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L’Homme Ideal Cologne

Guerlain

houdini

I reserved my predictions for this fragrance because I really hated the original Ideal and I didn't want that to be the case for this flanker. Thank heavens Ideal cologne is much better to my nose, citrus bite and creamy almond could go so wrong but here it is absolutely perfectly handled. My main gripe with the first ideal was that it was so synthetically sweet and uber strong that there was no nuance, nothing to cut through what I deemed a sickly, unfocused mess of a fragrance. No problems with that here, citrus fruits fresh and long lasting in the opening, light musky woods and a very light but vanilla/almond which is sweet and light more like a hint of sweet Marzipan than a heavy dose of almonds or heliotrope or that over done tonka bean in many new fragrances, which I just can't abide. This lasts nicely but is very close to the skin and I even bought myself a heavily reduced gift set right there on the spot...Guerlian have redeemed what I unpopularly thought was a real dud release with this decent flanker which is more toward one of my favourite citrus and almond combo's mandorlo di Sicilia. I'm happy with my purchase.

11 years ago

I really enjoyed this fragrance, it opens with a deep, spiced mandarin infused with ginger and some earth from vetiver and patchouli. It's nothing like Hermes TDH by the way, despite the similar notes, Eau d'Aromes isn't dry it's fuller, warmer and almost incense like. Very impressive considering I'm not that fond of the original, Nuit I'll have to try again and Cedre was downright disappointing. I'm glad I like one of this range but it's nothing super remarkable, it's quite the smooth, crowd pleaser really. Also, the longevity was an issue, not the worst in the world but only lasted a few hours before becoming a very low humming skin scent. All in all I have to be positive and say this Armani was worth a sniff for sure and if it was dirt cheap in a sale or something, I'd get a bottle.

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11 years ago

Gentlemen Only Casual Chic

Givenchy

houdini

Thank heavens Givenchy don't completely follow in the footsteps of other designer brands because when you think about it Pi and Play are quite unconventional male fragrances and then they have older classics like Gentlemen and Xeryus. The original Gentlemen Only is inoffensive and has never compelled me to purchase but this flanker of a flanker (of sorts) I have to say I really enjoyed. I don't really know what it is about casual chic that I was so impressed with because it's pretty standard fare. I think I was just glad it was a gagging, confused mess. The opening focuses on a peppered, fizzy gin & tonic juniper vibe which is just as refreshing as citruses and coupled well with the ginger which is fresh and spicy at the same time. I immediately associate that feeling with Dior Homme Sport a fragrance I rarely wear but when I do always enjoy. The base seems to be a more grown up hint of smokey birch and synthetic cedar which is masculine and works well behind those top notes. Lasting power is average and silage light but I'd say this is a decent fragrance and surpassing the original for sure in my book.

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11 years ago

Khalis Oudi (Pure Oudi)

Lattafa Perfumes

houdini

This fragrance is quite the enigma. It has a strange but familiar blend of characteristics one being a creamy sandalwood, guaic and oud splendor, a sweet vanilla and cinnamon, which becomes more evident as it dries down and similar to 24 Gold or Raghba, and a soapy floral element too. The powdered woods in the opening to me point towards a hint of rose but apparently it's not listed in the notes here? Something is giving quite a strong floral effect and I accept it could be jasmine, whatever it is it's very nice. This fragrance grabbed me as utilizing lots of middle eastern techniques and just had an overriding opulence which I love and would attribute to many more elusive and expensive fragrances. This fragrance is so far up my street it's ridiculous! I was so impressed in fact that I bought Khalis Oudi on the spot. Great performance a wonderful enveloping smell but without cloying or being too strong, I give this fragrance top marks and a welcome addition to the collection. Oh and on a side note, a really well package fragrance I throw nearly all my boxes away unless they are niche and very special, I still wouldn't keep this one but its nicely decorated. The bottle has actual cinnamon inside which I think is a nice touch and although I detect it in the scent it's not that prominent. This is the Lataffa for you if you like what Raghba has to offer without being too sweet, just get Khalis Oudi it's magnificent.

