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Rhinoceros

Zoologist Perfumes

houdini

First of all this is quite an original fragrance and I take my hat off to it for that but it's not entirely without comparison. The opening is extremely loud and makes me immediately think that the name is appropriate as it runs at you head on, barging and gouging you with it's horn! The opening is sharp, slightly bitter and very off kilter. I get a massive dose of elemi, a yesty resinous smell I usually like but coupled with a dizzying booziness and a horrid tanning leather, oud accord. This is pretty much a perfect storm of things I might like individually or in another context but when put together in this just become gross. Kind of reminds me of the more ill judged fragrances from 4160 Tuesdays, messy and deliberately weird, something I'd usually say is cool or funky. Well this is just plain FUNKY...in a stinky way. The oud is transparent and has a leathery, barnyard feel at times but as it steadily dries down this fragrance becomes more tolerable. In fact it dries down to a complex oud/rose type smell of undoubted quality but I still just don't like Rhinoceros. It's pretty much a scrubber for me and I consider myself into some 'out there' stuff fragrance wise. I thought the longevity would be massive but thankfully it isn't...pretty average really after an invasive and strong start. Needless to say this stuff is not my cup of tea as much as I want to be praising trendy niche perfumes there's no accounting for taste and in this instance my taste says "errrrr...Yuck!"

9 years ago

The opening of this fragrance is extremely weird, thick, very indulgent, very Mugler and actually quite reminiscent of intense oriental releases of late, that Marc Jacobs one that looks like a handbag springs to mind. I've actually enjoyed the last few feminine fragrances from TM and some are almost something I would wear but sadly I don't think this one is quite in that category. Anyway back to that opening, it's jammy with what could be described as exotic fruit and maybe rhubarb but then there's a tar like almost rubbery, signature Mugler oddity in there and I actually really like that. Then the bourbon vanilla comes on stronger and stronger, sickly sweet and developing all the while with a fruity floral texture which is strong and feminine but frankly far less interesting than that wacky, extraterrestrial bottle would suggest. The dry down is very lovely stuff and feminine I'd say it's like a soft vanilla and white musk something I'd be more than happy with my missus wearing.

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9 years ago

Kenneth Cole Vintage Black

Kenneth Cole

houdini

This takes soapy to new heights of genericness, it goes through generic and flips right out the other side into something which might just be causing a complexity, placebo effect, such is the paradox that is Kenneth Cole Vintage Black. So it's good then? No...it's very bad and here's why. I read notes like 'Lime' (In fairness it does open with a very fresh lovely lime smell which only lasts seconds) and 'tequila' and sniffing very hard through the matey bubblebath once settled and I'm thinking..."Yeah....Tequila maybe?" but There's no agave/tequila smell to this, I'm almost positive of that now. It also reminds me quite heavily of Dior higher (a fragrance I gave away) but not as good. Normally I'd say this is 'fine' and perfectly 'wearable' (and it is) but the mood I'm in of late is one with a no tolerance policy for this absolutely uninspiring twaddle. The dry down is actually annoying me there's hints of white florals in there and it's actually quite a prolonged ordeal. I actually quite like the bottle and label design, it looks like something from a trendy concession like Kiehls or something?

9 years ago

Alegria is another floral fragrance by the Lili Bermuda Line, but this time I feel the patchouli from beginning to the end. Sadly I'm not a big patchouli lover, so this isn't for me, but it isn't bad either and could smell wonderful on someone else. There is also a floral note and a bit peppery/incense background, but very subtle. The notes are good balanced not very overpowering, which is good is definitely a plus.

9 years ago

Passion Flower has a strong floral touch throughout all accords. On my skin I get mainly gardenia, ylang ylang and sandalwood, maybe a little touch of peach too. Really warm and opulent but very soft in the silage. The scent just sits close to the skin. I believe this is a good nighttime or a rainy day scent, and I can imagine wearing it more on colder than warmer days. Again, very a natural and realistic fragrance.

9 years ago

Another really floral fragrance by Lili Bermuda. But this one is not the fresh flowery type of scent, but it is a warm floral. I smell Oleander mixed with amber and vanilla predominately. You get a powdery and musky touch from this scent as well. Really nice, rounded and natural. Would be good for a summery night out.

