Right then, This perfume instantly reminded me of my significant other. I don't think it's like anything she would wear but somehow I got the association, Not sure she'd be too happy about that because it smells musty, smoky slightly obnoxious and soaked in booze. (which is not wildly inaccurate I think she'd agree?) Anyhow, this is a very clever shrouding of the tired oud/rose combo theme which has been a persistent feature in niche brand lineups for the past decade or so. The fact that the leather accord and spice top notes cover up for the sweet rosiness which becomes more apparent in the drydown actually makes for a much more refined experience. It's not loud and sharp like the other oud from AdP this one is much more toned down but still stiked with incense spices. The opening smells like a peaty, whisky to me and actually reminded me of Lagavulin, which in turn I have often said tastes like drinking bandages & oud oil. So whether there's real oud oil or material bases made with real oud or not, the accord is certainly reminiscent of certain types of oud, to me at least. It also reminded me a little of a very whisky, fragrance, Atelier cologne Gold leather, which Oud & spice momentarily reminds me of (but smokier/earthier) also texturally speaking reminded me a little of Patchouli Intense by Nicolai (doesn't smell overtly like it) Then rose chimes in more and more, adding some sweetness but it's a bit of dirt like that bulls blood fragrance from that one that's all books? y'know? WTF are they called? Imaginary Authors that's it! This is way more palatable though, I like it, it's not bad, but it's not great either.
Now I did try this in a shop, on a strip and it was busy, and those kinds of distractions coupled with olfactory fatigue probably not the best conditions to give a good review. I love rhubarb and accord in perfume, and the fact it was 'electric' rhubarb I was expecting something really tart and bittersweet, but no. I don't recognise any of my favourite rhubarb materials in this, I got a kind of fruity effect but very strange. This is a weird perfume and an instant dislike. I'm not surprised it's been compared to Womanity. (I didn't get that association personally but I don't like either if that counts?) Sorry this is such a poor review not up to my usual standards. I will revisit this and update. :)
I can no clue where to start with this brand. I'd seen them around but never in the UK or any shops I frequent but finally I found them and was instantly drawn to this as my first try. It's not my scene at all. I get the exotic vibes of ylang in the opening and oh yeah it has a coffee (ish) note to it which actually comes over as a new thing. But that's with the freshness of the top notes, as it wears on I think it's a bit more predictable. It's patchouli heavy in that hyper feminine way that Mugler perfumes are for instance, chunky and even slightly unwieldy, considering their floral intent, which is jasmine and tuberose like also. I think it's worth a sniff for the opening intrigue and people who like a big perfumey, semi gourmand perfume with love the endless creamy drydown. I didn't. I couldn't wear this.
Certain aspects of this new(ish) release from Amouage stood out to me. The instant appeal and association with classic, spicy, amber type perfumes is cumin, the sweaty spice adding loads of scratchy depth to this perfume which is a sweet, thick, resinous brew, generally. It's actually quite a modern approach to the Amouage incense perfume vibes, and I can smell woody ambers holding everything up, they're not badly blended or anything, far from it, in fact showing marginally more restraint than her contemporary Julien Rasquinet. That's what it feels like to me, a reflection of the last mini collection, and this one is Enclave's counterpart. I love the opening couple of hours that mixture of cumin and cardamom is so evocative and spiky, I actually love it, no more than Fate Man though, which is better I feel. Then it goes to slightly more mundane territory for me, a very sweet (at times, a kind of biscuity gourmand element), chunky, (but clunky) but very complex and tenacious but not irritating or anything. I like it....I'm just not mad about it. The opening makes it a big favourite out of the new ones, even though material is arguably 'better'/it's amber theme's feel more 'natural' and perhaps more true to Amouage? I hope people embrace this and love it because it feels like another authentic chapter in the Amouage story. I'm just not quite there myself in terms of a purchase, but that is true of many perfumes.
