I quite like the design of this simple, pastel oblong and it's rare that I say this but I was attracted to try it by the bottle. The good points and bad points about Bloom are the same...hear me out. This is not a power Tuberose/Jasmine fragrance and that is both a saving grace and a downfall depending on how you see it. I'd say I dislike Tuberose but I can appreciate some facets of it and when it's high quality I kinda marvel at it's pungent power but wonder how anyone could ever wear it? Then there's the cheap variety which smell awful...I'd say Bloom is somewhere in between. I know the name is pretty self explanatory but I expected some sort of base other than loads of flowers, to the point where it's quite indistinct and a little lacking in clarity and focus. I'm not a massive florals fan and I'm a man so this is not aimed at me anyway but I found nothing about the composition new or exciting.

I was very shocked by how good the men's version of this was, a herbal, leathery brew of real power and originality something which I would've never associated with the limp and frankly awful Guilty line before it's release. So I was expecting great things from the female version and to a greater extent I got them. Guilty absloute pour femme is arguably more tailored to my personal tastes than the men's one, a fruity, balasmic deeply woody fragrance with a heart of jammy rose. The opening reminds me slightly of a plum japonais and a bit like Cdg floriental as it becomes warm and resinous, then there's a patchouli and rose heart that is sweet but earthy, a little noir de noir ish, only sweeter and still with those berry notes chiming throughout. The drydown is more roses and wood, very subtle, low lying and calm, still tiny hints of the jammy fruit in there. It lasted very well but wasn't strong by any stretch of the imagination. I'd give it a huge thumbs up and might well have added to my collection right away, especially for the beautifully coloured flacon...but for one thing. The price. Now I'm someone who has splashed on overly expensive perfume before now but I found £95 for a 90ml a little rich even for my blood. Gucci and other designers must feel they can push the price tag if they are offering this kind of 'niche quality' eau de parfum. Maybe they have a point but it put me off. I can't remember what I paid for the men's version, maybe it was a comparable sum...I can't remember but that one compelled me instantly this will is obviously not as persuasive. Great to see Gucci with two awesome releases on the bounce though.

Olfactive studios Close up. Now! Let's just take into account that I had preconceived ideas and judgements on this fragrance before I'd even tried it and I'm not too proud to say when I'm wrong as equally as I like to gloat and highlight the fact when my predictions are accurate...this one falls more into the latter category. The main thing I notice about Olfactive Studios fragrances is that they try to be innovative and in this industry I have to give them credit for that. The briefs and concepts the perfumers/house come up with never fail to intrigue but unfortunately they never quite deliver a long lasting and enjoyable fragrance throughout. Superb and unique openings...disappointing performance/drydown/overall experience. One day I'm sure they will crack this and we will have a real winner on our hands. God loves a trier and they are always worth a sniff. The opening is intoxicating like a silky, coffee infused breeze of milky, musky woods. Then there's that hint of the honied Tobacco and a pinch of cherry, cough drop warmness and excitement. The mid section of this fragrance is basically warm and cozy, resinous benzoin and that slight coffee/vanilla vibe of tonka bean, tempered with the powdery chocolate cacao and earth of patchouli. Its strangely masculine leaning but also reminds me quite a deal of something a more mature lady might wear. The finish and dry down are nice, lots more honey and that spiced feel, which smells almost identical to Parfum de Marly Oajan a fragrance I'm extremely fond of. The main difference is there's less of that hot, cinnimal edge in this but the transformation from smelling a bit similar in the opening and first hour to almost exactly the same is pretty miraculous. Despite this, I think these fragrances are different enough to both have merit and it's still worth owning both, if you wanted to. So in the deep dry down and Close up changes again, becoming less like Oajan and much more resinous and oozing a kind of ancient dustiness. I wouldn't say this is strong but it projected quite well for the first couple of hours, then becoming a low lying skin scent but very persistent and I noticed it stained my skin very slightly. My conclusion is that Close up is one of the best releases from OS to date. A very enjoyable fragrance indeed and the order of how the notes come through is interesting. It's a thumbs up from me. Update: Okay so I penned this review nearly 12 months ago and it’s been sitting on my phone unposted so I feel the need to make some amendments. My general thoughts are the same but upon wearing again I get a very animal, pissy note in the opening which is extremely off putting. It’s unusual and I’m not just saying this for melodrama or comic effect but I thought for a moment....”has my cat had a piss in here? “ It’s very prominent and why the hell I didn’t notice it the first time I don’t know? Even if you just put the spray nozzle to your nose it’s obvious, however as the fragrance settles it becomes that cherry, Tobacco, honey thing I mentioned in the main body of the review. I still like it, when the urine subsides. That’s not really a sentence I ever imagined writing but there you go.

