I have a love hate relationship with this perfume and clearly it's taken me a long time to bother to review it, something I don't usual afford many perfumes specifically marketing towards women. It's not discrimination on my part, more that I have enough men's and unisex to review. My love hate relationship is basically that I used to hate this and now I don't...well not entirely at least. Always had a problem with aldehydes and floral musks and this starts out very bracing, even this modern version. One thing that has struck me about this fragrance is that it's the perfect counterpart for the Men's version, or sorry...more correctly the men's version is a great counterpoint for this, being as this one predates it by several decades. The green, sharpness in the opening actually has slightly the ammonia smell to me and reminding me a bit of being choked by hairspray, perm kits and hair dye by my mum, sisters when I was a kid and nowadays by my missus! Allow that effect to subside though and you are treated to what is essentially a feminine 'Barbershop' scent. Do women have a genre called 'hairdresser' scents? Anyway the musky, oakmoss clean white florals, slightly minty geranium, vetiver and woods could easily be worn by a man and on my skin actually smells really good. A fragrance I've been aware of for a long time but has come into clear focus for me now, which says as much about my changable tastes as it does about the quality or suitability of various perfumes I may have dismissed in the past.
This is an exemplary fragrance and despite the price tag....I want it. Creed Royal oud...I get that comparison but this is far superior for several reasons not least of which being it actually smells of Oud. Jubilation XXV....??? Uh uh...nope I don't get that from Oud Rouge. A more accurate comparison would be to Versace Oud Noir or Versace Man, or even CdG Wonderoud, because it has this Blackcurrent/liquorice opening which absolutely bangs with pink pepper's sharp sweetness, it's divine, and again although I've compared them, this is superior in every way. When Oud Rouge is settled it totally changes, I mean it could be a different fragrance the cedar, pink pepper and oud loom large with an almost labadnum sharpness too. This is luxurious stuff. I love this fragrance, it's an absolute delight, projecting hard at first but then sitting low on the skin and lasting very well indeed.
I love Roge's reviews and I can see where he's coming from with this one but I'm going to be entirely more lenient with this praiseworthy fragrance. I will start by saying it's not really my scene, bleu being essentially, an aquatic oud fragrance but I found it quite light and charming. The opening is fresh and yesty, the orange note is not typical to my nose but it's clear that it's not a sharper citrus either, so yeah, it's unusual. Then there's the smooth cardamom and sea breeze vibes which are not that salty, ambergris but more of the 90's men's designer aquatic nature. The base of resins is clearly there both rich and ambery to fresher olibanum type vibes and just feels quality along with the subtle oud backdrop. I really enjoyed it as another direction for this oud line to go and people who are into aquatics or fresh fragrances this could be your king. I'm also somebody who doesn't care all that much about pricing and have grown tired of the whinging I hear about brands like this and Clive Christian etc... If you don't see the value I get that and you have a right to express it and in many cases I might actually agree to some extent. What I don't like it vendettas and to deny a whole line (most of which they probably haven't tried) any merit or say that 'They are all garbage' or 'there's no oud in here' to deny the quality is crazy because I've sampled several of these now and they're all pretty fantastic. This all being said there's not many I'd part with the money to acquire. They are in more of the French/european tradition than they are Arabic (another critique I hear but FdB never made any such claims) and frankly the ones I've tried so far are very understated and some not big lasters or projectors, which again is fine because many other ones are. In reality to me Oud Bleu is just 'nice'
I thought I'd revisit these revamped releases of the les exclusifs, not that I paid them enough notice in the first place to get any discernible difference but hey. Now something about Iris and Ylang Ylang (individually) is really working for me recently, Iris isn't a shock but ylang is, as it wasn't usually something I'd say I enjoy. The opening is green, slightly musky, floral but not overtly and has the smooth exoticism you'd expect. The drydown is pretty woody and with a delicate hint of earthiness from patchouli showing yet another example of just what a great perfumer Polge is...although was it his son who did this? Anyway...Do not be fooled by the notes because this is not a typical experience nor is Rue Cambon a typical Chypre in the sense that it's very unisex, and quite woodsy in the drydown. It sits quite low but you can smell it and lasts pretty well, I really liked it.
