This smells like the base of a fragrance at first, the combination of fixatives to create a quiet, resonant hum, upon which the 'real' notes of the perfume sit. However, in this case there are no 'real' notes and instead Another 13 presents them as the finished article, as per such industry precedents as the essentric Molecules line. I have to say though that this fragrance has a silky feeling of cashmere, warm muskiness and the dry, woody, sugar paper aspect of ISO E super or timbersilk but then brought to life by the ambroxan and possibly real ambergris used to further the rich effect. I think if I tried to knock this up myself I'd fail miserably despite it being seemingly simple. I have a reaffirmed respect and admiration for fragrances as modern and minimal as this and the facts are simple Another 13 smells excellent and is in many ways more appealing to me than some of their other offerings. It's good stuff, very quiet and low to the skin as you'd expect but actually has very tenacious lasting ability.

Don't be fooled by the prominence of the smoke icon looming large at the top of the note votes. Odoon is surely a smoky perfume but it's not one of those where everything is dominated and bonfire sizzled by the smokiness. What impressed me about Odoon was the sheer commitment to the woody vibes in here, no jarring top notes for the sake of Indy originality, no quirk or gimmick just a perfumer taking a concept through to it's logical conclusion and ending up with a stunning perfume. For all that, it's not massively original, I think I've smelled stuff similar but can't place it, although I could be wrong because had I smelled this before I'd likely have procured a full bottle. I'm even going to go as far as saying that Odoon was the highlight of my perfume sampling from 2018. It's sublime. Heavy resinous woods, thick turpentine edged, with a brutal opening (as per everything Pekji) to the smoothest and most beautiful of landings. It's seeped in cedar wood, naturally smoky oak, sandalwood and perhaps vetiver too? This is a masterclass in how to do, smoky, dry woods that have impact but aren't too intrusive, this is a touch more wearable than some of the the others from the line which have a touch of the artistic, extrovert, savagery about them. I love Odoon and I want a bottle, it's as simple as that. Update: Wore this fragrance again today and I have to say I neglected to mentioned the curried, slightly sweaty note in here which I put down to coriander seed or caraway or something in my IG review. My mum said I smelled of celery and that's when it hit me that Odoon smells quite a bit like celery salt, that kind of concentrated celery aroma. Omer Pekji actually set me straight confirming that the spice that's so prominant in Odoon is actually fenugreek, a spice I don't think I've ever used in cooking? He also mentioned that newer formulations of Odoon with have the fenugreek content reduced by two thirds.

So I wrote the bulk of this review a few years back and haven't posted but I'm really glad that folks are generally so happy with Carlisle, because it's a very accessible fragrance. Having used quite a lot of cardamom in perfumes of my own recently I have to say that the spicy, soaped element you get when cooking with it is exactly what the raw material smells like. Now it's either that in the hands of a master perfumer, it becomes less spice and more of a smoothed out 'feeling' a feeling I get from many fragrances purported to have cardamom in. Or they simply don't have that much cardamom in. I've ranted in defence of PdM before so I'm not going to do that again but there's a perception that they are making clones and 'designery niche' fragrances to deliberately target an emerging market, of preppy type Creed Aventus wearers. I'm sure there's an element of that and frankly seeing that Yanni guy everywhere gets on my tits, but I think this house has merit and this fragrance epitomises the style I think they're going for. They almost have a basis in a kind of warm, slightly spicy, oriental centre that's soft and caressing. I only have oajan but a handful of them carry a similar vibe and Carlisle is somewhat a mixture of the big hitters. Aspects of Oajan, Byerly, Herod etc... (and actually the blueprint for Layton which wasn't released when I first penned this review.) but with an unassumingly smooth nature (could be the cardamom?) of almonds or something? A little sweet, woody but well balanced. I really liked it and thought it was highly wearable, but just a little safety first and if you're spending big cash then you want to be wowed.