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11 years ago

Bentley for Men Intense

Bentley

houdini

To quote that guy from Man Vs Food... "Oh my goodness...OH...MY...GOODNESS!" I've finally got this fragrance, blind bought as I couldn't find it anywhere in the UK, despite Bentley being a overtly British brand. I couldn't be happier unwrapping the satisfyingly chunky bottle and well thought out cap design, smelling a slight remnant on the sprayer as I was doing so. The first sparay to me was a magic carpet ride of sandalwood and spices and L'air du desert marocain immediately sprung to mind. It stays that way for ten minutes or so then becomes a boozier more amber focused manly scent. I'd say it's a beutiful fresh faced, love child of LDDM, Dirty English, Lubin Idole, and Tom Ford for Men...maybe with a hint of Amouage Epic in there for good measure. I think it's the incense and greasy (in a good way) drydown that reminds me of Amouage, praise indeed. Well , I've boarded the hype train well and truly, very glad I listened to the countless reviewers and champions of this fragrance on fragrantica, Tony T not least of them. When many informed people get behind something you pretty much know it has special qualities to offer, doesn't make you a sheep or weak minded. If I thought this was a dud or had no merit even if it wasnt to my tastes....I would just say so. Thankfully, Bentley Intense is an amazing fragrance, truly a wonderful addition to my wardrobe and something I will reach for in the future. Perfromance/silage and projection seem pretty good so far....It's a winner this one. Update: thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed wearing this fragrance today, what a treat it is. Good lasting power more complexity in the drydown, sweet booziness a hint of vanilla, rum n coke, Baldessarini Ambre/chambre noire...and an earthy patchouli. This fragrance is quite simply show stopping and I'm well and truly in love.

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11 years ago

Dolce&Gabbana Pour Homme Intenso

Dolce&Gabbana

houdini

I thought I had reviewed this when it came out, turns out I didn't and subsequent re sampling has not changed my mind about Intenso. It's opens quite nicely if not generically with that lavender tinged aquatic vibe straight from the original D&G Pour Homme. I was a fan in the nineties but I think I've outgrown the original Pour Homme. The problem with Intenso is the attempt to shoehorn in some deeper, more sensual notes of Amber and tobacco. The problem is the 'tobacco' doesn't smell accurate and clashes with the whole fresh appeal of Pour Homme. The same argument could be made for Amber only to a lesser extent. Initially quite nice, then after 1/2 hour or so I found it irritating and sour on my skin. The longevity is pretty poor but don't get me wrong I can't say I hate Intenso, it's far from offensive, just not very good.

11 years ago

The opening is very green and juicy conveying something similar to a fig like smell but with somewhat of a lavender and violet powdery vibe. This one settles to something far less interesting, a lightly spiced soapy vibe of vetiver and geranium but with a bitter muskiness. I get the pink pepper not much anise though, it's a bit toothless to be honest and is a little confused...or confusing? I say that because I liked the opening then I hated the mid of this fragrance and now it's dried down to a whimpering skin scent it actually smells really good. The problem is it's barely there, I have to say it peaked my interest, transitioning absolutely so that's something at least.

11 years ago

I'd love to echo some of the positive reviews here and say that this new release from Armani is an antidote to the bland designer releases we are constantly subjected to but sadly I can't. I wanted to like this the minute I saw the bottle and was kindly furnished with 3 sample vials but it is sadly lacking and not really the classic cedar I had hoped for. It's a modern accord of fresh citrus opening, synthetic or faux, leathery, violet, sage...lavender...herbal...I don't know what? The composition is a little muddled for me and when settled becomes a clean spicy cedar and cardamom...but 'something' is just off about it...and that I actively don't like. Rare because I'm fairly easily impressed and like to think I go easy on many fragrances, slated by other critics in the fragrance community but nothing about Armani Eau de Cedre makes it stand out from the crowd. That would even be okay if it had something I liked in there to redeem it but it doesn't. I've tried it in store and once at home but I will persevere with my samples and who knows? perhaps I'll change my mind about it? For now though I'm not impressed.

11 years ago

Well, I'd seen a couple of YouTube reviews before I got my nose on this and I have to say I didn't have high hopes. The general concensus was that "...it's okay." and I have to say I think the same. It starts out with a fruity, fresh accord which I can't really attribute to the fruit (which I've never heard of before) but nevertheless is very pleasant. There is warmer tones and perhaps some ginger? But the scent inevitably turns into a generic smel that is vaguely reminiscent but hard to place. If usually jump on the bandwagon of haters and say ..."why can't the designer game come up with something original for a change?" Or words to that effect. Well...do you know what? As long it's not awful I'm going to can that kind of rhetoric. Boss have made a scent which maybe uninteresting but is it bad? No...it dries down to a vaguely boring lavender, and spiced rum accord mixed with a clean artificial musk/Ambery vibe, which in essence is a crowd pleasing, chemical blob, neither one thing or another but as such appeals to most (well not most Fragranticians it would seem?) is pretty warm and nice and actually lasts about 4 hours, projecting mildly. I've no hate for this one only luke warm "meh"

