I like to try to maintain a healthy relationship with local sales assistants and in this instance By the fireplace made them feel a compulsion to beckon me over excited to show me what it had to offer. I think it could be because they thought I'd be impressed by the concept, instead I'm a little uninspired by 'Smokey vibes' only because it seems to be quite a fashionable thing at the moment. By the fireplace opens with a smokey woody flavour and instant sweetness. It is a very nutty smell, very much a roasting chestnut vibe but not as accurate and therefore not as enjoyable. There's a cocoa hint in there too and maybe a little maple syrup with a touch of the earthy too? I like it don't get me wrong and for a moment in the opening thought it could tip into that molasses or BBQ sauce type thing of something more savoury I smelled recently and the name escapes me. (Imaginary authors perhaps?) Anyway..by the fireplace stays with the sweetness as the smoke dies down and dries down to an interesting tonka bean/woods sort of thing. I hated to disappoint the SA's who thought this would be right up my street, and it is but maybe my tatses have evolved past it? Maybe I have to many smokey perfumes and I'm looking for something a bit different? Jury is out yet again but I will be trying it again and it's certainly worth a sniff because there is individuality there. For someone who likes the juxtapostion of sweetness with woody, smokey notes. Performance was okay smokiness lasts well into the drydown and projects quite well first hour or two but inevitably becomes a skin scent fairly quick on me. Update: I wore this again the other day and it's sometime after my first experience with it. I have to say I feel exactly the same about it. Interesting themes and hints in the smokey opening but then slightly uninspiring tonka drydown but I still like By the fireplace overall. A notable comment is that I thought the performance was much better than I had remembered, a decent days worth was achieved.

Who'd of thunk it huh? That I would love a composition based around Rose and honey? But I do!!! Don't get me wrong I kinda like both in their own way ...but together? I was dreading it. I needn't of worried as It was in the safe hands of Guerlain and Francis Kurkdjian. (Having said that FK did make the horrendous pour Le soir using too much bee produce but that's a personal taste thing.) Rose barbare is just that then, mainly a very beautiful, semi dark rose and boozy but not over powering with a perfect balance of honey. A hint of patchouli just to ground it in a thicker, earthy vibe as it dries down but again in total moderation. The opening I perceived as quite feminine, not dated but something a more mature lady might wear perhaps? When I say this don't think I'm excluding men from this experience because RB is a very strong and bold perfume which could easily be perceived in quite the opposite way. In fact the dry down on me is very woody and sensual and almost masculine. Good, classy stuff yet again.

Smells to me as if the bubblegum note wasn't present this would be a half decent fragrance. Sadly it's the dominance of this synthetic, sickly element & lack of finesse in the other notes which makes EaB a disappointment. I do smell a kind of faint frankincense vibe and something which smells like a couple of the CdG incense series in the opening then it goes downhill rapidly. I've toyed with the idea of a bubblegum smell and frankly I just don't want to smell like that. Lots of other fragrances achieve this effect by mistake (I imagine?) rather than actually embracing it the way this does. This is even more annoying than James Heeley Bubblegum chic which is at least powerful, a blessing in disguise that EaB doesn't last all that long. You have to take your hat off to Etat Libre d'Orange for thinking outside the box. It's just sometimes what's IN the box will do just fine. They've out quirked their own quirkiness threshold for me this time.

