Oh my word! I got a sample of SoOud Nur eau fine and I have to say right off the bat it's great! What a wonderful fragrance and a surprise as I'd expected something with Oud and rose perhaps or a super powdery urinal cake but no just a lovely warm fragrance. I'd wear this don't get me wrong but it has a distinctly sultry femininity about it. Herbal, sweetly floral from orris root, the vanilla is very strong and sweet in the opening almost gourmand, and the base is a warm, musky amber and leather. I've mentioned sweetness several times but Nur is never too sweet, perfectly balanced in fact and as it dries down becomes delicately leathery but more masculine on my skin. This is a very well put together perfume and gets my seal of approval.

Woah! I'm amazed that this fragrance delivers nearly all the notes listed in the promotional material and on here. I was expecting to be disappointed by these Blood concepts but so far so good. Frankly I'm amazed and I hope you know I wouldn't bullshit you folks, Blood concept B has great progression and complexity to it and isn't just about patchouli as I had feared. I love the opening, it's a blend of wintery cherry and cooked apples with a distinctive pomegranate note. These top notes are fleeting but you get a hint straight away of the depth contained in B, right from the start there's a feeling heavier notes are yet to come. You get pepper and metallic tea note wrapped in a deep, very woody almost tobacco type feel...it's really good!!! Then all of a sudden as it settles after a few minutes the patchouli bomb is dropped and that combination with tea and a little of the sweettop notes make it very palatable. I've tried some heavy patch fragrances, especially recently and it made me realise I'm not mad on most dirty patchouli dominated fragrances. B is an exception I really really enjoyed wearing it for the first time, even though the Patch has that characteristic, earthy, soil tincture. Amazing, long lasting and might even be one of my favourite patchoulis because of the way its handled with the addition of tea, fruits and pepper surrounding it. B gets and A+ from me.

I'll just kick off these reviews by saying that I couldn't wait to get my hands on these. I feared the (Blood)concept was a little stupid and gimmicky but hey I like the packaging and everything needs a gimmick sometimes to keep things interesting. Well I suppose it's as good a concept as any because I can almost picture blood in my olfactory mind. I enjoy metallic notes and more worryingly perhaps (???) kinda like the taste of blood. But before you get the wooden stakes and garlic at the ready...hear me out. Blood concept A opens with a lovely green note and the fragrance is pretty much based around this wonderfully natural tomato leaf smell which is shear magic! It reminds me a little of making vine tomato consume with a hint of celery and fennel...and the temperature of this fragrance is cold at all times. This is not necessarily the most wearable perfume around but I dig it. The opening then turns to a familiar herbal smell of basil with a fruity shampoo like vibe. It smells like freshly washed feminiine hair, head and all. Kinda 'natural meets unnatural'...If you get me? Then when it dries down a bit the tone becomes deeper, metallic with a hint of spice which truly does evoke blood. It's a really good and cleverly made scent which teeters between natural and synthetic. The drydown gives more of an aniseed quality and the basil is still going strong, which when coupled with the overall leafiness reminds me of fennel. Good longevity for such a ethereally light perfume but has the strange quality of metallic scents they don't project but stay close to the skin. Good first outing for Blood concept, gets my approval definitely not for everyone.

Gorgeous top notes on this one from Carolina Herrera. Luckily managed to find it in a store which carried lots of discontinued (don't know if this has been?) or scents you just don't see very much at least. I love the citrus opening which changes to a melon freshness that doesn't seem too cheap. There's a touch of pepper and cardamom, cedar and tonka bean lending some sophistication and Chic has a gentle musky base. The territory of this fragrance is a well trodden one and I can't say it sticks out all that much but I can't deny it's extremely pleasant and worthy of a wear. I'd choose this over lots of other mainstream fodder just for the fresh fruitiness of that melon note. Longevity and projection are average to subtle on my skin.