11 years ago

This is an amazing smelling fragrance absolutely top marks to Aramis for making something fresh and accessible, without the usual generic trates. It opens fresh, and even a little green but instantly sweet and uplifting with that combination of resins, elemi, mastique...etc...combined with juniper making for a really sparkling opener. The fragrance is warm boozy and with some sweetness too but it's not easy to discern notes, apart from the apparent balsamic, incense vibe. Aramis black is never a cliche though and I can honestly say these notes are a breath of fresh air making for a unique opening. I'm afraid the bad news is the performance...absolutely pathetic and I coated myself in the stuff!!! I could still smell it faintly but very disappointing considering how good this stuff smells. I've put myself down as wanting a bottle but I'd only get it out of the bargain bin. This is not an exaggeration on my part I'm usually forgiving even to the weakest of scents but this one does die down very quick...it might just be my skin...who knows? Don't get me wrong the opening is fantastic though so I'd recommend you at least check it out for yourself.

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11 years ago

Pino Silvestre Original

Pino Silvestre

houdini

I've been familiar with this one for years, my dad never owned it or anything (at least I don't think he did?) but I distinctly remember sampling it on a market stall when I was about 12 and not really liking it. Well I think my tastes have changed because I don't think Pino has a great deal. To say it smells of pine doesn't really do it justice as a composition. It has that fresh juniper and pine in the opening which also has green notes of basil and mint. The main thing I get though is a tough, spiced, anise note which has to be coming from carnation. The drydown is a pine/cedar/mossy affair. I like Pino Silvestre a lot because it is unashamedly a gents fragrance and it's quite sour...maybe that's not the right word? It's pleasant ...but just a bit 'off' You can't argue it's poor on any front... price, performance, or development of notes. I have a bottle now and I'm more than happy to wear it.

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11 years ago

Loewe Pour Homme Sport

Loewe

houdini

The main thing letting this one down is performance...it's average...which is okay but disappointing because it develops nicely for the first couple of hours, leading you into a false sense of security and believe that it might be quite long lived. Then...bam! It's gone. Such a shame because this is one of the better 'sport' fragrances I've tried in recent years. Fresh sharp opening of citrus and aquatic tones, offset with the subtlety herbaceous basil and lavender, then a ton of pepper hits and as the woody base of cedar and musk start to dry down, this is actually quite a well conceived, masculine fragrance and not a million miles from it's predecessor. Just to mention that this flanker comes out a mere 28 years after the original surely it hasn't been in the making all that time???? Well as nice as it is it ain't worth the wait even for Loewe fans. I liked it, had it of lasted I would of added it to my collection to prove a point that sport fragrances can be simple and refined and above all masculine. But it doesn't so I won't.

11 years ago

I was quite looking forward to this, unfortunately Cedro just fell short for me. The opening does have a pronounced woody musk but as soon as that's gone, and we are talking a matter of minutes here, it dries down to a very similar accord of the solo line. It's that resinous balmy smell which is quite artificial and reminds me of bandages, quite an odd medicinal smell with hints of fresh lavender on the top. Sounds awful from the description but I actually like it a lot, and own Solo Platinum which is just 'that' throughout without trying to be woody or anything that it's not. I guess over all this is slightly lighter and fresher than Platinum but too much like the original to be that noteworthy. I just deem it a pointless flanker, shame really because the wood grain on the bottle cap looks great. Longevity is similar to platinum pretty good and clings well to clothes (not like that's saying much.)

11 years ago

Absolute class. A tone poem of masculine aromatic notes blended to smell like a man should. To me similarities to Azzurro pour homme or Paco Rabanne or countless others of the period are obvious but with one striking difference, Roger & Gallet is just better behaved on my skin. I think the blend is just right so as not to be 'too' anything. It's the usual blend of clean, soapy, spicy and recent formulations although lacking in oakmoss and sheer power, L'Homme is still reserved enough to last okay and give the wearer a nice clean, blokey feel without choking anybody out. I like it a great deal.

11 years ago

This is a typical aquatic for me, opening with lovely refreshing notes of mandarin and sea breeze, the cleanness of cardamom and vetiver and the hint of spice and woods from cedar and pepper. This is a good fragrance which settles very nicely...it's not great...but it's not to be dismissed off hand either. The performance is average but I will forgive it. It's as worth a look as any other fresh scent in the designer game. Shop around and you might find yourself a bargain.

11 years ago

oooh this is absolute magic! If ever a scent appealed to me it's this one. Sweet, sticky, warm, balmy base which is never cloying even for a second. Then that delicate fruity accord of cola, yes it's very similar to Dunhill Custom, I only wish I had discovered this sooner. It's far more refined than the Dunhill and releases more subtle complex notes. I'd also say it's woodier and all in all better smelling and the best thing about it....Baldesarinni Ambre lasts quite well. This is a great hidden gem of a scent and cheap enough to not feel guilty about buying. I'm getting it.