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9 years ago

Fleur de Coton (Cotton Flower)

Sephora

mahina.vanila

This Sephora perfume is a powdery fragrance. It almost reminds me of Frederic Malle's Lipstick rose, but a little different when it comes to the rose. I don't think this is just a solo floral cotton scent, but more a mix of powdery flowers. A light clean smell, easy to wear and not overwhelming. One of the cheaper scents which is has not such a cheap synthetic smell but works as all-rounder.

9 years ago

Petals is a very realistic floral scent, which reminds me so much of the blooming linden trees here in the parks in Germany. Very pretty! The orange blossom is very dominant and uplifting, I also feel the jasmine and ylang-ylang, but not really any fruity notes. It lasts very long, even after 6 hrs I am able to smell the base notes. I'm impressed, a perfect perfume, if you love a natural realistic flower scent, mainly white flowers though!

9 years ago

Pink is a light and airy mimosa scent, a bit powdery too. A soft skin-scent with very light lasting power. More suitable for spring and summer, that is for sure.

9 years ago

You really get a lot of clementine and water lily from this fragrance. This is a really soft and light, happy scent. Coral has aquatic and fresh but also flowery vibes, I like it. Easy-going, for warmer days.

9 years ago

I feel Calypso is more a male than a unisex fragrance, but also wearable for women who like herbal scents. You get a burst of freshness, green/wood and citrus notes. Reminds me of the Cool Water fragrances by Davidoff. Such a refreshing summer scent. I personally wouldn't wear it according to my taste preference, but I think it would be nice on other people who enjoy this scent-profile.

9 years ago

Hopefully when I review it properly I'll be able to say things like 'set phasers to stun!' or this 'boldly goes....' etc... I'm not really a Star Trek fan as such, I like it though and usually these kind of scents wouldn't appeal to me but I'm actively going to seek these out.

9 years ago

A mainly woody fragrance, with dominant notes of cedar...maybe a hint of rose (floral notes) and pepper. It is a nice and light fragrance. Could imagine someone wearing it as office-scent or on a daily basis. If you like woody scents, you should try this one.

9 years ago

God! This is uninspiring, and while I would normally write a fairly neutral review which said it was okay, today I'm actively choosing to dislike this one. The reason being I'm quite partial to the original Jag fragrance and I like the brand, it's a British institution. Not going to talk about notes or performance because I'm boring myself already... Although I will say this...It's not a tea fragrance (of any note) it does open quite nicely. Soon it descends into a synthetic muskiness, mixed with an aquatic seasideyness (see re:Azzaro Chrome Legend) and then a bit of god awful, suncream and white floral 'freshness' (again see chrome legend) If you want something generic I'd normally say don't go for the well known stuff explore the discounted treasures like Dunhill and Jaguar but in this case, maybe don't bother.

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9 years ago

Rumz Al Rasasi 9325 Pour Lui

Rasasi

houdini

So....fragrantica finally got to listing this one, no sorry I shouldn't be moaning they've responded pretty quickly it's only been FOUR YEARS! Anyway, I wrote a review at the time which I tried to spread via the forums, I can't remember exactly what I said but it was likely...."This smells a lot like Aventus." and it's true it does but when I first smelled it, either I'd forgotten what Aventus was like and didn't make the connection or I had some degree of nasal fatigue that day. The point is I liked it enough to purchase and it was only upon arriving home that I began to get the Creed connection. Since then we've had many reviews and people discovering this scent as an Aventus clone or alternative but in truth batches of Aventus seem to be so variable the dopplegangers evoke many different qualities from many different batches. This one I'd say is a very rich, deep and thicker incarnation of this 'genre' for want of better terms. One of the other Rumz (the one with the cheetah on) reminds me a lot of Black Afgano and this even has more of that deep leathery, woody texture, with pretty intense birch and cedar. This is not to say that 9325 isn't musky or pineapply because it has that going for it too. It's weird because although very similar and cheaper than Aventus I still own and enjoy both because it is mildly different enough to do so. For those who just want a good clone at a cheap price this is a must have. I'm definitely not one of those people who is bitter because they bought Aventus at full price and desperately defend it at all costs when people even mention clones they like better. It's all personal preference, and I enjoy this but genuinely prefer my bottle of Aventus. I can't even give a decent explanation as to why? I just prefer the smell. If If my arm was twisted I'd say this feels a bit heavier and clunkier than the Creed which can be cloying and annoying but when Applied sparingly is heavenly stuff, I'm just not as passionate about this one. So performance wise this is superb as you'd expect and 100% worth adding to your wardrobe...Simple.

