Well maybe I spoke too soon about Water Calligraphy being the most feminine thing I own? This is peach! I love peach but it is very hard to pull off for a man and I think this might be one that I can wear! It's a boozy, fuzzy peach which despite the negative comments about this being 'synthetic' and 'over priced' is very natural to me. I'm not an expert on peach but I did grow up in a house of three women who all used peach scented...well everything!!! And I have to say this smells much better and more realistic. It does have a berry vibe too very dark and slight floral and what I thought was a gentle musk and maybe hint of vanilla in the base... Turns out it's tonka according to Fragrantica...I can go with that! It's very Kilian in that it's a little dirty and boozy but sweet and fruity. I have a sweet tooth and I like it. I thought the longevity was poor as it dies down very quickly but actually I could still smell it very faintly on my skin well over 12 hours later.
Easily the most feminine scent I own! I only have a 7.5ml atomizer which I suspect my girlfriend will get more use from than me but hey? Yes this is very familiar and reminiscent of Issey Miyake but for me has a little more finesse. It opens sweet but then the white floral body takes over and it becomes the sort of fragrance I usually don't like but something about this is somehow more mellow? Maybe it's because it's waterlily, Magnolia and Jasmine rather than orange blossom or neroli? This tends to make it sweeter and frankly quite girly but strangely more pleasing on me. Again I'm not someone who conforms to the traditional paradigms of Man/woman fragrance categorization but you have to call it as you see it and that's what I think. Oddly enough I'd wear this though! The couple of wears so far have interesting in that the opening couple of hours aside the dry down smells amazing on me! Just a very clean almost green vetiver with a little floral touch hanging in there... I really like it. Anyone dismissing this fragrance as over priced for what is a common smelling feminine fragrance should expect to be pleasantly suprised after a few wears. The longevity is very good too.
Well Antidote I found you at last! I figured this had been discontinued too as it was difficult to find but I managed to track it down at house of Fraser in Manchester. It was actually suggested to me by the sales assistant who was really pushing it. My verdict then?...well... please not meaning to offend anyone because I know how pretty much universally hated this fragrance is but I think Antidote is initially similar to (dan dant dahhhh!) JOOP HOMME!!!! This being said maybe an unfair comparison because I think I've found the sophisticated alternative to Joop and original santal/Individuel that I've been looking for! Antidote has the cinnamon and vanilla thing sure but it is also massively complex and not just the note breakdown here but to your nose as it changes on the skin. You get sweet floral jasmine a bit of sandalwood and lavender with a deep incense vibe, it's altogether a different animal from the fragrances I've mentioned above. The drydown is pleasant kind of sweet almost gourmand but woody and On a superficial note I really like the clean lines of the bottle and the colour and name of this juice. All in all...a good outing from Viktor and Rolf will probably take a few wears before I commit to adding to the collection.
I've trialed this 'blue' collection extensively now and I held off from reviewing them in the autumn until I got my second set of samples to reserve judgement. I have to say I love them! Blue Santal is a knockout! It's a super fresh but very spicy, peppery opening. The freshness is being supplied by a definite juniper note in there and it combines with the pine to lift a scent that could be too peppery and spicy for some...but do be assured it dries down very softly to a beautiful clean skin scent. The sandalwood is more to the woody/spicy end of the santal spectrum than the sweet creamy end, although that is still there and develops more as it dries down and the pepper moves into the background. I honestly used to love sandalwood but recently I've gone off it a bit, maybe it's due to a lack of interesting combinations of notes to accompany it who knows? Anyway this has restored my faith as it truly has that alpine fresh coolness with a warming familiar woodiness and it is WOODY...Blue Santal is awesome!!! I'm wearing it today and I feel that I smell great. These Comme des garcons have excellent longevity too I got about 8-10 hours yesterday from Blue encens(okay with a very liberal application but still!) and this looks to be performing just as well.