11 years ago

This one crept up on me, as I had no idea Colonia Club was out. Tried it the other day and I have to say I'm extremely impressed by the smell of this stuff. AdP will never be one of my favorite brands but they do make solid, classy fragrances which open very well and I enjoy hugely. They seem to be afforded leeway that I wouldn't give to other houses for making mediocrity a trademark. Anyway...Colonia Club has a wonderfully fresh opening of citruses as you'd expect but with a hint of herbaceous green qualities, lavender, mint and a touch of white florals. There's a lightweight musk, and in the heart a geranium note under long lasting citrus, all of which conspires to create that classic aromatic fougere type fragrance, making this hard not to like. The vetiver really comes out in the dry down and that's about it. Club delivers what I expect from Aqua di Parma topping it off with average performance I'd say all in all another good product from the house. I think I prefer this to the black one...colonia essenza?? is it??? Fan's of AdP will definitely like this one it's very hard not to and I really like the green bottle.

11 years ago

To my nose this is Bond No.9 (The self titled signature fragrance) that slightly tepid sweetness, book-ended by fresh top notes and woody base notes. I have to say as someone who owns the Perfume version of the signature (basically the same as the original but stronger and with the addition of Oud) I can't say I entirely dislike the smell. However, there's one crucial difference here and it's not what I'd expected (the addition of Patchouli) but a distinctly horrifying smell. I have a whopping 4 vials of this (obviously not a popular sample) and I had thought that it may have been a reaction with the plastic wrapper. You know? Those bon bon sweetie wrappers that the samples come in. I had struggled to remove the vial from the wrapper and some of the dye stuff came off on my hands and had this horrible pissy smell. I thought to myself I hope that's not the perfume! Unfortunately It was. Yes New York patchouli actually smells like the back streets of New York City, Urine and all. Just as you take in the sugary sweetness and generic 'Bond accord' a split second later it is soured with a sharp, metallic musk and what can only be described as a pissy smell. I hate to be crude...but there it is. The only remarkable thing about New York Patchouli is that there's no trace of patchouli in it! No hippie herbaceous dirt, or thick, creamy chocolate. Maybe that could be the piss smell, a metallic sharpness when interacting with citrus and cedar...who knows? What is known is that something is really wrong with this fragrance. Maybe some people can't smell that? Or like it? Nobody else has mentioned it in comments...could it be the humble Lychee causing such offence? I really don't know but I could never wear this awful concoction. Like most stinkers, when you don't want them to have great performance...they inevitably do.

I love the validation of retrying a fragrance and then reading an old review and being like..."You nailed it back then dude!" ...to myself. Kinda sad I know, but it's true. What I feel I NEED to comment on is the unrelenting and frankly horrible drydown. I applied it yesterday evening, when out for a walk in humid conditions, went to bed, showered this morning and reapplied another fragrance. I've been walking around in the sunshine all day and it's still, really strong! I'm amazed I can smell it through my shirt, and I'm not exaggerating to be dramatic, really New York Patchouli is atomic! Crucially there's still NO bloody patchouli, just a mental, cat pissy accord. What's even stranger is that....I sort of like it!!! There's still a metallic note of that 'Bond accord' of sweet citrus.

11 years ago

This one is a real banger! Rarely do fragrances live up to their name, especially when they are called 'Intense' but if there's anyone you could be sure of making something Intense... It's Pierre Montale. I actually love how the tropical, sweet, white floral vibes of exotic Tiare flower and Jasmine assault the senses. This fragrance does have an edge of coconut but it's not cloying and doesn't smell like a tacky sun cream in small doses it's quite elegant. I think worn in moderation this is a very bright and uplifting scent which dries to a talcum, musk which reminds me of my mums rose talc she used to wear when I was a kid. So yeah there is a very subtle rose note in there. I don't often say this about a fragrance because I like to think I'm open minded in my fragrance choices but this to me is 100% feminine. If a guy wants to wear this, then more power to you but I just wouldn't. A lovely thing then and very, very potent indeed.