This was my latest perfume purchase and I’m so happy with it. Freddie continues his quest for simplicity and themes which appeal to him, and this one spoke to me. The opening is floral, laconic, soapy musks and coconut (not any kind of conventional coconut note, think the toasted coconut of Santos de Cartier or something) also a kind of mild, classic chypre, peach fuzz. It’s powdery. Even a light damascene or even a spectre of violet. There’s a push n pull, a slight astringency of hairspray or ‘hairy’ salon things. The trump card though is the waxiness of the 11 candles… of the title. This is an accord which cleverly uses myrrh to create the effect of an ancient altar or something, coated in candle wax. My description probably sounds it sound complex, like a lot going on, but there really isn’t, it’s one cohesive vibe, a wonderful idea, perfectly executed. Bravo!
CdG delivering their trademark modernity and incense laden vibes, laced with fresh ideas. The pink pepper and ginger of the opening give a sharp, piquant, almost tart, sweetness. The incense accord is both effervescent with olibanum and dense and grounded with labdanum. Then there's this evocation of beetroot, a kind of earthy thread throughout, probably created with careful dosing of cresols or geosmin, or a patchouli type material, fascinating effect. What I love is that it's not the easiest wear, it provides some resistance and even challenge at times, and despite being instantly gratifying to fans of this sort of perfumery, (which I really am) it still evolves throughout the wear. I felt it was a must have for me considering how much I love the brand and the idea of a beetroot accord.
This is a fragrance that i think smells amazing and unique...I have over 50 fragrances and NONE of them smell like this one. Yes performance is on the poor side but for the price you can pick this up for, you really can't complain👌🏿
Powerful. Lasts and lasts. Opening - Pure pepper and nothing else Dry down - AMAZING Nothing like the original but certainly smells as expensive as it is. Wouldn't blind buy.
the opening of this perfume and I'd say the first 15 minutes or so are the best. On direct spray you get all the fruits, bright, fizzy and sparkling but they quickly give way to a glorious 15 minutes of lightly smoked birch and tonka with a herbaceous mossy backdrop. It does feel quite cold, serious and almost a touch gothic, but never straying too far into that territory thanks to the fruits keeping it just light enough. After this, it turns a bit soapy and powdery which is fine, but I prefer it before the soapiness kicks in. The whole thing is underscored by the musk that Bortnikoff tends to be famous for, It's fatty, animalic and urinous. I have to admit, as much as I don't like the use of real deer musk in perfumery, it does smell good blending with the moss and tonka and birch in the base. Could it be done with synthetics? Probably, yes. Overall nothing groundbreaking, but a classical composition done exceedingly well.
This smells like mimosa and cardamom by jo malone with a slight extra backbone. Dissapointed man. Had high Gourmand hopes for this one
If only Mr Z had in fact been left speechless. We’d all be spared his verbose gibberish. Instead I’ll say this is a reference level amber. Staggeringly good and insanely strong. No idea what’s happening with these people downvoting performance. It slays.
A collaboration with The Royal Opera House, exploring the contrasts of old and new, hard work and artistry. Opening is the fresh dusty smell of a west end theatre with the background of someone sitting nearby wearing a beautiful fragrance. The dry down is like a smooth long lasting Powered Halfeti.
This is a straight masterpiece. Yeh for sure it's very barnyard when you first spray it, but it's fantastic and even if you're not into barnyard, it turns into a gorgeous, dark rose and blossom scent layered over dark woods, the whole thing scorched and smouldering with soft smoke. Magnificent. Nothing more to say.
Anamalic? Fecal? By the Fireplace? What?? No.... These reviews are so bad it's embarrassing. This is not animalic, nor fecal and it certainly smells absolutely nothing like By the Fireplace. It opens with a bone dry incense, a bit spicy, a bit dark and then quickly becomes all about a soft suede/leather note which persists through the heart and drydown whilst the incense takes a back seat. The oud in this fragrance is softer than soft, it's barely an oud fragrance at all in my opinion. It's not challenging or difficult at all, the smoke is a subtle suggestion alongside the fleeting incense accord and the leather is clean as clean can be. It's a lovely scent though, a very polite, easy to like leather that will stand out from the usual night-time crap due to its lack of sweetness which puts it a cut above in class. Nothing groundbreaking, it's essentially the same suede-like leather note that is in a lot of the LV scents, but that single accord made front and centre, whilst a subtle incense and dark woods base hover fleetingly in the background. I like it, but a decant is good enough for me for now, which is a shame because I love the bottle.
