Absolutely the finest Men’s designer fragrance. A true masterpiece.
If you are in the market for a smoky fragrance that smells like maybe the smoke cleared after a super-beardy wizard threw a mystical resin into a fire to conjure an ancient dragon lord or something, but the dragon flew away and the wizard has gone to bed and the fire has burned down so that only the embers are smoldering and the deeply scented, resinous smoke has seeped into all the old wooden beams in the top-most tower room where all the magical shit is locked up...well, The Holy Mountain may be the scent for you.
Released in 2010
Classified as a Cyhpre Fruity
Noses behind the scent was a collaboration between father and son Oliver and Erwin Creed, 6th and 7th Generation Creeds respectively.
Aventus was created to celebrate strength, vision and success, inspired by the dramatic life of war, peace and romance lived by Emperor Napoleon.
Top Notes: blackcurrant, bergamot, apple and pineapple. Heart Notes: Rose, dry birch, Moroccan jasmine and patchouli Base Notes: oak moss, musk, ambergris, and vanilla
Opens up very smokey and woody, very powerful and masculine, after which you pick up subtle fruits such as the pineapple, blackcurrant and green apple. For the first couple hours the scent has a sour vibe, which might be from the apple. As the scent develops, it becomes sweeter and the fruity notes start becoming more prominent, with the woodiness in the background. On my skin it's starts off smokey and woody, but becomes sweeter as the scent develops, with the pineapple being more prominent in the drydown. gentle vanilla helping with the sweetness in the drydown.
Its not massively complex scent, but its so incredibly pleasing. Its by far one of the best smelling scents out there, its truly intoxicating.
Incredibly versatile, great for both day or night (mostly day for me), and would work great for every season, though best suited to the warmer months. Versatile in terms of occasions too, can be used for pretty much any occasion, swiss army knife fragrance, suitable for work, date, night out, formal and casual.
Performance is outstanding for a fragrance of this type, for a warm weather fragrance, the longevity around 10 hours with excellent projection is fantastic which is one of the reasons why it can be used all year round, as its strong enough to cut through the cold.
People will notice you with this fragrance, like I've said projection is excellent and so is sillage. Been complimented at work, by family and friends. I did get one comment that it was very strong, someone a few feet away from me could smell it. Someone else at work commented that their former boss used to wear it, in her words "drowned himself in it". Received many compliments regarding this scent.
Negative popularity, which makes it quite annoying, I rarely smell fragrances when i'm out but I have smelt this at restaurants, at the gym and at shisha lounges.
Overall rating is 5/5.
Classified as an Oriental Floral
Notes: Patchouli, Vanilla, Rose and Oud
Sweet and dark, jammy rose scent. Opens up with a blast of patchouli and rose, has a very sweet and bright, subtle paint like scent. The scent after a few minutes starts becoming slightly smokier and has a warm spicy nuance from a saffron note. The oud adds a smokey woody base but is very subtle and very much a backing player. As the scent develops into the drydown, the vanilla really blends well with the rose, creating a very syrupy jam like rose scent. Oud is very much in the background but its always there, the rose and vanilla really are the most prominent aspect of the scent. The rose becomes richer into the dry down, compared with the opening where it is very sweet and bright. The scent has a velvety feel.
Longevity is beast mode, I could smell it the next morning in the shower, after spraying the evening before as my scent of the night. Projection is excellent for the first couple of hours, after which it is average, you still have a nice scent cloud around you, but it doesn't scream off your skin, which might not be a bad thing, becomes a skin scent around the 7 hour mark.
This is a brilliant night wear scent during the fall and winter and as far as occasions go, I would wear this for dates and formal occasions.
Overall rating 4/5.
I was insistently attempting to smell something in Messe de Minuit that I wouldn’t recognize anyway ….I’ve never been to midnight mass in my life. Once I realized this, but also that I was able to appreciate it any, way, I was able to connect it to something that I am quite well acquainted with: its subtly sour, musty scent reminded me of a shadowed corner of a used bookshop; towering piles of moldering books stacked on sagging rotted wood shelves….a corner that hasn’t seen sunlight in years, books that are touched by human hands rarely, if at all. All of this. Now it is a scent that makes sense to me.