11 years ago

Dear oh dear, I wondered why I had tried all of this houses perfumes except for Kid Mohair, I must have read the comments on here. I'd obviously forgotten what they said when I ordered my sample but this is not a great fragrance. It did do one thing though...transport me back to a golden era in my early teens (when I actually had hair!) on occasion instead of gel or Brylcreem I would borrow my sisters hair Moose. The opening minute of Kid mohair (arguably as the alcohol is still evaporating) is exactly this smell, its a kind of bitter chemical musk shrouded in dense fruity aroma chemicals. It's a kind of primordial soup of choking, slightly nostril tingling juice. As it settles I get a white floral edge of peony, magnolia perhaps some rose, But still wrapped in that fruity shampoo smell which on skin almost smells a little of scalp too. Whenever I say that I'm conscious of how creepy it might sound but it reminds me of the sensation of kissing my girlfriend on the top of her head, so it's kinda sweet really. This dries down to a clean white musk and despite the barrage of abuse I've now contributed to, I can't hate kid mohair. After that first minute it doesn't smell bad as such, just like uninspiring perfume, lacking the sophistication and complexity that fragrance lovers want to smell. It doesn't work on me and could become slightly irritating after a while, I don't imagine ever wanting to smell like this, so it's a no from me.

11 years ago

Beautiful understated opening of citrus and juniper berries which fades quickly revealing a powdered violet leaf note. The notes and spicing is so delicate, coriander seed and vetiver amongst the careful blended concerto which makes up this masculine aromatic fragrance. The overbearing vibe I get from Jermyn street is not one of a citrus vetiver or even a floral aromatic, it's more like Knise Ten. That thing people refer to as leather and kinda is, that is what I get from this except instead of orange blossom like in Creed Royal English leather for example, it's replaced with a very toned down violet. Jermyn street is extremely light in the sense of an eau de Cologne type fragrance and the unfortunate sense that it doesn't last all that long. Still, like the well blended traditional offerings of Penhaligon's and Floris I just can't fault the majority of what they do.

11 years ago

Maai is perhaps the best modern take on a classic floral chypre. This thing is an absolute bomb! It explodes out of the bottle with tonnes of aldehydes and a sucker punch of musk...the two complementing but also kind of fighting each other...wow! I'm finding it hard to believe this wasn't created before the restrictions on raw materials, which will be welcomed with open arms by lovers of classical perfume. The opening is so interesting it's like a mixture between sweet n sour, the power of musk and the warmth of civet, possibly benzoin but with a sharpness too...maybe Labdanum...it's mental. I actually thought the opening 2 mins or so were leaning toward a masculine powder like carnation or a hint of rose, then BANG tuberose. The heart of this scent is a spectacular but crushing, musky tuberose, that renders Maai totally unwearable for me. Tuberose can be really stinky when I'm this kind of quantity but luckily enough some of the other notes stick around to keep it barable. Be warned the deep drydown is all animal stink. I have to say I'm impressed overall but this isn't my cup of tea in the slightest, apart from maybe elements of the opening. Sniff this out I'd recommend fragrance connoisseurs to try this. As you'd expect, projection is insane at first but then settling to very good, so is longevity.

11 years ago

Shams Oud is a real knockout and top marks for creative vision, I can't recall smelling a fragrance like this? Shams opens with the full on might of the rest of this line, definite oud quality with a balsamic warmth and pepper sharpness. This is an onslaught, a total envelopment of quality ingredients like saffron and oud taking on that strange, other worldly smell. The top notes remain and I get a definite spicy sweetness like clove/cinnamon/ginger throughout this fragrance which along with the deep resins and precious woods make Shams oud a very special brew indeed. I only tried this in store first on a card then on my skin, so I need to get a proper sample to wear. However I wrote the review because I was dying to comment on this wonderful stuff. Still far too much money to shell out for one of these and far too much juice in the bottle for me. For the record I do have full test size samples of Moon Leather (not in the database yet), African Leather and maybe a couple of others so I have the opportunity to see if they stack up. My opinion of Memo from what I have tried is pretty high though.

11 years ago

Wow! This fragrance has taken my understanding of vanilla fragrances and totally shaken them up. I expect a double vanilla, thick, dark coloured liquid like essence when I think of a good niche vanilla. Shunkoin has a much more delicate hand though, leading me into the composition very steadily. I mean this fragrance is sweet but very cleverly engineered not to be cloying or curdle with spices out of place in what is quite a sheer and milky context. There's a greenness to the opening which is not unlike that papyrus/sandalwood thing I don't like. This can only be the tea judging by the notes listed here and in combination with a very subtle powder note from iris or orris root. This becomes more apparent as the fragrance goes on. Another thing which surprises me is a lovely almond and coconut smell, a natural partner for vanilla but can go very wrong, the handling here is with care and quality, all hallmarks of Xerjoff. I really like this scent I have to say, if you like powdery understated vanilla then you've come to the right place. Also despite being a very subdued scent by nature it lasted very, very well on my skin to the point I was surprised even suspecting that it got stronger than when first applied.

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11 years ago