yes - we need an "indifferent"
selection. I don't like this but I don't dislike it, either.) I suppose there
might be a situation where I'd want to wear this - but it's not coming to mind.
Sunday in a suit? I'm a hard sell when it comes to florals, even understated
florals such as this.
Still, I might revisit this fragrance.
I think my favorite in this Hermes series of colognes is the d'Orange Verte.
Longevity is pretty bad unless you spray on cotton.
------
Second wearing: Even on cotton it's pretty bad. I get, maybe, two hours.
⁝
Not bad. No wow factor here, but not bad. I read it as primarily as a
juniper berry scent. It doesn't last very long on my skin, but you can also use
the Cade bath gel, shampoo and all the other associated products to boost the
scent, I suppose.
I get the impression this is good for men who don't especially care about
fragrance, or for very young men.
I prefer Eau des Baux from this house. I suspect most do as well.
⁝
Very much like AdG except it seems to last somewhat longer on my skin. I'd
have to do a direct comparison... they smell pretty much the same. Maybe this
one has a tad more spice notes?
I think I prefer this to the original - but that's not saying a lot. I'd
probably never buy a bottle of either.
⁝
Apparently most people smell orange in this, some get grapefruit, but to me
it's more lemony. Whatever they are, the citrus top notes are really zingy and
nice - precisely the thing you'd want on a hot, summery day. It dries down to a
cedary note (the Iso E Super, I'd imagine) and a light floral base. (Wait.
There's geranium in this? Geranium was what was objectionable to me with Tsar,
or so I thought - but I don't detect anything here I don't like. Perhaps it
wasn't the geranium after all...) A wonderful scent!
It is more reminiscent of Eau Sauvage to me than Declaration, but I suppose I'd
need to try both on subsequent days to test.
An excellent summer fragrance! I think I need a bottle...
---------------
Second test wearing (on an incredibly hot day); Yep, this is the stuff I want
for days like this. This one now goes into my "want" list.
⁝
Yet another blah, way overpriced Bond No. 9 scent. This one is woody, but
is not very interesting. On me it's rather timid.
Much better to my nose is the woody incense of Tom Ford Sahara Noir or Le
Labo's Chant de Bois.
Not a supporter of same sex marriage so... not a fan of the concept, either.
⁝
It doesn't smell fresh, spicy, floral, interesting, intriguing, original or
even natural. It smells like a hodge-podge of synthetic notes which I suppose
*could* be an apple, or mint or lavender if one exercised a suspension of
disbelief. But to me it's just a jumble of unidentifiable smelly things.
It's just sort of generic and BLAH.
It could work for a very young man, I suppose; the ad video suggests that. A
young man who is handsome enough or wealthy enough not to need to smell
especially interesting.
⁝
I was going to wear this for a day via a sample, but I got suspicious and
sprayed some on the back of my hand first. Good thing! This is a loathsome and
gagging medicinal rose scent; it would have been a very long day if I had to
smell this on myself for eight hours or more.
Simply put, it is the worst rose scent I have ever smelled. Way too floral, way
too sickening. People write that some fragrances give them headaches... that
has never happened to me, but if it could, this is probably the one to do it.
Awful.
⁝
A very timid fragrance... on me it's almost not there. It's mildly
suggestive of a summer oceanside, but, sorry, it really doesn't make much of an
impression.
Much more bang for the buck with the same sort of vibe can be gained with one
of Guerlain's superlative L'Homme mojito fragrances. This is summer done right!
This reminds people of Creed's Silver Mountain Water - I suppose I agree. I
thought that was a nebbish, indifferent fragrance as well.
⁝
This is one of the better Bond No. 9 scents I've tried; on me it's
primarily a wood scent. It's not the clean pine plank note of Tom Ford Sahara
Noir nor is it the strongly woodsy note of Le Labo's Chant de Bois - it's more
subtle than those two. I don't detect any gin, which is probably a good thing
because in the Tokyo milk gin scents it sours on my skin. I also don't detect
any grapefruit - once again, probably a good thing. The only respectably real
grapefruit scent I've ever smelled is Hermes' Eau de Pamplemouse Rose. The
others just smell badly synthetic and common to me.
Unfortunately it's not so good with longevity. It turns into a skin scent
rather quickly, and then is apparent only on cotton after a couple of hours -
which causes me to question the value of this rather expensive fragrance.
The bottle is... interesting. If you like grafitti.
