Sentimental feels like a journey through emotion. At first, sharp, metallic notes strike me, evoking the pain of past wounds and the lingering memory of hurt. But then, the softness of rose petals emerges, symbolizing forgiveness and offering a sense of hope. Surrounding it all is a subtle, spicy warmth—the spirit that refuses to give up, pushing forward through the pain. It's a fragrance that reflects both the vulnerability of past struggles and the quiet strength that keeps us moving forward.
It’s really awesome, one of my favorites from Zara.
Yet again! I don't think this is a bad perfume at all, however just gazing at the sample vial beforehand I found the colour of the juice inside, alarming, If it was sweets or pop, I wouldn't let my kid have it as it resembles the crystal meth or PCP of E numbers and sugar. This one, like the achingly sweet Triumph of Baccus is syrupy and clumsy in construction not lacking depth, or familiar perfume nods or even creative compositional interest, but feels, claustrophobic for me. The opening is bonkers, a mixture of toxic fruitiness and heavy, heavy ambered florals, to say this resembles flowerbomb is bizarre! Then it starts to get this vague resemblance to Noel au Balcon by ELDO, this is reasonably shortlived because the closeout is a similar strawberry shortcake/dolls head (see Triuph of Baccus again) and vanilla musks which is nothing like the honey and stewed fruits of Noel. Maybe this mellow floral/musky smooth drydown is perhaps what's giving the Flowerbomb energy? I dunno? So what I'm saying is this this has progression and depth, these are clearly uncotiously (over)concentrated EDP or Parfum concentrations made to be as thick and present and luxurious as possible but in trying to turn up to 11 they end up being about a 6.5. Now I have a feeling that many of these are cookie cutter, off the shelf formulas from somewhere, mildly modded and then unleashed through this Lux Niche angle, which I thought I'd find gawdy and corny n such but I actually like the art chosen, the look of the product is good and the marketing spiel not too cringey. This is not really my thing but it's alright.
What to say about this one? Well it's a somewhat familiar story in many ways, the sheer heft of the leather accord (which is very dry and smoky) kinda dominates anything else residing in this perfume with the exception of the opening moments (seconds!) and the well established skin scent (after many hours) I'm not going to doubt the orris concrete or other expensive materials listed in the notes but I feel them swamped by this ashen leather, which I sort of do like, but is quite odd and something of an aquired taste. There's an expression used by boxing pundits/trainers 'smothering your own work' which is kinda self explanatory but crudely it's the practice of not giving yourself enough space to get off effective punches, however that might manifest. Well I feel this somewhat sums up Argos as a brand the fragrances aren't trash or anything they feel like they have little room to breathe and this one is the epitome of that, being that this ashy accord is draped accross the composition not allowing it room to give anything else. Now it has settled it's much more musky and sweeter on skin while retaining some of that smoky leather. I get it, perfumery is hard we're all hard to please if it wasn't powerful like this throughout I might write a review saying it was a meek take on an existing theme, so I'm cutting it a little slack as you can't really win with me. What immediately struck me was the similarity to the Rasasi I mentioned in another Argos review...This smells more like ambergris showers /Memo Irish Leather even than that one did. However there's another Rasasi it reminded me of more (at least at first) and that was the Tobacco Blaze which is a bizarre combo of this relentless smoky accord and peach/apricot prompting me to say it smells like a peach yogurt pot which has been repurposed as an ashtray, which doesn't sound great but in actuality was an interesting concept. However, now it's dried down a bit it's way more Ambergris showers.
As nice as this is, it's too strong for me. This is very headache inducing...you've been ⚠️. Pineapples, rose and florals with some musk is what I'm getting.
What a nice freesia fragrance! It lasts quite long, settled into a wonderful warm base, I wouldn't expect anything better from such fashion brand.
Beautiful tea scent, I love to put it on while watching the latest season of White Lotus, it fits the vibe!
