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450

Farmacia SS. Annunziata

houdini

Am I losing the plot here or what? Bois d'Argent? Two comparisons here and I don't think it smells anything like it. 450 has a delicious opening of sweet, sticky, amazing gourmand vibes and musk... Really it smells caramel like to me with a hint of powdery iris. This scent is all about amber for me, a straight up dusty amber accord which is balanced up not to be too sweet and compliment the other notes. I wouldn't have said this is a floral fragrance more of an oriental amber which smells edible to me. I love it, I have to say. First scent from this house and they're off to a blinder!

12 years ago

I look at the notes for this and think 'How did it go wrong?' but unfortunately it does. Something fundamentally wrong with the composition in my opinion, like a mixture of oriental and fougere type elements. I think the deep, boozy powder doesn't mix with the fir and lavender in fact the combo is strange. The opening is very nice and doesn't really hint at what it's going to drydown to, it's bergamot, fir and feels classic and masculine. Then the drydown is...well a bit of a let down. I get a tonka bean type creaminess, musk and lavender which just feels a bit done and reminds me of lots of fragrances. I hate to naysay this fragrance because it's okay and I could understand it having appeal but Frank fragrances are very average affairs from the two I've tried. Not daring enough to catch my attention I'm afraid.

12 years ago

Can't get around the fact that I like this fragrance it has that Herbal essences shampoo (not that I've smelled it in years) vibe to it. Angelic seed, floral notes...it's pretty nondescript to me, it has a freshness but I can't say I get mint from it? The opening is a juicy realisic orangey/bergamot to me but that doesn't last long before the shampoo comes on strong. It's a very clean smell and doesn't offend me but couldn't wear this as it's not what I define as fine fragrance.

12 years ago

Tzora is a mixture of earthy, herbal notes combined with a clean and masculine focus. Opens with bergamot and a strong blast of musk as the fragrance settles down it's all about the woody notes of cedar and vetiver but mainly vetiver. It's a peppery mixture too and the blend of bitter citrus notes coupled with the vetiver which smells very similar to two fragrances I own and enjoy...Terre d'Hermes and L'artisan perfumer Timbuktu. This is great stuff but not for everyone as it is to me anyway, quintessentially masculine. Longevity is a little disappointing but I will reserve judgement for the next time I wear it...I like the smell at least a faithful vetiver.

12 years ago

This is crazy stuff a concentrated effort in perfumery to evoke quite a sickly and (I suspect) acquired taste of a smell. It really does smell like bubblegum folks...the opening is quite the sweet shop explosion! It'll have you wondering 'where does the Chic come into this equation?' Well I'll tell you.... the synthetic smelling candy sweetness then becomes positively identifiable as tuberose and jasmine in a strong concentration which at first comes across undilute and chemical but then changes to naturally floral. This balance is maintained but flip flops back n forth. I like this kind of white floral but there's no chance I'd ever wear it.

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12 years ago

Comme Des Garcons Series 2 Red: Harissa

Comme des Garcons

houdini

Bam!!! Harissa opens with a stong, soapy powder of miscellaneous cleaning products which sounds bad right? However my experience of fragrances tells me that this is the effect of not seeing the wood for the trees and these usually make for complex and unusual perfume. Harissa certainly didn't disappoint on that front, bags of character then developed, such as the tomato vibe which reminded me of Blood Concept a little. The exception being that this composition has a warm breeze of spices which are harder to pin point although I swear I can smell the myrrh of palisander here too especially in the drydown. I'm at the drydown right now and honestly I can't stop sniffing myself. The tomato vibe has become less vegetable now and it's just a lovely soft scent. Again the longevity is average projection is a low skin scent, there's definitely a time and a place for scents like this. Like when you want to enjoy them yourself without others even catching wind of them. Once again another wear would be beneficial to suss out exactly what is going on. Verdict is good from me...Comme des Garcons are such a cool house!

