Petit Matin or early morning is typical of Francis Kurkdjians style, fresh citrus top notes, with some herbal facets, and then the main heart of white florals, usually orange blossom, with a musky, woody or amber base depending on Homme or Femme or just to give some variation generally. I wasn't a fan of Fleur du male and some of these MFK's have been a bit too heavy on the white florals. For example I wore APOM Homme yesterday and it has some peculiar notes in the opening which are quite sour and strange, that's before you even get into the neroli and orange blossom. I still quite liked it but I liked Amyris too while kinda thinking it was a little 'off' at the same time. My point being that MFK is not my usual taste and neroli and orange blossom can give off a creepy, hand cream vibe which I don't enjoy. So with that background covered I have to clarify when orange blossom and neroli are used in the right composition they transform into some of my favourite notes. Examples from MFK, Guerlain, Mugler cologne and Acqua Viva to name a few. Petit matin is a modern, clean musky opening with a shear masterclass in citrus which is long lasting and beautiful, hints of lavender add to the classic cologne feel which is modernised with a powdered, warm base of ambroxan which is not heavy in the slightest if you are one of these people who hate the stuff. It settles right down after projecting for an hour or so to a very low lying but very long lasting and super high quality scent. I smelled it on the wrist of the SA and it was warm, feminine and frankly just wonderful. It also gave me the opportunity to smell the opening and the drydown simultaneously, albeit on someone elses skin. On me it was fresh and the white florals and ambroxan just boosted the citrus top and the balance of elements just superb. This is a really, really, good, bright, optimistic fragrance, I loved it.
This is a knockout! A smooth, yet bold and multifaceted amber evoking lots of different notes from classic perfumery like lavender, labdanum, and vanilla. I was in love from the opening balsamic hit and incense sharpness, to the sedate, woody, creamy sweetness of the drydown. This would feature very highly on a list of alltime great ambers. However, on a personal note I can take it or leave it, Grand Soir doesn't get me as excited as it once would have done. This is due to the fact that my tastes are always drawn to heavy orientals and it being so in my usual wheelhouse is not necessarily a good thing. The reason being, I'm making a conscious effort to get more fresh and light fragrances, but otherwise I'd be all over this.
I really enjoy this perfume, it's a rose fragrance not really for rose fans. This is for people who like the harsh, opening stinging the nose with opulent saffron but rapidly becoming a darker shade, full of incense and sandalwood. The rose grows gently in the background and the whole thing settles to something not dissimilar to Penhaligon's Levanthium, a really spicy rose affair. I love the stuff but it's not got the performance or complex power of levanthium, nor does it have the rose sweetness, it's like a subdued version but very nice nonetheless.
I really hope this doesn’t disappoint because it’s got everything going for it, the legacy of the original XS need not be ruined by some dodgy reformulation/reimagining. I must admit I do like the chunky design of the new bottle. I remember thinking it was a shame I didn’t really like pure XS because I’d just quite like that bottle in my wardrobe. I owned a couple of bottles in the 90’s/2000’s and even my dad was a fan of the original, the more I think about XS the more I’m tempted to get a bottle now, whether it’s this one or an older bottle.
This is a fragrance that I wasn't familiar with the first time around and what a crime that was because it's an absolute triumph. Really this stuff is superb, masculine even a little butch but not a powerhouse in the obnoxious sense. The opening is chunky, rounded and heavily spiced affair of coriander and pepper with an immediately mossy, herbal, woody feel. I get a big musk note too, potent but dying back quite quickly. The chunkiness I mentioned soon becomes apparent the creamy, spice of sandalwood and the main player patchouli which doesn't hit you straight in the face but builds steadily in the background. It's starts as an almost gourmand, cocoa type thing, steadily becoming more earthy but never overstepping the mark. I'm not overstating this but Balenciaga pour Homme might be one of the best patchouli fragrances for men that I've ever tried. To say that it's just a Patchouli fragrance is to do it a bit of a disservice, because it's a great blend of notes and even non patchouli fans would like it I'm sure. Such a shame this stuff is no longer in production because it's excellent.
A decent fragrance, but something just didn’t quite work for me midway through my wearing. I think it’s because Prive doesn’t quite know what it wants to be? On the one hand the opening is great and really leads me to thinking it’s a classy, niche type affair, however when it dries down a little it’s right on the edge of one of those murky, confused compositions I’m so quick to critique. It’s in a place between a sexy night scent like l’nuit, with its caradmom smoothness, and boozy opening screams I’m high class. Then the Tonka and vanilla I’m the base starts to muddy it slightly. It does also have a hint of 212 Men to it all the time just grounding it back in the designer, men’s sporty realm. Look...the fact that I have so much inane waffle to spout about it says that it’s an interesting fragrance and sure enough when it really settled I very much began to enjoy the drydown, with hints of resinous sweetness. It’s nice.
