Being the snob I am and unfortunately can’t help being, coupled with the fact I loathed the messy original Wanted, yesterday when a sales assistant said we’ve got a new Wanted from Azzaro, I feel I might’ve rolled my eyes a little bit. However, upon trying it I said ‘well it’s better than the original.’ That was just the opening a sharp orange note, spiced warm bubblegum and tobacco actually sounds a bit hellish but in practice was pretty cohesive and well executed for a throwaway flanker if ever I saw one. This fragrance has about as much subtle nuance as a sledgehammer entirely comprised of bottles of Joop, but still having worn a sample now I can’t hate it. It doesn’t even go quite full oriental and still managed to maintain some of that generic accord you get nowadays in order to keep the punters spending, but hey Wanted by night is passable. In fact I quite liked it...but don’t tell anyone.

Quite simply...fantastic! I had hugely high, even unrealistic expectations about this one to the point I was preparing to be disappointed and it’s not! Purple Oud is a really impactful scent with a bold, provocative and highly original opening. Purple Oud is a Purple as Prince! It’s fruity, but not sweet and definitely not playing around, it means some serious business and although completely changes when settled, some scents you can feel the basenotes lurking from the very first slightest, waft, like gazing at a distant storm you know a short time from now will be right upon you. I’d say it’s berry like, blackcurrant and hints of dark licorice melt away into a leathery, woody, Oud smell, which is rubbery and with hints of skankiness and minimal touches of smoke. The very deep drydown after about 6 hours is a very low lying, clean woody smell. It’s intoxicating, interesting, even a little strange and challenging at times but Demachy has created something I think deserves a great amount of merit.

Crude and a little clunky but not without merit and in fairness this combination of notes has not been overly done. The opening is a very unusual, synthetic fruity, sweet candies vibe but with a herbal, slightly cerebral lavender. The drydown to me is a transformation into more of a woody, powdered smell without knowing the notes I said, sandalwood, ginger, iris and an unmistakable note of violet. Well I was pretty spot on, I also get a kind of crayon and pencil shavings base which could even be described as a touch leathery or some Tonka or something? Sounds confused and like the sort of stuff I’d usually critique hard, but hey I’m going easy on this because it was pleasantly surprising. The opening was pretty unique smelling but I’m not sure whether I could say I enjoyed it or not? It was a bit loud and slightly tacky. The settled scent actually showed me a little nuance and revealed other notes, it’s okay but I probably wouldn’t wear it again.

I love Detaille as a brand, they are such classy little Eau de cologne type scents that I challenge anyone to be offended by. Instead you’ll be won over by Their quaint charm and masterfully French compositions. Yachting is no different giving essentially what is quite a dry and earthy backbone of vetiver and something resembling black tea to me, with clean and aromatic cardamom and geranium. It’s reminds me of a couple of L’artisan perfumer scents maybe numero 10, dZing! and tea for two? Maybe? Don’t quote me on that! Something I really liked was that Detaille fragrances were available for sale in the lobby of a hotel I last stayed in, in Paris...I’ve never seen that before. This one isn’t my favourite but it’s decent.

I probably wrote a review of this years back and never posted it because the sample I dug out is really old. I can’t believe I didn’t comment on the misty, suede opening slightly gourmand with Tonka, settling to immortelle, tinged with mint. The tobacco base is then evident in a mellow skin scent, this stuff has an uneasy (or unspeakeasy?) charm. Usually, I’d find the immortelle a bit too much but with the surrounding notes it’s bearable and quite weak in terms of longevity and projection so I can appreciate the artistry without having to become sick and tired of it several hours later. Many Frapin fragrances have a boozy touch to them, this doesn’t but somehow that boozy quality is implied by th name and perhaps the tobacco? I liked it upon trying it again, as it can't of made too much of an impression on me in 2013, it’s great to dig through and revisit old samples.

Pretty, bloody stunning if you ask me. Rosa absolute is a bright, upbeat rosy fragrance which although not highly original does have very good quality and an intoxicating smell. It reminds me of loads of rose scents with lighter, musky chypre type bases but what was most striking was the similarity to the liquides imaginaires line and their boozy take on this genre. This is a rosé champagne of a rose scent, with all the sharp characteristics, bubbles and all, but as it settles you get a lovely powder as the rose stops projecting so much and becomes a potent skin scent. I love it and it’s not a question of bravery because I’d wear this no problem, I’m just not sure it’s all that suitable for a man. Something about it says feminine to me.

I was a big fan of the shower gel, very invigorating but this one didn’t get a edt for ages. The opening is sharp, citrus ginger and spices, the pepper is evident but for a fragrance with pepper in the name some might consider it a bit tame and not as peppery as something like Marc Jacobs Bang! This wouldn’t be a valid criticism however because this has a much more fleshed out base of mellow, woods and earthiness, I love this fragrance it’s great.

I went through a few different sets of feelings about this but I’m going to start with the positive, I really like the flacon. Love the original Hugo bottle at the best of times with all its nintiesness and army issue, military flask appearance but this one has a rough, graphite texture and bluey silver colouring which both looks and feels great. The fragrance itself was something I was half expecting to be good due to the last flanker Ice which was actually pretty decent. Sadly the opening waft even before settling or putting my wrist to my nose was a disappointing, dull, generic, aquatic affair in no way spellbinding or new. There’s touches of the green, masculinity in there from the original but generally another Azzaro Chrome/ferragamoaqva/versacepourhomme...etc etc... sort of thing. However, when settled does change for that middle section with the tea coming through and an almost mint like coolness. Unfortunately the drydown then reverts to a monotonous scent we’ve all smelled before, but this does briefly glimpse something more interesting. I don’t know if it’s my nose, giving urban journey more credit than it deserves, but I really can’t hate on it.

Good nose attached to this, notes sound nice and difficult not to like and everyone seems to be in agreement about the wonderful looking flacon. Even if it’s just okay I’m likely to get it anyhow.

Tried this finally and I have to say the jury is still out. So pathetic is my perfume obsession that I was prepared to overlook glaring issues with the fragrance and purchase it anyway, merely on the strength of the superbly designed flacon. Century does have unique opening notes, watery, fresh but very modern and with undoubted cypriol oddness. I’m not surprised at all that this is from the same perfumer as Icon because there’s a waxy, floral accord of neroli, soapy but smooth cardamom and a soft powder. I’ll be honest something in that opening repelled me, was it really the cypriol? I normally like fragrances with that, I think it’s just the same reason I’m not mad about Icon...it’s got a sun cream sort of thing. When it’s dried all the way to a soft skin scent it smells basically the same but I kinda like it. It’s enough of a like to get it. Let’s just talk about the bottle again, it’s a great piece of design, slightly strange to open, the top is magnetic I think? It sort of slid off awkwardly anyway.

Another one I tried years back and have now revisited after digging it out of an old samples box. Now only British (especially Scottish) readers will understand this next comparison but the opening smells of IRN BRU to my nose, it’s a pretty unique smell but is it kinda spiced orange I suppose? Anyway after that initial vibe dies back and the body of this fragrance is a sweet, spicy almost gourmand scent of amber & good vanilla with a poof of cacao, very lovely indeed but hardly groundbreaking even in 2010. A solid but soft amber from Olfactivo with good idea at its heart, complementary notes and that, which I enjoyed.