Olfactive studios Close up. Now! Let's just take into account that I had preconceived ideas and judgements on this fragrance before I'd even tried it and I'm not too proud to say when I'm wrong as equally as I like to gloat and highlight the fact when my predictions are accurate...this one falls more into the latter category. The main thing I notice about Olfactive Studios fragrances is that they try to be innovative and in this industry I have to give them credit for that. The briefs and concepts the perfumers/house come up with never fail to intrigue but unfortunately they never quite deliver a long lasting and enjoyable fragrance throughout. Superb and unique openings...disappointing performance/drydown/overall experience. One day I'm sure they will crack this and we will have a real winner on our hands. God loves a trier and they are always worth a sniff. The opening is intoxicating like a silky, coffee infused breeze of milky, musky woods. Then there's that hint of the honied Tobacco and a pinch of cherry, cough drop warmness and excitement. The mid section of this fragrance is basically warm and cozy, resinous benzoin and that slight coffee/vanilla vibe of tonka bean, tempered with the powdery chocolate cacao and earth of patchouli. Its strangely masculine leaning but also reminds me quite a deal of something a more mature lady might wear. The finish and dry down are nice, lots more honey and that spiced feel, which smells almost identical to Parfum de Marly Oajan a fragrance I'm extremely fond of. The main difference is there's less of that hot, cinnimal edge in this but the transformation from smelling a bit similar in the opening and first hour to almost exactly the same is pretty miraculous. Despite this, I think these fragrances are different enough to both have merit and it's still worth owning both, if you wanted to. So in the deep dry down and Close up changes again, becoming less like Oajan and much more resinous and oozing a kind of ancient dustiness. I wouldn't say this is strong but it projected quite well for the first couple of hours, then becoming a low lying skin scent but very persistent and I noticed it stained my skin very slightly. My conclusion is that Close up is one of the best releases from OS to date. A very enjoyable fragrance indeed and the order of how the notes come through is interesting. It's a thumbs up from me. Update: Okay so I penned this review nearly 12 months ago and it’s been sitting on my phone unposted so I feel the need to make some amendments. My general thoughts are the same but upon wearing again I get a very animal, pissy note in the opening which is extremely off putting. It’s unusual and I’m not just saying this for melodrama or comic effect but I thought for a moment....”has my cat had a piss in here? “ It’s very prominent and why the hell I didn’t notice it the first time I don’t know? Even if you just put the spray nozzle to your nose it’s obvious, however as the fragrance settles it becomes that cherry, Tobacco, honey thing I mentioned in the main body of the review. I still like it, when the urine subsides. That’s not really a sentence I ever imagined writing but there you go.