This was my first review (written ages ago but not posted for some reason??) of Roja Dove and Aoud was good but having tried the range I'm somewhat a fan of these fragrances. Well, well, well Roja Dove fragrances! Hyped and bashed in equal measure. I'm going to try to get to the bottom of this and hopefully bring some clarity to proceedings. I've only tried two from this exclusive line and Aoud was the first one. The reason I didn't hurriedly put pen to paper (or finger to iPhone) to document the momentous occasion will become apparent. The sample vile looked extremely inviting, containing a thick, oily, dark, dark amber goop. As soon as I tried it on my skin I got a smoky ploom of woody Oud reminiscent of fragrances from countless houses but Zerjoff sprung to mind due to a distinct 'diesel' quality. This is backed with hints of resins and tiny florals peeking through. It's nice...very nice. I made the mistake of thinking that Aoud was a lovely thing which oozed quality but was linear and somehow lacking in depth other than the great Oud and labdanum. It's only now that I've tried it a couple of times that I can appreciate the subtle complexities, which almost makes me want to rethink and revisit several fragrances, to see if I change my mind on them. As I said I tried RD Aoud a few weeks ago now and haven't thought a great deal about it since, until I got it out for my girlfriend to try. She loves strong orientals, Ouds as well as quite feminine florals so she's pretty well rounded. I should maybe have given her no prior knowledge about the fragrance but I decided to give her a quick bio of Dove and the price of this juice. Her reaction was wild! She absolutely couldn't get enough of this scent. I bore/bombard her with allsorts of fragrances on a pretty much daily basis and normally reactions are fairly blasé but this provoked a BIG response. I then did something I never do, post trying a fragrance myself. I proceeded to look at other reviewers on YouTube etc...just to see what the buzz was. I came across one guy who seemed very balanced and knowledgable about perfume and the process of perfumery in general, who was offering up his opinions. Have to say his description 'Stale Newport cigarette's and the cheapest feminine drugstore perfume.' I just don't get? To say that this fragrance gives NO hints as to the quality of ingredients used, shows a fundamental lack of understanding about perfume. Whatever you think of the composition or what your tastes might be you have to give credit where it's due. I did appreciate his point about the use of 'finest ingredients' and what people mean by that and 'Can you smell it?' I thought he was missing a trick slightly assuming that people think 'fine quality ingredients' mean 'naturals' then going on to make the point that Amouage readily use synthetics. Well the truth is, majority of houses do regardless of price and I think it's a bit patronising to assume that other frag heads don't know this. when I say something smells 'synthetic' I don't mean it in the literal sense, same with 'cheap' or whatever? It's difficult to explain and for another time perhaps? The point is Roja Dove Aoud is a very opulent and strong scent which delivers what I expected. Anyone who is looking for the holy grail of fragrances will probably be a little disappointed because high price and exclusivity don't guarantee anything. Aoud is very, very good...even great for me. It's by no means that original or groundbreaking and if you think it's worth the money then good for you, there's a ton of fragrances to get before this one would figure on my list....but eventually I think it would. Great projection at first, great longevity as you would expect.

Love at first sniff!!! What a fragrance!!! I feel a bit vulgar trying to break it down but here goes. There's definitely patchouli in here and that might account for the chocolatey vibe. I also get a cocktail of sweet balmy incense elements of ladnaum, Myrrhe, opoponax just about everything I love. The Oud is present but not that prominent at first but comes on stronger and stronger in the drydown which is sublime. It's an interesting mixture of Carner cuirs, jubilation 25, black Afgano, Duro, Myrrhe imperial, bois noir but with the patchouli of Hindu grass. This fragrance might even surpass some of my alltime favourites, Pardon is quite simply a revelation, brilliant and something I would wear in a heartbeat. Despite vague similarities across the board, the more you discover about perfume the more you refine 'exactly' what it is that you're into. Pardon delivers it...what it can't do is recapture the enthusiasm or the sense of discovery the first time I smelled certain types of perfume but it has a damn good try. By some strange miracle Pardon is not that strong...yes you heard me right. Of course it's strong, it's a Nasomato perfume for gods sake but in my experience this is not as strong as Black Afgano or Duro. A top top fragrance no doubt and has that signature Nasomatto thing about it.