The review below nails it really, except I don't feel there's a great deal missing here...I really enjoyed Blue Encens. Some other reviews are a little harsh on this one and if Blue Encens is Comme des garcon doing a 'fresh... aquatic' then they've succeeded in making a highly original one. I can just about see why someone might think that it does have a slight aquatic feel but it's more of a warm spicy amber to me. Cardamom is very present in the opening and something slightly sweet(whatever the incense consists of maybe?)and warm against a backdrop of amber. It's that amber warmth and the pepper which makes me think of Prada Luna Rossa Extreme. I first tried these in the summer(before LRE was even out) but got a little confused by the similar bottles now I have samples of each so I can review them properly. Longevity is acceptable and projection is soft but present. Personally I love this!
Dry, woody, slightly smokey incense and vetiver I'm a big fan of this fragrance. It opens with a heavy spice of caraway and nutmeg which sits nicely on top of a clean manly composition. Comme de Garcons entire range is impressive, well the ones I've tried anyway. It's not just dry and woody it has a definite saffron note in the heart and develops nicely in the drydown to a sort of leathery, earthy wood. Thoroughly enjoyable and masculine scent which has a wear-ability about it if you like a good spicy fragrance get this!
Well...Comme des garcons 2 is a really interesting fragrance in that it smells very oriental and does have distinct light and shade. This is the intention in the brief and I think Mark Buxton nailed it...Can't believe it's been out since 1999 and I'm only just getting my nose on it now. It's a complex affair a mixture of aldehyde and sweet floral notes apparently magnolia which I don't usually like but it comes across well in the opening. This is mixed with mandarin, it's lovely if not a little on the feminine side but in no way unwearably so. As I sniff through that and I get tea and incense which makes for an interesting balance against the sweet floral beginning and gives this a calming vibe. Not sure what ink smells like?...I'd like to think I do sort of know but I don't really get it in here. That being said I get the watery, calming, zen vibe and can imagine calligraphy and floral Japanese gardens with lilly ponds and all that good stuff so again I think 2 nails the brief! If you don't like sweet or aldehyde fragrances I would advise you to steer clear. The drydown gets decidedly woodier on my skin and really settles down nicely I'd say almost like ceder and vetiver earthy but clean and still sweet from the florals. A great complex fragrance (even more so than I've mentioned) where each note comes together brilliantly also has excellent staying power and fairly good projection. Comme des garcon 2 is a perfectly unisex sweet, woody, floral it's 'Floriental' I'd say...and a very good one.
Wow!!!! I tried 6 fragrances from this house and while they were all magnificent 2 (oddly) really stood out for me and this is one of them. I say 'oddly' because I was not expecting the fresher more fruity/citrus end of the spectrum to tickle my fancy as much as 'Explorer' and 'Adventuress' did. It maybe because I'm used to resinous, spicy, warm and Oud scents in this price range or maybe I have half an eye on spring/summer juices now but I certainly didn't think I'd be looking to fork out on a niche juice of this sort. The first thing that strikes you about this brand is the bottles (flacons...whatever!?) they are spectacular!!! I mean they look great in the photos here and you kind of know what to expect but when you see them an feel the weight you can't help but be impressed with the almost Game of thrones like, kind of ye olde, celtic styling. Just from a collection point of view these are stunning but the juice inside(from the few I've tried) matches the care and attention taken to the presentation. Boadicea the victorious has real calibre and this fragrance totally blew me away to be honest...I love it. The opening is gorgeous fruity and the strange sweetness of labdanum and orris but as it settles becomes very dry and resinous with an kind of earthy spice to it. I can't say I've encountered anything like it. Explorer shimmered in the drydown changing slightly to a ambery, fir like vibe very interesting. Projection not huge and longevity is good enough for me but you'd expect it to be very long lasting at this price.
