Crab Apple Blossom doesn’t exactly smell how you’d expect, unfortunately not in the best way either. It opens with a sharp bergamot alongside a minty, alcoholic mojito accord which is aromatic and summery. There’s also a strong aquatic marine accord which transports you by the sea as you’re sipping said mojito. A tart fruitiness of rhubarb soon emerges, alongside a heavy dose of soft white florals which I can only assume is primarily the apple blossom. This all rests on smooth, masculine woods to create a unique but mass appealing scent profile. This is a pleasant fragrance, and a good use of apple blossom which you don’t see often. Unfortunately, it feels like it’s lacking something for me - it’s not as exciting as it should be and leaves you wanting more. A very pleasant fragrance but not for £400.

Town & Country is a fresh, invigorating and sophisticated fragrance for a modern gentleman. With a refreshing and vibrant opening of lemon and juniper, it begins almost as a citric cocktail of juicy aromatics. The clary sage comes through soon after which is slightly powdery and green, before making way for more complex notes. The lemon and juniper persist as white tea and sandalwood bring this comforting creaminess to the scent profile, alongside some warmth from cardamom. In the base, there’s a subtle hint of a salty ambergris, with an array of masculine woods and patchouli. The overall scent you’re left smells purely like spring. I can see why Winston Churchill wore this as his signature scent, it smells expensive, classy, gentlemanly and powerful all at the same time. A classic fragrance demonstrating true British perfumery for the upper class. I do think this is overpriced massively, but cost aside it does smell incredible.

Spice and Wood is another pleasant but hugely overpriced release from Creed. It opens with this juicy lemon and apple combination, with copious amounts of black pepper - almost enough to make you sneeze! To me, the opening is the most pleasant part of the fragrance, but unfortunately it only lasts for about a minute. From here, some clove emerges alongside dry woods of birch and cedar. There’s also a damp earthiness coming from the patchouli and oakmoss which elevates the woods. The green notes take this even further until it smells like you’re stood in a peppery forest. This fragrance definitely delivers on its name, the woods and the spices are the dominant features of the scent. For me, the pepper is simply too much and comes off quite abrasive, while the rest of the scent is pleasant but quite unimaginative and forgettable.

Wild Incense isn’t really incense based at all to be honest. It opens with a sharp, resinous frankincense and a boozy cognac note which is both sweet and bitter. The sticky, syrupy dates soon emerge which adds a significant amount of sweetness, alongside tonka bean. A soft, smooth leather runs along the background which is quite pleasant, while the frankincense gives almost a hint of a smoky tobacco accord. This fragrance is quite interesting and enjoyable in the opening, but dries down to something much less exciting. Unfortunately after some time it settles into a basic sweet fragrance with average quality. I was expecting better given the retail price, and the note breakdown got me really excited initially. It’s a nice fragrance, but I think I got my hopes up a bit too much.

I feel like I judged Wild Incense too quickly, as I sold my bottle not long after receiving it to make space for a different fragrance. But now, almost a year later, it’s made its way back into my collection - and I welcome it with open arms. I’m unashamed to say I now love this fragrance. I stand by what I said about this not being incense based at all, it’s definitely a pure gourmand - as well as the fact that it doesn’t smell particularly high quality, but somehow that seems part of its charm. To my nose it smells like fat, sticky dates swirling round a glass of cognac with a brand new leather jacket resting on the table beside said glass. It’s utterly delicious, with a gorgeously creamy base of tonka to finish it off. In the background, a very subtle medley of frankincense, benzoin and guaiac wood seem to give off this dry, balsamic, slightly smoky quality which almost comes across as the faintest whiff of coffee in the distance. Either way, I smell delectable wearing this, and this time it’s here to stay.