I'd been looking to try this for a while and finally now I have. Boy treated me to the usual...'Chanelness' that kind of chic understatement and this perfume is definitely understated. It's a subtle, silky, milky, musky texture which to me smells quite simple with easily definable notes despite the overall 'blending' for want of a better word. Some reviews I'm aware of the notes beforehand and this informs what I say about a perfume and others like Boy...I've no idea...reassuring to see everything I got listed here. The fragrance has a lemony, citrus which is sharp but then 'poofs' into a powdery, clean almost soapy geranium, lavender then the smooth base of vanilla/sandalwood. It's classic meets new in that it's actually quite modern as if something from Juliette has a Gun or Geza Schoen and I like that sort of minimalism but with a respect for it's fougere heritage. It reminds me a little of Allure Homme or more accurately edition blanche the crucial difference being the geranium and lavender in this. I thought it was quite weak to begin with settling back to a very low lying skin scent, however it was actually more persistant than I first thought and I suspect other people would be able to smell it better than the wearer...one of those weird effects. I really liked it. Boy is a little pricey for me and there's better offerings in this line but I thought it was very nice.
Wow! People are STILL questioning whether this is legit. The mythical Creed jus that no one's sure exists, yet we still vote to HATE! To the comment below If I had a pound for every time I had known of a new release before a SA....I'd be a rich man. Just because you work at a concession in a store doesn't mean you are aware of everything going on with the company in fact in my experience it makes them even less likely to know, despite their sense of importance.
So I often favour the more long and rambling review, but on this occasion I have very little to say about Creed Aventus Cologne, One word in fact.... Redundant. If you have the original Aventus or any semblance of affection or what could be considered nostalgia for the original then this doesn't really do it any justice, or support it's legacy whatsoever. A counter to this could be.... well what did you expect from a 'Cologne' version? It's either a literal interpretation a fleeting, lower EDC concentration or a 'EDC' in style (Citrus/white floral or 4711 effect) piece which in that case was never going to be anything like the bro staple, 'beastmode' frag-fam king, that it's older brother was, and all the dissenting voices are just 'haters'. My opinion of Aventus cologne falls into a category of people called 'Are we still talking about Aventus after a decade?/I don't fucking care!!!' type category. This fragrance has clear Aventus makers in the opening the bergamot/cassis/pineapple effect but then has a much more austere base with non of the smoky attack of birch tar. Instead it's base is modern aroma chemical cedar, maybe ambermax, ISO, Ambroxan, cashmere....frankly I've no idea but it's there to keep the pleasant much less overtly pineapple top notes in check. What is at first an Aventus lite slowly becomes something much less like it and very much it's own entity. This doesn't mean it's especially original. I don't get the Allure Homme sport comparisons, nor the Sauvage (style wise perhaps I can see it?) it's more like Roja Dove's Elysium for my money, perhaps with slightly less polish? Doesn't last directly all that well on skin but it did remain on my jacket for a long time, and it's pleasant. What else can I say? If this was a designer or even a slightly elevated CdG type semi-niche brand, around the 80 pounds mark for 100ml I probably still wouldn't be all that convinced but I might think it was a superior, fresh fragrance. However, to charge the inflated Creed prices for a fragrance which doesn't have the soul or intrigue of the original or the perceived value in bro loudness or sick projection, longevity and COMPLIMENTS! just seems unfair. Creed are clearly trading off the back of the Aventus phenomenon but a less cynical side of me wants to think that they truly believe this is as barnstorming and innovative as the 2010 release...but they can't surely? More likely that they are wheeling out some crowd pleasing dreck that will be bought by name association and well meaning but deluded Creed fans. Sorry this didn't do it for me.
For me, Valentino Uomo feels like a fragrance I should wear when I want to wear L'instant de Guerlain, but I'm not being a grown-up, doing grown-up things. That's only really in the first few minutes though and the comparison fades quickly. Right on the opening, it has a citrus up front that zips over a soft chocolate note. In Uomo it's more bergamot and vague, a bit Citrol, household cleaner-ish, whereas LIDG is 100%, well defined, fresh lemons. The comparison to LIDG goes off kilter after the citrus opening, however, when a soft, very velvety Suede leather appears, which gives Uomo a sexier, cuter feel and this note pushes Uomo into a more comfy, playful area rather than the formal area that LIDG sits in. The suede leather springs up in Uomo and almost makes it smell like a sweet pastry, but it doesn't cloy and doesn't feel heavy, although it is definitely very buttery and sweet. The leather in Uomo is not animalic in the slightest. It's got a pretty big Iris vibe to it as well. It's just a touch powdery, but that takes a back seat in the scent which has a very soft and smooth profile overall. My overall thoughts on this one are that it is a very easy to like, casual scent. Definitely a bit of a crowd pleaser. The mix of sweet chocolate, iris and soft leather is unchallenging. It's like a pop song, just hitting the right notes at the right time, it's got a catchy chorus and makes people happy, but that's really it. Do I like it? not sure, it's alright. I'll wear it for sure, but it's lacking any real edge for me. It is good, I get that. I can see how this will fly in the right situation, but I feel like it's just a touch safe and not in a good way, instead, it leans into mediocrity all too easily and lacks just that one thing that might kick it into the next level. I suppose if you want the TLDR, I'd probably sum it up that way: A well-done scent, but a bit too safe overall, that ends up lending itself to unfortunate mediocrity.
