Anyone who reads my reviews will be aware that I'm a massive fan of Comme des Garcons but I have been a little out of the loop fragrance wise recently, so this release had passed me by somewhat. I've acquired some samples now and I've got to say on measure I don't think it's very good. The opening is fantastic and has all the excitement I'd expect, not only from CdG but from a pepper focused scent. I love the idea of black pepper being the central attraction of a scent and really like Marc Jacobs Bang and Clive Christian V for example. Unfortunately my main gripe with this fragrance is that it suffers from the same lack luster performance and intensity issues as Bang does. Blackpepper opens well enough with an unmistakable and aromatic pepper note which is both sweet, hot, dry and then into a steaky, gourmand peppercorn sauce sort of vibe. What interests me is 'where does this scent go from here?' that is the question, knowing that pepper notes are fleeting in most other outings. This one actually goes into nice CdG territory and becomes oddly sweet, reminding me of something I can't quite place. It's complex and more like a pink pepper after 20 mins or so but with some elements and style from Amazingreen or Man 2 and that incense modernity which is always a theme CdG nod to in most of their creations. The tonka is hinted at and patchouli works well with the pepper promoting an earthy but almost creamy vibe. All this complexity does please and intrigue and I'm never one to be unfair to a fragrance about lack of performance but this one on my skin was a joke. I wish I could tell you what it was like after the first hour but the fact is Blackpepper had all but disappeared. I wanted to love it so much and it does have some merit, all comme des Garcon scents please you right out of the gate but then after a few wears in hindsight, become one trick ponies. This ran the whole series of emotions in double quick time and now I'm at the last stage 'acceptance' of the fact this just isn't that great. I will wear the rest of my samples and maybe even do a revision of this review, perhaps it was my high expectations but there you go.

So I started with what I figured was the signature scent from Jeroboam and what I got was pretty standard and in my opinion, more masculine focused stuff. Opens with juniper and lemon, before settling into a potent cedar groove, both sharp with synthetic muskiness and citrus with a hint of that nutmeg but generally a woody fresh scent. I liked it, Origino is modern and more suited to a man, but I didn't love it. I thought it lasted quite well too but quiet in terms of projection. I've no idea what Jeroboam scents cost but they look expensive and judging by this they are off to a lukewarm start with me.

I fail to see how this is much of new direction for Joop Homme? It smells pretty similar to the original to me, and could be more accurately described as a tweaked, substandard version of a fragrance which is many folk don't like anyway. I'm not totally against Joop, I used to like it years ago and I don't find the new formulations to be anywhere near as potent. (dunno whether that's a good or bad thing?) Perhaps my tastes have become more refined but I find Joop Homme a messy construction. Red King is too. Really powdered feel to this with the cinnamon and perhaps pimento to liven it up in the opening. Strangely I find it cold and bit flat, probably not what they were going for. Make no mistake I'm not apposed to a chemical soup of this nature, the likes of Davidoff Hot Water for example which has a time and place for me. However this doesn't make me think, 'oh Wow! (no pun intended regarding Joop's other new release) this fragrance has rebooted and revitalized the Homme line.' Again I think this was the intention more than likely. It's definitely different from the original when it dries down there is more of a lighter feel which probably comes from the floral, orange blossom. I'm not sure this works? I've only tried it once mind so another wear and an update to this review is on the cards but I can't see how it's going to suddenly become an inspired scent.

Joop wow! Despite the ridiculous name which I can live with, and the orange box and uninspiring design, which again I actually think is striking in its own way. I can even live with the 'have to have' gimmick of the cap being like a polo mint, something I admit is a first on me...what I couldn't live with is if this scent is awful. To tell you the truth Wow! Is not awful. It's kinda got shades of a rubbery spicebomb or a less classy Gucci PHII you know that kind of sweet spicing and direction. It opens much more sweet and pungent with a bubblegum and synthetic berry accord though before it settles to that more familiar Spicebomb territory. The point is here that Wow! is not Spicebomb and I can get how it might be heavier in cardamom but the individual notes are a bit lost in this messy composition. Basically wow has all the crass DNA you'd expect from a Joop fragrance and (although I don't currently own any) I really do say that from a place of love....just. I desperately want to like some of the pour homme flankers that have graced our shelves in recent years but they all have the same balls out disregard for subtlety and nuance. Hey some people want that and Joop certainly provide it, in spades. As you enter into this really settling down, I thought it was a bit of a weakling but it's gently projecting and do you know what? I don't hate it. It's clumsy and troublesome but by no means awful if you don't mind a sweet, slightly icky, spiced fragrance then it's worth a sniff. The silage was quite good at first as I kept getting unexpected wafts but the general strength and longevity is nothing notable. I'm not wowed by wow!

