A fresh kind of green jasmine. A little sexy. It’s gorgeous and I love it. It’s a very true jasmine.
I don’t normally talk about the individual ratings I give these things but before I do anything else I feel like I need to this time, because I gave the presentation a three, because I DO think the bottles on these look handsome, and especially this one because the green look is lovely, but this is the second time I’ve bought a FOMO where the cap isn’t worth a damn when you try picking it up by it, and on top of that the paint on it has started coming off IN LITERAL CLUMPS. If you go through my reviews you’ll see I mostly collect on the affordable end of the spectrum but even I’ll say, in some ways you really DO get what you bloody paid for.
At the risk of sounding really pretentious, when I first sprayed this one, I got a bit emotional. I asked for a 50ml for Christmas years ago, but really I was much too young for it because I treated it with zero respect. I oversprayed it, I wore it out of season, I wore doing everything and anything, and obviously eventually I ran out of it, and then when o asked for it again I found out it was discontinued, which at the time I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WAS A THING THAT COULD HAPPEN, which made me really sad. Then years later when I realised I was collecting this stuff I decided to look up what it was going for secondhand, saw THOSE prices, and decided I was probably never going to own a bottle of it ever again, which made me even sadder.
So it goes without saying that when I saw news about FOMO’S upcoming release and how they weren’t even being slightly coy about what they were cloning, I got UNREASONABLY overjoyed, and then when it arrived, like I’ve already said, it hit me in my feels immediately because it smelled exactly how I remembered it and a bunch of good memories came flooding back. If anything it smells A BIT BETTER than I remembered because it’s definitely stronger and more full-bodied than the bottle I had, which makes sense because I got my bottle on the cusp of it going away and it had been reformulated at least once before that.
I read a review of the original in GQ Magazine back in the day (yes I subscribed to GQ when I was a teenager, don’t look at me like that, nobody here is strictly normal are they?), and the guy writing about it said it smelled like “wet leather driving gloves,” which is a VERY poncy GQ way of describing a perfume, but at the same time I get where he was coming from, because there there’s definitely a damp quality to this, musty in a clean, green way. It’s weird because apparently there’s no leather in it, and I think they’d say if there was because this one’s got something like 33,000 notes listed, but I think it might me the citruses and the florals coming together not accidentally make a bit of a leather accord, especially the grapefruit and the rose of I had to guess. It’s classy but also a bit rugged which I’m drawn to, which is hilarious because if you ask me I’m neither of those things. Wear this one’s time with a suit and colour other than black or grey on a
Can I...? Yes, Yes, You can.
Super masculine while staying non-offensive.
This line is definitely under-rated!
If you’re looking for the perfect oud fragrance for someone who doesn’t like oud that much, this is the one! blended to perfection with a little rose. masculine leaning but could very easily be unisex.
I saw in a lot of places that this was a more masculine take on the BR540 profile, and like… I guess? It’s not a clone of the Extrait, which as far as I can tell IS supposed to be the more “masculine” version of it, it’s the original with the berry brightness turned right the way up and a big dose of pepper shoved in it. It DOES smell nice, it’s either my favourite or second favourite way to smell like 540 that I own, the number of ways I would describe as being “TOO MANY,” halfway on accident I want to add, I didn’t due my due diligence when I picked up a couple of things, this isn’t Aventus where I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m probably going to be buying “Aventus Plus (Add Note Or Accord Here)” until the day I die. It’s just there’s only so much you can do to butch up a fragrance that’s trying to smell like Cotton Candy, it’s either your vibe or it’s not.
There's something in here that smells like exhaust fumes from a busy road. CARmina indeed. Horrible.
For the first 15seconds the fragrance has an identity crisis and then settles on smelling about 80% close to creed silver mountain water. Smells way better on skin than in the bottle or tester and tends to last longer.
Shocking horrible atomiser and bottle design isn't my fav but cannot complain for the value it offers
A great all rounder.
Naxos has a lot of the classic masculine tropes; lavender, citrus, and tobacco.
Smells similar to Mugler Pure Havane, but a little lighter and brighter.
The citrus and lavender add an aromatic freshness to the warming cinnamon and sweet honey, while the smooth cashmeran and vanilla help round things out with soft sweetness.
The tobacco is well placed between bright and sweet and adds a beautiful aromatic earthiness, and the Tonka adds a soft spice.
Once it begins to settle, fresh florals come through and brighten the fragrance up.
No complaints here!
This is way better than people credit it for. Sadly though, it's like a slightly less magical Dead of Night (with no real oud unlike the strangelove), and as I own the latter, I don't need this. But if you want DON but would prefer to spend 500 euros instead of 1000 (LOL!) this could be the one. As another reviewer said, don't judge it by shoving your nose into it, as it doesn't do it justice.
