Just when I think I'm too sensible to blind buy anymore, I end up doing it. I guess it's the thrill of getting it right outweighing the disappointment of getting it wrong. I have a soft spot for Dunhill anyway, I'm not sure why because they don't have a single standout fragrance in their rather average selection. However, one thing they do have is a mild dignity which affords them a degree of leniency I don't give to other houses. Pursuit is elevated slightly above generic slop by having likable and wearable qualities, a lovely opening and a great looking bottle. This is the kind of 'meh' fragrance that I CAN be doing with because it's almost like they aren't trying to compete on the same playing field as the Gucci's and Versaces of this world, quietly releasing and discontinuing average, inoffensive stuff and somehow that's alright with me. The opening has some lovely bitter qualities of yuzu and citrus fruits which then quickly opens into a warmer balsamic/amber base. It's a slightly boozy, sweet mid and a woody base which could perhaps be attributed to cedar & sandalwood...maybe? The point is I pulled it out of a bargain bin, had no opportunity to try it and yet still bought it and luckily it paid off. I like it, I will wear it but is it a good fragrance??? Not really. There's still something lacking and cheap about it with the staying power very limited 2hrs tops.

I was hoping this would restore some much needed pride to the Polo line because to be perfectly honest only the original (Green) is a classic fragrance, the rest are very poor generally with only black (at a push) and double black being to my tastes. Finally tried this and it makes me wonder what some of the other reviewers here were expecting from a Ralph Lauren Polo oud? Of course you're not going to the get the most nuanced oud around, you're probably going to get something in the 'designer oud' tradition. ie: Well meaning and pleasant but missing the point slightly and that's what I think we have here. I have to disagree with many here and say that I do detect oud especially in the opening, which to me wasn't too intrusive but I can understand why some wouldn't enjoy it. This is not to say that I don't like Polo Supreme Oud because I actually really do. It has a resinous quality and a slightly tart sweetness coupled with Guiaic wood and cinnamon which make it interesting in my book. As it has dried down it actually reminds of the recent release Floriental from CDG and even some other incense perfumes. It will stand up (and out) against the likes of Oud Noir, Wonderoud, Boss Oud, really bringing something of it's own to the table. I've got to say I enjoyed this one and the lasting power wasn't bad at all. I think the subtlety of dying back to a skin scent after a few hours is not necessarily a negative thing. If this was heavily reduced in price I would consider buying because I definitely enjoyed wearing it.

A fascinating fragrance for Tom ford to add to their repertoire and not really what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be much more floral and it is to an extent in the opening but Soleil blanc is a really balanced affair not cloying or announcing itself obnoxiously but gently humming away. Please don't think for a minute that I mean this is 'weak' because it isn't and the staying power is extremely good...like 24h good. The opening is a translucent mixture of exotic floral and powdery vanilla like notes with even some of that pistachio in there which seems to be a favourite of TF's recently. It's a gourmand affair with coconut and a definite seaside vibe but never tipping over into an outright suntan lotion. Okay so I really like Soleil blanc then, and it's strange because I thought the opening was a little feminine for my tastes but then it seemed to charm me and win me over in the gloriously long and enjoyable drydown. The SA did say to me she wore it on holiday and was forever getting complimented even after many hours of wearing and I can believe it. I've smelled almost similar scents before but few with the quality of this one, I'm a fan.

Powdered white musk and rose with a light airy feel in the opening. The juice is pink and the flavour is overall very feminine and not particularly innovative but nonetheless the quality and longevity are there. La Colle noire isn't cloying or ultra 'in your face' it died back to a pleasantly warm drydown of creamy, sandalwood and roses with maybe even a touch of vanilla? This is a sweet easy going fragrance, which perhaps experts in the more feminine side of things will think knocks spots off other similar fragrances but I wasn't convinced. I actually quite liked it but I wouldn't wear or purchase it myself.