My Dad was from Brooklyn. I suppose, were he alive, he'd wear this simply
because of that fact.
⁝
Somewhat suspicious of this house, I tried this on my wrist before spraying
the sample all over myself and having to live with it a for a day. I'm very
glad I did! That generic clean fresh note smells just like a dozen other
fragrances I have tried. There is nothing interesting or unique in this at all.
Boring. I'm giving my sample away.
⁝
The girl at Sephora assured me that this is a unisex scent when she made up
the sample. It isn't, not at all.
It's a white flower scent - and a mediocre one at that. There are any number of
better white flower/tuberose fragrances: Chanel #5, Alien, and Amarige spring
to mind... this is way too flowery for my use. By the way, as other reviewers
have pointed out, there is no discernable green notes in this green bottle.
Fortunately, longevity and sillage aren't all that great, so I didn't have to
live with this for long.
I must confess a certain degree of bias against this perfume house and its
politically correct, sloganized concept fragrances. How come no "I (Heart)
High Taxes" or "I (Heart) the Nanny State?"
⁝
Spraying this on myself I was immediately taken back to an impression of
the flowery powders (Here's My Heart? Topaze? I forget.) my mother used to buy
from Avon when I was a small child. At the risk of insult to describe exactly
what I mean, this therefore smells old-ladyish to me. I can see how others
might describe this as "elegant" on a gentleman, but this just isn't
for me at all. Too fussy.
Another problem: Unlike all other fragrances I have sprayed on myself after
shaving, this one burned my neck. There is apparently something in here that my
skin has a mild reaction to.
If I have to wear something powdery I much prefer Royal Copenhagen Cologne.
⁝
I like this one! The nutmeat note isn't as obnoxious as Parfumerie
Generale's Praline de Santal, it's subdued and pleasant, and the rest of the
gourmand mix makes for a nice drydown. (I think I get somewhat more leather
than chocolate, however. I just barely smell the coffee notes.)
Given that, at first, I didn't care for gourmands I've obviously come a long
way in liking this one. It's persuasive.
The bottle is pleasant to hold, too.
⁝
Eucalyptus? Really? I'm from Southern California and I used to play among
eucalyptus trees and leaves all the time when I was a kid. I know very well
what they smell like, and I detected none in this. On me this was a very subtle,
mild incense note and that's about it. It's barely there, it doesn't project
and it doesn't last long.
I was really underwhelmed.
⁝
I got a sample of this and it stood out for two reasons: 1.) It's made in
Ireland, and 2.) It's sold in Hallmark stores in the U.S.
It's... nice. Yes, it is evocative of the breezy, salty sea. This supposedly
has oakmoss in it, but, nahhh. I don't detect that at all. For me it is a
linear sea smell.
But of all the oceanics/aquatics I've tried, I still like Outremer's
French-made "Oceane" best, which is available (in the U.S.) in
Anthopologie stores for a pittance. ($18 large bottle, $10 small bottle.)
Oceane also wins the sillage and longevity award.
NOTE: It has now been about four hours since I applied this, and the basenote
on my cotton tee shirt has turned decidedly nasty. Oceane doesn't do that. I am
changing this from "like" to "dislike."
⁝
I like it - the top notes are very fresh, citrusy and nice - but the
basenotes just don't last. This scent is gone in about an hour, even on cotton.
(And I'm not playing that Creed Aventus "If you can't smell it it must be
olfactory fatigue" game.)
If it comes to a summery, beach-invoking boozy scent, I am far more impressed
with Guerlain l'Homme, Guerlain l'Homme Intense and Guerlain l'Homme l'Eau
Boisee. Those mojito scents have the same summery, beachy vibes and last far
longer.
The cost differential gives the win to Guerlain.
⁝
Extreme? Really? This reminds me of Inigo Montoya's celebrated quote in
"The Princess Bride": "You keep using that word. I do not think
it means what you think it means."
The original Tom Ford for Men was promising, but ridiculously faint and timid.
One would suppose that for an "extreme" flanker Ford organized a
focus group or two, learned that his original stuff evaporated to nothingness
in an hour or so and decided that a stronger juice would be a marketable idea.
Hence, "extreme."
But no. As is stated elswhere here by other reviewers, this stuff is also timid
and has little longevity and no sillage.
A pity.
It reminds me of one of those Gucci scents, faintly leathery. It's nice - but
it really doesn't justify its cost - or the word "extreme."