I got my girlfriend to try this first as I suspected it would be nice and I was correct in my assumption. I managed to get a sample and tried it on my skin too. Typical Chanel really, wonderfully understated but maybe a little too much so for the striking black bottle and name. In other words nothing dark or sexy about this fragrance at all really, It's quite lightweight. I was expecting dark thick, chocolately patchouli and tonka bean, with the fresh slightly floral notes and something similar to Black Orchid. Instead the patchouli is floral and light with a mixture of woody creamy notes of sandalwood and a slightly balmy, musky, rose with sweet floral and citrus notes in the opening. The drydown is a nice soft powdery patchouli/vanilla. Coco Noir delivers a complexity which comes over as effortless which is a huge positive. It's a great fragrance, technically well executed... I mean what else did I expect from Chanel? Well I was expecting the possibility of being able to wear it myself which I can't... not because I couldn't pull it off, I simply don't like it enough. This sums it up for me... The shop assistant said "It's luminous isn't it?" and my girlfriend quickly and politely responded "yes...yes it is!" I said "Nah...not really?" I just didn't think "Luminous" was an appropriate adjective to describe it but it's definitely not dark, or sexy or 'noir' enough for my liking, so maybe she was right?
Wasn't fond of the original Attitude but I was prompted by a fragrantica member to give it another chance. This version has slightly stronger spice of cardamom and anise but I would prefer moreand is a bit deeper in base notes. To me though it's quite a flat fragrance, not bad but not really good either and as such have changed my vote of dislike (for extreme & original) to like. (more realistically 'Meh') Opens with lemon and then grows into a patchouli/amber thing and what is listed as coffee here and I suppose it is. The problem I have with Attitude Extreme is... it's just a bland fragrance that could be great if the notes were rebalanced and made more daring and spicy. Unfortunately that wouldn't necessarily make for a good crowd pleasing unit shifter...which is what it is inoffensive and slighty more intense than the original.
Okay so sometimes you just have to concede that your tastes have changed or are so varied that you reject things you used to wear off hand...Kouros is one of these. It's strange that I wore what is quite a grown up manly fragrance in my teens and yet now in my 30's I don't have all that many masculine beasts in my wardrobe. I've not owned a bottle in several years and my memory of it in the 90's is pretty strong as it's the kind of scent that leaves a lasting impression. Anyway as soon as I revisited this classic I got all same feelings coming back which indicated to me that if it has been reformulated, it's not all that different. I have to admit that I'm not generally a fan of overly animistic or musky fragrances unless they have finesse and Kouros definitely has that. As fresh, interesting, complex, masculine and as relevant today as it was when released...I'm honestly considering wearing this again. Not going to say much more as there's some great passionate reviews about this one but longevity and projection are massive and my favourite elements of the composition are the strong oakmoss and leathery, powdery, musky drydown with the slightest hint of honey. Kouros is great!
I've never understood the overstatement of how musky and animal this fragrance is? If you are offended by Kouros I really don't think you've experienced many strong animalics or floral musks, because some of those really do warrant the fecal comments. I'm not of course referring to the current formulation which is a pale and slightly sad glimpse of the original, but it still smells fairly good and vaguely similar...while it lasts. No, I'm talking as someone who owned bottles in the 90's and 2000's and have always thoroughly enjoyed the stuff, without it being considered a favourite. I always figured I liked more flamboyant fragrances like Fahrenheit and these others in my wardrobe (when I had a much smaller collection) were just there as standard masculine fodder or filler, that all men should have. So I was overjoyed to find a popular, British Youtube reviewer has started a sample service and has a few good oldies on the books, one of which is a 1984 Kouros. I had to indulge and I could clearly smell it on the bag it arrived in, before I even opened it, bringing back great memories for me. However, if I'm honest the power of Kouros isn't important, it's the subtlety. I love the warm, animal civet smell left behind even though it's a little skanky and I hate fragrances like Amouage Gold which is pretty similar in spirit to Kouros. I think the crucial difference is that Gold is potently floral and mega powdery, making the clean, cleaner and the dirty even dirtier, because the civet in that is putrid, whereas here it's just manly and kinda comforting. I also get that sweaty cumin being heated smell, which when in the context of this fragrance... just works. Truth is I'd forgotten just how good the old formulation is, I hope designer perfumes have a true renaissance, maybe some IFRA guidelines change and allow for the resurgence of greats like Kouros.