This fragrance is superb, an oud out of the very top draw and surprising coming from Molton Brown a brand name with about as much appeal as a violent gastric complaint! Joking aside, I actually swear by the shower gels from MB and at the moment they have some really nice ones like Tobacco absolute. Oudh accord & Gold is brilliant, it starts out like a very luxurious and sweet, creamy oud very much in the tradition of middle eastern perfumery, with some nice spicing. The mid of this fragrance when settled is less sweet and much dryer and more tobacco dominated. The smokey touches remind me of Rasasi Tobacco Blaze, a fragrance I'm not too keen on. However, without the apricot yogurt and ashtray vibe of TB I can forgive it. Luckily Oudh accord & Gold has a third stage and oh what a wonderful drydown it is. I don't say this lightly but it might be one of the best. It's a subtle dreamy, woods which are heavenly and non of that dry tobacco smoke it's more like saffron, resins and oud. It's not cloying or overly sweet either very understated but performs extremely well, I've got to say this is a really incredible fragrance and I picked it up at a MB discount store for a reasonable price considering the quality. I'm happy to add this to my collection and coupled with the shower gel (which has Gold flakes in) I'm sure will combine to make an even more positive experience.

Okay so in terms of the Luna Rossa line this is the least like the others but subsequently the most like many other fragrances out there. So it's 'generic' then? Well...no. I'd say more like 'mildly derivative' because Eau sport does have it's good points. It manages to be truly fresh and lightweight but still had pretty good performance. I think if it hadn't have been light I'd have had a problem with it. The opening is what contains the most of the Luna Rossa original or Sport vibes for me a kind of salty, citrus with a hint of lavender but crucially no white floral or mint. (second time I tried it and you do get mint) Then as it settles it really relaxes into a sweeter fruity, bergamot maybe with a hint of ginger which smells very familiar. I actually thought it smelled like Toy by Moschino which has a very nice citrus vibe which comes across very real. The base of this fragrance is a white musk and hint of ambroxan which I like and serves to propel the citrus and make it long lasting. Ambergris in eau sport would account for the apparent slightly, sea breeze vibes & saltiness you get from Creed citrus fragrances which also apparently contain ambergris. All in all I've smelled it before and even though I'm challenged somewhat by Luna Rossa and Sport (not counting Extreme which is more of an oriental) because they are interesting but this is just a bit of a departure. I think the over all smell is nice and the quality is there, for example I compared it to Toy earlier which I think is much cheaper smelling if I'm honest. Another thing I like about this is that it's not intrusive, it's not weak but it doesn't cloy or catch the back of your throat. Eau Sport would be welcome relief compared to some other designer releases that young men insist on dousing themselves in for a night out. Not bad stuff but not as well conceived as the Original Luna Rossa. Update: Having tried this again I'd say it's a nice bergamot, citrus woody mixed with minty lavender. A perfect mixture of the classic 'blue' aquatic fragrances like Azzaro Chrome given as a smells like suggestion and works just fine, with the signature salty, minty, lavender of the original Luna Rossa.

Just a second quickie review here due to the fact I purchased this scent after Christmas when the gift sets are sold off cheap. Wearing this today I'm actually becoming more of a fan, Eau Sport is extremely fresh without being overly brash or intrusive. Fragrantica doesn't state the nose but as far as I know Andrier and Prada haven't parted company so I suspect it's her work and frankly it screams her clean, classy style. It does have elements of the modern which I smell everywhere but Eau Sport is so much more reserved that it allows you to enjoy the experience, without being bombarded.

I'm not a fan of the MAN line at all the original and Extreme are not to my tastes and although I did like Man in Black, never found it compelling enough to add to my collection. Strangely, I do kinda like this one, it's a wearable scent. Black cologne is sort of an emalgumation of the two ideas, warm, amber like oriental and fresh, spicy, citrus with even a hint of salty, aquatic qualities. I was concerned about how the white florals would feature in this fragrance alongside amber but in truth although present isn't really typical smelling. This is a surprisingly spicy fragrance, the base is deep and warm and the citrus top notes last quite a while, it's good and the performance is okay too.