I hate reviews which go completely against the trend and off on a tangent comparing the subject fragrance to others, of which it bares no resemblance. So I apologise in advance but hear me out. I think barbier has one of the most exciting openings I’ve smelled for sometime. It opens with juicy punch of citrus and tangerine peel, then starts out on this rive gauche like, barbershop affair and you think okay, I’m feeling this. Then comes a Dior (or should I say Christian Dior?) Fahrenheit type accord lurking through this powdery Fougere. I thought there has to be Violet listed in the notes and combined with a dirty, oily, diesel smell which wouldn’t be out of place in a Xerjoff fragrance and somewhat of a signature of theirs I think. These two elements conspire for a brief moment to conjure up an old formula Fahrenheit, with non of the vanilla sweetness and dumbing down that has crept in to recent batches. Call me crazy but Thats what I get . I consider myself somewhat of an authority on the older Fahrenheit and I can honestly say a smidgen of it’s spirit graces this fragrance. Can someone please tell me they smell it too and I’m not just imagining things? However, As it settles after the first 20 mins or so this fades completely and the majority is a dazzlingly well rendered mix of green notes, lavender, oakmoss, cardamom, all of which was there to start with but caught up in that opening it gets a bit lost and jumbled. Le Barbier de Tanger is lovely, really lovely and a preference for me over Invasion Barbare. (Which is also very nice) It becomes more and more powdered and less distinct very quickly indeed, retreating down to the skin with a warmth of resins in the base. This composition has been given some thought and although the resulting fragrance might be a touch disappointing when all is said and done, I like the brief but thrilling ride it gave when first applied. This sadly applies to the performance and silage as well, becoming a skin scent after less than an hour and not projecting very much at all. When it’s really settled I get the modern aroma chemistry, and something salty and of the sea. I know what Calone smells like but I wouldn’t of necessarily thought that was it. I need to wear this again properly to give a better appraisal, because it is one them but I’d say on the whole shows promise but doesn’t quite deliver. It might have gotten away with it too but when you’re paying top wack, expectations are sky high for a reason. UPDATE 14/05/21: When I look back at reviews like this I'm staggered by how similar my thoughts are (rather than how much different) because I largely stick to what I said above, there's nothing 'wrong' with what I'm saying here as such. However, I hadn't tried Invasion Barbare in a while here and it shows because that is WAAAYY superior to this, it's the best of that style of fougere, end of conversation about that! Barbier de Tanger starddles the wonderfully natural feel and the incredibly hollow, sensation of woody and ambrox base materials. The brilliance shining through on occasion but I'm not that taken with this fragrance, it's good, complex all the stuff I said above and I like it but I'll never love it.

This is one of those fragrances that smells dated and not resembling anything natural, it feels somehow like it's representative of a not so long bygone era, when we wore things like this. Do you know what though? I really enjoyed it. Blind bought very cheaply and although I may have a clean out of my collection, and this would get the boot, I was reminded that I can still derive pleasure from something like Iceberg Homme. It's got a feel of the typically clean, mens, powdery, musky body with a head of synthetic smelling lavender. Something about it is inviting and reminiscent of shaving products, it's a poor man's barbershop (being that's there's a fair few high end ones) fragrance. If I had to compare it to something it would be difficult, yet it feels so familiar at the same time. Maybe versace dreamer but without warmth or depth of tobacco, or Versace Blue Jeans but without the creamy sweetness...so like neither of those haha. Two people have said Fendi Uomo which as much as I've not trashed this fragrance, I still find an insult. I mean how could you even think they were remotely similar? Lasts pretty good and will likely get another wear before it gets tossed aside like so many others.

The amount of hype for this fragrance was nuts! Glad to see it's hardly got any reviews from the more discerning crowd here on Fragrantica and the like. Instagram 'Influencers' (pffft!) have been going mental, likely because the brand has been handing out bottles like there's no tomorrow. They became SO ubiquitous last year but I guess it's worked because despite not wanting to conform, inevitably my curiosity gets the better of me and to be fair to Byron they sent me samples of Pirates and 0.9 too. Mula Mula was the big one though and I wanted to hate it pretty badly because it was getting disingenuous, well at best hyperbolas reviews almost universally so from every bedroom reviewer out there. Hats off to Byron because it's likely worked and made them money but I suspect long term there will be a backlash against the support from Youtube and IG sef proclaimed 'influencers'. So what's it smell like? A big dense, boarderline sickly gourmand but it does have some interesting elements and despite a slightly muddled composition, I have to reluctantly say...I quite liked it. Syrupy , liqueur booze and caramel, with a definite berry and peach notes. The base is heavy woody and long lasting and although not clearly defined I wouldn't doubt there's oud as listed, there's definitely vanilla anyway. It's long lasting but as I said a bit cloying and cumbersome to wear for me. I like a gourmand like Frapin 1270, which style wise isn't a million miles away but in terms of pure finesse it makes Mula Mula look crude in comparison. Not bad then and if you love it, fine.