I'm keeping this brief because I can't believe the amount of times I've gone to write a review for this and the original and either half written it lost it or whatever I think someone somewhere doesn't want me to review this perfume. So much was subsequently said in forums and online that my thoughts on the original would've been insignificant by the time I'd actually managed to pen a review so I didn't bother. The main things were that I enjoyed the minimal ambroxan construction and actually like the mixture of a citrus note a kind of mossy masculine note and a clean, warm base. It's simple but I also kinda understand why people don't like it, not least the fact that I've been smelling it everywhere for the past couple of years. This parfum version is much the same as the other recent parfum releases from Dior like Fahrenheit and Homme, it's got a slightly different opening (unfortunately I don't get the star anise promised here) and an more heavy feel for a bit anyway. Then it effectively just dries down to the same scent as the original. If you are expecting a huge difference, prepare to be disappointed. I bought this because I quite fancied the original and took the opportunity to get this now it's been released. Even the silage and longevity are the same....MASSIVE. So no difference there. Not in a good quality way but rather a necessity to make the general guy choke out the club with it on a Friday night. I like it, I like ambroxan...sorry. I think this is masculine and I never got it at first but now I get there's a hint of Aventus about it but only at a distance...which is weird.

I'm not a big patchouli guy or at least I never used to be and especially when it's delivered in such a linear way. However, over the past few years I've started to really dig a soily patch and found the opening of this scent to be incredibly bracing. It's a mixture of a big, boozy, smoky incense and I even get a sort of bitter orange in the very beginning then the patchouli starts growing and growing to an earthy crescendo. There's a sharp, burning, herbal, minty, menthol quality to it as well. I can't help thinking about the name of this one and patchouli wasn't always something I necessarily associated with masculine perfumery but I suppose it really is... that dirty kind of oily quality reminds me of working on cars or something? (PC Police: I'm not saying women don't work on cars.) Anyway the huge let down with this fragrance is that it goes on MASSIVE and then is very poor on longevity thereafter...I got a few hours out of it. I'm intrigued by the geranium version though. UPDATE: Let me just readdress this and add a caveat to my review because upon wearing it for a second time today, I'm pretty taken with this fragrance. The base is actually much more sensual and deep than I expected, and rooted in a dry, sandpaper rough, amber accord but with facets of labdanum and moments of sharpness & brightness in there. I really like it and it appears to be lasting much better on me this time as I went in a bit hard on it for having poor longevity, I just think it dies to a skin scent quicker than expected but remains for hours....and what a skin scent....the drydown is lovely. I judged it a little quickly but I'm still hoping the geranium one will deliver more. UPDATE 2: 27/04/21 I'm on a big Malle kick at the minute, revisiting and renewing my opinions on this brilliant line. Monsieur is a big part of that because I know it's great, I know it is, and looking back on my review here I've little to add. It's a case of, do I find it's presence (or lack thereof) worth the money?, and I'm no Longevity queen, I'll wear a fleeting eau de cologne, I will but there's probably other Malle's I need first. Just to reiterate this is an amazing take on a modern, masculine patchouli, the intensity and darkness yet clarity of the opening is really something to behold, but while French Lover and Geranium pour monsieur hold your attention and evolve all the while from exciting opening to glorious base, this one kinda fizzles out a bit, which is a shame.

I'm revisiting these classic Guerlain fragrances because they are excellent and I feel I need to review them as they have more historic significance than many perfumes out there. It's hard not to love this, simplicity and complexity in a bottle, the bright, invigorating citrus and mint, a hint of white florals, green notes and lavender then the wholeness but gentile application of a musky oakmoss it's a class act. I don't know who compared it to Ninfeo mio a great scent and similar I suppose in the top notes but the base is very different. For an EDT in the cologne style and even in the latest formulation, I found it lasted better than Imperial and Coq for example. This is a brilliant and refreshing scent.