If you have the original, don't bother. Fresh opening and then smells the same as the original.
Dirty Neroli might jus be the best Neroli scent I’ve ever smelled. And it’s a beast in both projection and longevity. I’ve compared it to seven or eight of the other best Neroli frags out there and this is hands down better in all areas.
Smells nothing like Le Beau, Sauvage or Cool Water Parfum. Generic. Meh.
I'm renowned for being an optimist when it comes to fragrance reviews, believe it or not. I'm not this sour, surly, being, I'm positive, human, I love. However, I'm wearing Brume de Matin today and I'm thoroughly bored by it! So it's not a bad fragrance, and from what I've tried FdB they don't seem to have a 'bad' fragrance in their repertoire, despite me really not liking the pricing, strategy of giving bottles to moronic influencers, what else? ....Oh the gaudy obsession with 'Luxury' just ain't my bag as a customer, I'm just being real and while the blending is incredibly smooth and appealing nothing really moves my soul, or motivates me in any way whatsoever!!! It's also too smooth and dare I say it.... a bit bland, considering real Oud oils and sustainably grown (inoculated whatever) Oud (which I think is great BTW) is a big part of their schtick!!! You'd think they might be a bit bolder and brasher! I think this is why some folks have really gone against this brand. Anyway....I felt I have to frame each one of their fragrances in context before I actually talk about it. Brume de matin is a pleasant and a slightly superior crafted, kind of white musk, floral, muguet, bouquet. There's nothing wrong here, I like a soft, fresh, floral musk, but it's just a bit...well... cheesy perhaps? It's certainly not doing anything new or compelling me for the price.
Oh dear. I can see what Chris is trying to do. In my head evoking a spirit of Sheldrake with these, woody, spicy complex affairs but they just come off a bit second rate. I hate to say it as well because the intent was obviously to make something truly unique, and to be fair I can't attribute many direct comparisons to Danse Sauvage. If I'm honest as well, I really liked/borderline loved it when I first sprayed it, heavy incense, woody, spicy, fruity, boozy, kinda that plummy cedar note spiked with cinnamon and hot, peppery spices. But goes from boozy to a bit....well, woozy. Which is never good. The problem for me is a fundamental one, I don't really like wearing this for any longer than a few minutes, not only does the novelty wear off but it kinda starts to grate on me. It's well made and blended by a good perfumer and I mentioned is at least trying to innovate which should be praised for really. It doesn't commit the cardinal sin of drying down to just smelling of IES, Amboxan, woody ambers, it largely carries the whole vibe into the drydown, but perhaps getting sweeter if a little more rounded. I can't pretend I like it as much as on paper I might read this review and think it sounds up my street, but that's the magic and mystery of perfumery huh? For me a perfume has to be an enjoyable wear and has to connect, and this sadly isn't and doesn't with me.
I continue to be seriously impressed by this collection from Gucci, it has no right to be so good. I think I need to give Gucci a break and forgive them for that horrible period they spent in the fragrance wilderness in the late noughties until recently, because before that and since they’ve produced some excellent iconic fragrances. I need to stop typecasting Morillas too as this, ubiquitous, designer freshie, journeyman, because there’s so much more to his repertoire and Midnight stroll is yet another example of that. This is a Smokey cade/birch tar affair but used affectionately to create a leather accord in the traditional sense. I found it incredibly smooth and deep when smelling for the first time from one of those little bell/closh things on the Gucci counter. Genuinely a leather type fragrance with a unique look and one I’ve never smelled before. Upon wearing it on skin and experiencing the top notes it actually has even more intrigue in that it has fresh aspects, totally different to the drydown. I need to wear it properly and I will update this review, but I was even tempted to purchase, even at the outrageous prices Gucci want for this line. I accept that the packaging is beautiful and they are competing with other designer ‘exclusive’ lines of a similar price bracket, but these are still more expensive than Dior & Chanel and I find that hard to get by in the same way I do with Creed or similar brands.
Omg spot on dupe. Its not even a joke!!, very pointless buying Angel's share for £165 when u can get this identical piece for a quarter of the price.
Hah! Very Clever. Put pressurised sewage in that bottle and I’d still buy it.