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12 years ago

Comme Des Garcons Series 2 Red: Palisander

Comme des Garcons

houdini

The mixture of spices in Palisander perfectly conjures up a hot opening of cinnamon & clove. Due to the fact neither are present I have to put this down to the combo of saffron and spiced pepper notes. The sweet nature of myrrh comes out as it dries down further to reveal the rosewood base. One word for this fragrance...Knockout! I absolutely love the combination of sweet, dry and hot in this woody fragrance it's a really lovely thing and CDG seem to have these odd incense type vibes down to a tee. I find it to be more masculine due to the pimento and woods but it's one of those that is a bit of a oddball and as a result... very much unisex. The downside is the longevity which is tolerable because it lasts okay but goes down to a very low humming skin scent, and quite quickly too. The verdict is a resounding thumbs up from me although I'm not sure it's bottle worthy, needs another wear I think.

12 years ago

I finally got to try the enigmatic and illusive Black Agano! I've literally tried everything from Nasomatto except the hugely (in)famous Black Afgano. Illusive? Surely not? You may think due to it being massively popular, however I have been a victim of that popularity by not being able to get it anywhere due to it being sold out! It's not that I couldn't find it anywhere, sure there where places online but I couldn't justify a blind buy on such an expensive juice, without trying it first. I pretty much knew I would love it but always had doubts in my mind when reading and watching numerous reviews saying it smelled like 'play doh' and other bizarre and frightening things. As soon as I applied it I got a waft of MY signature accord and my fears melted away instantly. Believe the hype! Black Afgano is everything I love about fragrance, truly it's almost perfect...a sublime masterpiece. I really hate to gush like this but it was love at first sniff. Opens with a woody oud note, deep calming then a host of resinous beauty. The top notes are very similar to Myrrhe imperialé from Armani, infact it's similar throughout this fragrance. It's very slightly different with a more woody nature, less sharp with labdanum perhaps? I get the Mary Jane thing but if you're expecting a hugely earthy, or sweet green weed note prepare to be disappointed. It not sticky buds or somekind of modern ICE solid or something more that BA has a hint of a spicy moroccan hashish about it and reminds me of my days as a smoker...but only very slightly mind you. Black Afgano is about the smell of sharpness labdanum, resins, benzoin, myrrh etc...but with a softness nearly gourmand quality and Oud. The drydown is spectacular, deep long lasting and addictive. Longevity and projection are legendary what you'd expect from extrait de parfum and have certainly lived up to the hype in my experience. I have Myrrhe imperiale which I find very similar and usually I would think I have this base covered but I'd buy this anyway...that's how good it is!

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12 years ago

Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir

Versace

houdini

I was in two minds at this fragrance at first not because it's a lean toward niche fragrance from a designer house or that it's jumping on the Oud bandwagon after it's been flavour of the month. I had no preconceptions in that regard the reason I was dubious was the opening, which doesn't knock you out it's very subtle spicy type vibe. A definite Oud in here from the get go but with fresh and bitter top notes and cardamom. I kinda feared it would develop into TF Oud wood a fragrance I don't care for. It is a little like that to begin with but then after a moment becomes NOTHING LIKE IT! Really this is a lovely, lovely Oud fragrance gentle, addictive, cerebral, slightly spicy it's wonderful! To be honest I was blown away and after no prior knowledge of this fragrance or it's notes I got three main elements, starts out Oud & cardamom and pepper, then the heart patchouli comes through more prominently then the drydown is a soft patchouli and mellow, woody Oud & saffron. Oh by the way the Oud & saffron vibe is present throughout and reminds me of a Kew gardens candle which is soooo gentle for those who like the less medicinal, softer edge of Oud. Good longevity, projection is soft but it's there and will be smelled, I love it super high quality smells very expensive. I thought I was over Oud (to an extent) but this fragrance really makes me want a bottle because it's so wearable and makes me sniff it in and exhale a sigh of satisfaction...the true sign of a great fragrance.

12 years ago

Vanilla Marble is insanely sweet and intensely gourmand. The opening is a wave of coconut, liquor and suncream type vibes reminds me of summer, it's heavy exotic if not a little synthetic. It's amazing how different almond can come across because here yet again it's strong a coconutty. Reminds me of a vanilla candle with a hint of floral sweetness from tiare flower...don't get anything else. My natural reaction was to like it in the opening because it's so sickly sweet and strong but yet again I couldn't wear this plasticy lotion type smell because it would cloy heavily. good longevity and projection though and if you like um sweet and playful as they come then this is the scent for you.

