Very interesting indeed D&G cashing in on the popularity of Arabic perfumes. A shrewd move. Let's hope it's the long lasting 'The One' many fans have craved and the EDP didn't deliver.

I'll take you through my thought process here...The opening is bright and strongly jammy rose probably those citruses and pink pepper giving it a sweet boost. That's a wonderful smell don't get me wrong but then the next few minutes SW1X settles down and my immediate thought were... 'Oh no...not another uninspiring (but no doubts quality) Oud/Rose composition which is flat and has nothing to lift it. Guilty of the worst crime in my book...being too heavy on the rose element.' ...But how wrong I was. I can be mistaken for thinking that for the first few minutes after the lovely sweetness of roses settles to a strong rose and not much else. Then as if by magic the oud/sandalwood/saffron and a whole host of other beautiful things take over the composition and it becomes quite earthy rather than powdered and sweet. It is instantly reminiscent of Penhaligon's Levantium and As Sawira in that SW1X is a complex mixture of notes which act to accentuate the oud. The difference being this Bex London creation has one final trick up it's sleeve. After a powerful and joyful wear it goes back to being quite soft and then in the deep, deep dry down some of that patchouli and the soft ambery warmth against my skin. Frankly I don't think this will be everyone's cup of tea and with so many Oud/Rose combo's out there you'd be forgiven for overlooking this or not even being prepared to give it a chance. For those who do however you will find a very well put together fragrance, which is a bit dirtier than you might expect. My respect for Francois Robert grows with each scent I try.

I'm impressed with this one. The opening was great fresh and something I don't normally detect in the first second or so...that's instant vetiver, clean but raw and a hint of smokiness. EC2 has notes which work amazingly with one another the citrus and juniper berry top notes contrasted with the black pepper. Then the drydown is pure nutmeg, cedar and vetiver. This superb and very reminiscent of Lalique Homme Equus but kinda mixed with the orignal Homme too. This is slightly more refined as you might expect for the higher pricetag. I really like this composition but I think it might be an acquired taste for others. A simple, fresh, woody fragrance that gets a thumbs up from me.

This is no doubt another quality offering from Bex London. Interesting and turbulent opening of spices, some listed here like pink pepper, cloves, anise are not overt but contribute to an overall warm, resinous feel which had me excited. However, when it settles becomes a slightly bitter with quite a strong rose and musk note. There is a an almost gourmand sense hints creamy but dirty patchouli, and dry florals. This is not quite my sort of thing for some reason, something is putting me off that I can't place? Maybe it's the emergence of rose muddying the rest of the composition. Perhaps it's just the fact that this seems less focused that some of the others I've tried. Anyway not horrible but not my bag.

Okay so my respect for this brand and especially the perfumer is growing with each one I try. The first thing that struck me about this was how subtle and wearable this perfume is...Very much up my street. Not that I always want a perfume to be subtle but SE1 has a really laid back feel. It openings with a fresh citrus and resin I wouldn't say amber more like fresh incense, sharp rather than warm. However as it dries down it definitely gets warmer and the spicing of clove, cinnamon and pepper. The woody base of vetiver and even the slightly salty driftwood and seaweed gives a very lightly hinted at marine touch. because it's such a low key scent I actually thought the longevity wasn't that good but in actual fact I could still smell it 12 hours later, although very low hadn't disappeared. SE1 gets my vote...really enjoyed it.

This goes against nearly every instinct I have but when you like a fragrance...you just like it. This is the first I've tried from this collection and the first from the house for that matter and I'm oddly impressed. This is perfectly described here (as not many are) as a Floral woody musk for me the emphasis is on musk in the opening it's strong but not overpowering and just sour enough to be interesting. Then the bouquet of assorted florals peeps it's head out, not that I can tell specifically but apparently freesia, ylang ylang and violet leaf. I'll go with that, I can definitely get a bit of the violet leaf actually and these are florals I can live with. Then there'e the base and I can't say I can detect oud but there's something there which is woody and grounding this entire scent. My first fear was that this would be too feminine but I'd actually say it leans toward the butch side of unisex. The musk and woods actually conspire to make this a very fresh but manly scent, I really do. Oh and before I forget, The first time I tried this fragrance on my hand, I didn't get any spice but upon actually wearing it the very opening, W11 does indeed have a spicy pimento note. It seems to dissipate quickly but perhaps it lingers and combines with the musk to create this very manly, Greco-Roman wrestler vibe I get from this scent. The more it dries down and the florals calm down the more I like it, I can't think of what it smells like but this is by no means original. In fact has a very old skool feeling to it like a stripped back Quorum or less animal Kouros...I just can't place it. I like it...and I'm really surprised because I had some preconceived Ideas about these scents. Longevity is okay and you can tell it's quality stuff but could do with a little more of the umph from the dry down in that flowery opening. Update; Scratch that 'Longevity is OK...' nonsense...Longevity is legendary on this. The scent stops projecting and dies down but doesn't disappear for a very very long time. The drydown is clean but still slightly animal...I really really like this perfume...who'da thunk it?