I’d been trying to find this for ages with little success until I found a sample recently and it didn’t disappoint. Leather blend is an opulent mixture of heady, middle eastern vibes the most prominent note being oud, heavy sweet and smooth vanilla/amber and an opening of nose tingling saffron with a low lying rose note in the background. This combination absolutely conjures a leather note to me and very nice it is too but it could quite as easily have oud in the title and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. I really like it but I can’t say it’s original, I’ve smelled quite a few like this but I have to say I don’t care & I love it. If it is cheaper than many fragrances like this, it certainly doesn’t smell that way, giving leather blend a deserved feel of high quality.
I'm wearing a sample of this today and I must say smell wise, I actually really liked it a great deal. However, everything else about it is wrong from the rubbish sample in one of those annoying card sprays to the feeble performance and lack of body in the fragrance in general. What I mean is that it opens well and smells really nice of quality ingredients and a nice wearable, well balanced, fresh, aromatic, scent but everything needs turning up to 11 and maybe would benefit from a bit of oakmoss or something. It's meek. That's the issue and maybe I should expect that from a fragrance called eau fraiche but it's not good enough really. I get citrus, ginger, pink pepper, neroli, lavender all very nice settling down to a base of vetiver and then when it's a almost dead skinscent after several hours a tiny hint of sandalwood. I've seen this going reasonably cheap now, but I believe at one time it was pricey and barely worth what it is now. I don't want to hate it because I've mentioned a couple of times that it's a nice smell but in this instance performance matters and a bit of longevity would elevate this scent no end.
I'm going to start out with my initial thoughts on this perfume and it was...oh...it's another Aventusesque perfume from a nose who I know isn't in the business of jumping on a bandwagon, regardless of what you think about him. It can't be denied though that this is one of Roja Dove's more mainstream style, masculine fragrances. That's not a bad thing either because this stuff cannot fail to have broad appeal. I started off with the Creed Aventus comparison but please don't be deceived by this initial impression because in fairness Elysium has it's own character and masses of hidden depth, something which I think haters of this brand and perfumer are quick to dismiss in many Roja creations. It's a creeping kind of fresh and uplifting opening with the extra bitter, sharp dimension of grapefruit and juniper, then more of a blackcurrant peeking through as it dries down. The body of the fragrance is of incense and I mean in the broader sense as it's difficult to detect exactly what is there? Maybe lighter stuff like elemi and olabanum but I also know that Dove is fond of using Labdanum. The base is cedar and vetiver giving a touch of the smoky earth to the base which might be conjuring that Aventus Birch. This is a composition which sounds simple but when you smell this perfume, I'd say it's more effortless the way the accords are permeable, bleeding into one another. Comparisons with Bleu de Chanel are valid when you look at the note brakdown and Creed as I keep mentioning, so it's in good company really. The issue comes with performance, which incidentally I found to be quite good, but I'm assuming Elysium is very expensive so anything other than massive, won't do for most consumers. I really liked it and the longer it went on the less I wanted to make reductive comparisons because this stuff stands up by itself. I won't be buying but I think it's a very fresh, High class, citrus fragrance with tonnes to offer and hard not to like really.
Tried this today at a 'vintage fair' AKA: old, tatty, mothball infested crap, jumble sale...and it's impressive how much of the fragrances character had been retained. The bottle was old I'd say at least 70's maybe 60's? The top notes of ylang ylang and jasmine, still intact and packing a punch but thankfully fading quickly into a perfume with a hearty dose of oakmoss and vetiver, making this more of a spicy woody affair. I wouldn't say it's masculine but it's easily wearable for a man. The drydown was mustier still but not a powerful scent and not really all that impressive, needing a lift of something. Interesting to try things like this but I wasn't tempted to purchase.
Wow! I've owned this fragrance for several years and never posted a review. I think that is a perfect reflection on just how underrated it is, even in the microcosm that is my wardrobe. I'm wearing it today and really enjoying the experience. To me it's a fantastic, sweet and uplifting violet accord which is very similar to Zegna Uomo another fragrance I own but this is much more effervescent and fresh. This Homme line has it's fair share of success stories but like many has lots of failures too. The original is great, no matter how you look at it. L'nuit de la Homme is a fantastic fragrance which is rightly praised by fragrance lovers. Then the rest of the flankers are either pointless or just plain bad. The frozen Nuit was okay and the parfum, although totally redundant, did at least smell good. However, Parfum intense and L'intense and several others were terrible. This one itself even had a big brother which I remember liking but this cologne tonic was much the same and significantly cheaper. It's lasting well and smells amazing on me today.