I'd have to say that the opening of this fragrance is the best of the Zen's in my opinion. It's a fresh blast of Yuzu and mint but still with the pear note from the original...lovely. Zen sun smells really nice but not much in the way of progression in this fragrance though and the drydown is soft much like the others but it didn't quite have the longevity for me. Great summer fresh scent that is a good option for those who like designer fragrances but want something slightly out of the ordinary.
It's taken me a long time to finally revisit Guerlain Heritage So much so that I'd completely forgotten what it smelled like. Good is what! Very distinctive and complex yet effortless in it's composition, just a Guerlain throughout really. Floral and fruity notes in the top are fresh and the calming vibe or lavender gives way to a warmer heart of sandalwood with a kind of musky, oakmossy, woody drydown. A blend of classic 'male' type florals too such as carnation which I'm not overly fond of but are well handled in this scent. A great fragrance then... and something which I think everyman should aspire to wear at some point. A must for my collection a little sweet, powdery, creamy, floral and woody.
Just bought it and it smells fantastic. It's chique, it has an understated elegance to it and it expresses a manly and refind, seductive man but not to much ...
This is now my signature fragrence for over 4 years. I love it, it reminds me of style, a sense of graciousness (or whatever I should call it, you don't come across it very often and that makes it a winner allot of times. My girlfriend is practicly in love whit the sent. On my skin it isn't soapy or harsh, but it's just the right amount of incense and lemon that I need to make it work it's magic. In my opinion it's a scent that you can wear every day in every situation at every time of the year, a winner in every way possible and just something else. (i'm sorry for the many errors in my text.)
Okay so being thoroughly underwhelmed by the original I thought I'd better try this one and guilty black just to check I hadn't just dismissed the entire range off hand. First of all this fragrance is pleasant, very pleasant indeed I love the lemony sherbet opening and subdued gentleness of this fragrance, I can see why it would be a good crowd pleaser as to me at least, it's the dictionary definition of 'inoffensive'. It is VERY similar to Zegna Forte to me but lacking in one crucial area.... depth! Forte has more of a Tonka/tobacco/honey thing and this takes it a level above Guilty intense but other than that massively similar. The drydown of the Gucci just gets lemony softer and more powdery and longevity is poor and projection is non existent really stays close...where as the Zegna has a much deeper more sensual dry down and is by no means a beast but lasts a little longer. Basically if you like this fragrance and the original (which I do to an extent) but want something yet more 'intense' check out Zegna Forte.
Can't wait to get my hands on this! Fahrenheit has been a huge part of my life and although Dior have made some good flankers which have proved that you don't necessarily need the 'gasoline' smell none of them have surpassed the original. I was briefly charmed by Absolute and honestly thought I preferred it for a while but I can't get over my love affair with the original and non of them come close. I'm hoping this one amazes me, the note breakdown is interesting I think liquorice will accompany violet really well...I'm excited!
Got it!!!! Had to do it. Instantly loved it...has all the charm of the original for me with some complimentary new notes. The violet accord of the original blasts forth in the opening and you do get a definite rum vibe too but it's not as prominent to me as some reviewers have mentioned. La Parfum is also fruity almost berry like smell long into the dry down. A dry down which consists of a very elegant leather and vanilla combination which is fantastic but I also detect amber too! I don't really get the liquorice...maybe a little? It's the vanilla which is subtle but does enough to give a different smoother character to a scent which is strong, sweet and boozy but never over does it due to an excellent composition. As soon as my girlfriend smelled it she said "That's a 'YOU' fragrance." And my time of wearing Fahrenheit frequently was long before we met so she must've picked up on my tastes by now. I think it is a 'YOU' (me) kind of fragrance due to the fact it smells very classy and high end, not that the other Fahrenheit flankers don't but this one really announces itself! Projection & longevity are really good and I'm so glad I've got Fahrenheit Parfum in my life because it has the familiarity of an old friend with a enough of a revamped twist to keep me interested.
The more I wear this the more I get the cumin and coriander, dry spice against the sweet lush violet and elegant leather and soft vanilla this scent is so good. That spiciness could be what's putting many off this but I find it a welcome addition to Fahrenheit's note repertoire.
