Maai is perhaps the best modern take on a classic floral chypre. This thing is an absolute bomb! It explodes out of the bottle with tonnes of aldehydes and a sucker punch of musk...the two complementing but also kind of fighting each other...wow! I'm finding it hard to believe this wasn't created before the restrictions on raw materials, which will be welcomed with open arms by lovers of classical perfume. The opening is so interesting it's like a mixture between sweet n sour, the power of musk and the warmth of civet, possibly benzoin but with a sharpness too...maybe Labdanum...it's mental. I actually thought the opening 2 mins or so were leaning toward a masculine powder like carnation or a hint of rose, then BANG tuberose. The heart of this scent is a spectacular but crushing, musky tuberose, that renders Maai totally unwearable for me. Tuberose can be really stinky when I'm this kind of quantity but luckily enough some of the other notes stick around to keep it barable. Be warned the deep drydown is all animal stink. I have to say I'm impressed overall but this isn't my cup of tea in the slightest, apart from maybe elements of the opening. Sniff this out I'd recommend fragrance connoisseurs to try this. As you'd expect, projection is insane at first but then settling to very good, so is longevity.

Shams Oud is a real knockout and top marks for creative vision, I can't recall smelling a fragrance like this? Shams opens with the full on might of the rest of this line, definite oud quality with a balsamic warmth and pepper sharpness. This is an onslaught, a total envelopment of quality ingredients like saffron and oud taking on that strange, other worldly smell. The top notes remain and I get a definite spicy sweetness like clove/cinnamon/ginger throughout this fragrance which along with the deep resins and precious woods make Shams oud a very special brew indeed. I only tried this in store first on a card then on my skin, so I need to get a proper sample to wear. However I wrote the review because I was dying to comment on this wonderful stuff. Still far too much money to shell out for one of these and far too much juice in the bottle for me. For the record I do have full test size samples of Moon Leather (not in the database yet), African Leather and maybe a couple of others so I have the opportunity to see if they stack up. My opinion of Memo from what I have tried is pretty high though.

Wow! This fragrance has taken my understanding of vanilla fragrances and totally shaken them up. I expect a double vanilla, thick, dark coloured liquid like essence when I think of a good niche vanilla. Shunkoin has a much more delicate hand though, leading me into the composition very steadily. I mean this fragrance is sweet but very cleverly engineered not to be cloying or curdle with spices out of place in what is quite a sheer and milky context. There's a greenness to the opening which is not unlike that papyrus/sandalwood thing I don't like. This can only be the tea judging by the notes listed here and in combination with a very subtle powder note from iris or orris root. This becomes more apparent as the fragrance goes on. Another thing which surprises me is a lovely almond and coconut smell, a natural partner for vanilla but can go very wrong, the handling here is with care and quality, all hallmarks of Xerjoff. I really like this scent I have to say, if you like powdery understated vanilla then you've come to the right place. Also despite being a very subdued scent by nature it lasted very, very well on my skin to the point I was surprised even suspecting that it got stronger than when first applied.

I've always been a defender of By Kilian as a brand because when they hit...they hit! Unfortunately some of the recent releases have been sadly lacking, certainly in creativity and those prices are so high, made me start to wonder why I'd been such an apologist. I appreciate the packaging is fantastic but it's style over substance when the scent isn't even good or original and the cardinal sin...it doesn't last. Also...just to make things worse the SA and my local store which stocks By Kilian is dreadfully rude and looks at me like something he just scraped off the bottom of his shoe. Moving on... I'd heard good things about Apple brandy though and was excited to try it and thankfully... I wasn't disappointed. Apple brandy starts out with a lovely warming boozy apple smell, which I was hoping wouldn't be reminiscent of cider and thankfully it isn't. I can't recall ever drinking 'apple' Brandy but this is definitely more of the subtle, infused flavour you'd expect from a fine brandy liqueur. By that I mean it smells like one complete, coherent, entity rather than a apple flavouring on some heavy boozy notes. This is what you get for a good couple of hours then the fragrance reveals that it actually has a really decent strong woody base. This perfectly encapsulates the 'cask' effect a deep and gorgeous oak note which lasted on my skin for hours. There's my favourite labdanum too...you'd be forgiven for thinking this fragrance could be a damp squib and run out of life after that boozy entrance but that's just masking the great basis this fragrance has in wood and resin. Apple Brandy is definitely up there in terms of creativity with the likes of B2B and Straight to Heaven rather than many poorer efforts, which shall remain nameless. It's even better than those two in my my book because it performs better that S2H and I prefer the smell to B2B. A winner here from By Kilian but because it's apparently not available in the refill or atomiser pack, I won't be buying it anytime soon. Longevity 10 hours easy but it does go very low on the skin quite quickly and doesn't project all that much but that doesn't matter.

The first I've tried from Ormonde Jane...I think? Well this is the first review in any case and I have to say, a very impressive fragrance. The composition of this scent is truly well conceived, I often think of Geza Schoen being an ultra modern, minimalist (or con-artist?) due to the eccentric Molecules line. In fairness he's done many works worthy of note like Kinski and Bouddica Wode which are pretty complex. Anyway... Montabaco is a real knockout and I'd say it's quite a floral focused scent at it's core. The sweetness of jasmine and magnolia definite chime strong in this and more so as I was expecting it to be laden with heavy tobacco, especially from the way the SA sold it to me. The tobacco isn't that strong though and even the bergamot, and herbal clary sage/tea combo comes through delivering quite a fresh and uplifting scent. There's a warmth behind it all the time though and I'd attributed that to sandalwood and cedar ~(ISO) but when the main event lands the tobacco sits subtly but powerfully under those top notes. I genuinely couldn't Identify it as tobacco from the first couple of hours and then, as if by magic it's there and suiting the other notes perfectly. It's even a little bit smokey too when you get deep into the drydown. I don't know what else to say about this fragrance other than I wholeheartedly love it, and I want a bottle.