Released in 2004
Classified as a Chypre
Nose behind this fragrance is Geza Schoen, who is behind many fragrances from the Ormonde Jayne house.
Top Notes: Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Cardamon, Coriander and Juniper Berries Heart Notes: Oud and Black Hemlock Base Notes: Vetiver, Cedar, Sandalwood and Musk
Gorgeous fresh citrus opening with the bergamot that quickly grabs your attention, which quickly becomes spicy and woody, with a notable pink pepper and cedar notes, with a lovely cardamon in the background. The ingredients quality is undeniable. Becomes smoother into the heart with some creamy sandlewood. But is overall a dry spicy woody scent, but still maintains an element of freshness. It's defiantly a very complex fragrance with a lot of facets, theres spice, freshness and woodiness.
Reminds me a little of Royal Oud by creed due to the spicy woody nature, both fragrances share similar notes. I'm not saying they smell alike, but they do smell slightly similar and share similar nuances. Ormonde Man is like a fresher summer version of Royal Oud.
Projection is strong for the first hour, especially with the pink pepper, after which the projection is good throughout. Longevity is excellent good 8 to 10 hours every time.
This is the perfect masculine scent for work, signature scent worthy. Its classy, elegant and incredibly versatile due to its pleasing nature. This would also fit well for formal settings too, perfect scent for a white shirt.
As far as seasons, this again is very versatile I can see this working in the day time for all seasons, but perfect for spring IMO.
Final rating is 4.5/5.
Comme des Garcons Incense Series Avignon is a dusty antique rosewood chest locked against prying eyes until the moment it wants to be open, full of bitter frankincense saturated veils and coniferous cedar shavings and brittle scrolls scrawled with secrets unspeakable and sublime. This is an ultimate comfort scent in any season and the fragrance I reach for whenever I need inspiration of an ineffable nature
Released in 1981
Classified as a Woody Chypre
Nose behind this scent is of course the legendary Chanel in-house perfumer Jacques Polge, who's been behind numerous classics from this house over the past few decades.
Antaeus is the name of ancient Greek demigod. Strong, like a god, and gentle as a man, Antaeus belongs to those perfumes of expressed individuality and strong character which emphasize masculinity, what was a trend in 1980-ies.
Top Notes: lemon, lime, coriander, myrtle, clary sage, and bergamot Heart Notes: thyme, basil, rose and jasmine Base Notes: patchouli, castoreum, labdanum, and oak moss
The opening for me is uplifting, its very bright, a splash of brightness if you will, and its also clean, but not clean in a soapy or citrus way. This bright and cleanness only last for a few seconds, after which the scents starts becoming heavier and bold, your introduced to the animalistic vibe so famous in this scent with a smokey leather and castoreum, which is an animalic note derived from a beaver. The note of castoruem, is animalic in nature but isn't overly funky at all, its not fecal smelling or pungent, don't believe this to be like civet note in Kouros, though both fragrances are in the same ball park, of the old school powerhouse scents, the castoruem note for me is a much lighter animalic note, though it is still bold. I've smelt castoreum in different scents, such as Interlude Man or Beaver from Zoologist, and they all slightly different in each fragrance, but the note adds a very bold animalic aspects to each of the scents. Now along side the strong and bold animalic notes of leather and castoreum are in the background the note of jasmine and a very subtle rose. It's the combination of the powerful and beastly animalic notes, and the gentle and elegant floral notes of jasmine and rose which just transforms this scent into a masterpiece, its absolutely divine. Like the name suggests, its strong and gentle at the same time.
Released in 1981 but still smells unique today, it does not smell dated or old. If it was released today, it would still be considered a masterpiece. A timeless classic. It has a old school vibe, due to the type of powerhouse fragrances released at that time, however it does not come across dated in the slightest.
