Wow! Dhofar is masculine no doubt about it this is the old spice/brut but for princes or fools depends how you look at it really? I'm not a huge fan of these classic, old skool masculine 70's/80's type fragrances but they have a time and a place and I do appreciate and wear some. I'm not one to gush or exaggerate (hopefully?)and although I'm comparing it to cheap & dated male fare, Dhofar is very classy and multi-faceted beyond belief! The journey from opening sniff do dry down is surely an interesting one. Opens strong with a slight petrol type vibe you find in a few Xerjoff frags it then becomes clear what this one is about. There's clean citrus fruits pop out and then a hint of lavender nods toward a fougere type fragrance. Then a heavy woody spice from sandalwood with a bold, clean and green pine note. The resinous nature of labnanum and an incense vibe with a calming herbal aspect too. Then very clean, powdery, soapiness of carnation as it dries down this is more complex than the first impressions would indicate. What I love about Dhofar is that it has none of the sour, mossy or musty elements which sometimes drag these fragrances down for me. The nose here has been very careful to create something which although not unique, gives the impression of it by re-imagining, like a great cover version of a classic song. The bottom line is, would I pay the extortionate price for this fragrance? and the answer is... Almost... but probably not. One thing is for sure Dhofar reminds me of my dad and it's sure to do that for people of a certain age. I think for all the positives I've stated about just how good Dhofar is and I'd even go as far to say it's probably the best masculine aromatic I've ever smelled. However the price tag is prohibitive it's only for those who can afford it and if you can.... great! If not stick to Fendi Uomo or Versace pour homme...or nameless other classics.

Aldehydes with a milky, wheaty perfume seem to curdle unless properly handled. I have to agree with Roge here this comes across floral in the opening and not at all what I was expecting. The base is creamy but not really almond like in my opinion, there's sandalwood and a hint of tonka that's it for me. Not very balanced for me but not unpleasant and another thing Roge points out this fragrance is supposed to be aimed at women so my comments are pretty redundant. Put it this way I wouldn't wear it! Some positives are that Tonkamande dries down nicely and does reveal a yummy creaminess of vanilla but it's too little too late. It projects well for the first hour or so but the longevity was poor on my skin.

Okay so I was really looking forward to both sacred wood and imperial tea but I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. This fragrance is mainly jasmine and that's not a bad thing it's a lovely thing but I had expected the bitter, metallic, dryness of tea and although it's there it's not nearly enough to satisfy the name. This is a clean fragrance in which the tea note balances with the jasmine nicely but kind of removes the sweetness a little which to me is the whole point of jasmine. What you're left with is just a vaguely floral scent with hints of tea. The main problem with imperial tea is the longevity, not very good at all. Pleasant fragrance but I was expecting a really special tea and as such am a bit disappointed.

An interesting outing from ODIN a house which has produced two good fragrances so far and with the addition of this effort...a third. I'm not instantly reminded of Spicebomb as many are I find it opens like a warm spicy tobacco which is much more pronounced than V&R Spicebomb. When Semma dries down further though the aspects of spicy pepper and cinnamon become more apparent and the balance of sweetness is tipped more in the direction of Spicebomb territory. However this scent is all about the tobacco note for me which is deep and cosy with a great balance of sweetness and a hint of resin. A classy scent then and not the best tobacco I've smelled but certainly not the worst. Longevity is pretty good sillage is okay too.

Oh wow leather! I can't wait to try this as the Oud one is unusual and very nice.

(THIS REVIEW WAS PENNED A WHILE AGO WHEN THIS CAME OUT.) I've Been waiting to try this for ages! Took so long for stores to get it that I actually stopped looking and forgot about it to an extent. The reason I was anticipating this so much was due to my love of leather fragrances and my hope that this would be the holy grail...and is it? Well, sort of? It is and it isn't... Reason being the opening was stunning, really great, rich, opulent almost dark, slightly smoky leather. When I say 'leather' I do mean an accurate and stunning leather note. So far so good you might think and you'd be right it's worthy of praise but then starts to change into familiar territory. By this I'm talking TF Tuscan leather and Clive Christian C complete with raspberry note and all...again not a criticism, C is one of my absolute favourite fragrances and I've extensively tested Tuscan leather (which I controversially said is not as good) so I like to think I know what I'm talking about here. In fact I think this is less complex than C more toward Tuscan leather but still very complex and different to both in the most subtle way. It tightropes between smelling like an accurate leather, maybe even a hint of citrus, something slightly more soapy and cleaner then back to CC C/TF TL. Now I have Oud concentree and that has epic longevity and obnoxious silage on my skin, almost to the point of it being too much even for me to wear and I was expecting the same from this juice. Don't get me wrong here the performance of this juice is very good and way, way up there. Silage and trail are pretty massive for the first few hours but doesn't quite have the godlike longevity status of Clive Christian C....nor is it as heady and complex, magical or even 'harsh' for want of a better word.