This is what happens when you throw a load of aroma chemicals together, expecting some sort of accidental alchemy but instead arrive at a really mundane mess. I don't hate the smell and to be honest I was fooled by the likes of Invictus (and maybe even Eros) first time around because at least there wasn't much out there that smelled like it....at the time that was. Now this seems to be a tried and tested formula. One thing I can say for Wanted is that on closer inspection, it does have a focus of lemon and ginger which again is popular at the moment but the main show is the vaguely warm, woody, salty and overridingly synthetic Invictus/Eros vibe of clary sage and some soapy cardamom. I don't think it's nuanced or original but I kinda except that this is the way things are now. Will people buy it? Yes! Oversprayed on club goers on a Saturday night, will it be cloying and make you gag? Sure! Will it have insane longevity? Well I've only just applied it but I suspect it will be another Invictus in that regard. Also just to note as I was sampling it a lady (possibly late 60's early 70's came over to me and said "You know what will happen if you buy that don't you?" No do tell..."you'll be irresistible to women, you'll have them cueing." She said, obviously a fan. Oh and just to comment on the bottle. It's hideous and ridiculous and seeing as we are comparing it with Invictus I honestly don't know which is worse? If I had to decide I'd say Wanted as the revolver barrel is poorly conceived and executed. I'm not convinced by Muglers reimagining of the Azzaro perfume brand...it's really nothing to get excited about. Update: As I predicted this perfume is persistent and quite unbelievably smells much better when dried down. It hasn't even changed in smell itself, just mellowed and low on the skin is pretty warm and is actually okay. I suspect I would think the same about loads of designer scents I purport not to enjoy. If you don't like 80% of the experience though that still counts as a thumbs down.

An interesting composition then from Penhaligon's and yet again they don't disappoint in bringing an interesting approach to a fragrance which could so easily have been boring or not to my taste. I actually walk my dog of an evening through the city centre and passed the Penhaligon's shop. To cut a long story short, the parade of shops it's on is not on street level and kind of enclosed and when they pump the scent out of the front door, it tends to linger a long time and as such I can still smell it strongly hours after the shop itself is closed. This residual smell of Luna had me intrigued as it smelled very masculine and not really in keeping with the notes I had seen. Now that I've sampled it I can confirm that this is the case but not indeed the whole story. Luna is much fresher with zingy top notes, citruses and dry juniper giving way to a metallic musk and rose. There's even a hint in here of Amouage Lyric man but Luna is much more bitter and that fir gives a masculine edge. This is in direct contrast with what I had perhaps thought that this fragrance would be about the night flowering, white floral jasmine (hence Luna) and lean more toward the feminine but in truth it's absolutely straight down the middle unisex. I should have known by know that Penhaligon's nearly always deliver a degree of complexity and sophistication to their compositions despite the obvious drawbacks of the brand ie: price, longevity issues, and the 'complexity I mentioned being that little bit too subtle for everyone to notice. The deep drydown is one of the musky, rose and florals just with the citrus and juniper died right back but in fairness this takes a long time, so as a fresh summery scent it works and lasts fairly well. (although I did put on quite a liberal application.) Maybe that ambergris is what is giving Luna an air of the luxurious? Again I'm not sure what it is but I like it.

It's bizarre. I tried to find this on the database the other week as I thought it was a new release and I could swear it was no where to be found...anyway it's popped up now and has been around a couple of years apparently. I actually thought this was an interestingly fresh approach, which still encapsulates all the characteristics of the original bottled, despite not really smelling like it. Must be the misty, musky fruitiness which gives it this quality? Unlimited has an opening of modern fruity pineapple note made popular by aventus and the like but then a cool minty smell evident almost immediately. This a cool fragrance but I still detect some warmth and even a touch of vanillin woods in the base. Problem is it doesn't last even as well as modern formulations of Boss bottled do and that's an issue for me. Otherwise, not a bad fragrance.