Oh wow! Got to try these in Paris and I have to say I was impressed by how uncompromising they are, this is fragrance for the heads! An Oud of high quality, majestic, cerebral, complex and deep. A perfect balance of smoky, dark, woody spice and animal, musky, slightly medicinal tones. That's not the whole story though because it also has facets of ambery sweetness. Like all these high end Dior fragrances just seems to strike the right balance. I really liked it, not my favourite thing but goes to show Oud continues not to give up all it's secrets.

As a sweet and gourmand fan I loved this. I'd never really given Yves Rocher a second thought until I was with my girlfriend on holiday and she was trying cosmetics in a YR store. I tried a couple of fragrances and I have to say they were pretty good. Only a minor criticism here but I was expecting more pear I'll be honest but I appreciate it's kinda hard to juggle two quite different notes and for me the caramel dominates. This isn't a bad thing the pear is detectable but dies back especially in the drydown to a perfect, not overly sickly sweet gourmand scent. I love it, not great longevity or projection but hey worth a sniff.

So weird that I thought to myself after sampling this entire line (well after about 2 actually!) that these were more than reminiscent of Nasomatto. I thought it was just my imagination because they where positioned next to the Nasomatto's in Jovoy, Paris. Hardly surprising then that they are from the same perfumer and it really shows. This is not a bad thing at all though because you get those lumbering, great big, sledghammer compositions. This is a massively resinous, deep, dark heavy chocolate fragrance with that putty like woods of Black Afgano. I actually loved Boccanera to be honest...but it's undoubtedly well trodden ground, especially from this perfumer. Hey I'm not going to criticize.

This is a good scent. I'm not going to go mad about it, Zizonia is good! A fresh opening leads into Creamy woods and gentle spice. I get mainly geranium, nutmeg and sandalwood, cardamom (in fact a range of spice) but it's a mixture of really well blended notes. That's the story of Penhaligon's complex but oh so simple, I wasn't surprised this was aimed at women because I felt a certain soft, powdered femininity from it... but don't be fooled I'd wear it. My girlfriend however thought it was too minimal and didn't like it...not gonna find it in her christmas stocking then! It didn't last on my skin though, and I don't just mean in the way that many from this house don't, I mean it's very soft and close to the skin from the start.

This fragrance is a bit of a mess. I remember reading the blurb about it when it was released and giving out a 'pffft!' at the prospect of it. I thought it's either going to be utter genius or completely awful and in actual fact it's neither. The opening totally reminded me of a fragrance I'd purchased just days before (CdG) Pharell Williams, 'Girl' which also has a really odd unsettling, unnatural vibe to it... They don't really smell alike though. Blamage is a difficult clash of super heavy woody notes, wispy, powdered florals (maybe iris/rose/violet?), something metallic, something ambery, resinous and sharp maybe labdanum and an air of sophistication from saffron? It's a weird thing...if that's what Gualtieri and Nasomatto were going for I think they've succeeded. The heavy 'extrait' feel is certainly in abundance here but it does feel quite chemical for all the efforts to make this a stand out piece of artwork Blamage is just a bit lacking in focus. The Flacon is pretty cool and an interesting if not hideous stopper to go on top of it. This shouldn't detract from the rest of the offerings from Nasomatto which on the whole are great and this definitely fits into a space (perhaps that didn't need filling?)despite being such an oddball.

Just Cavalli the original was a knee jerk buy for me and a fragrance I subsequently got shut of in a recent wardrobe cull. However I don't think it deserved the slating it gt from the fragrance community because it wasn't that bad, the reason I got rid was because I found it a bit too much like a mundane deodorant not due to any offence it caused. I have to say the bold opening notes of this fragrance made me stand up and pay attention reminding me spicy scents like Xeryus Rouge or Hot Water and kind of sharing something with D&G's The One. Then a drydown which delivers a coffee note (which is even a bit nutty) in addition to what is an incredibly warm base of woody notes and approxmated 'leather' from the original fragrance (which everyone seemed to HATE!!!) and a soapy spice of cardamom. When you weigh all that up it sounds like a very interesting fragrance right(?) but in reality you end up with something a little uninspiring. I don't know why that is because I quite like Just Cavalli Gold and the performance seems to great. This is second time trying it and it's definitely wearable and an improvement on the first effort in this range. Still something is cheap and cheesy about this whole thing slathered in Gold and snakeskin it's just tacky. No one is going to smell this and declare it as revolutionary but worth a sniff for those after a thick, heavy, wintery 'Going out' fragrance.