12 years ago

Super powdery musky opening, a fabric softner type vibe with a heavy touch of woods as it dries down the oud becomes apparent. I think the 'floral notes' are a mixture but there's definitely rose in there, it smells high quality but again not my scene at all. It's okay but I wouldn't wear perfume like this.

12 years ago

What on earth is the Flacon all about? Agonist have some really interesting bottles which are matched by the juice. This is a complex mixture which has a lovely black currant note which is warm for a change. A lavender top note which fades, Then nice vague florals which are kinda sweet and exotic and a slightly creamy heart of tonka and then dries down to patchouli. Nothing earthy or dirty about the patchouli it's handled perfectly, balance is the name of the game here. The infidel hasn't blown me away but it's another interesting and highly wearable scent from Agonist.

12 years ago

Comme des Garcons certainly know their incense and heady meditative woods. I was really looking forward to this having become a real fan of hinoki wood recently after familiarizing myself with the note. It's a soft woody/citrus type smell which is really gorgeous. Hinoki is what I expected in that it's a perfect note to build this kind of accord upon. Superbly woody, with the freshness of cedar, pine, cypress and my favourite... frankincense. Stunning, clean and hits the mark to me evoking the oriental vibes of a Buddhist temple crossed with and a Scandinavian forrest. Longevity (which is okay) and projection are not that great (in fact poor) but still Highly recommended.

12 years ago

Intoxicatingly strong opening of atomic almond which doesn't settle down into smelling like almond until the drydown. It's like a ultra gourmand, MEGA, MEGA powdery scent which is an interesting outing but a super weird choice of fragrance in my opinion. The iris note is pronounced and when in this context just adds to the existing powdery amber and almond...which doesn't give enough balance IMO. It puts me in mind of similar scents from Etat Libre d'Orange like La fin du Monde or the recent Valentino Uomo the main exception being they both go in different directions and have better balance and less intensity overall. I feel Alba is over the top, a lovely smell but too strong and cloying. Undeniably quality juice here again from profumum and the longevity refelects that.

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12 years ago

CoSTUME NATIONAL

houdini

CoSTUME NATIONAL 21 is a complex, creamy slightly dirty amber. It's smooth, not a sharp or sweet nose burning amber type fragrance, more powdery than anything. There's a little hint of spices in the opening prehaps from saffron and pepper? It's a really nice opening too, complicated and exciting. The main spice is cumin and it takes a moment to develop as it settles down. I like this scent, because it's a real amber accord not like Scent or Scent Intense which to me is not a typical amber despite what other people say on here. 21 does it's own thing and is not like the rest of the stuff from this house which tends to be cool, fruity, musky and a bit odd. I lost this fragrance in the middle somewhere, it's just not my thing, the major decision I make when it comes to fragrance is 'Would I wear it?' and sadly this is not one I have any desire to wear. Still good stuff though.

12 years ago

To me this fragrance is quite floral with a gentle spicy edge. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to my second try. Bois bourbon is a boozy opening accented by saffron and cinnamon. The heart of the fragrance to me is woody and floral, the notes of heliotrope, lavender and rose are so complimentary and unified that they create a vague but sweet bouquet. It's reminiscent of dried flowers with lavender pot pouri. The birch coming through with a tar like smoke and backbone to it sets this off perfectly and although all that floral business smells nice the earthy woods make it wearable for folks who enjoy the more masculine notes. Actually as it dries down there's a turkish delight type rose note which develops which is velvety smooth and makes for a pretty lovely dry down...I'm enjoying it more and more. Good projection and longevity. All in all not bad and completes a very interesting collection of fragrances from Luckyscent.