My take on this fragrance having tried it a few years back and firmly put it on the back burner as an uninspiring citrus are well...Lalique White wishes it was this! No... in fairness that's a decent parallel to draw it is a musky, metallic citrus with more than a hint of pepper but it's no where near as spicy as the Lalique, has far more enduring citrus and an interesting warm base that goes on and on long after Lalique White is a distant memory. I get the stripped back modernness that could evoke an Aventus or Sauvage and personally I think it has the metallic and musky edge of something like Silver mountain water, (other citrus Creeds)or to a lesser extent Caron L'anarchiste. It's definitely got a wearable down to earth feel and is much better quality than most designer fare following a similar blueprint. It lasts really well and actually projects better than you might imagine. If it was heavily reduced in price I'd pick up a bottle for a go to sunmmer time scent. Galloway is a nice scent.

I can't believe I bought this fragrance from Fortnum & Mason about three years ago and I still haven't posted a review...I'm getting so lax these days. Anyway...I think that amount of time and several winters (coz it's a winter thing really) of wear makes me more than qualified to give my opinion and it's that Oajan is a strong outing from this house. Although I'm relatively easy to please, there's few fragrances which I'd say I'm pretty much always in love with. Oajan very nearly has that honour but because of it's inherent, festive seasonality it needs to be rested from time to time but when revisited the love affair begins anew. Yeah it's a big, warm cinnamon, booze and honey fragrance with a deep woody resinous base...adorable. Apparently it's a copycat of some Hermes fragrance and You might think this genre is over subscribed but the balance and quality of Oajan make it stand out and shine to me. It's great, the bottle looks great too it's very heavy and the cap makes a satisfying chunky "click"...(relish the little things.) Oh and the performance and silage are good too.

Gucci guilty absolute I nearly didn't bother trying this by default such is the apathy and cynicism I feel for the Gucci Guilty line and by extension Gucci perfumes of the last few years in general. I'm so glad I didn't give in to my gut because... how wrong it was. Gucci guilty Absolute is a triumph and a sign that Gucci are back on form with something truly pushing the boundaries of designer fragrance and not just some generic crap. The opening is pure bandages and antiseptic becoming an ultra dry benzoin type accord, a very dusty, ancient, precious amber type thing. It's more than that though, it's leathery in a truly authentic way but with all the oddity of resins and a smokey earthy patchouli and vetiver. (I do get EN comparisons here) It would more than likely be too strange if not for a lightly fruity note and a touch of sweetness which develops but quickly recedes, drying down to pure leather and an almost soil like patchouli in the drydown. Im shocked at how brilliant this perfume is, because it's all the weirdness of an Indy scent but is somehow wearable enough to appeal to my girlfriend, and that really is praise indeed. The woods in this are exotic and some of the driest I've encountered in designer perfumery. Scratchy vetiver and spiced hard sandalwood minus the creaminess you often get. Although Alberto Morillias is a brilliant guy responsible for some legendary fragrances but I try to never have expectations of a perfumer, especially when they have such a diverse portfolio. In this case though he has created a true gem. Many people enjoyed Gucci pour homme I and its unflinching, spicy, masculinity I think this might signal a return to that sort of thinking in a small way. I could be wrong and it's just a fluke but super enjoyable fluke with pretty decent performance and one I will definitely be adding to my wardrobe. Update: So yeah I bought it on m way home from work last night. I'm not going to be too lavish in it's praise but I stick to what I said above, this is a very strong outing from Gucci. I know what the opening reminds me of and it's the smell of the green liquid my friend uses on customers in his tattoo shop (he calls it "green soap") it's quite astringent and although the Gucci fragrance turns to earthier textures of patchouli and eventually leather, it definitely shares similarities in the beginning. I don't know what it is about me and patchouli? I always used to hate (mainly womens) perfumes that were heavy in patchouli thinking to myself 'why on earth would she want to smell like soil?' but I go through fazes of craving the stuff. Not just the chunky, velvety, chocolate type but the full on hippy variety too and I think this is where Guilty Absolute strikes up a really great happy medium.