The cynic in me wants to scream 'D&G rip off!!!' (Not that I like the term or would ever say that.) My instant thoughts on Yves Rocher's Ambre Noire, even before seeing the flacon was that it would maybe resemble 'The One' and it does in more ways than one. The tester I tried didn't have a stopper on it but the bottle is very similar, not that it's a criticism, if you're going to copy something then you could definitely choose less wisely. However, upon sampling this amber coloured juice I noted that it has it's own distinct vibe going on. It's not really fair to compare them because they're far enough apart to justify both in your wardrobe for sure although comparisons will obviously be made. The sweet, warm amber/tobacco/vanilla is one thing and reminscent of D&G's The One but then this has a slightly herbal element of vetiver and patchouli with the vanilla toned down and more of a tonka bean scent. Despite this, I think Amber Noire actually comes across a bit smoother and sweeter even than the one. I liked it but then I am a sucker for warm oriental fragrances and if you are too then this is worth a sniff. Longevity and projection are pretty average, well out performs The One though, food for thought perhaps?

I feel quite privileged to be the first reviewer on this scent because I absolutely loved it! Not much rhyme or reason to my assessment just a brilliantly done, fresh fragrance which was love at first sniff. I've tried the EDC too and I have to say there's no comparison this one is better. I got a fresh fruity citrus/juniper type of opening from this juice, then a heavenly greeness which doesn't overstep it's bounds and somehow remains sweet. I'd say it's a fruity gentle musk in the main but what elevates it is the subtle hint of booze, tea, spices maybe some rose and the ambergris? I'm not saying I can smell all of these constituents but something is certainly contributing to making this a superior juice. To be honest, I only tried it in store on my skin once so I really need to get my hands on a sample to get a better idea of what's going on here? Longevity was okay but again I will need to try Old Bond Street Triple Extract to be more conclusive. To me this is a great, summer scent and not to be overlooked. Update: well I've managed to get my hands on several sample vials of this and the cologne version and I have to say I stick to my above statements. A refreshing yet warm, mellow vibe. This time I do get a huge dose of green slightly metallic tea (reminiscent of Creed silver mountain water) with delicate soapy cardamom at the back of it and a dry down that is laid back but impressive because this is such a gentle scent. It delivers on everything really and has a air of sophistication about it. Simple not earth shattering but I really love it!

I tried this yesterday and I have to say it's fantastic! Yet another enigmatic, smooth, complex yet effortlessly simple creation from Penhaligon's. Lothair starts out with fresh top notes of juniper and fig, juicy and watery but then more herbal lavender strong, dry, woody notes, tea and oakmoss. Slightly soapy spice of cardamom in there too it's typical Penhaligon's really, understated and elegant but in no way lightweight, Lothair to me comes off quite masculine. Does suffer a little from the usual penhaligon's issue, Longevity! It's not great but totally acceptable because the fragrance is good...another winner from the house. Update: I'd just like to add that upon wearing some samples a couple of times now I'm glad I didn't buy a full bottle. Nothing wrong with it at all, it's all the things I expect from Pengaligons and largely what I said above, with the exception of quite a lot of cedar present throughout and I'm not sure it's as masculine as I first thought? I'm glad I opted for Levantium in the end, and I really don't get comparisons to Aberdeen lavender? Still alright though.

I've been wanting to sample this one for a long time and I finally managed to find it in Belgium recently, as I've never seen it in the UK. Kiton Men is a combination of some of my favourite elements coming together to make quite an aloof fragrance. I say that because I find it to be a mixture of fresh fruit and musk with violets and a woody base. Chypre is a good description for sure and I think the composition is perfectly balanced to accommodate for lots of notes which come together well to create a memorable fragrance. So Kiton Men impressed me, very nearly to the point of purchase but not quite. I wish I'd have got my hands on this in the 90's because I would've definitely rocked it. Projection and longevity were average . Update: Just felt I needed to update this review after finally finding a store which stocks this in the UK, and having an opportunity to sample it more readily. It's a very classy affair and I still stick to much of what I said above, however I have neglected to mention the animal power of musk in the opening 20 mins or so. It works really well with that fruity pineapple note makes this fragrance more serious than your average playful fruity/citrus/musk.