⁝
While at JR, the big discount place alongside I-95 in North Carolina, I
smelled this on a paper strip for the first time.
I have been avoiding the Copenhagen line for no good reason, really. I have it
in my head that they probably smell badly dated and are fit only for older men
who have gone to seed, or do not possess the mental dexterity to try something
else after a few decades of dedicated use. (You know, you've seen old men
wearing vinyl shoes. Those guys.) And, besides, this stuff is blue. Experience
teaches me again and again that I don't like scents for men which are blue.
And doesn't the Royal Copenhagen line have a rather bad reputation among
perfumistos and perfumistas?
But, hey. It's... kind of nice. Very soft, very powdery. I suppose merely
spraying a liquid baby powder on myself is not advisable, but... I need to give
this a better try.
---------------
Tried on wrist: Wow - liquid vanilla baby powder! I like this, but I'd probably
never wear it. It smells too much like baby powder. It's in the same category
as the cuddly Hermes Equipage, the soft Hermes Narcisse Bleu and Avon Wild
Country, which smells not wild but like baby wipes.
⁝
I'm greatly impressed with the Guerlain Homme and Guerlain Homme Intense
versions, so it stands to reason I like this as well. It's the same
mint-lime-rum mix as the other two but with a bit more vetiver notes, which
means it's greener and somewhat more pungently woody on the top. Quite nice! I
got my bottle in the winter, and it's great now - but I'm sure this will really
shine as a summer/hot weather scent.
A Guerlain masterpiece!
Come to think about it - have I encountered a Guerlain that I haven't liked? I
don't think so...
⁝
Pfew, scrubber!
In the past decades I have gotten good at being able to judge whether or not
I'd like a film just by the cast, plot, advertising, etc. I'm beginning to
attain that ability with fragrances. I put off trying Nautica scents because I
suspected I wouldn't like them. I couldn't be more accurate with this one! On
me it smells pissy and cheap. (My daughter agrees: cheap.)
I can't imagine any man that this would smell good on.
And the usual law applies: Because I hate it, longevity seems to be excellent.
⁝
Nothing to become maniacal about, but not bad. It doesn't strike me as
being especially unique or individual, and went on smelling somewhat mass
market and uninteresting. The key is in the drydown, when it eventually arrives
at a nice, understated woodsy note. At least it does on my skin.
This is one of those countless "safe for office" scents which I
normally scorn. But on me it smells calculatedly pleasant, like one of those
Jack Black "Mark" scents.
I wouldn't run out and buy a bottle, but I wouldn't spurn one, either.
No sillage to speak of, longevity is a few hours.
⁝
This is an odd one; I sprayed it on my wrist but had a difficult time
detecting it from my skin. It almost seems like it replicates my skin to some
extent. There seemed to be no real scent here, other than a somewhat shabby and
faded patchouli of some variety.
Whatever it costs, it's not worth it to me. It just doesn't stand out as a
separate fragrance from my skin - as odd as that sounds.
I didn't detect any strong citrus notes.
-----------------
Worn for a day: My initial impression was correct. This is yet another one of
those Bvlgari scents that pretty much just isn't there. It's too timid to make
much of an impression on me. On spraying I can detect the faintest of citrus
notes, then it pretty much just disappears until the long term scent arrives,
which is a rather blah aquatic - and that only on cotton, not skin.
So... I say no to Bvlgari's copper hockey puck.
⁝
A delightful scent that is a perfect olfactory impression of oranges. I
don't know if these are, in fact, oranges from Capri, but they don't smell like
oranges from Florida, so I'm buying the whole Italian pitch. This stuff is
great!
Sadly, like 90% of all the fragrances I try these days (and almost 100% of the
citrus-based ones) it lasts a hour or two then, pow, it's gone, like the clutch
on a Fiat.
Caramel basenotes? No... I don't get any caramel basenotes.
⁝
This is a subtle orange scent. It doesn't knock you off your feet with the
full force and weight of a sunny orange grove like Acqua di Parma Blu
Mediterraneo Arancia di Capri, and it doesn't linger as a note like Terre
d'Hermes. It also doesn't have an ambery orange haze like a Varvatos fragrance.
On me this juice is about half orange and half cedar - and sadly, timid and
faint. It seems to disappear quickly on my skin and remains as an elusive note
on cotton.
