Nothing to dislike here really! Straight up citrus and a clean slightly green vetiver in there with average staying power and pleasant drydown. Not bad...but lost in the crowd.

Luckily I have two stores local to me and the one I frequented NEVER has this in stock...but the other one does so I finally got it! Eau des baux is a wonderful spicy balsamic which has the rough texture of spicy pepper perfectly balanced with the smoothness of tonka and vanilla. I can't understand the note votes on here as to me tonka bean is dominant throughout. This being said the cypress is very evident in the opening it is bright, sappy and herbal. This scent is amazing due to the clearness of all the notes you get pepper and cardamom throughout too with a constant base of tonka and vanilla. I think the other notes conjure a slight smokey incense vibe but incense is composed from lots of ingredients which may already be accounted for, so I can't say it's all that evident. Eau des baux's warmth is supplied by the base notes really and I would say it's like a more masculine, spicier version of something like Van Cleef and Arpels Midnight in Paris....Or maybe a little closer to Lanvin Avant Garde? Something with lots of Tonka bean anyway! I'm not surprised this fragrance is inspired by medieval roots it definitely smells that way due to the simple but satisfying combination of notes. So just a great fragrance really across the board and quite manly I think great for autumn and winter. While they don't make anything that blows me away, I've discovered you just can't go wrong with L'Occitane.

Okay lets talk about Eau Noire shall we? Casting my mind back to mid/late 2000's and trying Eau Noire cologne for the first time. ANECDOTE ALERT!!!! (I'll keep it brief I promise;) So this was several years ago now, and I'm at the Dior counter and I've got my heart set on buying Ambre Nuit (after trying most of the range extensively) and then Eau Noire goes and throws a spanner in the works. I got Ambre nuit in the end but this gave me a banquet of food for thought. The lady on the Dior counter told me that "I'd never guess what notes were in this fragrance!" I didn't relish being put on the spot either after sniffing out lots of things previously my nose felt a little burned out! Anyway... regardless she sprayed it on a card and wafted it around for a half a minute or so still claiming "You won't get what it is." she also told me how this particular scent had been revered and highly acclaimed in the fragrance world as a masterpiece. I was thinking... well let me smell it then!!! Haha Even before she did and three feet away from me, I could smell it and instantly I exclaimed..."Coffee!!! It's coffee isn't it?" To which she replied No! I'm glad to see it listed in the notes on here and I feel somewhat vindicated! However, when quizzed I couldn't really tell what was going on with this fragrance, it's very odd I got cedar too, slightly herby and a dark creamy thing...all of which she said No to. (But are included on here and in Dior's own bumf!) As soon as she gave me clues like "It's the same colour as your shirt..." (Purple) AH HA....Lavender and as soon as she said it became so clear and strong which reminded me slightly of Un Homme de Caron but so much darker an better in every way. Took me a while to get the licorice but as it settled down the notes balance out perfectly and become clearer. So do I like this fragrance? Yes I have to say I love it, such a strange combo of prominent Lavender, Licorice and coffee with the herbiness of thyme and a sappiness of cedar and a kinda spiced curry leaf. I'm totally sold on this fragrance it's great! Lasts well on my skin too as I've tried it a few times now. Luckily she gave me 15ml(I must be a charmer) worth of samples of this one alone so as soon as I get it in an atomizer... I will wear it properly. To cap it all I discover that this fragrance is by one of my favourite perfumers Francis Kurkdjian...and frankly I shouldn't have been surprised. Hats of to Dior yet again...I will definitely be adding this superb green juice to my collection at some point.

Okay so I've approached this backwards in terms of reviewing, I actually tried this second after the brilliant Gold and was not overly impressed then blind bought Platinum and Go dark which I really enjoyed. So 24 is a strange one, I wouldn't describe it as a citrus fragrance really although it opens with citrus and mandarin orange which is fresh and familiar. Then the heart is dense which I can only compare to the smell of fresh bandages and an antiseptic vibe a little like Germolene but not as harsh. It's an unusual one in that I can't place the notes(except the fruity top notes and vanilla and amber maybe?) but 24 creates an accord that reminds me of the resinous, ambery scent of Loewe Solo Platinum. Strangely it also shares a resemblance in terms of packaging the partially blacked out bottle with windows revealing amber juice on either side. Also I put the cap from the Loewe on the 24 bottle and it looks awesome, certainly better than the silver stopper. I'm not saying they smell the same, they have clear differences but also similarities when compared side by side which I have done. The Longevity on this fragrance is excellent it really lasts a long time on my skin 8 hours plus at least. So my conclusion? 24 is not bad but it's not great either I got it due to it being super cheap and having enjoyed the others in the range. I have to say that scent story have created 4 wonderfully diverse and appealing fragrances at a very reasonable price, exemplary stuff! 1. GOLD Genius one of my all time favourite fragrances a true masterpiece. 2. PLATINUM is dank and woody. I love this intense Oud/Amber/Rose combo but this scent is not for everyone. 3. Go Dark is a very good masculine scent and I would certainly recommend it but I did find the longevity a bit disappointing for this range...but it's still okay just a minor criticism. 4. 24 is not my thing really but it's okay. 4.