I'd say I get more guava and mango in the opening than pineapple and that is a massive positive...I love a tropical, fruity perfumes and I was waiting for Xerjoff to give me the best I'd ever had, transporting me to a paradise...but Cruz del sur II doesn't quite pull it off. I'm not sure what it is? The quality is undoubtedly there but no 'shade' could be the issue here, this beach needs a palm tree. To say it smells like a glade home fragrance is a little unfair, Cruz del sur II does have a great complex opening. The milky, vanilla base is interesting and does feel like a positive 'milk' note, but equally comes off as coconut against those tropical fruits. After they die it's a very feminine, soft and one dimensional, creamy powder of a fragrance with a lot of pastel, exotic floral notes coming through. It's not for me.

I was looking forward to trying Cruz del sur I & II but neither have really met my expectations. This one opens very strangely indeed and has a signature Xerjoff opulence about it, I don't find the mixture of an animalic, but modern IBQ driven, leather accord, boozy fruits and smoky resins appealing at first but as this thing progresses it gets much nicer. After about five hours it's now a boozy, rum and minced fruit cake of loveliness, with hints of the animal leather and sharp labdanum and myrrh but much tamer and easier to handle now. Rewind to the opening and it was knocking me sick with it's spiced diesel fumes and stinky animal musk but with all the nice things I've mentioned too, all at the same time.... Cruz del sur I is an insane, statement fragrance. It's no joke and reminds me of loads of different fragrances non of which I can recall right now due to the sensory overload I'm experiencing. Full of intrigue this one, great performance and if you can wait out the initial harshness, a blissful drydown. When I say it reminds me of other fragrances, it totally does, but has so many phases and notes that it is unique in a sense as well, and who doesn't like a fragrance that is multifaceted even if you probably wouldn't wear it and definitely couldn't afford it.

I'll just start by saying that I'm a massive fan of this house, I respect the refined range, the fact that a small outfit got an exclusive with Selfridges and has since branched out (I think?) and just generally love the perfumes Noble Incense and White Leather are brilliant. Even if they were all just tried and tested formulas and rehashings, I'd still like them because the quality is undeniable. Bella Bellisima's range isn't that though, they are memorable and different scents, I think Vetiver Spice is the best Vetiver I've ever smelled, and no one seems to be aware of it. Anyway....against that backdrop of my obvious bias I have to say that Precious Amber is equally brilliant as well. However, I would add there's nothing very new in here but it can be forgiven just for being so damn lovely. I did try it in store when this lie was first introduced and thought it was a hugely sweet resinous rose perfume and it turns out I still think that, but I had to get a recent sample to make sure. The opening isn't so lovely a very chemical, burning, harsh representation of resin and the jammiest, sweetest rose note which truly has a fruity, sugary nature to it. However, as it dies back becomes a very rich amber rose which constantly changes throughout, lightly spiced and definitely on the feminine side. My favourite part is when it has completely dried down to almost nothing, a subtle skin scent of the most lovely variety...I adore it at this stage. If you're a big rose fan this would worth checking out, It's full of amber but not conventional in that sense so amber fans might look elsewhere. Despite Precious Amber's initial potency it's not that much of beast and lasted very well but disappeared completely after 8 hours, still a respectable innings. Undeniable quality yet again from Bella Bellisima.

I haven't even looked at the price but if you have to be concerned about such things....you can't afford it, and I can't afford it. I usually wait until I've worn a fragrance a couple of times or at least until the latter stages before even contemplating a review but this one had me excited. I let out an audible, semi orgasmic sigh of absolute satisfaction when I first sprayed this. Roja Dove's London is supreme, the reason for this is clear right from the start...possibly my favourite ingredient...Labdanum. London screams labdanum, the opening is sharp, making your nose tingle and the intense resinous nature is immediately apparent. The opening is beautiful and combines a host of other notes clove, cardamom saffron but frankly they are short lived and the life of this fragrance is in the incense. It's a heady mixture which changes all the while from effervescent olibanum/galbanum to darker chunkier more spiced tones of tolu balsam and then the dry, dusty benzoin. I think that's just the wonderful nature of labdanum, it's kinda all those things at the same time. The base is soft deep deep woods I think there's even a hint of vanilla in there just to round out what is an excellent fragrance. The performance was good as expected and opening aside, the transitions even within an accord of resins just speak to how complex they are in their own right. I loved Roja Dove's London and if money was no object I'd buy it tomorrow.