9 years ago

I test drove one of those F Paces a few months back and was considering getting one as I was suitably impressed, unfortunately it's fragrance namesake is a little short of the mark but only a little mind you. It opens very generic, with an aquatic, somewhat 90's feel but soon shows what it's all about as that herbal Rosemary and lavender start to woody it up. It's soapy and mega clean, almost impossible to hate but hard to love or get excited about in any way. It reminded me of a few scents but thankfully one that comes through stronger as it dries down was Paco XS/Creed Himalaya but sadly not quite as nice as either of those. It has a bit of the Mr Burberry too a scent that I'm sure I'll be slated for actually enjoying on some level, there's shades of other stuff too but it's all very roll on deodorant and forgettable. It's died back considerably after 2 hours but still there and doesn't remind me of XS anymore (frankly I kinda wish I was wearing XS right now and that kinda sums this fragrance up.) I'm not mad at it and as far it goes Jaguar have another perfectly usable and still masculine fragrance here, exactly the kind of thing which appeals to the sort of no nonsense bloke who purchases a fragrance from Jaguar.

9 years ago

I love what CT does in makeup, even have one of her lipstick (only one because of their price, would have more items otherwise) and it's fabulous, nice formula, great colour, good staying power all in a luxe packaging. So I really wanted to like this perfume and was very interested on trying it, but a tiny voice inside my head kept popping up saying: "this might be a huge disappointment", so I didn't actively went looking for it. In the end I got the occasion when an eager salesgirl came up to me inside a House of Fraser last winter. Biggest mistake ever. I ended up with this thing on my wrist that assaulted my nose and not in a good way. It smelled cheap and conventional and took a lot of scrubbing to leave my skin. Not only that but the fragrance literally stuck to the woollen jumper and coat I was wearing for daaaaaaays so that I had to wash the jumper and air the coat to get rid of it. Not a fan. I even got a sample one day and spritzed it again to see if anything had changed, but I still dislike it. But of course it's a very personal thing and I actually thought that I remember having smelled something similar on a lot of women in the past, so I'm sure there is a market for it.

9 years ago

Songes... I truely understand why it has so many fans :) Such a nice white flower scent, I guess it's my personal favorite from the Annick Goutal house so far. It starts of with a mix of all white flowers - ylang ylang dominates, but you get the creamy frangipani and vanilla from the heart notes to the end and the dry down is most enjoyable. A really soft and comforting fragrance. No headaches, not overpowering, just lovely and great for warm weather too actually as it has some sort of freshness to it. Highly recommended for all tropical flower lovers out there, especially ylang-ylang! The one I tried was EDT by the way.

9 years ago

The notes sound pretty nice, but the scent smells so awful to me, sorry for the people who like it. I didn't even spray it on me! My sister was testing this today and I just smell it everywhere... even when she was not around me, it still was with me all the time. This scent gives me nausea and headaches. It feels so unnatural to me, and has this masculine touch...maybe the chestnut or the combination of notes that do not work with my chemistry. Really not my cup of tea. Just be careful with your dosage, it appears to last a lifetime :S

9 years ago

A lot of ylang-ylang and jasmine, very strong and no coconut to find... I was hoping for a bit more light, creamy and easygoing fragrance for summer, but this is not for me. I would recommend trying before blind buying this.

9 years ago

This is just a masterpiece by Bissoumine! BTW I think the brand is kinda underrated, at least for me Bissoumine scents smell very natural and are not as overpowering as other niche or designer brands, but they still last all day long. Exactly what I have been looking for. Nuit des Iles is a nearly one to one adaption of the white and yellow type of frangipani you can find nearly everywhere on the east coast of Australia. You can notice a bit of citrus and vanilla too, which gives it a comfy feeling. This sweet, flowery creamy scent brings back wonderful memories, and it's so easy to wear. If you love plumeria/frangipani you should try.