12 years ago

Wow!!! I'm in love. This fragrance hit me like a arrow straight from cupids bow. Labdanum! a princely, opulent slap in the face of resinous beauty I knew right away this was going to be special. Then tart glimpses of another of my favourite notes...rhubarb! Apparently? I'll go with that... It's not the biggest but there's something like that in the opening. Then the heart starts to get really gourmand it goes from a gorgeous almondy/white chocolate thing to a wheaty, milky kind of smell. Then the spice element starts to reign that sweetness in giving a bit of a savoury spicy feel. Complex, warm and base heavy vibes finish off a dream fragrance for me... Nuit Epicee is magic! It's a minor shame the drydown is not as good as that superb opening...infact probably my FAVOURITE OPENING EVER! Gorgeous, amazingly long lived, easy 12hr+ and subtle sillage which gives you a nice little breeze every now and again. I'm stunned by this stuff, darkly gourmand, woody, resinous a bit like two other favourites of mine Armani Myrrhe imperial and Nasomatto Black Afgano but with an edible twist! Brilliant!!!!

12 years ago

Cereza review below is spot on and absolutely mirrors my own thoughts...before I've even expressed them in writing. You really do have to love papyrus and sadly I don't, it's such an odd watery note and often paired with sandalwood which is a bit like watering down milk. I immediately thought about Le Labo's santal 33 for this combo but luckily this is slightly more enjoyable in the opening...but less so on the whole. I think it delivers the pyramid of notes in the exact order stated here. The hint of elemi and ginger (ginger I don't get a great deal TBH)then the heart comes on quickly with masses of papyrus and a subdued incense. The sandalwood builds thoughout and makes for a pleasant drydown but the papyrus is pretty relentless and just not to my taste at all. It's a shame because I like sandalwood a lot it's just that it can vary massively and I'd rather it be surrounded by sweet & warm notes. Oh I get the yoga, east meets west link here...however tenuous.

12 years ago

Just to crystallize exactly what is going on here, Lys du Desert is a culmination of two fragrances for me and was probably created with their popularity in mind. I'm a keen lover of dance music, specifically Drum n Bass and this sort of thing reminds me of the remix culture in dance music. The art of refreshing or more aptly in this case, sometimes an artist has two tracks that adhere to a very particular sound. Then then make a mash up of these two tracks which then becomes its own entity. This is exactly what has happened here. hmmmmm...I wonder if you can tell from the name? Yes it's ...L'air du Desert Marocain crossed with another Tauer perfume L'eau D'epices. This mixture effectively creates the smell of Creed Royal English Leather or Knize Ten. And I've only just (this minute as I write this) noticed the perfumer responsible is Andy Tauer....How silly of me for not realizing! Kind of destroys the idea that Luckyscent really worked hard to create a perfume to 'Represent LA'. I know a lot of these briefs are meaningless when you like the fragrance (and I do) but I kinda enjoy the romantic idea that perfumery is art and as such the artists actually try to give their craft some meaning. Quite simply the top notes are a spicy waft of creamy warm spices of LDDM then it turns into the sweet ambergris of L'eau D'epices. Then the drydown sort of seesaws between them becoming an exact mixture of those two elements, heavy intoxicating amber then slightly floral and light breeziness. I'll be honest...It's wonderful. I wasn't quite convinced by L'eau epices but this reigns that accord back a little and becomes more like Tauers other creations. Real quality, Good subtle sillage, strong but not intrusive and expected longevity. If you like Tauer and the two aforementioned scents then you can't go wrong with this one.

12 years ago

So Montecristo is as funky as James Brown or Bootsy Collins... but not in a good way. Don't be fooled by how small and cute that Hyrax thing looks the musk from it is potent! The opening of Montecristo is especially potent with animal vibes which turn me (and my stomach) off straight away. The saving grace of this fragrance is that as it dries down the animal qualities become a little bit warmer, cuddlier and more mild. This is the opposite of my experience of civet/castoreaum etc... which normally develop more and more after the top/heart notes have long faded away. That doesn't however make up for the intrusive harsh opening. It's complex I'll give it that and definitely has interesting depth underneath the unpleasantness which keeps it interesting, and personally kept me sniffing. Tobacco is there that kind of fecal cuban cigar note, a bit of sharpness from resin, warmth and deep woody notes. Not my thing at all but worth checking out if you enjoy animalic scents. Update 27/03/24 Wow! What a fuckin' dick'ed I was ten years ago hey?? I said all this while liking the strange, sweaty freshness of Declaration and the filthy, chypre, powder of Rochas Femme, crazy then that I would be so turned off by this. I mean it's not really fecal or pissy at all, I get the hyraceum still and the general animalics mainly in the top, the drydown is actually very cuddly (which in fairness reflects my original review) the aspect I did miss was the amber and it's an alternative amber, like a piece with a mosquito trapped inside with a side of sweet rum n coke. It's a really nice balance of sweet earthy and animalic. I like it more a decade on.