Wow! gorgeous green ivy like opening which then reveals a sweetness of clean white florals it must be the jasmine and magnolia, although it doesn't smell like Jasmine...more magnolia perhaps? The overall accord is one of cedar but it a sweet refreshing cedar and musk. This is due to the mastic/lentisque resin which gives a turbo charged cedar smell that is sweeter than cedar alone. I don't get a great deal of much else from this scent but I really like Amanu it's a clean, bright green effort from Odin. I'd wear this in summer for sure. Projection & Longevity are average.

This opens with a bang strong, zing of lime and lavender, with a slightly smokey incense accord reminiscent of CdG Zagorsk (smells nothing like it BTW) but has that fresh pine/fir thing from the hinoki and a church sort of a vibe. Peppery wood and with something of the carming meditative zen about it. The dry down is laid back and woody. I'm an incense lover(whatever that means?) and this instantly delivers a hit so don't be perturbed by this luke warm appraisal because I'm going to wear it properly a couple more times and update my feelings. Initial thoughts are positive. Next wear.... This is my second wear and I'm in love with Liquidnight it somehow does evoke the night to me. It's not a quiet peaceful night in the countryside but a sexy night out in a bustling metropolis, complete with a slight smokiness of exhaust fumes. Don't let that description mislead, this is a smooth, aromatic beauty which for a split second evokes the leather and magic of Clive Christians C or TF Tuscan leather. It must be the hinoki wood which makes this fragrance such a winner. I recently got to smell hinoki in its pure form and it's gorgeous! Starts out a little resinous and heavy but with such a light touch all the same, then into the drydown comes a greener more woody quality and still odd hints of lime from the long forgotten top notes. Liquidnight is a magnificent fragrance, complex, elegant, masculine I love it and I'm really tempted to get a bottle because I'd wear it a lot! Latest....I bought a bottle and I absolutely adore it a great fragrance this one!!!

Okay... Uden from Xerjoff is a calm creation which is sweet and subtle. The quality is evident and although it puts me in mind of vanilla/tonka designer fair like Le male or Armani code, I think it's a bit unfair to tar Uden with the same brush as it's undoubtedly better. The opening for example is a beautiful mix of citruses and the main note I get is one of coconut which is only very brief but really nice. Uden dries down to a lovely soft, sweet vanilla, musk and creamy sandalwood. Also I get the coffee note after about 2 hours I thought it wasn't there but it is very subtlety is... like Rocas Man. I've no doubt there's superb quality in this fragrance but has it blown me away? not really. This is the problem with Xerjoff the greats are too few but to be fair they're getting better as I try more & more.

I've tested my fair share of Oud/Rose fragrances now and frankly I'm getting a tired of the staggering array of them out there. This goes on pretty deep and stays that way but the rose in the opening hour or so, is quite unpleasantly floral and rosy for my taste. However the drydown reveals quite an elegant scent of rose, iris, patchouli and Oud which definitely has more magic when it develops. Great quality and longevity, projection etc... A good outing generally but I can afford to be more particular with so much choice out there.

The first thing that hits me about Victrix are the green notes of bay leaf and coriander then the spice of pepper. It's gets very peppery then balances out beautifully and for me Profumum have another hit on their hands here with Victrix. The drydown is clean and really enjoyable, slightly earthy vetiver, I love the mixture of wet and dry notes in this fragrance it's aromatic, woody, herbal great stuff. I'm thoroughly impressed. Longevity is good and sillage and projection pretty quiet but that's more than okay.