This is the least interesting of the Luna Rossa line that I can tell from one wear. However I'm such a lover of the subtlety of Andrier's work that I'm prepared to give this more of a chance in future, so this review is subject to an update at some point. I was pretty gutted when I learned that Luna Rossa Extreme had been discontinued, I just hadn't realised. This is pretty much in between the original and Extreme but not quite as standout as either of them. The tonka bean is handled well considering other scents around containing this ingredient and comes off as a milky musk. There's lavender in here, it's not listed but I reckon it's there. Angelica could be giving some sweetness and as for patchouli? maybe but it doesn't seem like a patch heavy scent.
One thing for certain about this new One Million flanker, it delivers one of the notes listed in abundance, particularly in the opening, and frankly, validates my nose if I ever had doubts about my nasal calibration (which does happen from time to time) they have been allayed. That note is hazelnut, it's very clear and nutty and quite lovely actually, strangely coupled with a fresh and fruity blast. It then becomes reminiscent of Ferragamo uomo which was a surprisingly good gourmand release of the last few years. However, This is where it starts to venture into the banal and painfully generic. Where Uomo had a lightness of touch, a blending of notes which could come off as sledgehammer harsh or sickly it gave them a bit of lightness and freshness. One Million Lucky is not that way at all, after the promise of the opening it becomes a messy, confused and synthetic bomb of 'dark' but I'd say just murky, honied, gourmand notes and modern trickery. Yet again, I can't say I hate it, it's serviceable, wearable, it has better performance than Uomo and that nutty note in the opening truly is something to behold, so it's not without merit. Lucky doesn't draw me in either though, it's not got the charm of Ferragamo uomo, but if you want a clumsier and better performing version this is not dissimilar.
Oh dear. I found the opening to be poor, very generic messy and pretty pointless as yet another Code flanker. However, these thoughts did mellow as it settled down but that can be the case with so many bad fragrances. The main body is milky, minty, lavender, business but with a more heavy and sickly core of tonka bean. This dirtiness does subside and it becomes more of a softer vanilla but you have to live through what is not a unpleasant but has to be said, uninspiring fragrance in the meantime. The comparisons with le Male and Luna Rossa could be valid, but it's certainly no Invasion Barbare or Reflection Man. It's okay I suppose.
I never cease to be amazed by CK and their steady output. Even more surprising is just how many I really like among them. This stuff is nothing short of superb, evoking some very notable scents along the way. The opening is a tart, fruity note, not immediately recognisable as rhubarb but settling to it after a moment. This just frames the scent as the main body is one of deep woods and resin, but fruity evoking a little of CdG Floriental. You can really get the smell of guaic wood and cypriol softened in the drydown by vanilla and amber. Obsessed Intense is a very dense leathery oriental in the style of Carner cuirs, Palo Santo or Nasomatto Pardon but slightly cleaner, cheaper and more mainstream. It's hard to pin this stuff down, I think there were several other fragrances it reminded me of, all of which were niche, which I think speaks for itself and tells you where this is going. I want it. I thought it was excellent, kinda messy and all over the place but more thought provoking than most releases I've tried lately.