Immediately to my nose it's a bright start quite crowd pleasing, certainly I liked it! The odd mixture of elements which is a signature of this houses slightly wacky but innovative creations. That juxtaposition of slightly green, almost aldehydic opening which settled to a kind of vetiver but with a developing vanilla behind, shouldn't work but just does. The first thing I noticed as it settled was the resinous nature and real quality at that, myrrh and opoponax creating a hint of a medicinal vibe but then mixing well with a creamy and nutty gourmand element. I'd describe the top notes as 'foreground' because just as you've zoomed into the heart of the picture, the main theme of resinous vanilla, it forces you to step back slightly and reveals something sharper (nearly metallic) green and fresher from the beginning. Sure it's a bit weird (didn't you expect that?) but very interesting as it develops. This like many Etat Libre d'Orange fragrances just works! Fat electrician is to me yet more three dimensional perfume very well executed. Much like some of their others I've given a rave review but I'm still unsure whether I'd want to wear them on a regular basis...such an odd thing...the focus being a chaotic nature which is obviously a huge contradiction...that's Etat Libre d'Orange for me. I appreciate the artistry but could I live with it? Possibly not.

Being one who's late to the party when it comes to certain Hermes fragrances, I'm unaware of the joys of the original formulation for many of these creations. I'm having to settle for apparently pale modern approximations which sometimes don't even capture the essence of the original. Well...these originals must have been something very special indeed because I love Bel Ami, Equipage and Rocabar in their newer guises! Rocabar is a complex nutty, woody scent which is entirely manly but soft around the edges at the same time. The blending is supreme to the point where it becomes more of a singular experience rather than a journey through notes. I'd say you pretty much get a linear but rich scent from start to finish and for me that is the sign of a real classic fragrance. Cypress and cedar are noticeable floating on a resinous base with a classical spicy puff of carnation. I absolutely love this fragrance, superbly wearable and with a touch of class but nothing showy, performance was okay... Great stuff.

I echo many of the sentiments expressed below about this fragrance and Marly in general. They are all pretty excellent fragrances minus a couple just for taste reasons but like any house they do have a style and it seems to tend towards the warm and oriental. I found myself stuck between this, Oajan and Herod (eventually opting for Oajan) because they were all very good. I suspect like with Oajan secrets and extra nuances will be released on further inspection I've no doubt but even without that insight, I instantly fell for Kuhuyan. Helitrope and I don't really get on but this is a delightful blend of an almond/vanillin/suede and woods...probably the best way to describe it. The heart notes are pleasantly floral and slightly powdery violet and base is tonka and warm amber and again...probably oud? This is a true composition with nothing over stepping it's bounds and actually making for quite a tame fragrance. These elements don't spring to mind as being my favourite but undoubtedly work together. Quality is good, longevity is a bit lacking but I'd definitely like to try it again.

Apart from childishly giggling at the name, this fragrance has a lot to offer. I tried it in Fortnum & Mason and was impressed by this juice. A curious blend of woody notes which opens with a blast of lime citrus and pink pepper then a masculine body of cedar, guaic wood and vetiver. I've no doubt there's oud in there but I'd call this more of a blend of complex woods rather than a straight forward oud based scent. This is a lovely blend of notes to create a very wearable scent which without blowing me away was clearly of good quality and lasted well on my skin. I'd love to get hold of a sample and wear this again properly because I'm sure it would grow on me and go from a like to a love.

Well I've finally sampled John Varvartos fragrances and superficially I've been very satisfied with them. I say that because across the board they open fantastically then just disappoint massively as they drydown. Unfortunately It's the same story with Varvatos Artisan but maybe to a slightly lesser degree. The opening is a sweet juicy clementine which is very accurate and is obviously floating on a base of woody notes and a fizzy, green note of galbanum. This is all very nice but then starts to retreat from this fresh and natural scent into something slightly more white floral, orange blossom and a hint of ginger. That's all in the first 20 mins or so and I'm thinking Artisan is a bit of a winner. Then it seems to change into a bit of a sour car crash after the orange/tangerine note subsides. Tomato leaf is what I get on my skin...yep...a greeny, slightly metallic note and that mixed with a white floral that plainly, just isn't very nice and certainly a contrast from the lovely opening. Performance is pretty poor (lasting 2 hours if that?) but this fragrance is interesting and the opening is very nice so just for that I give JV Artisan a thumbs up.