I was very, very impressed with this fragrance initially, it goes on strong and really is full of Citrus and woods as the name suggests. Sharp citrus opening which is neither lemon, grapefruit, bergamot but then slightly orange too. The balance is added by Cedar, vetiver and birch smoke, hint of spices in particular ginger and oakmoss, which had me thinking I'd found a real masculine gem in Yardley Citrus and Wood. The main problem comes when it doesn't even last an hour on my skin, before it just goes 'poof' into the ether, leaving nothing behind. I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to performance but I can't rate a fragrance that is this poor on longevity, no matter how good the opening is. Sorry this gets a thumbs down from me.

When will I ever learn? I blind bought this....foolishly. I was hoping it might resemble the original more than some had been stated in the (largely hateful) reviews below, or if it didn't perhaps it would even be a little like the summer cologne tonic...that would've been fine. I'm sorry fragranticans I didn't heed your warnings, I blind bought and not even at a particularly good price either. The opening is Apple (like) I suppose, but then descends into a kinda sage note and a powdered back drop of chemical Amber. This really is quite a bad fragrance. I had forgiven Dior for the recent Sauvage because it seemed like a focused and deliberate attempt to make something minimal based around Ambroxan. So many reviewers here have mentioned what Kouros Silver smells like and many of them are plain wrong. The closest fragrance to this by a mile is easily Paco Rabanne Invictus difference being this has less notes. I don't like it, it's not an awful smell but something about this, Invictus, and Versace Eros etc...turns my stomach. The performance is as I expected...INSANE. It lasts and lasts projecting heavily.

Oh dear there seems to be a lot of hate here, not sure it's got a lot to do with the actual fragrance probably more the man himself. As a mancunian and a die hard United fan, you can understand that there could be some bias here but never fear fragrance fans, I'm on a quest for the truth and if this fragrance was bad....I would tell you so. Truth is, for a designer release and especially for a celeb fragrance, Legacy is really quite good. I'd say mediocre and a little bland perhaps but totally wearable, no jarring notes, no god awful repellent aroma chemicals sticking out, just a smooth ride all the way. I can't say I can imagine Ronaldo wearing this, I thought he'd wear/create something much louder. I understand he didn't formulate it but I'm assuming he had some input? Anyway, it's understated opening is basically violet leaf, citrus and lavender but really well done. The dry down has a little more powder and I thought perhaps a touch of iris I like this because it's sort a balancing act between this and citrus/vetiver and a hint of spices. Please don't write this fragrance off because it isn't half bad...worth a sniff at anyway. I personally wouldn't buy it but it's no doubt as good or better than half the stuff on designer shelves at the moment. Update: Well I did end up buying it (only at a rock bottom price) and I must say I have to revise my initial statement slightly. I've allowed this fragrance to get away with olfactory crimes I would not forgive from the likes of Boss or YSL etc... just because it's a celebrity scent (and therefore the enemy) I did set the bar quite low, only to be surprised when it wasn't awful. Wearing Legacy today however and it's a bit of a mess...might be giving this away.

Amazing!!! For me Provenzano rewrites the Oud/Rose book here with Blue Sapphire. This fragrance is quite simiply stunning. Why am I not surprised that this nose is responsible for many of the recent Boadicea line as well as Clive Christian C for Men. He's done something here which is akin to Amouage and the take on roses displayed in Lyric. It's a light touch which lets the ingredients tell their own story in a very understated way. I say understated, the strength and projection on Blue sapphire is massive for the first couple of hours then dying back to a lovely skin scent. Opens with quite possibly the stickiest, jammiest, rose tinted, candied effect I think I've ever encountered. This opening is somehow fresh too, as is the rest of the fragrance, still warm but not stuffy and constantly invigorating. It reminds me of tropical fruits as well and even a touch of Bella Bellisima White Leather. Having said that it never tips over into the cloying, Blue Sapphire is perfectly balanced, I have a suspicion this is what heaven smells like. Deep Amber warmth in the base, can't say I can smell patchouli at all in here and there's hints of magic which I'd be a fool to try to describe. Two things which could be conceived as negative... 1) The price. I'm certainly not going to be splashing out on this anytime soon. 2) Also could be perceived as feminine, because it is... VERY FEMININE. I actually don't care about that because it smells so good. The drydown may also be reminiscent of some more common fem-fare but that's generally because you've already journeyed as far as you can and the vibrancy of that opening is a distant memory. Bravo Boadicea you've done it again!

Guys lets's get it straight this doesn't smell like Roja Dove Enigma, that's a much sweeter, boozy, vanilla composition. It shares labdanum, amber woods and a dose of booze but for me it's very much different. The comparisons to Black Afgano, now that I can understand. Although I would say it's more of a middle ground between Black Afgano and Pardon. Anyway lets not get caught up trying to compare it to well known fragrant landmarks, Laudano Nero deserves praise in it's own right. It opens with the most beautifully sharp, warm labdanum and from that moment I was in love with this fragrance. It's warm, complex woods accented with a ton of resin, thick, dense, dark, camphor and oud against naturally lighter herbal notes and wonderful tobacco. This is an absolute Knockout for me, more of a 'deep nutty brown' to Black Afgano's 'black' but don't think that means it's a shy, pale imitator because this perfume is massive and as different to anything you could compare it to, as it is similar. Really guys it's almost gourmand at times, very complex beyond explanation or analysis.... so so good.