Performance on my skin was moderate unfortunately, not as beastly as many people have talked about for this scent, which makes me wonder if this has been reformulated or if it may just be my skin. Projection was in the moderate range, with longevity around 8 hours.
In terms of seasons, this would be perfect for fall and winter, and mostly a night time scent for formal occasions. However, i enjoyed this scent a lot, and could see this being someones signature scent, this would suit a 35+ gentleman perfectly as a signature scent.
Overall rating will be a perfect 5/5. This is unique and fantastic, an amazing blend of beastliness and elegance, arguably Chanel's best mens fragrance.
Released in 2008
Classified as an Oriental Spicy
Top Notes: Bergamot and Lime Heart Notes: Rose, Angelica, Orange Blossom, Galbanum, Nutmeg, Ginger and Saffron Base Notes: Pine Tree, Sandalwood, Incense, Vanilla and Musk
Opens with very bright and striking, lots of bergomot and lime, there's a hint of floral sweetness in the background, but the lime and bergamot at very pronounced. After around 15 minutes or so, the bergamot starts to subdue, and the rose intensifies, its a very bright floral rose, the lime and rose combo comes across very soapy, very clean and fresh, but has more of a soapy clean quality. Into the heart of the scent, your introduced to some smokey subtle incense which helps to calm down the soapy naunce, though the rose and lime do still dominante over the incense. As the fragrance develops into the drydown, the floral rose becomes the standout note, its rich and luxurious, at times smelling like a very expensive and rich rose water concution. It smells like your in a hot bathtub full of rose petals.
I find the scent incredibly pleasing, very sexy, romantic, rich and regal. A very luxurious rose scent. However at times in the past I have found it to be quite daring, it can come across slightly feminine. I guess it's a fragrance I choose to wear when I'm feeling quite adventurous and daring, when I'm feeling confident and want to put out a certain aura.
In terms of performance this was brilliant, both longevity and projection were excellent, last 10 or so hours and projecting all through, being noticeable with a a great scent cloud.
In terms of season, can be used both day or night, but best for night during the fall, winter and spring. Possibly too cloying for the very hot summers. As far as occasions, this would work great as formal, night out and possibly a date, though you will have to be quite confident to pull it off, but if you can would work great, as it has a very sexy quality to it.
Overall rating will be a 4/5.
This is probably my favourite scent in the world - it’s austere and meditative and calls to mind a dark prayer in a cool, shadowy forest temple.
Released in 2009
Classified as an Oriental Woody
Nose behind this composition is Randa Hammami, who's CV also contains a number of fragrances from the Guerlain house.
Little bit of a background regarding Epic Man, this fragrance was inspired by the Silk Road, especially the route from China to Arabia. The Silk Road was an ancient trade route, where goods were traded between a number of countries and cultures such as gold, pearls, tea, silk, jade, spices and incense, and the aim of this fragrance was to invoke that along with the signature Amouage DNA. So as a history buff and as well as a fragrance buff this fragrance really intrigued me.
Top Notes: Pink Pepper, Cardamon, Saffron, Nutmeg, Caraway, Myrtle, Mace and Olibanum. Heart Notes: Geranium and Myrrh Base Notes: Oud, Patchouli, Incense, Leather, Sandalwood, Styrax, Cedarwood, Musk and Castoreum.
So what does this fragrance smell like? This is a very regal and luxurious fragrance, it's rich and so incredibly deep, it smells high class, like a scent you would expect from ancient royalty in the eastern world, be it from China, India or Arabia to wear, whilst wearing silk robes, with gold jewellery, this is what the scent invokes. This scent like many from Amouage such as Interlude and Jubilation is very complex with a lot of layers.
Overall what you get from Epic man is some spices, different variety of spices such as fresh spice from the pink pepper, some green herb like fresh spice from the cardamon, dry spice naunce in the from the nutmeg and some warm spice from the saffron. Along with the different variety of spices you get the woodiness of epic man, most prominently from the oud, which in this fragrance the ultra dry and dusty variety. Theres also a very subtle funkiness to the scent, which is done so so well from the note of the castoreum. Along with all of this, surrounding this whole composition is the famous Amouge smokey incense, which comes across very dry smokey unlike Interlude Man which is more of that wet incense.