So... I like it. But if I'm in the mood for orange-cedar I'd select the Terre
d'Hermes variation, which is apparently strengthened by vetiver. (It's worth
noting that, like this, TdH also has a cedar note - the Iso E Super.)
My wife, when queried, made a "Meh" face after leaning over for a
sniff.
⁝
I don't drink, so I don't know what a Mojhito is or what it tastes like,
but I know that I greatly like this fragrance! It is a delightfully fresh
citrus and mint scent that smells very good on me, indeed. It's a nice break
away from the heavy leathers and animalics I normally favor. An excellent warm
weather fragrance that also works in cold weather. (I am testing it on a very
cold day, indeed.)
I also like the Intense flanker, but I'm not sure which I like better. I'd have
to smell them side by side. But Guerlain does it once again. This stuff is
heavenly. I want a bottle!
Note: I detect nothing animalic or peppery in it at all. For me it is a bright
citrus-mint-vetiver scent.
⁝
At first I detected really nice woodsy notes that became
smoky/leathery/piney - very pleasant! Promising! However, this phase lasted for
all of about a half hour, then it got faint. I'm writing just over an hour
after I sprayed it on, and I can barely smell it on my shirt. This stuff
doesn't even last on fabric, let alone skin.
Bottega Veneta: I barely knew ye!
As another reviewer wrote, this has tragically bad projection and longevity.
It's yet another timid fragrance in a market saturated with fragrances that
don't project and don't last. Punch up the concentration a bit and maybe we'll
have something to work with...
⁝
I find this blah and forgettable. It goes on smelling vaguely
spicy/gourmandy and just sort of barely exists, leaving not much of an
impression. Timid, unimpressive and overpriced. Is it "safe for
work?" Yes. Very much so. In fact, corporations could issue it to
employees.
And come on... the juice color... an albino noir?
⁝
I read this mostly as a patchouli scent with a little oakmoss. Longevity
is, indeed, poor. I suspect this will be a much more successful scent for the
spring or summer than in the dead of winter.
It's kind of blah; it doesn't really stand out from the crowd.
It was a blind buy - in fact, a Christmas present. I won't do a blind buy ever
again, so this was probably worth the money.
I "like" it - but just barely.
---------
I traded this and some Halston 1-12 I didn't like for some vintage Antaeus.
MUCH better. No more blind buys!
⁝
From 2013:
Hey, the Seventies called: they want their aromatic fougeres back!
This stuff, in addition to having a pretentious name, is badly dated. Think
disco. Yes, it smells like Drakkar Noir. (But I actually like current
formulation Drakkar.)
In a word, this is obnoxious. Up to this point I thought that, being a 57 year
old guy, I'd like just about any fragrance for men from my youth. Wrong.
When I was more or less freshly sprayed and walking around like Pepe LePew this
morning, a guy plunked himself down in the seat next to me on the Metro. I
wanted to turn to him and say, "Do you want to reconsider? You'll be
sorry."
-----------
Fast forward to 2020. In "Perfumes - The Guide (2018)" Luca Turin
writes, "...still unsurpassed in my experience as the worst-ever
masculine." Hahahaha!
⁝
Smelled on a paper strip: Nice, but somewhat indifferent. It didn't make
much of an impression on me. My take on what I've smelled from these newer Tom
Ford scents in the smoky bottles is that Tobacco Oud is the star, but I need to
wear a sample of this for a day.
----------
Update
I'm not sure I get this one at all. It's just kind of... BLAH. It doesn't smell
woody to my nose as much as it smells faintly of tobacco notes. It doesn't seem
to evolve much, either - it seems quite linear. One reviewer detected a sort of
coconut oil... I'm almost getting that, but this really doesn't smell like
anything I'm familiar with. As for an oud scent, okay, this smells like a first
or second cousin to a bottle of oud attar I once smelled, but, once again, it
doesn't strike me as remarkable in any way.
This is not one of the stars of the Tom Ford line up as far as I'm concerned. I
like Tobacco Vanille, Oud Tobacco, Tuscan Leather and Italian Cypress best.
Oud Wood seems to have little sillage on me and longevity is disappointing.
⁝
Smelled on a paper strip: My first take was that, 1.) Tom Ford seems to do
tobacco scents well (Tobacco Vanille is great), and 2.) He managed to avoid the
nasty medicinal note that oud scents sometimes have. I need to wear a sample of
this for a day.