Chypre Palatin is an ode to the classic Chypre - its traditional and vintage smelling, but also contemporary enough to wear day to day. It opens with a bitter-green galbanum and powdery aldehyde combination, with a very prominent bitter clementine powering through this. There’s also hints of lavender and sage in the opening which are short lived. As the clementine persists, a beautiful medley of soft florals approach - hyacinth, jasmine and a leathery labdanum are most prominent to me, alongside a fruity touch of plum. It’s the base that’s really exciting though, an animalic boost of tolu balsam and castoreum add a bitter, skanky contrast to the smooth, creamy oakmoss and leather. To finish off, there’s an ever so subtle whisper of an amber accord to bring an addictive sweetness which lasts and lasts. This is a beautiful rendition of a classical Chypre with its own spin on the traditional scent profile. Personally I think Diaghilev completes this type of composition better but Chypre Palatin is far more wearable, and of course far more affordable.

To begin with, the notes listed here on fragrantica aren’t even remotely accurate, a common pattern with Clive Christian fragrances on here - Parfumo has a more accurate note breakdown. Amber Oriental promises two things from the name, but only lives up to one of them: the oriental side. It opens with a sweet fruitiness of pineapple, dried fruits, apple, grapefruit, bergamot and juniper with a soft creaminess coming from leather and oakmoss. There’s touches of green floral notes coming from tagetes and davana, however this is brutally overpowered by this very bitter and scratchy musk/frankincense combination. In the base there are touches of patchouli, tonka and vanilla but these unfortunately cannot compete with the overpowering musk. This is a very strange smelling fragrance, I do enjoy some parts of it but I feel the blending could’ve been much better. The fruitiness is pleasant, and this definitely comes across as a musky oriental however, it hugely lacks any Amber component to the composition. This was a blind buy for me and I was really hoping the Amber would have been more prominent.

I finally managed to replace my Parfum Cologne with the original Enigma Parfum, and I’m very glad I did. On initial spray, that iconic coca-cola scent profile overpowers your senses - it’s spicy, fizzy and intensely alluring. I find that in the parfum, those opening notes of black pepper, bergamot and neroli are more noticeable, whilst only fleeting. As this settles on the skin, a dry and smoky tobacco emerges alongside a refreshingly spicy and delicious ginger. Whilst the Parfum Cologne continues this cola vibe throughout the life of the scent, the parfum soon calms down and leaves you with the true, intended iteration of Enigma. That gorgeous amber base of vanilla and benzoin mingles perfectly with the cognac and tobacco leaving you with something you’ve definitely never smelled before, sparkling in the air around you. I absolutely love the parfum version of Enigma as it’s such a unique creation, but I have to be in the right mood to wear it.

Reckless was a blind buy that blew my mind in an instant. It opens straight away with an explosion of the highest quality cinnamon I’ve ever smelled, alongside refreshing notes of bergamot, lemon and lavender. The unique note of bay leaf soon emerges which is dry, herbal and slightly vegetal. I picture this fragrance structured like a trident. On one side you’ve got traditionally masculine, fougere qualities from the lavender, cypress, bay leaf and citruses - and on the other side are gentle Chypre qualities from the creamy oakmoss and leathery labdanum. Then right in the middle, the spicy oriental profile takes charge with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and incense. This is incredibly unique and yet so comforting to wear, this fragrance has endless amounts of depth - if you spend time searching for the bottom you will never reach it. I’m absolutely in love with Reckless and this is fast becoming one of my favourite fragrances of all time.

Sahraa is simply beautiful. From the first spray you notice the powerful, compelling, natural oud which is smooth yet bitter, gentle yet with slight animalic qualities. This sits alongside a refreshing grapefruit which is only fleeting, as well as a trio of fresh flowers - rose, geranium and jasmine. There’s an addictive sweetness in the base primarily coming from saffron, but there’s also a soft Amber accord whispering in the background. The oud in here seems to be exactly the same type of oud used in Oud Noir Intense and while they share noticeable similarities, I find this one to be more seductive and suited to evening wear. For me, Sahraa bridges the gap between traditional and western oud. The oud used in here smells natural, high quality and definitely not something the mainstream market is used to, but the overall scent is very gentle, easy to wear and mass appealing. This fragrance is expertly crafted with exceptional blending and quality of ingredients.