Like previously mentioned this fragrance has a lot of layers and complexities. Amouage wanted to create a fragrance inspired by the silk road and they completely pulled it off in my opinion, it really invokes the silk road. Its a fragrance with a lot of artistic craft but is also very wearable, amouage really pulled it off on this one. A lot of fragrance houses try to make artistic fragrance but they lack wearability, for example Beaver by Zoologist, but Epic Man has the perfect balance of art and wearability, for me this is a masterpiece.
In terms of performance this is excellent, i get around 10 hours of longevity with projection being excellent also, it doesn't scream off your skin but is very strong, with a great scent cloud and sillage.
In terms of occasions this is best worn during night for formal situations, during the fall and winter.
Overall rating 5/5, a masterpiece. This is Amouage's Citizen Kane imo, Jubilation XXV may be my favourite.
Classified as a Oriental Spicy
Nose behind this scent is Francois Demachy. Who's behind numerous fragrances from the Dior house being the in-house perfumer.
Notes: coriander, rose, spices, cinnamon, labdanum, vanilla, honey, patchouli and incense.
The opening is very resinous and amber sweet, warm and sweet, has a smokey feel too due to the incense and with a dash of fresh herb spiciness from the coriander. Incredibly similar to Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens at this stage. As the scent develops the amber and resinous sweetness is very much in the background, the smokiness is still there but you are now presented with warm spices and cinnamon, with a resinous sweetness coming from the honey. Come across very complex, with a lot of layers.
Longevity is brilliant at around 12 hours, with very strong projection throughout, close to beastly but not too intense.
This fragrance as with nearly all amber based scents would be perfect for Autumn or fall, and would suit formal night wear.
Overall rating 4.5/5, excellent and elegant fragrance!
Released in 1965
Classified as a Oriental Woody
Nose behind this scent is Jean-Paul Guerlain, who was the in-house perfumer at Guerlain at the time, and was the last family master perfumer from the Guerlain family. He was involved since the mid-50's helping his grandfather Jacques Guerlian (behind classics such as Shalimar and Mitsouko). Jean-Paul retired officially retired as a perfumer in 2002, but carried on being an advisor to other perfumers for Guerlain until 2010, as he was released by the company for a racist remark he made on French TV.
Top: orange, basil, bergamot, brazilian redwood, lemon, lime and tangerine Heart: carnation, sandalwood, patchouli, cinnamon, jasmine, cedar and rose Base: labdanum, leather, amber, benzoin, oakmoss and vanilla
Super juicy fruity opening, smells like summer fruits squash, sweet and slight lemon sherbot like, very bright and invigorating. It's almost got a candy like citrus feel. So the citrus's don't come across entirely natural, but also don't feel like cheap un-naturals. As the scent develops the citrus accords begin to calm, and scent starts becoming smoother and much sweeter, this is due to the addition of the vanilla and sandalwood, with a backbone of gentle woody ceder. As the scent dries down, it joined by a gentle rose, and the sweeter vanilla elements remain from the opening, to create an overall sweet and bright lemony vanilla scent, with some soft rose and gentle creamy woods.
Performance is brilliant, I get excellent strong projection with longevity around 10 hours.
In terms of seasons, I think this is best suited any season apart from the blazing hot sunny days, and I think it's more of a day time scent then night time. In terms of occasions I can see this working really well as a night out or semi-casual formal scent. It's a classy but playful scent, not super serious, but not juvenile either.
For a scent that was created in the mid 60s this doesn't smell dated at all, and still to my nose has a modern feel.
This is a classic, perfect score of 5/5. Great scent and great performance.
Released in 1992
Classified as a woody spicy.
Nose: Jean-Paul Guerlain, who's created other masculine classic at Guerlain such as Habit Rouge and Heritage. He was the last of the family master perfumers, being the fourth generation Guerlain to work as the master perfumer of the brand. He retired as the head perfumer in the early 2000s and stayed on as advisor but removed from the Guerlain brand in 2010 for racist remarks made on French TV regarding his inspiration for one his classic perfumes Samsara.