A sledgehammer assault version of the original which will appeal to people who like Oud for Greatness, Parfums de Marly and other such sludgy dross. Don't get me wrong, this is better than those, but only just. This is for the next gen brahs who have only just discovered Amouage and those who shell out big money on crap like Fragrance du Bois and Bodicea the Victorious. To say this is similar to the original Jubilation XXV is to completely miss the point and the beauty of the original.
Beautifully fresh citrus with lots of light aromatics. The freshness of ginger is really nice, and helps with the fresh aquatic feel.
There is gentle balsamic warmth and structure in the base with amber and labdanum.
After many hours, the dry down offers more spice alongside the aromatics and aquatic notes while the ginger and citrus still providing a noticible uplift
A great every day scent, perfect for all occasions. Inoffensive yet noticeable.
I have a love and hate relationship with cumin, and that’s maybe why it’s definitely the prominent note to me here. It smells very sensual to me, in a dirty way. What I mostly hate about cumin is how it can easily turn a fragrance into a sweat pit smell on dirty clothing. Happy this is not totally the case. I have mixed feelings about this one. I don’t think i will get it a place on my wishlist for now. But I’m also not saying I haven’t been tempted to while trying it for two days. I’d love to find a more prominent tobacco note too. Unfortunately for me, it’s only barely there in the very opening.
Opening is warm, sweet, and floral with the aromatic and metallic twinge of saffron.
Once this starts to settle the boozy rum becomes clearer with a subtle spice, smooth woods and tobacco.
It's cosy, pleasant and perfectly wearable, but not sure about the intense hype it gets.
Light, clean, uplifting, meditative, spa-like cypress/cedar scent
Mineralic, herbal thyme opening leading directly into a cypress and cedar top. Thyme drops away, to be replaced with olibanum in the mid, adding a slight smoky depth. Dries down to have a sweetish, softer cashmeran in the base.
Spray it then leave it for a year and it will perform excellently. This is a real bargain, providing a modern twist on the familiar barbershop masculine. The opening may seem a bit harsh, but it develops into a really lovely perfume, with natural smelling lavender, plus all the notes listed above, but also a semi-soupy tonka-ish base. The sugary soup doesn't dominate and is made less crass by the spices and herbs. I don't wear it often as I don't tend towards this type of scent but when I do I'm always surprised again by how good it is.
Absurdly potent ambery patchouli which weirdly gives off slight Mugler Angel vibes. I love it. But having applied it erroneously today with a hangover I am minded to warn all comers about its strength. Nuclear.
This was the perfect lilac I was looking for. The wisteria lends some purple feel to the composition. Not too sweet or chewy or dense. Clean and crisp like a spring morning. To be worn with tee shirts and crisp linen shirts.
You can probably tell by looking at my collection and reviews that I’ve put up so far that I have zero issue at all with clones/dupes/whatever, but I do find it a bit heartbreaking that Banana Republic has turned this collection into a bit of a clone line in recent years, because in the realm of affordable department store perfumery they were putting out some absolute blinders, two of them I consider stone cold cheapie masterpieces. This is one of them.
First time I smelled it I wasn’t really impressed, I thought it was just another bergamot fragrance, and at the time I had a LOT of those, but I saw it out one day for an absolute steal, something like twenty quid, so I just grabbed it because at that price why not, and the more I wore it the more I realised I loved it. In the opening the tea note gives it this almost minty fresh blast, then the bergamot and Mandarin orange slowly creep in, mixing with the green notes to produce something, will, citrusy and green, not to sound stupid. The woods are there to support it in the far drydown so it’s got a solid foundation but like, grassy citrus tea, that’s mostly what I get, and it’s very classy yet casual. On a blistering hot day in smart shorts and a nice short-sleeve shirt this is properly the business.
Woody/violet. Decent longevity and projection. I wore this all the time before I started getting into fragrances. I wear it much less now, but it's still worth a try, not least because the 200ml bottles are often on offer so work out amazing value.
On the nauseating end of chemical milky scents.
I second meama's comment below, smells like a generic 90s mens scent. Unremarkable at best. If I smelled this on someone I'd think they were wearing Bleu de Chanel (if I'm being generous). No hyrax detectable on my skin, which is a shame as it could have made it more interesting.
Massive screechy scratchy fixative base dominates to my nose. Smells like 20 euro middle Eastern fake oud crap.
If Happy for men by Clinique is KPBS, Artisan by John Varvatos is NPR. If this projected at all or lasted, I’d want it in my wardrobe. Awesome looking bottle too.