I'll likely get slated for giving another CC fragrance, yet another glowing review but it deserves it. Well....'glowing' might be taking it a bit far because taste wise, this is not really my thing. However, in terms of complexity, creativity and sheer quality, I have to doff my cap to Rock rose. If I'm not very much mistaken the resin Labdanum comes from a plant called the rock rose? Well it would appear that there's a type of rose call the rock rose, because the labdanum one doesn't resemble a conventional rose? Anyway I digress, if you're expecting a resin bomb then you'll be out of luck because this is a fresh uplifting scent on the surface but with something slightly more sinister lurking beneath. The opening is very bright with airy citruses and musk but with a very clean and cold feel added to by the breathy, minty vibe. It immediately strikes me as more in the Lyric Man genre of rose fragrance and as it dries down you get a little more dirt from the clary sage and a more floral feel of neroli. It's strange because although very long lasting on my skin it evolved very differently to how it did on the card and sprayed and put in a bag while shopping. Smelling it now I do get much more of a luxurious base from it and yet more confusion of something resembling a deep leathery and resinous feel, but still with all the top notes there, even the mint. I have to say this revelation was far more remarkable than if I'd just worn the fragrance because I didn't notice just what a complex creature Clive Christian Rock rose was. My girlfriend absolutely adored it from the first whiff and she wore it on the same day as me. Frankly if it was hint to get it for valentines day, she can keep wanting for this price. CC fragrances seem to be constantly rising in price, the one I bought a few years ago seems pretty reasonable compared to the hike I've seen since. Anyway...creatively this is a winner for me and something which has to explored and worn several times or you might mistake for something more linear. Great but not exceptional.

I can't help thinking this is Jo Malone's answer to Fevé deliciouese but when I actually got my nose it I realised it isn't a Tonka bean classic. It opens with promise of depth and that almondy, vanilla goodness with sharp, dense, sweet gourmand harmony. I say that but it's a slightly underwhelming opening all the same. I like tonka when it's darker and more bitter, almost coffee like hints but this leans more toward a slightly headache inducing vanilla/resinous powdery accord. Also, this is not very unisex to me an leans toward the feminine, even for a seasoned fragrance lover who will pretty much wear anything. There's not a sign of the myrrh promised as this settles, when I first sniffed the opening I commented to the SA, "huh? This is another Jo Malone, 2 note fragrance that doesn't smell especially of either note." That is pretty much the story here. The opening has something balsamic in there no doubt and it has an amber feel but as it dries down becomes more like a sandalwood and just a tonne of vanilla with some femspicing. This ceases to be a gourmand fragrance very quickly and lacks the foody, natural tones of the Dior. It's maybe the aroma chemicals used to taint this vanilla/tonka accord with something resembling 'Myrrh' but it kinda smells cheap when it's dried down. I don't hate it exactly but I'm not really enjoying it. I kinda think with more elements added and something to make it 'pop' is just sadly lacking here. The very deep dry down after 5 or 6 hours there's a transformation to a more tonka like to tonka bean and a really nice creamy amber skin scent which won me around a bit. This is cause I could smell a little more of the background which is somehow masked by a cleaner vanilla/almond accord throughout but it really wasn't enough to save this one, too little too late. Performance isn't bad and when applied heavily (like I did) it projects quite impressively for the first couple of hours, unfortunately I didn't enjoy it but undoubtedly it was there in a pungent cloud. Not a patch on resent Tonka releases but worth a sniff but completely not to my tastes. Oh and to the person who thinks this smells like Z&V This is Him I can almost get where you are coming from something about myrrh & Tonka, it does give off a sandalwood vibe. However that is where the brief similarities end and Z&V is by far superior to this in terms of smell there's no competition.

Wearing this one today and to my dismay I've not posted a review for it so here goes. To say read the top two notes and say that Mon Numero 10 is a cinnamon and incense affair would be a quick and fair summary I suppose but in no way does it justice. Simple on the surface but wear it for a few hours and the hidden depths become more apparent. There's a leathery, animalic qualities, florals with juxtapositions of clean & dirty, sweet and sour. At first I thought this was quite a modern smelling interpretation of a woody spicy scent but now I'm thinking it's much more classic in it's approach, especially in the drydown. Bertrand Duchaufour has created a balanced unisex piece in Mon Numero 10 I can't fault it. Performance and silage are not massive but perfectly acceptable and if found cheaply is an affordable gem for anyone's collection.