Top Notes: Lavender, Aldehydes, Juniper Berries, Clary Sage, Bergamot, Lemon, Violet, Petitgrain and Green Notes
Heart Notes: Patchouli, Coriander, Geranium, Pepper, Carnation, Balsam Fir, Rose, Pink Pepper, Orris Root, Jasmine, Cyclamen and Lily-of-the-Valley
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Amber, Oakmoss, Cedar and Musk.
My take: Opens with a blast of brightness and gentle clean ambery warmness, which comes across to my nose slightly boozy. The main note of the opening is the aldehydes and lavender, with a touch of juniper berries and amber. The opening to my nose is just like an ambery boziness, with some comforting lavender and touch of juniper berries adding some sweetness, it's smooth and juicy.
As the scent develops into the heart, it's introduced to a beautiful patchouli, which is slightly woody, and has a gentle earthy quality. The patchouli is the main star of this scent, however this scent is not an out and out patchouli scent, the other notes are strong backing players which create a unique scent.
As the fragrance dries down, it's becomes slightly powdery, possibly from the iris and sandalwood with also adds a touch more woods, and finally some slightly sweet vanilla/amber. But still retains the patchouli from the heart and the lavender from the opening.
Overall it's a sweet powdery scent, with some woods and earthy notes.
Longevity is around 7 to 8 hours, with moderate projection for the first 2 hours after which it sits close to the skin.
In terms of seasons, this could work for every season apart from the blazing hot days of summer. It's mostly a day time scent.
In terms of occasions this would work well as a signature scent, for work and a dinner date.
Overall rating of 7/10 - just wish it projected more!
Year of release: 1965
Classification: Amber Woody
Nose: Jean-Paul Guerlain, who's created other masculine classic at Guerlain such as Vetiver and Heritage. He was the last of the family master perfumers, being the fourth generation Guerlain to work as the master perfumer of the brand. He retired as the head perfumer in the early 2000s and stayed on as advisor but removed from the Guerlain brand in 2010 for racist remarks made on French TV regarding his inspiration for one his classic perfumes Samsara.
Top Notes Lemon, Brazilian Rosewood, Orange, Bergamot, Lime, Tangerine, Basil
Heart Notes Rose, Carnation, Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Jasmine, Cedar
Base Notes Vanilla, Leather, Amber, Benzoin, Oakmoss, Labdanum
My take: Opens up with a deep lemon opening, it's rich and refreshing, but has a woody and slightly woody spicy backbone, coming via the Brazilian rosewood. There are other citrus' in the opening such as the Orange, Bergamot, Lime and Tangerine, however these are very much the backing players, the lemon is the main star, along with the Brazilian rosewood.
As the scent develops, it's joined by a slightly sweet floral rose, though it's very light on my skin, and the heart is mostly about the carnation, which gives off a slight cloves nuance, warm and spicy. The citrus lemon from the opening is now only a whisper on the skin.
In the drydown, the scent completely changes, and it's almost like it's a different perfume you've worn on your skin. For me I get this dusty quality, the drydown on my skin, is this sweet woody leather, which comes across quite dry and dusty.
My wife wasn't a massive fan of the scent, and make comments such as "It seems like I've been teleported 60 years", "you smell really old", "your scent smells like an old soap that grandma would use".
Performance: Unfortunately for me, this one doesn't perform as well as I would like, which is contrary to what other reviewers experience, where this one performs excellently on them. It must just be my skin chemistry. The longevity is around 6 hours on my skin, with the projection being good for the first 2 hours after which is becomes softer on my skin, the drydown especially is very subtle on my skin, though the top and heart stages project much more noticeably.
Season: This could work all year round, though it's best suited to Autumn/Fall, and I would avoid in the blazing hot days of summer, where the drydown could get a bit cloying.
Occasion: This is signature scent worthy, and could work excellently as a work and formal scent.