Hhahah! Nice review Scentedgent I was expecting them both to get erotic until they ended so abruptly. ;)
Woah! Can't wait to try this sounds bizarre!!! You gotta love any fragrance with a pistachio note. The combination of tobacco and salty notes with mint in an aquatic fragrance could be a complete disaster...doesn't sound right does it? Could be a triumph though and has to be better than the other Cool water flankers which have been abysmal. (except the unpopular Hot water which IMO is awesome!)
I don't know what it is about some of the new fragrances I've tried recently but Night Dive has the same insipid quality! I don't know why a cool water flanker now has this heavy clunky feel and a lack of originality. I honestly thought the note breakdown seemed interesting as you can see from my pre-review below. The opening is very much a complex, sea like slightly salty feel which attempts to transition into a sexy feel of tobacco in the heart. The tobacco note is not that pronounced but still quite nice, just doesn't work that well for me and it sadly becomes a bit of a creamy wash out. Night Dive is reminiscent of Versace Eros, which is also complex but totally dissatisfying. A vanilla and tonka feeling, nondescript woods and aquatic slighty fruity scent. From that description you might be able to tell that Davidoff threw too many flavours at Night Dive and as a result have ended up with something generic. Again don't get me wrong it'll probably sell well and is perfectly wearable for most and certainly not as bad as 'The Game' flanker which was just plain awful! I mentioned it has it's moments, the tobacco warmth is quite pleasant but untimately unrewarding in the end as the longevity is poor too. The best Cool Water flanker ever is Hot Water a sexy underrated scent for the evening.
Well done and hats off to Dior and Francois Demachy for making a rose/oud scent that is unique in an evermore crowded market place. It's a little unfair to call it trite as admittedly the rose/oud combo has been done to death but I think the patchouli and sandalwood in this become more prominent as it settled on my skin. This does enough to make it distinctive. Opens with a rose that is a bit too much for my taste but soon subsides to reveal the patchouli and dense oud. It's very opulent, strong yet refined at the same time, Oud Ispahan is very nice indeed. Having said that I'm not keen enough to wear it and have very specific needs in a rose fragrance ie: it has to strike the precise right balance. So Oud Ispahan didn't blow me away and it certainly isn't as bold as the other Oud fragrance from this collection but definitely worth a sniff.
My review of Pour Monsieur (The original) was very short and sweet and didn't offer a great deal of insight due to me only wearing it a couple of times from a sample I had a few years back. I had been looking for this Concentree for a while as they're usually said to be much better (Egoiste for example) but I'm not sure. Okay so this starts out from memory, very similar to Pour Monsieur in that it has a lemony citrus top which is actually slightly less sharp than the original. Lemon is not listed in the notes here which is surprising and could potentially be a mixture with other fruit and petitgrain for example which gives a slightly different character. My nose can detect the difference but not what's causing it...if you get me? A little spice, cardamom and resin in the heart as it settles maybe some vetiver? it's clean and pleasant. As it dries down the main player is oakmoss, for me the oakmoss makes this scent what it is... Masculine. I think mature but fresh is a good way to describe it. The oakmoss can also could be perceived as dated because of this but I think Pour Monsieur Concentree strikes a very good balance which gives it a timeless quality and definitely has the classy well blended feel of classic Chanel fragrance. Chanel will never be one of my favourite houses but having said that I own (or have owned)and enjoy many of their fragrances. When I think about it there's only Anateus that I don't enjoy (and even that intrigues me still!) so really they're not doing too badly. Longevity is good on this one on my skin and the projection is subtle and classy but I think people who get close will smell you.
Love this. I have a mini from 1991 and it's different from the current version and the original EDT. But is it significant enough to warrant finding an old bottle? This has the classic lemony scent but not that of the EDT it's fresh but creamy and rounded also from the get go, with a soft greeness, reminiscent of Balmain and Rochas classic cologne/green type fragrances. It has those mossy notes in the opening but it's by no means a proper oakmoss, masculine fragrance....It's very Chanel, very retrained. I get a creamed wood base I associate with sandalwood (or at least sandalwood AC's) but it could cedar and definitely vanilla, lending that milky sweetness. I really like it. I would perhaps seek out a full size vintage bottle but I know without looking it will be pricey, and as nice as it is, Pour Monsieur Concentree EDT doesn't make me desperately yearn for it. Really enjoying revisiting this one today though.