------
Update wearing sample:
Mmmmmmmmm. In attempting to figure out what fragrances I like I've developed
what I call my "Mmmmmm Test." It is simply this: Spray on. Wait.
Smell skin and shirt. If you spontaneously go "Mmmmmmm" you have a
winner. If you do not, try again.
I got my Tom Ford Tobacco Oud sample from - where else? - Nordstrom. It was
Mmmmmmm at first sniff. This is a wonderfully evocative tobacco scent, more
suggestive of a cigar than pipe tobacco, I think. It is fairly strong and linear.
If there is a change over time it is that the tobacco notes fade a bit and the
oud becomes apparent.
But I'll be honest: I write this not knowing precisely what oud smells like! As
I have smelled it in many fragrances it varies to the point to almost unrecognizability.
But I will say this: the oud in this Tom Ford scent is not the nasty cough
medicine note that it is in vintage M7. (Thank goodness.) And it's also not the
rotting wood note found in oud attar.
No, what we get here is something that reminds me of my favorite tobacco scent,
the now sadly discontinued Monotheme Tabaco Latino (not on the fragrantica
database). A deep and sweet cigar note. Very nice. I don't know to what extent
the (almost certainly synthetic) oud influences the overall presentation - but
this is great stuff.
And - sigh - as usual with Tom Ford fragrances, it's overpriced. What I'd
rather do is find an old bottle of Tabaco Latino. Anybody got some they hate
and simply cannot abide having on their bathroom shelf?
-----
Update: I found a bottle of Monotheme (Mavive) Tabaco Latino for sale on amazon
and got a bottle. TOBACCO HEAVEN. This is the stuff! Beats Aramis Havane,
Mugler Pure Havane, Tabac, the two Tom Ford scents listed above and CK Shock.
-------
Update: I sprayed some of this on my arm and it was coming at me for the next
couple of hours. Strong and loud tobacco. I like this less than the first time
I tried it. Not sure I could live with it
-------
Another sample wearing: I love this one, and now I fully appreciate the whiskey
notes, but do I need it? I've decided: No. It doesn't do any tobacco things for
me that Tabaco Latino doesn't do.
⁝
Like Guerlain Heritage, this is one of the great sandalwood scents. Very
woody and yet... it's also delicious, like a gourmand. I get a nutmeatty,
praline note from it. Very, very nice.
Longevity on me isn't bad - about four hours. Not much sillage. And I don't
smell roses, either. But perhaps they're in there playing an invisible part. A
success!
⁝
I've smelled some faint and timid scents before, but this one takes first
prize! My wife could barely smell anything and neither could I. It barely has a
scent.
Essentially - this is perfumer's alcohol. That's it.
Okay, perfume industry: are you done atoning for the 70's and 80's yet? Can we
go back to fragrances which actually have some smell, longevity and sillage
again?
⁝
This is not a bad scent, but compared to Guerlain's Vetiver (1959), it's a
disappointment. It just doesn't have that zingy vetiver pungent brightness. In
fact, on me it smells more like a vanilla scent or a gourmand than it does
anything green.
I am increasingly finding out that Luca Turin is correct: Guerlain's is the
reference vetiver.
⁝
When I was a kid I remember lime scents for men smelled wonderful; they
smelled like you had just sliced one open. This does not. It smells more like a
gently limed soap, or even a bit like key lime pie. In other words, there's
something getting in the way of the citric freshness. There's no slap.
Longevity is not good - on my skin it's gone in under an hour. (Not unlike the
bottle of Royall Bay Rhum I once had.) And silage on me is non-existent.
So... no.
⁝
Is there leather in this? Not that I can smell. In fact, I'm having a
difficult time picking out any real notes in this. It's just sort of
generically "masculine." Kind of ambery. Boring. Projection is poor,
and as for longevity, it becomes weak pretty quickly.
"This rebellious scent..." Haw! Hahahahaha!
⁝
It goes on smelling sweet like a cake, which is kind of nice. Then, after
about twenty minutes, there's a period when it begins to sour a bit on my skin,
then mellows out acceptably. All this in about an hour. Poor longevity, no
sillage. Another one of those modern frags that has me wondering, "What's
the point?"
Green is my favorite color so I must admit to liking the bottle and the simple
typeface!
⁝
All I get out of this is a very subtle mint of no sillage and poor
longevity. (It's almost entirely gone from my arm in about a half hour.) This
stuff is okay, I suppose, but I might just as well spill some mouthwash on
myself and let it dry. So... dislike because, what's the point?