Rating: 8/10 - it's a classic, just wish it would perform better on my skin, if it did, it would get a solid 10/10.
You can watch my video review here: https://youtu.be/ImoSRRNjUGM
Love this. Opulent and classy. Mature.
Bianco Latte opens incredibly sweet, like a decadent caramel macchiato with extra vanilla syrup and plush, honey-infused cream. It's so sweet it almost makes me mad, which almost makes me weepy, because I'm one of those people who cries instead of yells when they get mad. And it makes me think of super cute animals, how sometimes when we see a little fluffy furry cutie-patootie, we just burst into tears. Even though they're adorable and charming, and they make us happy! And this, in turn, makes me think of that old 2006-era website, Cute Overload, and this one particular chubby, floofy bunny, whose fur was so white and its eyes were so big and innocent, and I just died every time I saw it. I think that's the essence Bianco Latte is trying to capture - that overwhelming, almost painful sweetness that stirs up complex emotions. As the scent settles on your skin, it softens, much like how you'd calm down after that initial rush of seeing an impossibly adorable creature. As Bianco Latte dries down, the white musk emerges, creating an airy softness that mimics the imagined touch of that bunny's impossibly fluffy fur. The vanilla becomes more rounded and marshmallow-squishy, reminiscent of how you'd want to cuddle that sweet little guy. The honey notes linger, reminding you of the golden glow of nostalgia for simpler internet days when a cute animal picture could be the highlight of your afternoon. It's a scent that doesn't just evoke memories, but feelings - that mix of joy, tenderness, and inexplicable sadness that comes from encountering something almost too precious for this world.
Warm Bulb opens with a subtle but singular blend of fuzzed salinity combined with the scent of a heating element, evoking the imagined aroma of a Himalayan salt lamp covered in a fine patina of dust. I have several of these lamps, and mine don't smell like much of anything in particular, but this opening is always how I thought they would smell. It's the essence of warm, mineralized air, like you could smell the soft, pinky-orange glow emanating from rough-hewn salt crystals beneath a thin veil of settled particles. The fragrance makes me think of the lamp's alleged ability to ionize the air, creating an olfactory impression of a purified, slightly electric atmosphere tinged with a hint of neglect. As it develops, the scent undergoes an unexpected transition, as if a forgotten offering has been left near the lamp's warm glow: a small dried bouquet and a marshmallow, both altered by proximity to the salt lamp's warmth and accumulated residue. Imagine pressed flowers; their colors faded but still discernible, mingled with the powdery sweetness of a marshmallow slowly desiccating in the lamp's ambient heat, all covered by a ghostly layer of time's passage. Though not a scent that wildly excited me, Warm Bulb's quiet journey from dusty, electrified minerals to withered floral sweetness proved to be an interesting olfactory experience, even just to think about and write about, if not to wear.
Crushed Fruits from Regime des Fleurs shimmers and unfurls like an overripe reverie, fruit flesh and flowers awakening from brandy-soaked slumber; an ultraviolet tumble of plums, an infrared rush of raspberries, a kaleidoscopic cascade woven through the fold of a forgotten black velvet painting, glossy and dripping and beckoning with the urgency of a thousand hummingbird hearts. That 1970s canvas time-shifts into a 1990s dress, empire-waisted, bell-sleeved, phantom filigree choker at the throat, echoes of stompy boots, an ambery oxblood slash of Spice or Black Honey staining ghost-lips. A current of boozy bitterness and dusky incense, a smoky scent of hazy late neon nights bleeding into dawn, of kisses that taste like vintage lipstick from a dream you haven't had yet but always remember the moment before waking.