This is a really peculiar gourmand scent, the opening is amazingly unique and in fairness that’s true of many Calvin Klein fragrances, they open well but then become less obscure, more familiar and uninspiring. I can only attribute this to the fruity opening of star fruit, another thing CK tend to do is use unusual fruits in the top notes, normally I’d say they smell a bit like apple or tangerine or grapefruit but they usually smell very much different to normal fruits which is a nice attention to detail and leads me to conclude they really do resemble the exotic and rarer fruits. I have actually had a star fruit before but I can’t remember what it was like? Anyway then comes a powerful and almost niche sweetness which is already building a big Tonka Bean and vanilla base. As it delveops the candy floss sweetness and a very nice coconut note which isn’t ridiculous and sun lotion like, I’d say more dark, remind me of Only the Brave WILD a fragrance I thought was cheap and throwaway but actually, strangely enjoyed. It starts to loose itself in the drydown becoming more generic and annoying Tonka based, overly busy, messy stuff. When it settles to a very low skin scent after several hours is just a sweet Rochas Man but not as charming or subtle. I actually thought I’d buy this for the over sweet and unique opening alone but as the notes developed the composition just became more and more jumbled
I think Geza Schoen has been tainted by the Essentric Molecule series, being too minimal and arthouse or lazy and money grabbing, depending how you see it. I kinda gave them the benefit of the doubt for showcasing modern aroma chemistry and showing people who wouldn't otherwise know, what things like ISO E Super and Ambroxan are all about. However, it still marred my view of him as a perfumer but looking at his back catalog he's produced some wonderful stuff which I adore and the Ormonde Jayne line are right up there. Incidentally I do like the Escentric molecules, especially the later ones and Zizan reminds me very much of Escentric 03 because it's got that ultra sharp, lime citrus note and ton of vetiver, dry juniper type stuff and that synthetic cedar wood note of ISO E Super. This is like a Post-TdH scent but from the year 2050! I'm not saying there wasn't any citrus/vetiver/woody scents before that, but TdH represents the high water mark in the mainstream. The pink pepper starts to pop when it settles producing a somewhat signature smell of futuristic, fresh spiciness. I really like it.
First of all I was going to blind buy this fragrance until a very generous Fragrantica member sent me a sample (big shout to alunwill) so I got to sample it and I foolishly thought I could predict what this smelled like from the notes, reviews and just my expectations. Needless to say it didn’t smell the way I’d imagined, I’d say it was much more powdery than I thought. This fragrance reminds of four fragrances, the opening of a little sharpness citrus and sweet spices instantly brought Caron L’anarchist to mind except much more pleasant, sweeter less challenging without all the musk and metal. This is a far more cozy experience which then got me thinking about Costume National Homme but without the cherry and actually very different but stylistically similar. Then comes the drydown and much more masculine woody powder Boucheron Jaipur Homme and then finally and probably most obviously, Yves Saint Lauren Opium pour Homme. The cinnamon star anise and powdery, creamy old skool combo with something like carnation in there makes it very similar and I love Opium, so it’s not a bad thing at all. This is definitely sweeter the creaminess is vanilla which makes it different and slightly more upbeat. I’ve got to say I’m not put off by any of this, not what I expected but I loved it anyway. The smell reminded me of a friends mum when I was a kid, she was a bit of a hippy and into aromatherapy and more worryingly homeopathy, anyway Sushi Imperial put me in mind of the smell of their house sometimes. The lasting power is very good and it’s clearly of excellent quality.
First of all, this came as a surprise to me, not the notes or the smell of the fragrance particularly, more my final opinion on it, which I will get to in a minute. I feel I need to qualify my thoughts on the house, I liked Mont Blanc for many years when they were mainstream but somewhat in the wilderness so to speak, and actually reminded me a lot of Dunhill, mainly uninspiring yet solid fare with a couple of really good releases, that was up until legend and it’s flankers. I just found it to be a less potent A&F Fierce and the flankers that followed didn’t excite in any way. Night however is different and not because it’s good or original or not cheap smelling or because its that kinda dirty vanilla/Tonka, modern style nonsense, it’s all those things but I still sort of liked it. Yeah that’s right I think this is a worth while fragrance and you know the most prominent note right from the opening is Apple and Apple notes usually mean cheap and nasty with very few exceptions, as I said this is cheap but with less of the nasty because the rest of the notes are constructed around that ‘sexy’ gourmand vibe of a few years back the code Profumo, ferragamo uomo, some extreme flankers you know the ones? All that Tonka bean stuff. This is more of that but I don’t care, something about it just plugs in to good receptors in my brain and says you know this is generic but I like the Apple and dirty vanilla in here it’s a guilty pleasure I’m sorry. It reminded me of that cola/dr pepper thing of a lesser known Dunhill I own, you’d think boss bottles by the notes but it has more nods to D&G the one than anything. It’s not well finessed though it’s clearly modern and throwaway but if I see this heavily reduced in a bargain bucket somewhere I might just add it to my wardrobe for the sake of it. It lasted okay, stayed close and I was surprised just how long the drydown lasted and just how nice the resulting kinda spiced rum/vanilla that remained was.
This is beautiful. Truly beautiful. I’m a big fan of Andriers work and this is no exception, I think the way it complements the men’s version is clever also. This is the second time this year that a ylang ylang fragrance has wowed me but I’d say this isn’t your typical yellow floral nor is it in anyway your typical tuberose, I actually found iris to be prominent. I think all the florals in here conspire to create an almost exotic fruity vibe, coming from the frangipani more than likely but the powdery smoothness of iris making it all come together. It’s feminine but not completely outside the realms of wearing for me. I found it to be a very warm, oriental fragrance definitely check it out.