⁝
It starts out nice, with a mildly leather note that reminded me of some
Gucci scents. Masculine and deep.
Then, after about an hour, that miserable apple note takes over. At least I
*think* it's an apple note, or, probably more accurately, the aroma molecule
that's intended to be an apple note. But to me it smells synthetic and
unnatural. I've smelled it before in too many other scents and I just don't
like it. So that ruins this fragrance for me.
⁝
Earlier this year I hated A-Men. Then it grew on me, and I got to like it.
So I wasn't sure what I'd get from this. I see it talked about a lot on the
fragrantica forum - almost always in a good sense - so I gave it a try.
I like it! Love it, even! Actually, I think I prefer it to A-Men. Yes... it's
malty/woody with a bit of the A-Men caramel base. (Or am I just imagining this,
since it isn't listed as a note?) It's an unusual scent, but a good one. I
don't get any pronounced fruit notes, which is all to the good since I don't
care for fruity scents.
I think I shall get a bottle someday!
-----
Update: I got a bottle of this for Christmas! It's wonderful... a lovely
boozy/woody/peaty/caramel fragrance. My favorite gourmand scent by far! What's
more, everyone I've asked likes it on me.
Longevity is about average for scents these days: a few hours. This is this
scent's biggest drawback.
⁝
Is this the Tuscan Leather beater/alternative? Well... perhaps. As the
numerical scores on the user-perceived notes suggest, this could be considered
a berry-leather scent while Tuscan Leather is a leather-berry scent. Charles
Street is sweeter. It goes on with an interesting, boozy, berry liqueur note
that lasts for only a few moments - very interesting. And I like the subtle
coffee note.
A winner!
But. Truth to tell? I prefer Tuscan Leather.
⁝
It's claimed to be for women but is really unisex, I think. It's meant to
invoke the smells of the circus: hay, candy apple, caramel. Does it? I have no
idea; I've never been to a circus. It's sweet and very odd, I'll give it that.
The notes are hard to place. Is that a sweet leather I'm getting? Or a slightly
woody caramel? I like it - but probably not enough to buy it.
⁝
I told luckyscents that I was interested in a fragrance that suggested a campfire,
and they told me about this one. So I bought a sample. Yep - campfire it is!
Smoke and wood. Since I love the smell of a campfire I quite like this one.
I see one of the basenotes is described as incense, and to my nose it smells
like the same clean wood/pine plank smell I detect in Tom Ford Sahara Noir and
Tauer 02 L'Air du desert Marocain. (To Catholics it smells like Mass, to me it
smells like pine plank.) This fragrance goes on very smoky but after about an
hour the main note is this one.
I barely detect a tobacco scent and for me there is no whiskey note.
My wife hates it, and gives it the same verdict she gives to the smoky notes in
Encre Noire: "Dirty ashtrays at Grandma and Tony's!"
⁝
It's amazing how a perfumer of talent can take the usual suspects -
bergamot, amber, cinnamon, pepper, lavender, cloves - and create something that
stands head and shoulders above the usual crowd containing exactly the same
ingredients!
Simply put, this is one of the best, if not THE best, spicy men's fragrances I
have ever smelled. Wonderful.
Yes, it is somewhat reminiscent of Creed Bois du Portugal and, yes, some of the
notes are like the ones in Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentree (which I wear and
love). And yes, this can be considered an upmarket Old Spice. But so what? I
love it!
UPDATE: I bought a bottle. This stuff is wonderful. I can see why Luca Turin
wore it for ten years.
⁝
My search for the perfect leather fragrance continues with a wearing of the
very well-regarded Knize Ten. I like how it says "Toilet Water" on
the label.
I'm not sure I like it. I certainly don't understand it! The reviewers who
don't like it claim this has a public washroom and oily leather jacket vibe,
and I get that. That is to say that there's some institutional cleaner notes in
here which suggest a public washroom. There is a mildly skanky note to this
stuff that's throwing the whole fragrance off for me.
OR, conversely, it can also smell vintagey, old school and and elegant.
This was reportedly worn by James Dean and David Niven - which captures the
dichotomy of this fragrance nicely.
It doesn't pass my Mmmmm test. (That is, after a while putting my nose to where
I sprayed it and going Mmmmm.) So I won't be buying a bottle.