I think the worst thing you can do is take two renowned, master perfumers and two relatively unknown (to me) ones and then put them in a room together, oh and as if that wasn't absurd enough then don't forget to add the element of a fifth perfumer, an Artificially intelligent computer. The resulting mess is exactly what you'd expect, and the definition of the term 'Too many cooks,(and a robot) spoil the broth." Phantom is awful, and that's not hyperbole and extra dramatics or jumping on a bandwagon because anyone who cares about perfume smells this a sighs a little dissatisfied sigh, which denotes a little part of you dying inside, and it's the hope that all this technology and quirk could somehow usher in a new age of amazing, innovative, perfumery, and there's no reason why it still can't....it just definitely doesn't here. I'm not even going to bother describing it, I think Phantom is so dull and inconsequential, it really doesn't deserve to be spoken about. I had high expectations too because the bottle is actually pretty cool, yes I'm a little boy for saying that, but it's a funky robot for F's sake!!!!
This brand are a real revelation! I mean as a tireless fragrance hunter I'm constantly trying stuff from transient, pop up houses that I can barely remember from day to day with oddly similar names and this is one of them. The famliar name I mean because the fragrances are highly memorable for the sheer fact that they smell so bassy! (base heavy) The atomiser is practically a subwoofer, pumping out 40hz bass to your chest. I mean that musk/ambergris one was such a unique perfume that anything else from this brand would have to be amazing to reach those heights. Cedar Iris doesn't but it's still very, very, good and is the embodiment of Ronseal perfumery doing exactly what it says on the tin (okay only UK readers will probably get that) and no I don't mean this smells like teak woodstain or creosote. This smells like cedar and Iris, which is a glorious combination, the fleshy smoothness of the iris and the anything but smoothness of a robust, smoky, prickling virginian/Texas type cedarwood. More specifically this feels, thick and textured, containing relatively high doses of natural materials. Now everyone will know my stance on Natural Vs Synthetic (a redundant and stupid 'battle' they're all Just chemicals folks!!!!) and I'm not suggesting natural equals better but in this instance these two materials combine in quite a blissful way, really complimenting one another. Cedar is pretty abundant and reasonably priced and there's no reason not to assume it's not in even the least 'niche' of perfumes but 'Iris' materials (of which there's quite a few) but lets say Orris butter is wildly expensive, so perhaps wouldn't necessarily feature and as I mentioned....that's fine, there's some wonderful Iris/orris synthetic molecules and bases. In here though, there's a thickness and sweet, stewed carrot, going to powdery, ethereal, weirdness and magic about the iris smell, you can really smell the irone content. Again this reminds me of a base from PCW which is an iris/cedar mixture of natural materials and it's divine, so is this perfume and it's so simple to say that it's two things, there's probably other stuff holding it together too. One minor critique is that it's not very exciting, it's a perfume aesthetic which would be more suited to those who like natural or artisanal perfume, although with the added bonus (again a personal preference) these are all made by trained perfumers I believe.
Vetiver is such a fascinating material, and like many others is changable due to many factors not least of which being the interactions within a perfume composition, pushing the stuff hither and thither into differing directions. I can safely say that lovers of an authentic, 'heavy' artisanal, vetiver will love this one. I did. does have some lush notes right the top but soon descends to it's main intention...a woody affair and in my limited knowledge of vetiver materials feels a bit more Java than Haiti. It feels 'aged' in the way that amber accords give that musty, dustiness, but this has a certain edible, 'nutty' quality to it I think there's sandalwood in this, it's such a thick composition but it's never too dense, it definitely has an air to it and wears beautifully on the skin. I wouldn't however recommend this in the normal sense a vetiver perfume can be worn, ie: in any situation, and perhaps as a functional/dumb reach when you can really pick a mood/temperature or whatever, which tends to be when I'd reach for one. It has quite a dark aura about it and it's not exactly witchy but it's no mood elevator either, perfect time and place are required for wearing it, and as much as I loved it, I can't see myself reaching for it too often, which is a shame for the person who kindly supplied my vintage sample, because as soon as I said I liked it he proceeded to try to sell me his bottle! There's many perfumes like this, brilliant and highly recomended by me, but I'll never own them myself. This is a veteiver for fans of vetiver oils lovingly converted into faithful perfumes.