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9 years ago

24 Elixir Gold

houdini

So I finally got my nose on this and I had to blind buy to do so. This was reasonably confident due to my prior knowledge and high expectation of Scent Story fragrances. Oh boy I wasn't disappointed! Elixir delivered the same same wow factor I experienced with the original 24 Gold and even the Oud edition. (The OA admittedly to a lesser extent.) So this is brilliant then? Well...not really, and for one simple reason the honey note is very strong and very accurate. For honey fans then this is comes highly recommended but that isn't what 24 Elixir is all about by a long way. The opening is a complex blend of sweet spices cinnamon and even a hint of fruit but it's mainly a dense oriental comprised of deep, resinous, amber woods and a touch of vanilla. This part of the fragrance is hats off amazing but the honey note is there to provide an icky, borderline unpleasantness to something which is otherwise sweet and rich. Don't get it twisted, I think it actually works very well and needs that extra dimension because if it was all fun and games, 24 Elixir wouldn't be half as memorable and probably too safe. There's obvious comparisons in my mind to the recent release from CdG Floriental, then there'e a pinch of Parfum de Marly Oajan and a considerable amount more of Back to Black from By Killian. So the resulting offspring of a three-way between these is not far off what you get. The performance is good as you'd expect but goes on very strong and projecting madly then fades considerably. This coincides with the fading of the strong honey note and what you're left with underneath in the drydown, is all the good stuff associated with honey and non of the bad. Not to mention the resins and woody goodness in the base of this scent, I found the drydown very enjoyable. I can't give this too much praise for simple taste reasons and my aversion to honey in this quantity. However, this is a largely successful exercise for Scent story showing that they continue to innovate and hit, huge, stunning orientals out of the park every time.

9 years ago

So I bought this on the spot and I often worry about such extravagant, impulse purchases because I usually regret them, if not entirely then in certainly in a minor way. I must say Iris Nazarena has held up well, it's two weeks later and I still love this fragrance. The opening was a real eyeopener for me, a soft, creamy, powdery leather and not unfamiliar from many fragrances I would've perhaps dubbed 'a bit feminine' in the past. It's brilliant though. The Iris is obvious in the opening and throughout but what struck me was just how real and buttery the leather smell is in here. It's not rough or aged this is brand new, modern, Italian, white leather. It's also woody in the extreme from the getgo. I mean there's an unmistakable quality sandalwood in this fragrance that perfectly compliments and accents the Iris and leather. I'd say there's trace hints of spice and that comes over more in the deep satisfying drydown. The one critisim of this scent could be that it's not all that strong or long lasting. I would argue that it smells so good I can forgive it these minor issues and I put plenty on, so it easily lasts all day and sticks to clothing very effectively. It's an intimate scent which doesn't need to announce itself or project wildly so that didn't bother me either. Like I mentioned, It's not totally unique or like nothing I've smelled before, I mean loads of iris scents spring to mind but few deliver the sandalwood and leather in such abundance and balance. It's a bit like Dior Homme/Homme parfum, Zegna's Florentine Iris, YSL's Noble leather, Ann Gerard Cuir d' Nacre and any quality sandalwood fragrance you'd care to insert here. The point is Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena is a perfect storm of all of these, arriving on my radar at a perfect time and therefore getting fast tracked into my wardrobe. I don't know why this elegant scent spoke to me so much... but it did. This fragrance is an absolute winner. Oh before I go! Just briefly on the bottle design. I tutted and rolled my eyes at the SA who couldn't wait to show me AdV and the fancy stopper mechanism but actually it was only upon getting it home and handling the bottle for myself that I actually think it's a cool design.

For anyone who missed out on these, I'm elated to tell you that most (if not the entire line?) are coming back, with new packaging. This one is especially sort after because it's gorgeous but I also really enjoyed some of the others including the rhubarb and ginger of Signature by Bertrand Duchaufour. A rare treat and recontinuation for fragrance fans.

9 years ago

Some people might think that Amouage have gone off the boil, non moreso than me as I've been vaguely critical of their last couple of releases but I still believe in the creative direction of the brand. I'd go as far as to say that Bracken is an effort to further diversify and broaden their range away from the super complexity and incense laden compositions they became famous for. I don't think there's anything wrong with covering the fougere base and I think this perfume does a really good job of evoking ferns and woodland greenery. Bracken is gently masculine and grown up composition which opens with clean citruses and hints of spice from cloves and cinnamon and I got quite a bit of lavender. Then giving way to an awesome combination of earthy patchouli, cedar and cypress. It hints all the main criteria for a classic fougere fragrance and I for one can dig it. I need to try it again properly to determine whether it is worth the money and has the lasting power compared to cheaper alternatives. Speaking of those it does bare more than a passing resemblance to Fougere Royale but definitely stronger and more brash. I like Bracken very much but depending on expectations some might see this one as a filler release from Amouage.

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10 years ago