Brilliantly bright fragrance, the verbena just sings and zings with a slight green vibe but primarily it's a strong natural citrus. The sweetness gives it the candy/sweets feel many describe and it does smell very much like lemon sherbet sweets to me and if you like them (which I do!) this will be a winning fragrance for you. It can't be thought of in simplistic lemon terms like something which smells like a cheap detergent or bathroom cleaning product, verveine is wonderful and has a natural beauty to it which is so fresh and lively, a character it even manages to retain as in dries down upon the skin. This is going to be a perfect scent for summer, sure the longevity is average for this sort of fragrance but apparently verbena has natural mosquito repellent properties which could be a useful bonus. I personally can't wait for hot weather to break this one out.

I can understand the nonchalant attitude toward this fragrance and the fresh thing is something that's hard to dislike right? Well it must be my 'Chemistry' that doesn't agree with this fragrance because I actively don't like it. The opening is bitter and musky then becomes cheap and lacking in everything which could make it enjoyable or just inoffensive. Just weak perfumery for me, I couldn't wear this and I'm someone who has worn Happy for years despite finding it synthetic smelling it's fresh and uplifting in a way I'd hoped this would be. Chemistry is a flop...not good at all.

Yet again scent story have produced a top fragrance and yes I blind bought this one too! This is more reserved and less impressive than the dizzy heights of 24 Gold and 24 Platinum both of which are fantastic. Go dark definitely has the fresh citrus character of the original 24 and the most definitive apple note I've come across. That's just the opening, the heart of this fragrance is a very masculine smooth patchouli, spiced woody, musk which is very enjoyable indeed but for me doesn't quite stir the same enthusiasm as the two I've mentioned previously. This is still highly original and head and shoulders above many designer priced fragrances in terms of sheer quality and staying power. Speaking of longevity it's very very good as you'd expect from this range but again not quite in the league of Gold and Platinum...but it does project massively for the first couple of hours. Update: the more I wear this the more I become accustomed to the notes and the development starts out now with a really bitter dark chocolately patch which then becomes progressively spiced and woody but with that strange apple note through it. I really like this fragrance shame it isn't a bit stronger.

Just as I was thinking 24 Gold must have been a rare freak occurrence an absolute gem of a fragrance which stood out head and shoulders above anything in its price range...I got my nose on this. Another blind buy on the strength of 24 Gold might I add and I never expected it to be as good but Scent story have done it again an absolutely superb fragrance which smells so high end niche it's ridiculous. I also mirror the comment below...How is there not Oud in this??? EVERYBODY!!! IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THIS SMELLS MORE DEFINITIVELY OF OUD THAN 80% OF FRAGRANCES RELEASED WITH OUD IN THE NAME. Strong Oud was the thing I smelled and in abundance right away...super ambery (more so even than Gold) thick, opulent, princely aroma. The rose makes this deep, complex and to me more than a little reminiscent of classic rose/Oud combos but with the vanilla which brings it into a new creamier realm. The fruitiness stays long into the dry down giving this fragrance yet more dimensions which smooth but spicy balsam and resin notes too. Needless to say I'm mega impressed by this fragrance and yet again the 24 range has a winner and a world beating scent in 24 Platinum. Stunning! Longevity and projection are monstrous much like Gold. If three fragrances I loved had a child it would be 24 platinum and the contributors are Armani prive myrrhe imperiale By Killian Incense Oud Scent story 24 Gold Praise indeed!

Okay....so I really tested myself with bois d'argent and had no prior knowledge about this scent. I was happy with my olfactory skills when I looked at the notes on here and discovered that you get pretty much all of them. The order that I got them was leather, patchouli, musk, honey and definite sweetness of iris and some amber too. The musk mellows and then some vanilla comes in the heart. It's reminiscent of elements from lots of fragrances the opening powdery leather reminds me of Midnight in Paris. The almost chocolately patchouli of Tom Ford Noir and then the warmth of honey and vanilla reminds me of Serge Lutens Chergui and Lanvin Avant Garde...I could go on...but I won't. Despite having made all these comparisons this fragrance has it's own thing going on and it's very nice...just something about it that's not for me. The drydown becomes almost gourmand as the fragrance settles on my skin, very luxurious but ultimately not what I'm looking for. It's complex and transitions nicely from the opening through the notes in a very smoothly blended outing from Menardo and Dior.

Cologne Royale is one of the most interesting citrus fragrances I've ever sniffed. Somehow for a citrus based fragrance it's not at all sharp and gives me something new that I've not come across before, just as I thought I would never be wowed by a niche citrus ever again. The reason I mention the niche factor is because (rightly or wrongly some might think) I can't always justify the expenditure as there's something inherently cheap about citrus scents to my perception. This however is magic to me...really good the mixture of mint freshness and a slight green and floral element which is perfectly realised. Something about this feels old but not dated like something gentlemen would use throughout history...and apparently that was the intention. Not a typical bergamot or lemon/lime scent it's so perfectly blended that for me a new accord is created, at least something I've never come across it's unlike other neroli/citrus or fruity musks I've tried, Cologne Royal smells really great! I can't say about longevity without giving it a proper trial but I was assured that it's 'cologne' in name only and is EDP concentration. I instantly liked this fragrance and after a few more tries I might even add it to my collection a perfect summer juice. This is providing it has good longevity to justify the price.