fragrances
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My Signature
627 reviews
This smells like a generic ambery blue designer perfume. Perhaps once you spend this sort of money your brain isn't capable of being objective any more, but I just had a sample and I doubt I'll even use that up. If I'm being generous I'd say it stands up to Uncut Gem, but I prefer Uncut Gem, it's more interesting.
Smells incredible, much more wearable than the EDP. While it opens similar, it blooms into a jasmine fanfare with subtle tobacco and leather underneath, a much more complex ride than the harsh original. Also, here the patchouli is much quieter (for there is patchouli), arriving much much later and not bumming me out like it does in the EDP. The violet note is beautiful, akin to Portrayal Man, and so reminiscent of the original daddy, Farenheit. For a brand that is cynical, and does cynically churn out duff flanker and overpriced cash-grab dross, this one stands out as a, I'm gonna say it, a masterpiece.
Something scratchy, harsh and horrible lurks not very far below the surface of this one. Heavy-handed aroma-chemical soup resembling chai tea but only as much as a cheap soap or shower gel could.
Ambroxan overdose with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, some pepper and herbs sprinkled on top.
Very lovely sweet Guerlain-like opening fading to powdery tonka. It's lovely but not at all original, and does smell somewhat dated. It reminds me of a dusty parisian shop selling dolls and mirrors and such, powdery vanity realness from a bygone era. Not at all like Shalimar to my nose except for the general guerlinade element.
Smells like a nasty, cheap, designer sports fragrance. Massive calone with all of the most generic men's aquatic elements from the 90s.
Strong, smothering cream and woods with green/white florals on top. So strong it's almost unbearable in the opening, I'm waiting to see if the drydown will bring the magic. For now, there's something beautiful about it but it's just so brutal I'm not sure I can get on board :( 1 hour later... Oh the drydown is incredible. Oh Amouage, how could I have doubted you. The aggressive opening gives way to a slight indolic skank, which then cedes to a creamy sandalwood, retaining a tinge of green tuberose. The opening remains a challenge but the drydown makes it worth it.
Nuclear strength neroli. Like, the neroli in this is as strong as the orange blossom in Beach Hut Man. So be careful with the sprays!
Monstrous is a word I usually reserve for the likes of Megamare, a perfume so synthetic and tenacious I can't bring myself to even touch the nozzle for fear I won't be able to get rid of the smell for days. However, Beach Hut Man is monstrous, yet also captivating and addictive rather than domineering and brutal. Nothing else smells even remotely similar to this, and worn in the right context, it shines as a masterpiece of perfumery. Said context is out in the hills of the French Riviera in sunny, mildy warm winter weather. I wore it to go hiking up a small mountain just by Nice in January, and I was like "NOW I get it!", whereas before I'd found it too much. I mean, it is too much if you're going to be indoors at all, or perhaps being indoors requires application with a roller, just one dab to each wrist. Either way, since my hiking day I've been in love with this perfume. Thr orange blossom in the opening is the best rendition of this note for me, it's staggeringly good, and heartbreakingly fleeting, leaving a bizarre but beautiful amalgam of woody green notes. Indeed, this is one of those perfumes where the notes blend seamlessly into one cohesive smell, and you really have to squint to discern them, it's pure genius. Update: Just received new formulation. I hope it will open up and change as it breathes a bit, as for now it's a let down. This is one of my favourite perfumes, and the opening gives me joy every time. Well, here it's a different story. The mint note is different, in fact it smells like the same cheap mint used in You Or Someone Like You, with the same cat piss nuance. It's not spearmint any more. The orange blossom is nowhere to be seen. The sillage smells closer to the original, but up close it's like a cheap dupe. It doesn't smell bad, but it makes me feel sad that my love has been butchered. Update: I'm warming to the reformulation after the bruising experience of wearing it the first time. It'll never beat the old version, but in its own right it's a good perfume. It's slightly more polite than the original so could be useful for workplace wear. The myrhh is more apparent from the start, and the very far drydown does smell more like the original. I can't put my finger on what's missing, but whatever it is is the thing that takes it from 10/10 (my only perfume with full marks) to perhaps 8/10.
For such a cheap perfume, this offers a really lovely, quality incense and resin bouquet, it's totally unique and doesn't have any scratchy, cheap smelling crap underneath. The only gripe I could have is that it doesn't last too long but for the price I'm happy to reapply. The soapy, elemi opening with its light floral tones puts me in mind of vintage Amouage, like maybe silver man and/or opus I.