I love this, there's something fresh and sunny about it, a little bit of body skank and a warm nutty base. To me it's not christmassy, it's joyous and springtime-esque. I don't always want beast mode perfumes, so this is perfect for times when I want a little spritz here and there with a few minutes of bedazzlement before it becomes polite and discreet. The orange note smells like Baptême du Feu, but this quickly dissipates and the scent becomes totally different to BdF, although I'm assuming those who like one would like the other. This could be the daytime scent before applying BdF for nighttime devilry. Update: OK yes, it dissappears after one hour, but I'm OK with that as it cost me peanuts.
Very aromatic lavender and mint opening with bitter orange and a kind of ozonic note joining quickly in the top. Nothing challenging or astringent about the aromatics. I think this has a violet leaf note somewhere in it. Mid adds some sage, but mostly the top carries through into the mid maintaining a fresh, incredibly clean aromatic scent. Ambrette and ambroxan create a clean musky diffusive base. My personal favorite in the line. Classic Prada cleanliness without some of the sweet powderiness of the other masculine freshies from the brand, which makes this stand out to me.
Slightly warm, yet fresh, spicy opening with nutmeg and cardamom. I get a slight cinnamon warming up the spice blend. A sweet date and rose accord takes over quickly, saffron giving an almost buttery texture. Rose is kind of jammy without being cloying. Almond, heliotrope and a clean muskiness take over in the base. Wafts of soapy aldehydes fade in and out throughout the wearing experience. Final dry down of ambroxan after about 7-8 hours. Gives a vibe of very posh, high quality almond blossom lotion.
"HELLO GORGEOUS"
Bo opens with a woody toasted marshmallow like smoke. Resins, incense and tobacco? The scent transitions to a brighter cedar wood scent with hints of vanilla wafting around. It slowly warms but always remains slightly resinous, woody and vanilla. Perfect. Performance is great and it smells really good. Bo lives in the realm of G Water, but actually performs really well. Very easy to wear in any occasion.
Walk up to an aged fig tree, late summer, loaded with fruit. Snap a fig leaf, smell the astringent greenness. Watch the milky substance ooze out, rub it between your fingers, smell the slightly sweet coconut-ness. Sniff a freshly cut pear (don’t ask). Bite into a soft ripe fig. Put your nose to the lichen covered bark of the aged fig tree, breathe it in.
Bitter, earthy, spicy opening, a bit like cut parsnips. Bitterness dies down pretty quickly. Rindy bitter orange with nice dry spices carry the top into a mid with a kind of geranium and a mineral earthiness. Base of a vetiver hand creamy vibe ever so slightly sweetened with benzoin. Final dry down is mostly a light ambroxan skin smell after about 6 hours. Timeless, modern, masculine, classic Elena.
A really lovely bright citrussy white floral. Aromatic with a gentle musky softness.
Not much more to it than that.
Cut lillies lying in a pool of brackish sea water. Wetland earth with sparse wildflowers growing amid thick greenery. A hint of peppery incense in the air.
Duration is impressive, the lilly note constant though to the drydown, at which point woody, amber notes become more prominent.
This a strange, cold and beautifully funereal creation, as befits its name. It's also pretty dark - there's a suggestion of something wild and unfettered lurking around the edges of the scent, even though its core is very still. One of the high points in the Beaufort range, and one of its more approachable creations as well.
Cheap imitation leather jacket sprayed with sickly floral air freshener. Supposed clone of Les Absolus d'Orient Cuir Intense, which I haven't sampled.
Perfectly serviceable starter fragrance for this category. Go easy on the sprays, or this may induce a headache.
Man oh man, I love this one. I wish they didn’t discontinue it. If you love sour, juicy, realistic grapefruit, you’ll love this. I want this in my rotation forever. Lately I’ve been layering it with Classic Green by Banana Republic which has a green tea bubble bath quality that pairs BEAUTIFULLY with this. I really love the way I feel throughout the day when I catch the pair on my collar.