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12 years ago

Complex

Boadicea the Victorious

houdini

I love leather scents and complexity (which the name offers) I'm also a huge fan of Boadicea the victorious but this stuff is truly atrocious! Complex is an abomination! I like to think I've broadened my olfactory horizons as much as possible now and I except some wacky juice but this is hideous! Awful, animal smell which I suppose is leathery but also herbal, smokey and thoroughly unusual. Oud, incense type resins and florals are present but seem to contribute to the perfect storm that is complex. I enjoy some hideously animal leathers too like Dior's Oud leather but this simply just doesn't work! I was really unlucky on the day I first tried this as I selected two fragrances to try on each wrist. The other was Masque Milano Montecristo which is a horribly animalic fragrance and Complex made that seem tolerable and almost nice. The silage and Longevity is UNBELIEVABLE it works it's way deep into your skin while creating a silage cloud at the same time. Needless to say it's not for me. Update: Have to say that upon further investigation and although I'm still not 100% on board...'hideous' was going a little far perhaps. The resins in this are of the highest quality and as such have an uber 'antique' vibe, very dusty, very smoky and full of character...like a broth or consommé absolutely packed full to the brim with flavour. Worth a second try because the earthiness of this is slightly more appealing this time around and the dryddown is almost pleasant but still not quite my thing. Boadicea is still one of my favourite houses, amazing quality and innovation among their vast range.

12 years ago

You will struggle to find a finer citrus than Acqua Viva. Many of the reviews here are absolutely spot on, especially @Estebanz. A real journey of an opening with citrus from sharp lemon/grapefruit settling to zesty peel which smells super real, natural and accurate. A citrus smell which is complex within itself and even changes slightly over the first few minutes. At this point I'll just say I'm not typically one to get excited about citrus but this is really worth the gushing praise. Now then, I was expecting the waxy nature of white florals like neroli to develop at this point because that is my experience of 'high end' niche citrus fragrances bases and heart notes. I think they use them a) because they do compliment fruits and citrus and b) because they turbo charge the longevity. To my utter surprise nothing developed except a gorgeous woody accord and even the tiniest hint of smoke. It's very subtle fresh incense type vibe like olibanum, maybe coming from the cypress or cedar? but it's of the highest quality and a welcome addition to a fresh summer fragrance. This is a masterful citrus aromatic a truly awesome piece of work with good longevity.

12 years ago

Harsh burning opening of strong ambery powder. Nepal Aoud is quite something, the combination of saffron then a delicate but steadily developing rose is classic and gets nicer throughout....I don't know what they do with the roses in bulgaria but it smells good. I can detect a creamy base but it's not typical vanilla and the oud is present with an ambery nature but not by any means strong especially for Montale. Don't be fooled by that description though it has the legendary Montale projection and longevity. As with many Montale's it gets better and better as it dries down. Not a fragrance for me then, I don't know what I expected by the name 'Nepal' but it had me quite excited, I have to say I'm not that impressed. Nepal Aoud is a bit uninspiring but undeniably high quality.

12 years ago

A spicy bold oriental and my first taste of the Masque house is a unique one. The first thing that strikes you is a complex mixture of florals with cinnamon and cumin which quickly settles to a thick amber heart and dense woody notes. It's a hot fragrance in the same way Tauer's L'eau epices or Serge Lutens Arabie but Tango is smooth and doesn't have the sharp edges of some of the other ambers. Drys down to a dusty amber much like a mild version of the old library book style but still with retaining enough of the spicy notes to be pleasant and balanced. It settles really close to the skin and becomes warm and long lived but certainly nothing that stands out.

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12 years ago