Tzora is a mixture of earthy, herbal notes combined with a clean and masculine focus. Opens with bergamot and a strong blast of musk as the fragrance settles down it's all about the woody notes of cedar and vetiver but mainly vetiver. It's a peppery mixture too and the blend of bitter citrus notes coupled with the vetiver which smells very similar to two fragrances I own and enjoy...Terre d'Hermes and L'artisan perfumer Timbuktu. This is great stuff but not for everyone as it is to me anyway, quintessentially masculine. Longevity is a little disappointing but I will reserve judgement for the next time I wear it...I like the smell at least a faithful vetiver.

This is crazy stuff a concentrated effort in perfumery to evoke quite a sickly and (I suspect) acquired taste of a smell. It really does smell like bubblegum folks...the opening is quite the sweet shop explosion! It'll have you wondering 'where does the Chic come into this equation?' Well I'll tell you.... the synthetic smelling candy sweetness then becomes positively identifiable as tuberose and jasmine in a strong concentration which at first comes across undilute and chemical but then changes to naturally floral. This balance is maintained but flip flops back n forth. I like this kind of white floral but there's no chance I'd ever wear it.

Bam!!! Harissa opens with a stong, soapy powder of miscellaneous cleaning products which sounds bad right? However my experience of fragrances tells me that this is the effect of not seeing the wood for the trees and these usually make for complex and unusual perfume. Harissa certainly didn't disappoint on that front, bags of character then developed, such as the tomato vibe which reminded me of Blood Concept a little. The exception being that this composition has a warm breeze of spices which are harder to pin point although I swear I can smell the myrrh of palisander here too especially in the drydown. I'm at the drydown right now and honestly I can't stop sniffing myself. The tomato vibe has become less vegetable now and it's just a lovely soft scent. Again the longevity is average projection is a low skin scent, there's definitely a time and a place for scents like this. Like when you want to enjoy them yourself without others even catching wind of them. Once again another wear would be beneficial to suss out exactly what is going on. Verdict is good from me...Comme des Garcons are such a cool house!

The mixture of spices in Palisander perfectly conjures up a hot opening of cinnamon & clove. Due to the fact neither are present I have to put this down to the combo of saffron and spiced pepper notes. The sweet nature of myrrh comes out as it dries down further to reveal the rosewood base. One word for this fragrance...Knockout! I absolutely love the combination of sweet, dry and hot in this woody fragrance it's a really lovely thing and CDG seem to have these odd incense type vibes down to a tee. I find it to be more masculine due to the pimento and woods but it's one of those that is a bit of a oddball and as a result... very much unisex. The downside is the longevity which is tolerable because it lasts okay but goes down to a very low humming skin scent, and quite quickly too. The verdict is a resounding thumbs up from me although I'm not sure it's bottle worthy, needs another wear I think.

I finally got to try the enigmatic and illusive Black Agano! I've literally tried everything from Nasomatto except the hugely (in)famous Black Afgano. Illusive? Surely not? You may think due to it being massively popular, however I have been a victim of that popularity by not being able to get it anywhere due to it being sold out! It's not that I couldn't find it anywhere, sure there where places online but I couldn't justify a blind buy on such an expensive juice, without trying it first. I pretty much knew I would love it but always had doubts in my mind when reading and watching numerous reviews saying it smelled like 'play doh' and other bizarre and frightening things. As soon as I applied it I got a waft of MY signature accord and my fears melted away instantly. Believe the hype! Black Afgano is everything I love about fragrance, truly it's almost perfect...a sublime masterpiece. I really hate to gush like this but it was love at first sniff. Opens with a woody oud note, deep calming then a host of resinous beauty. The top notes are very similar to Myrrhe imperialé from Armani, infact it's similar throughout this fragrance. It's very slightly different with a more woody nature, less sharp with labdanum perhaps? I get the Mary Jane thing but if you're expecting a hugely earthy, or sweet green weed note prepare to be disappointed. It not sticky buds or somekind of modern ICE solid or something more that BA has a hint of a spicy moroccan hashish about it and reminds me of my days as a smoker...but only very slightly mind you. Black Afgano is about the smell of sharpness labdanum, resins, benzoin, myrrh etc...but with a softness nearly gourmand quality and Oud. The drydown is spectacular, deep long lasting and addictive. Longevity and projection are legendary what you'd expect from extrait de parfum and have certainly lived up to the hype in my experience. I have Myrrhe imperiale which I find very similar and usually I would think I have this base covered but I'd buy this anyway...that's how good it is!

I was in two minds at this fragrance at first not because it's a lean toward niche fragrance from a designer house or that it's jumping on the Oud bandwagon after it's been flavour of the month. I had no preconceptions in that regard the reason I was dubious was the opening, which doesn't knock you out it's very subtle spicy type vibe. A definite Oud in here from the get go but with fresh and bitter top notes and cardamom. I kinda feared it would develop into TF Oud wood a fragrance I don't care for. It is a little like that to begin with but then after a moment becomes NOTHING LIKE IT! Really this is a lovely, lovely Oud fragrance gentle, addictive, cerebral, slightly spicy it's wonderful! To be honest I was blown away and after no prior knowledge of this fragrance or it's notes I got three main elements, starts out Oud & cardamom and pepper, then the heart patchouli comes through more prominently then the drydown is a soft patchouli and mellow, woody Oud & saffron. Oh by the way the Oud & saffron vibe is present throughout and reminds me of a Kew gardens candle which is soooo gentle for those who like the less medicinal, softer edge of Oud. Good longevity, projection is soft but it's there and will be smelled, I love it super high quality smells very expensive. I thought I was over Oud (to an extent) but this fragrance really makes me want a bottle because it's so wearable and makes me sniff it in and exhale a sigh of satisfaction...the true sign of a great fragrance.

Vanilla Marble is insanely sweet and intensely gourmand. The opening is a wave of coconut, liquor and suncream type vibes reminds me of summer, it's heavy exotic if not a little synthetic. It's amazing how different almond can come across because here yet again it's strong a coconutty. Reminds me of a vanilla candle with a hint of floral sweetness from tiare flower...don't get anything else. My natural reaction was to like it in the opening because it's so sickly sweet and strong but yet again I couldn't wear this plasticy lotion type smell because it would cloy heavily. good longevity and projection though and if you like um sweet and playful as they come then this is the scent for you.

Super powdery musky opening, a fabric softner type vibe with a heavy touch of woods as it dries down the oud becomes apparent. I think the 'floral notes' are a mixture but there's definitely rose in there, it smells high quality but again not my scene at all. It's okay but I wouldn't wear perfume like this.

What on earth is the Flacon all about? Agonist have some really interesting bottles which are matched by the juice. This is a complex mixture which has a lovely black currant note which is warm for a change. A lavender top note which fades, Then nice vague florals which are kinda sweet and exotic and a slightly creamy heart of tonka and then dries down to patchouli. Nothing earthy or dirty about the patchouli it's handled perfectly, balance is the name of the game here. The infidel hasn't blown me away but it's another interesting and highly wearable scent from Agonist.

Comme des Garcons certainly know their incense and heady meditative woods. I was really looking forward to this having become a real fan of hinoki wood recently after familiarizing myself with the note. It's a soft woody/citrus type smell which is really gorgeous. Hinoki is what I expected in that it's a perfect note to build this kind of accord upon. Superbly woody, with the freshness of cedar, pine, cypress and my favourite... frankincense. Stunning, clean and hits the mark to me evoking the oriental vibes of a Buddhist temple crossed with and a Scandinavian forrest. Longevity (which is okay) and projection are not that great (in fact poor) but still Highly recommended.