A fragrance that doesn’t open well for me, a very ‘of the moment’ vibe to it and what I considered to be a bit of a messy composition, not unpleasant just that usual swirling mix of too many notes, which is neither one thing or the other. However, I have to say the way it settles down Icon racing really comes into its own. The oud in the base, although quite typical of a designer sort of oud is actually quite pleasant combined with the caradmom and white floral of the original it’s kinda creamy and enjoyable. This is a passable woody scent and that base of vetiver/oud/cedar is nice and the orange blossom is long lasting. Doesn’t stand out enough to peak my interest but I liked it more towards the end for sure.
White gold is absolutely stunning. I don't think I could ever wear it myself because it's very heady, so intoxicating and powdered, it's like the texture of somebody poofing a talc bottle in your face, to the point you can taste it. The florals glide and soar on top of this powder which is narcotic in it's addictiveness. The opening is very floral and full to the brim with jasmine and freesia settling to an exotic orchid which is delicate as the powdery orris root and cashmearan build. The balance between powder and florals is completely perfect and it dances between the two never settling to a linear smell. Despite this balance I'd say casherean is the main player in this scent because it assumes the role of warm, woody base giving it a cozy feel but also acts as a floral booster. It's also very complementary with orris or iris and carnation which are all present in this fragrance. I love perfume and I always like to think I'm open minded and not opposed to wearing ANYTHING. However, some fragrances just scream femininity and I imagine what it would smell like on a woman because that's where I believe it is more suited. This is one of those occasions. What I like about Ormonde Jayne is that they are not afraid to mix the synthetic molecules with the more natural or perceived as natural aromas. ISO E Super, Casherean, synth musks, Abroxan, when used correctly they can boost other notes and make an otherwise ordinary fragrance very special indeed. I think this stuff is a triumph, I sprayed the tiniest amount bearly even there and it was massive in projection and longevity. Please check this out, I thought it was amazing. Update: just realised why OJ are so heavily into the man made molecules due to the fact that Geza Schoen seems to be the nose of choice and even though White Gold doesn’t have a perfumer listed, I’d bet my house this is his handiwork, they all have his style written all over them.
You know when a fragrance instantly transports you like a time machine to a very specific and actually quite insignificant and innocuous moment in your life. In fact the smaller the event the more you marvel at the complex workings of the human brain and how it stores, and more importantly accesses memory. Ta'if took me to a Sheffield dry ski slope some 25+ years ago... so weird. Anyway... I've decided that Taif roses are very interesting smelling and aren't really very traditionally rosy. They are heady and floral but powdery and more like dried pot pouri petals, definitely have a quality of tea leaves to them, reminding me of tea chests, (something else you don't really see anymore) wow this fragrance is really making me reminisce! There's spice to this too from pink pepper and saffron which are definitely big players, with a warm ambery base. I don't really like it, nor would I wear it but Ormonde Jayne is a quality brand and the line interests me greatly. I must say this is a unique fragrance at least to my nose and definitely polarising I'd say. If you go into it with the mindset you're getting a rose based fragrance you will but not in any traditional sense, to me this isn't rosy really.
The only one that convinced me enough to buy it. It's almost entirely feminine, soft, pastel vibes which are not what I usually look for in a perfume. I'd describe this whole line as this but non more so than this one, the kind of scent a lady might were on a Sunday evening after having a long bath and sitting around the house in her dressing gown. In other words this is not a fragrance for a night on the town, or even a day, it's more a... pamper yourself and rub cocoa butter on your legs sort of vibe and before anyone points out that my comments are dated or sexist...maybe I like an evening of pampering and if I did, I'd wear this stuff. The opening is a cuddly hug of creamy almond milk and the lightest touch of lavender which just adds to the chilled out, cerebral vibes of this perfume. There's loads of sweetness in here but never once does it become cloying or tip over the edge into unpleasantness and this is a difficult feat to achieve. I have to attribute this to the honey in here but I wouldn't say it's what I expected and got far more of an accurate honey note from the Oat one. Saffron although not displaying it's usual earthy or pronounced smell could definitely be playing a role in here and making me love it even more. The facts are, this is a superb fragrance and it smells heavenly. Is it really a proper fragrance though because it resembles own brand label or drug store confection? Yes...yes it is. It's gourmand, it doesn't last and it's feminine as anything but I adore it.