My initial reaction to the opening was one of surprise because it wasn't quite what I'd expected...not sure what it was that I'd anticipated but hey? Maybe it was the bottle design which I think is really cool. It's kinda chunky, heavy, compact and grenade like...maybe a futuristic angular tear gas but reminds me of V&R Spicebomb in any case. So back to what it smells like...unique is what! It's genuine complex and unexpected because I've found other Ferragamo's I've tried disappointingly ordinary and generic at best! This one is different though it opens with a very gentle musky, fruity mandarin vibe which then quickly reveals some spices, cardamom being the most prominent. I definitely detected the saffron in here although its delicate I always seem to pick up on it. No surprises in the dry down just standard really. It's a difficult one to call as the notes are not easily deciphered but you know what that means? Well it can mean two polar opposite things....Genius or poorly conceived. Luckily in this case it is the former. It's strange because my girlfriend loved it at first and if I'm honest so did I. Despite this I have a weird feeling that I could grow to become indifferent about it or just barely wear it. More suited to spring and summer I'd say. Attimo is elegant stuff well put together and certainly the best thing I've tried from this designer.
Okay so it's about time I commented on this classic juice which I did own a small bottle of in my youth and don't get me wrong I wasn't a huge fan even then(I think my sister bought it for me?) but I never remembered being so vile! Maybe my tastes have changed dramatically I don't know? I can usually handle sweetness and the oriental sweet/spicy combo of cinnamon (one of my favourite notes) especially with a creamy element of vanilla to it Joop Homme should be something that appeals to me. Unfortunately, I really don't like it, even the small bottle I had in the 90's never got used in it's entirety before being lost in a house move or something? No one note in this offends me...quite the opposite actually but the composition is somehow wrong and unpleasant. That just about sums it up really...utterly forgettable stuff apart from the strikingly gaudy pinky/purple juice of course. If you want a fragrance that does something similar and to me is a perfect example of the right way to combine cinnamon/sandlewood/vanilla then I'd go for Mont Blanc Individuel. Okay, when I say I don't enjoy Joop Homme or use words like 'vile' maybe that's harsh because it is okay on others when applied sparingly but I have to think 'would I wear it?' (and bare in mind I'm pretty liberal and not that fussy about what I do wear in the main) and upon revisiting it after years I have concluded that I wouldn't. Projection & Longevity are silly on this one too and the opening is worse than the drydown but it seems to open for hours it really is no nonsense juice this.
Nothing to dislike here really! Straight up citrus and a clean slightly green vetiver in there with average staying power and pleasant drydown. Not bad...but lost in the crowd.
Luckily I have two stores local to me and the one I frequented NEVER has this in stock...but the other one does so I finally got it! Eau des baux is a wonderful spicy balsamic which has the rough texture of spicy pepper perfectly balanced with the smoothness of tonka and vanilla. I can't understand the note votes on here as to me tonka bean is dominant throughout. This being said the cypress is very evident in the opening it is bright, sappy and herbal. This scent is amazing due to the clearness of all the notes you get pepper and cardamom throughout too with a constant base of tonka and vanilla. I think the other notes conjure a slight smokey incense vibe but incense is composed from lots of ingredients which may already be accounted for, so I can't say it's all that evident. Eau des baux's warmth is supplied by the base notes really and I would say it's like a more masculine, spicier version of something like Van Cleef and Arpels Midnight in Paris....Or maybe a little closer to Lanvin Avant Garde? Something with lots of Tonka bean anyway! I'm not surprised this fragrance is inspired by medieval roots it definitely smells that way due to the simple but satisfying combination of notes. So just a great fragrance really across the board and quite manly I think great for autumn and winter. While they don't make anything that blows me away, I've discovered you just can't go wrong with L'Occitane.