hmmmm...Not my bag I'm afraid. I knew nothing about this fragrance or house for that matter before I tried this. I had a sneaking suspicion from the juice and it's thick amber hue that it might be something heavy, and I wasn't wrong. This is a dark patchouli fragrance which is moody and dense in the opening, slightly burned and rubbery. Then a huge dose of positive cacao, not patchouli masquerading as chocolate but the definite and deliberate attempt to make this fragrance a gourmand. In fact as it dries down and settles the cacao is the main player with one added kicker...an animalic quality which is potent and raw in the opening but again settling to a bassline hum far too quickly. Three distinct notes which in perfumery terms are actually very complimentary and for those who enjoy this sort of thing Bond T is probably a really good fragrance. However, on the flip of that patchouli lovers maybe alienated by the chocolatey feel and castoreum lovers will likely crave more power. I don't know if it's my changing tastes after sampling so many niche fragrances that have a patchouli base but there's something here. Still I wouldn't wear this and after a strong start projecting heavily, Bond T has petered out pretty quickly.

Let's get this straight, I think comparisons to lesser tonka bean fragrances are wrong because the designer, warm, vanillin base which serves as tonka beans is just not that accurate. Guerlain Ideal is a prime example of this...don't be fooled Dior have a quality scent here, yet again. Feve Delicieuse is high quality both in terms of the tonka element and the vanilla opening up very sweet and I think possibly excluding those of us who don't have a sweet tooth and are not really gourmand fans. Luckily, as it happens I am... and I absolutely loved this fragrance from the first sniff. I had perfume on at the time and subsequently got my girlfriend to put it on her skin and see how it went. Well chemistry does matter but really not that much in my opinion, so I interpret the smell on her to be what it would be on me. I get a very warm, boozy, caramelized praline smell which is reminiscent of Amaretto, strange though because there's no almond just an effect coming from the tonka beans with a wonderful blend of that Guerlain double vanilla essence and a hint of cooca. My girlfriend really didn't like this BTW it was far too sweet for her and I can see why although I thought she would begin to like it as it mellowed and dried down...but no ...still too sweet. I'm pretty sold on this fragrance but I will need further testing to reach a conclusion...is it worth £165 for 125ml? That is in the eye of the beholder but it's certainly up there with top gourmands I've tried. Update: Having worn this a couple of times now I can safely say the quality and performance are right up there. I've had a shower since yesterday and I can still faintly smell some vanilla goodness on my skin. As far as a sweet gourmand goes this is easily one of the best, It's reminiscent of that 'custard' vibe I get from the Guerlain L'Art et la Matiere line but this is even better performing generally.

When the moon is in the seventh house... and Jupiter aligns with Mars... ...Anyway yeah! Age of Aquarius is a curious perfume opening with a very fresh, sweet, exotic floral accord. Truly all I really get from this is citrus, loads of orchid (which is really nice) and a light musk. The whole thing has a freshness and lush green notes. The drydown is woody but still with the flare of that orchid note and not what I would consider a traditionally mossy note but it could be there as that bright bouquet is tempered somehow? I like it...it's okay. One reservation is that the opening is slightly more on the feminine side, however does dry down to just a clean unisex scent. I would wear it but I suspect many men wouldn't. It's definitely an uplifting experience and another positive for Tokyo Milk which are turning out to be a very good collection. Let the sunshine in!

I hadn't come across this brand before so thought I'd take a punt on this fragrance. It's an interesting one, goes on very subtle and sweet with masses vanilla masking a woody undertone. This is similar to a fragrance I tried from Tokyo Milk recently, in that it's woods under vanilla not that this really pulls it off to well. I say that because it kinda doesn't sit right for the first couple of hours, it has changed by now though and I'm actually getting at what the fragrance probably intended in the first place. I was racking my brain I knew it smelled familiar but I just couldn't place it. Finally I got it!!! This is a much more subdued and slightly confused Chergui. There's a rich honey in the dry down that only rears it's head after an hour or so on my skin. A few hours in and timid vanilla scent, slightly resinous amber which is close to the skin but I do occasionally catch a whiff of myself and it's pretty pleasant. Perhaps I'm being a little hard on Old Bourbon's performance because I'm quite congested today? It's not a bad fragrance and I should really enjoy the fact that this perfume has a toned down honey note (not my favourite smell) and I kinda do. However the fragrance lover in me just wants to say "Get Serge Lutens Chergui because it's much ballsier and better performing!" and that's the truth really. Update: In hindsight this actually performs very well, I can still smell it vaguely after 12 + hours I think that's more from my clothes than my skin but still. Not bad. Update 05/11/21 : I love reading back reviews and thinking how wrong I was! haha. Elements of the above review are actually spot on the money, certainly the reference to Chergui but that's only part of the tale and I guess that's why I feel compelled to share further thoughts here. So the phases are coconut dipped in chocolate, (for all my UK peeps a red Bounty bar) which is very benzoin atypical, but the coconut is not cheap, it's big chunky, realistic, fresh, squeaky flesh. Then it's mildly floral, amber-ish, vanilla, then the honied effect of Chergui, perhaps a little coumarin but way less hay than a chergui. I think it's actually a great fragrance on balance, and a vanilla (ish) perfume I actually quite enjoyed wearing.