There's some nice, luxurious smelling fragrances in this men's line from Zegna and I wouldn't even say this is really one of them either but I was completely charmed by it. This smells strong and assertive to me, very much a power suited city boy off to his hedge fund (I don't even know what that is? but I heard it somewhere once and it sounds good) management job in some glistening, high-rise, building. I fact the overall tonality and feel of this line is one of manly success and dare I say a touch of the Trump about it. Don't worry I'm not getting political here, I'm talking about the pre-presidential, plain old, Multi millionaire, Apprentice, golfing, pussy grabbing, Trump... Just that guy. The opening is very familiar to me, seeming like a big, high quality fragrance but with a certain accessibility, and probably the reason some might think it lack lustre. It's a potent, clean, modern, herbal, leather opening, mutating into a hefty geranuim, slightly powdered but with none of it's usual slight mintiness. The drydown keeps giving with resinous warmth and some green aspects and flecks of the metallic. I found it strong and long lasting. I actually want a bottle, really.... but the price is is prohibitive. Again just let me state that I've spent more on a fragrance than this in the past and I don't usually moan about price, if you like something enough then you'll justify it to yourself. However, I just think that seeing as though this is going to replace the Essenze line (according to Zegna insider) they could have given them a comparable price point. Lot's of designer brands seem to be trying to get away with making these high end/exclusive lines in order to cash in on the niche boom and thoughts probably along the lines of...."Creed can fleece consumers...why can't we? We've been doing it with our clothing for decades and been missing a trick releasing comparatively 'cheap' perfume." Well people you've had it good for long enough now they are all out to charge you £200 plus for a bottle. So these are actually £195 for 50ml's which is more than the standard Tom Ford Private blends. The Essenze line were about £130 (I saw them for as little as £90) for 100mls which is much more reasonable and was this the case with Integrity and believe me I would've perhaps bought it then n there.

This is the best one from this line in my opinion and it's slow burner. That's not to say that I didn't immediately find it gorgeous because I did, a super minimal, sensual, warm ambrette note, soft cashmere texture, this kind of perfumery is so up my street, especially when the sledgehammer approach starts to get tired. All you need is a beautiful, sweet, musky, simplistic fragrance like this. Ambrette seed is VERY expensive and if this uses the real stuff (which I suspect it might) then the inflated price of this Mugler line is justified. Now.... not that I'm one to usually gripe about price or that these are even that expensive compared to some brands nowadays, but I feel slightly more comfortable paying top dollar for this than I would Hot Cologne for example. I am going to buy this fragrance at some point because it's so wonderful it grows fonder and fonder in my memory. Over the Musk is a triumph...just try it for yourself.

A very nice piece of work, lovely fresh edc type fragrance with a little complementary twist of ginger in the opening. Decent, functional but didn't wow me and there's many at a cheaper price point that I'd pick before this one. For reference You could say hot cologne is a bit like a mixture of Dior Homme Sport and 4711. Performance was okay, especially for a largely citrus fragrance with minimal white floral elements.

Do you know what? I'm not going to slate this. I thought it was quite nice and that's shocking considering the state of Mugler releases of late. Many people have said that it's because of Manfred himself no longer having ANY creative input whatsoever. I know he'd had a foot out of the door for a long time but this is well and truly a Clarins brand now. Not that this fact and the single word rebrand, should make all that much difference but in actual fact they've made this Alien Man flanker have more of the unique, heavy texture that the old Thierry Mugler stuff was known for. I mean it's not groundbreaking, the notes are barely discernible but not necessarily in a bad, chemical soup sort of way. I got a slightly warm cashmere/powdered/suede feel from the drydown and an opening that had me pleasantly surprised, because I feel I have to mention how appalling the first Alien was. I mean what a load of shit! That fragrance actually angered me! How could they release a whole new fragrance, especially trading off of the legacy of the Alien name, and make it so lack lustre and phoned in!?? They've redeemed themselves with fusion but only very, very, slightly because this doesn't have the showstopping impact, nor does it reach the dizzying heights that I hope Mugler can achieve again someday. Point is I liked it and it requires further investigation for sure. I will update this as appropriate.