Sultry, dangerous, poisonous, sensual..it all falls short to describe Poison, le grand monstre that came from the house of Christian Dior in 1985, causing commotion and disbelief among innocent passerby’s. An innocent apple shaped bottle holding a dangerous elixir. How could this be? But, there it was, unaware to everyone; the hit of the decade, the blockbuster, what everyone would try and imitate. None succeeded. Poison edt, review based on bottles from 1985 to 1992. Poison, above all the extremes, the sensuality, the bite, was about fun. Yes, it was deep and narcotic, carnal, mysterious...but it never took itself too seriously. At least the edt. Powerful like a bulldozer it could be smelt from around the block. 1980’s carpets still have traces of it, and elevators permeated with Poison still have a purple hue in their mirrors, a smoke tendril of the fun that was ahead. You can still hear the laughter of the lucky wearers. And the lament of those who hated it. Stewed plums, red and blue and black berries, hint of coriander, lots of honey and you get a hell of an opening. Just like a fruity cocktail; too sweet to know it gets to your head. The flowers on the other hand, oh, the flowers are all past their prime, dripping in carnality. Tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom, damascones galore with their wine-y tonality between rose and violets. Concentrated to the extreme, the best absolutes to accompany this crazy party, that had the warm company of cinnamon, opoponax, amber, vanilla, sandalwood, plus a castoreum bouncer at the door to keep things on the wild side named Hulk. Poison was a night out made perfume. So addicting that it lingered on skin until the next day, when you sprayed some more just so you could take the day ahead. Wearing Poison had to be because of love, because once on skin it stayed there. Sometimes for the whole week! Poison was worn by everyone and everywhere, and it’s the main reason it was banned from restaurants and repulsed by many. On top, it was worn with abandon! Too much of a good thing ain’t so good it seems. Unfortunately, I missed those days by some years, and even though my bottles smell perfect, the settings around me are not quite the same. One has to cope with what one has, but wearing Poison and smelling it until you scrub it off, it all feels better, even if I’m not greeted by big hairdos, lamé dresses, power suits or looks when entering restaurants! For better or for worse, Poison, this little masterpiece from 1985 hasn’t fared well. The internet is still full of bottles mass produced for eternity, and you’re better of buying one of those than what is currently being sold under the name; if you want to experience true Poison, you need the real deal, not the impostor. After all, who doesn’t look good in purple hued elevator mirrors? And if you close your eyes, you can still smell it!
A very interesting fragrance and somewhat of a tale of two halves....or maybe more? I like that about fragrances when they have transitions or odd quirks and Tokyo from Gallivant is certainly one of those. It smells different in the opening to the drydown which is true of many perfumes but this has the more rare extra dimension of smelling different when vaguely wafted (silage trail) to what it does when sniffed close to the skin. The opening is what I would describe as an aquatic modern citrus, with the characteristic style of Yuzu and heavy spicy, peppery notes and vetiver. There's a zing to it and a Comme des Garcons modernity about the whole thing, but at the same time has that designery feel, for want of a better term. It's clearly a cerebral, niche incense fragrance but has an accessible Bleu de Chanel thing to it by the same token. However, that's just the fresh opening. The main focus at the heart of Tokyo is that hinoki wood. It's an intoxicating, spicy, wood which has it's own unique smell, but If I had to describe those facets I'd compare it to cyrpess/cedar/vetiver/olibanum/pine, it's kind oily, has a slight smoke smell but is uplifting. So from a distance Tokyo is catching in my nostrils and reminding me of a fragrance that I own, but have always been on the fence about. Issey Miyake Bleue d'Issey. Now I'm not saying they smell the same, Tokyo is clearly far superior in quality and when smelled close up is much more complex. However, something of the effect is the same and it renders Tokyo a maybe in terms of wear ability for me. It's such a challenge because when I first tried it I was like "Wow!" Who cares if I'm unsure though, The point is I think Tokyo is a fantastic fragrance which does meet it's brief in terms of evoking Tokyo. I've never been mind you and despite not getting a horseradish note (pretty glad actually) I get the implied wasabi heat, the fresh yuzu, the old world, temple incense and remote Forrest retreat meeting the frenetic pace and neon lights of the downtown. I get all that in this fragrance and that's the point of this line, to be transported.