Suffocatingly strong and dense. But it does smell good. It's kind of similar to Reflection Woman. I'd say if RW is a light sorbet this is a fatty, creamy ice-cream version.
So apparently this perfume is by the brand 'The Ordinary' and was formulated by it's creator, who is sadly no longer with us. I don't really know a great deal about all that, but I know that the cosmetics are well received and visionary according to folks who care about such things. I believe I know perfume fairly well and what I like, even in a lack lustre, beige release such as this one are some degree of coherent brand messaging, and I would certainly expect this to be the smell of a minimalist, hipster variety and it doesn't disappoint. This is the conjured smell of a blank canvas space, the lightly dusted floor, bare plaster walls, rendered stone, a light wash of emulsion. This is much more of a textural mood board than it is an attention grabbing perfume to smell nice or simply smell.... of. The peppery top notes are clearly there but at the same time about as austere as you can get, a sort of low impact incense and the rest is just a woody/stoney plinth which it sits atop. For what it is.... I quite like it for the same reason I like stuff like CdG, they're modern and cool. I like that it has exclusivity but not that gold encrusted, gawdy Harrods exclusivity more of a cool 'diggin; in the crates', trendy coffee shop vibe, and not because I enjoy the pretentiousness, simply because it's kinda cool that you actually have to seek something out in this age where we can tap our phones and have something arrive the next day. This is more of a 'if you know... you know...' sort of thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even advertise it. It's that fucking cool! I also like the fact that it's not a silly price, because it shouldn't be. Functional perfume. This wasn't made to appeal to perfume fans but inadvertently a certain cohort of them will make Avestan a cult classic.
Lovely. Just lovely. A breath of fresh air on this pre spring day (well it technically is Spring but you wouldn't know it) fresh lovely floral accord with lightly powdery undertrappings all smoothly delivered. The execution of Santa Maria Novella is so good I never fail to be impressed even with overtly femme and things I don't often opt to wear myself, this has been a thorough reward, an absolute joy.
I found the opening of this to be refreshingly unique, citrus yet again smacking at the helm of a lumbering ship of notes and accords. After about ten seconds I was like 'what is that'? eventually realising it was a really nutty smell. I'd love to know how this was achieved? Pyrazines perhaps? It's fairly fleeting but then the drydown is again a sweet, amber musk hint of rose, skin scent, sitting close and musky. Hard not to like, but easy to exclude from any elite level of perfumery because they just seem so clunky and deliberate, perfumery is about mystique for me and Argos just seem to lack it for some reason and it's a damn shame because the imagery they employ references to classical artworks and their inspirations, rather than seeming cheesy or phoned in, are actually quite authentic. All the blurbs are flowery as expected but I just think.... fair enough. I'm going soft in my old age I think?
I found this hard to dislike. It's a bit of a mess really but crucially doesn't smell bad. The top notes are really defined bergmot and these higher concentration, niche and indy brands seem to get that right consistently. but underneath is a sort of complex soup of amber, woody, musk. It's quite lovely but dolloped on with little finesse or stand out 'notes' it seems.
Perhaps I'm missing something here but this perfume is not a direct clone of Tuscan Leather. To look at the notes in my carded sample, you'd think it was and then coming here and seeing swathes of smells likes, I'm just not feeling that way. The fundemntal things which make tuscan leather are in fact a sort of rough sawn woody, sandalwood base which this simply doesn't possess. Some fleeting association this does have a rspberry note (if you must) a leather accord of sorts and a dry, smoked birch airy ambrox effect effect but the metallic spikes and sour citrus give this a whole different dimension. This has more incommon with Aventus than it does Tuscan leather. To be honest it reminds me much more of a Xerjoff (name escapes me) a Memo (name escapes me.... albeit something leather.... not that that would narrow it down...lol) and finally one I can actually name Rasai Ambergris Showers. I didn't hate this either but it felt a little more redundant as if chasing hints of hit perfumes here and there but ultimately coming out with something different but still derivative feeling. It's alright.