-----------
Well, on a visit to the Scent Bar in Los Angeles I did buy a small bottle. But
with it on my hand and repeatedly sniffing, I realized that I couldn't live
with this stuff and returned it for a Shay and Blue leather scent. So my
experimentation with this famous scent is over. No. Done. I don't like it at
all.
⁝
It smells too much like the pine trees people hang from their rear-view
windows, or the stuff in the can you spray on artificial Christmas trees. It's
kind of crass. Needs more oakmoss or herbs, maybe. A little less literal
representation, a little more art is what's called for.
Pino Silvestre does a much better job with the pine idea; so does Tom Ford
Italian Cypress and D&G Anthology L'Amoureux #6.
Still, it doesn't jam a pine tree up your nostrils like Slumberhouse Norne, so
that's something.
⁝
I'd be able to tell the difference between this and the regular classic
Colonia if I were to smell them side by side, but my memory of them is that
they are similar. Both are wonderful citrus colognes in the grand old fashion.
This is quite nice.
Perhaps there is a more prominent rose note in this than usual.
As was noted elsewhere, this one seems to last like an EdT, at least on
clothing.
⁝
I've seen this recommended so often on this page's forum that I had to
smell it.
It's... softly ambery. That's all I read. I need to try it again to really
appreciate and understand it.
Longevity on my skin is mediocre.
I really like the bottle!
Bvlgari Black?!? Really? I don't get that at all. BB smells like rubber, then
nothing. This is much better than that!
---------
Okay, I tried another shot on my arm. It's vaguely gourmandy; I must be getting
the Tonka bean note. I don't smell much leather in this one, and it smells
somewhat citrusy/bright. This one is hard to figure!
⁝
I got a vintage bottle of this (marked cologne - made in the US) at a yard
sale. It goes on smelling like Lemon Pledge, strident and nasty. My wife thinks
it smells like Scrubbing Bubbles. The basenotes are mainly okay, but there are
some clunkers in there.
In preparation for a day's wearing I put some on my wrist. No - I do not think
I can endure this on myself all day.
It has a skunky, sour off-note that reminds me of Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne
(YUCK) or a sweaty old man. I rarely use this term because I like most old
scents, but this stuff smells dated.
"Swept floor": Hahaha! Yes, it smells like that as well.
I'm glad I only paid 75 cents for the bottle!
UPDATE: I gave it away.
⁝
What a disappointment this was! After seeing it continually suggested in
the "Club" postings I was hoping for something good. What I got
instead on my arm was an initial blast of interesting mildly skanky notes,
followed by a drydown of some nasty, overused synthetic chemical smell. This is
an oud scent? Nahhhh.
The whole thing disappeared within an hour.
It has been discontinued in the Juicy stores in the U.S. No big loss.
⁝
A perfectly-conceived and executed product turned into a joke.
Encre Noire is not about "sport." It's like Porsche coming out with
an SUV (which, by the way, I call the Porsche Bandwagon): "Let's jump on
this trend, whether it fits the product's concept or not!"
Bad idea, Lalique.
--------
I suppose I'll smell it when it comes out, but it's not something I'm looking
forward to. I am indifferent to this bit of marketing.
⁝
The shock for me was that I liked this! I had low expectations - Calvin
Klein scents are generally not favorites - and the spray paint graffiti on the
bottle didn't suggest a quality mix, but, as is sometimes the case, the juice
triumphs over the marketing.
This is nothing more nor less than a decent tobacco/gourmand scent. You can get
a 100 ml bottle at a Ross for $25.
-------
I bought a bottle. My wife isn't a fan, but I like it. At first it's very
gourmandy, then it turns into a pretty good tobacco scent. Once again, a
surprise considering the bottle and how it's marketed.
Longevity is not especially good - at about the two hour point this stuff
starts disappearing - even on a cotton tee shirt. As always, one gets what one
pays for.
⁝
One of the most timid fragrances I have tried so far; it barely registers
on me at all - and that's with spraying a healthy amount on cotton! It seems to
be taking the industry's current passion for faint scents to a new extreme.
Perhaps it's just as well... if they cranked up the concentration level it
would smell undistinguished and conventional. It smells like a leather jacket
and perhaps some lavender from about a mile away, caught on the briefest of
breezes.
Don't bother. If you have to have a Gucci scent, get the inifinitely better
Pour Homme II.