For me Sandalwood has three distinct factors that combine in differing amounts to form a trifecta accord. There's a dazzling array of different results which can be achieved and as a result lots of fragrances manifest sandalwood in different ways also depending what surrounds them. This is the closest I've smelled to my default sandalwood, the mental barometer if you will, to which I judge and perceive sandalwood myself. That doesn't mean this is great just that it has a more perfect balance of the three elements which are... creamy,spicy and woody. Sometimes sandalwood can come across weak and transparent but to me Santalum is as clear a representation as you can get. Perfect balance. I do detect the tiniest hint of Myrrh but no cinnamon. It's super minimal composition wise but that doesn't matter as sandalwood has it's own rich complexities... I have to say I really enjoy it. It's not the strongest in the world due to the lack of other notes and spicing usually associated with sandalwood based fragrances. Longevity is okay but doesn't project much above the skin.

Nostalgia has over run my senses here. Uono has got everything that inspires words like masculine, clean, soapy and most of all dated. Personally I don't care it's a wonderful mixture of a lemony citrus opening which soon turns to powdery geranium and a touch of greeness with fresh woody cedar. There's warmth in there sure but I can't say I detect an amber accord more like sandalwood. The kicker notes throughout, oakmoss and musk they keep it sour and interesting, not too barbershop soapy. Uomo is strong and long lasting and has something elegant about it which I'm really enjoying. Certhusia Uomo is brilliant I have to say! I'm very surprised because this is not especially my usual type of fragrance but for some reason I'm enjoying this one a great deal. It has all the great qualities of classic juices like Old Spice or Kouros.

Am I losing my mind here? After the initial opening swirling bit from some citrus perhaps? I get a massive hit of star anise. This is the most prominent ANISEED smell I've encountered and I for one love it! As it settles down No.14 becomes more herbaceous and that strong note seems to split into clary sage and taragon with a hint of violet leaf. It's an odd fragrance I must say but beautifully conceived the main thing about it is the woody Guaic and that herbal quality...I really really like it. There had to be a downside though and unfortunately it is that this fragrance is pathetically short lived on my skin, I mean it's a joke! I thought No.4 was bad but I can forgive it a little for being a citrus but even that lasts longer and projects better than No.14...such a shame.

Wow! Cereus no.4 what a lovely fragrance. Opens a bit strangely, kind of synthetic but not in an aquatic way more of a fruit cocktail sort of thing, reminds me of sweets and E numbers! It does have a slightly watery quality and a slight smell of papyrus but when it settles those fruits are nothing but pleasing. A blend of apple which comes off more like pear with citrus and frankly nothing else! I'm not disappointed in that its a lovely smell it's the lack of longevity that is an issue and at this price you'd expect better. I have to say the smell is addictive while it lasts.

It's very similar to Tobacco Vanille. I get a cherry & dried fruit opening that settles into a strong tobacco with honey. Good value, these Phaedon's are very reasonably priced and if I didn't already own TV I would certainly consider this stuff as an alternative for sure. Don't get me wrong it isn't exactly the same eg: No vanilla, prominent honey but somehow not as sweet (probably due to the lack of vanilla)and a more resinous quality all of which give a moderately different character especially in the drydown and I've tried them side by side. Truth is I don't like this or TV as much as I used to and in truth rarely wear the Tom Ford so I'd opt for something else from Phaedon, like the majestic Rouge Avignon.

I'm not a fan of Azzaro pour homme and I can even smell the similarities here but weirdly Tuscany per uomo has to be my favourite from Amaris. I love the bitterness of the lemon in the opening and it's truly a powerful citrus with a zesty lime to it as well! The base is the usual suspects, classic leather and oakmoss with a spicy sandalwood base and herbaceous basil and caraway too. I have to say I really enjoy this fragrance because it doesn't open harshly (except maybe the citrus) and it drys down to be more delicate and less butch than some other Aramis offerings, especially the original. I quite like this and the Longevity and projection are what you'd expect from Aramis.