Gorgeous, unforgettable, discontinued Fate Woman is one of my Amouages which has been waiting for its turn to be reviewed for too long time. I have to admit that even if I love so much different kind of challenging perfumes these kind of orientals where the spices meet the intense resinous base used to be the hardest ones at a time when I bought this blindly (not anymore though). In any case, I had something to look forward to, because Fate Woman is a sort of sequel to the fragrances inspired by Youth-Dew | Estēe Lauder (1953). In 1977 was released the extremely successful Opium (1977) (Parfum) | Yves Saint Laurent inspired by it. Those scents are not the same but they share the same scent category mentioned earlier. This fragrance opens with a bold, strong and even slightly pungent spiciness, where cinnamon plays the main role. Very quickly it joins the heart notes, of which I think the flowers never get to shine under the thick veil of Labdanum and Frankincense. It's funny to sniff my wrist afterwards in some sort of euphoria and wonder how on earth this could ever be a difficult scent. In this base, you can find almost everything essential, which makes the fragrance good. Incense here does not make this fragrance smoky in the true sense of the word, but it, together with the other base notes, strongly evokes the rituals in which it is burned. Benzoin brings the warmth and sweetness together with Vanilla, Castoreum sensual sexiness, Leather dark deepness and finally Oakmoss and Patchouli earthy and woody edges. The symphony of these notes is something infinitely beautiful and eloquent. The whole concoction seems to melt on the skin and if I had to choose a color for it, it would be golden. Fate Woman is absolutely breathtaking and glamorous, it has a character that connects to a time when people dressed elegantly. It's not a modern perfume and all its finesse lies in that. Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you follow my IG: @ninamariah_perfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗
Very high quality clone of Hacivat.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to Maison Crivelli; I was disappointed by Oud Maracuja after all the hype that it just put me off exploring more. Cuir Infrarouge is a rather lovely raspberry leather scent however, which is bold of me to say considering I’m usually repulsed by raspberry notes. The raspberry here is notably sweet, juicy and crimson, as though they were crushed beneath the weight of a rugged suede boot. I suppose there is some inspiration from Tuscan Leather, but thankfully it seems to be politely balanced by cinnamon and a smooth, creamy finish of vanilla and orris. Despite being rather strong and diffusive, I find it’s rather restrained and sophisticated as far as raspberry-leathers go. I don’t love it enough to buy a bottle, but I’m pleasantly surprised with how much I like this more than I was expecting to.
Ambre Magique… is like a magic trick which has failed in front of a crowd of thousands. An embarrassing and defeating failure which doesn’t even warrant hate, but will just be forgotten instead. They must have forgotten to put an amber accord in here, for it is nowhere to be seen. Vanilla is present at least, it’s sweet and creamy and quite pleasant, actually. However it’s from here that problems arise - a warming cardamom is coupled with plasticky orange blossom and then worst of all: cachalox. Of course I don’t know what cachalox smells like in isolation, but it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s this material giving the scent this overall cheapness about it. It doesn’t smell warming, cosy or how you would expect an amber fragrance to smell at all. It just smells like a disinterested perfumer chucked together a load of synthetic wood molecules to create something which smells pleasant, but nothing else. The moment I take my nose away from my arm I’ve already forgotten what it smells like. Painfully boring.
RDHP20 is a fragrance which really shocked my nose the first time I smelled it, I really wasn’t expecting something like this. I initially discovered it at the launch event in Harrods back in June, but didn’t want to review it until I had a sample so I could give it a fair chance. It’s definitely a cousin of the original RDHP15, but goes in a much more contemporary direction. RDHP15 was all about the fuzzy peach and creamy oakmoss, with a definite focus on a traditional Chypre composition. With RDHP20, you’ve still got elements of the peach and the oakmoss, but it’s rhubarb which shouts the loudest. This rhubarb is intensely sweet, sharp and sour with a delicious jammy nature to it, coupled with an overdose of fizzy aldehydes to give it that iconic sparkling effect. Alongside this, an array of gentle florals and shiny woods lay down a path towards this gorgeous rhubarb garden, sparkling in the sunshine. It’s a lot brighter and sharper than 15, and whilst I do really enjoy this scent, 15 is far superior in every way to me personally. I think I much prefer the smoothed out creaminess, whereas this scent can be a bit too sharp if oversprayed. The only downside is that without a doubt this is a riff on Pierre de Velay Essence Rare, which has the exact same fizzy rhubarb note.