⁝
Citrus and a bit of cedar wood... It's not bad, but it's not especially
good, either. An indifferent scent; not distinctive at all. I think it's really
designed for a younger guy.
Problem: After some hours that overly-familiar and nastily synthetic smelling
citrus aroma molecule comes to the fore - bleah. That ruins it for me.
⁝
Bandit is a well-known women's perfume that celebrated perfume reviewer
Luca Turin claims is butch enough for a man to wear. And it is. It's a mossy,
dirty chypre... it's okay. I like it. However, I find it rather soft despite
its well-known skankiness.
I prefer Estee Lauder Azuree Pure, which people claim Bandit reminds them of.
That's the one for me, I think.
Aramis? People think this reminds them of Aramis? I don't see that at all!
Note: My favorite leather scent is Tom Ford Tuscan Leather - but in cold
weather Elsha works very well, too.
I wish I could get my florals-only wife to wear this...
----------
Tried it again on a paper strip. This stuff is the Oakmoss Queen! I'm liking it
more and more.
⁝
This isn't the worse scrubber I've ever tried (that would be Paul Sebastian
Fine Cologne) but it's not far from it.
Holy Mackerel! On me it opens with an intense cat pee/bitter pungency and dries
with an overbearing jasmine soapiness. I could only take so much of it before I
ran into the bathroom and scrubbed my arm down with soap and water.
Wow. Haven't had that kind of response in a while!
⁝
Smelled good going on but after about twenty minutes it began to take on a
pissy, acrid, sour note on my arm.
Surprise! After a few hours everything sort of modulated and that edge went
away and it smelled good. But, no, I can't deal with that middle section.
I don't care for this, and it reinforces my opinion that most "sport"
scents aren't for me.
⁝
At first I thought this was mainly a tobacco scent, but, yes, I can detect
the black tea in it now. A nice mix of both. The best Gucci fragrance for me -
I like this stuff.
Also, in addition to Outremer Oceane, one of my favorite blue-colored
fragrances. (Those tend to be clean/fresh/sporty/acquatic, which I don't care
for.)
Sits close to the skin on me, like 95% of the stuff I try.
The bottle has a very nice heft - feels solid. Good work, there!
My wife did a prolonged Mmmmmmm when she smelled it on me. She doesn't do that
very often. Maybe I should get a bottle of this, huh?
---------
Second wearing: I like this stuff even more. For a recent scent, it's unusual.
Not the same old thing at all. Lasts on my skin, too - a notable feat for a
newer fragrance.
⁝
I like the way this one smells simultaneously like violets, (synthetic) oud
and incense without any one of the notes predominating with a sort of smoky
suggestion overall; a skilled blend! I'm also happy to note that the medicinal
note that synthetic oud can take on (YSL M7) is absent from this creation.
It's not quite my thing, but I like this one better than the Fahrenheit
original... Very pleasant and very wearable with good longevity.
⁝
Not bad, but not original at all. It starts out with citrus and becomes
woody, like a million other scents. Inoffensive, understated, safe for work.
But I think I'd rather wear one of the Jack Black "Mark" scents,
which seem to be the best of the inoffensive-understated-safe for work legion.
In terms of this being a vetiver scent, Guerlain Vetiver and Encre Noire are
light years better.
⁝
Nasty and cheap. It goes on promisingly enough, but after about twenty
minutes it dries down to a synthetic note I have smelled before in poorly
wrought scents that represents nothing in nature I am familiar with. The
basenotes are mildly sour, mildewy and awful; it smells like I've splashed some
kind of - I don't know - commercial fabric cleaner on myself.
⁝
Not very impressive. It's an overly subtle and undistinguished woody/spicy
thing. I can smell it every now and then during the day, but it's too common,
too little, too seldom.
Unobtrusive, inoffensive - boring.
And, a side note: I am now convinced that the term "noir" in
perfumery means nothing. It's a marketing gimmick.
Interesting bottle, however...
⁝
Calvin and I don't normally get along, but this one is well wrought and
suits me. It's spicy/dirty... there's a touch of Estee Lauder Azuree Pure in
this one. At first I thought it was a bit oakmossy or animalic, but, no, it's
something else. What am I smelling? The musk or patchouli? I don't know... but
I like it. It has an austere, understated vibe. It smells mature but not old,
vintage but not dated.
A good fragrance... but the only thing that keeps me from loving it instead of
merely liking it is that it turns mildly soapy after an hour or so.
⁝