Clearly a fragrance which is in the mould of Andrier's works in the Iris family and frankly this signature accord will be her and Prada's lasting legacy. I don't know if I'd forgotten what The Infusion range smelled like but I found this to be a little more sparkling than I remember Iris or Homme. Could be wrong though. Now as far as I'm aware The Infusions are no longer in production and I kinda understand the outrage at paying twice the price for what is in essence, the same thing. I'd have more of an issue perhaps if they were still making them, but if they're not then I'm afraid this is the alternative. As for the name, I'm a Prince fan so naturally that name can do no wrong. My thought process was...Wow! Loving that fresh bergamot opening, into a hinted neroli, with iris and vetiver heart and a cedar base. Classic and time tested as it comes, but at £280 a little much for me. The 'Night' ones in this line offer more perceived value as big, thick, concentrated beasts.
The note list for Un Jardin Sur Le Nil is pretty unique, but honestly, I don't get a lot of the more interesting notes, though that could be due to me not really knowing what they smell like individually, so it's tough to pick them. What I do get is a blast of grapefruit and mango in the opening that's very fresh and juicy. It's definitely the flesh of the fruit you get. The two together give an interesting mix of sweet and sour, with an almost plastic-y feel, though it's not at all unpleasant nor synthetic smelling. After these two dominating citruses relax, which takes about 30 minutes, the florals, noticeably the lotus and peony, peek through and a subtle floral sweetness flitters in and out of composition, which makes the whole thing smell very romantic and slightly mysterious. I'd say that "romantic" is the best word to sum this scent up for me. It does a fantastic job at conjuring up a romantic, secret garden vibe, with hints of rain and fresh vegetation. Overall I think it's a wonderful fragrance that's light, airy, fresh and slightly exotic. I wish the incense made a little more of an appearance, but you can't have it all I suppose. The performance, as has been mentioned is poor, which is the scents biggest letdown. I get a big citrus for about 2 hours, then a soft, skin scent with the florals and the citrus taking more of a back seat for another couple of hours and then poof, it's gone. For a refined, fresh day scent in spring/summer or a rainy day scent in the fall/winter, this is impeccable based purely on the smell though. One for the romantics and the dreamers. Despite its longevity issues, I can't help being in love with this. It's fragile, beautiful and unique enough to warrant a place on any shelf, male, female, young and old. Class as always from JCE.
An interesting scent. Bogart PH has that mixture of fresh almost green notes in the opening but soon recedes becoming a kind of synthetic, milky & musky and with a hint of white florals. I think this is a prime example of how to do tonka bean, it’s not cloying or annoying, has good balance and is very wearable. The drydown to me has a tobacco feel, very warm and cozy with shades of A*Men Pure Havanne. The lavender/vanilla, (Tonka whatever) combo reminds me of the usual le male or Invasion barbare, reflection man crowds but dirtier than those and a little more what you’d expect from a fragrance as affordable as this stuff is. A blind by for me as I’d oddly never seen it in stores in the UK, it’s a happy addition to the collection.
Lovely opening you get a opulent but mild saffron and settling to a great, if not familiar leather accord. Now to say this is similar to TF TL and it’s many smellalikes is clearly obvious but this has much less of the fruity, raspberry note of TL. It’s far less sharp and dense, perhaps a little more laid back and mellow, while simultaneously being less sweet and not exactly smokey but somehow more woody. The truth is I have the best there is to offer in this department, the first Clive Christian C which I think does this accord in the most complex way possible, but that’s just an opinion. I found this to be more on those lines or maybe Godolphin, a little scaled back from TL’s full on aroma. I enjoyed it of course.
Clearly Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille will aways be the crest of the wave and the high water mark to which other fragrances similar to this, will be judged. The opening is dried fruits and honey with a deep cherry tobacco and vanilla...yeah...I told ya! The accord is clearly of comparable quality but I guarantee I could tell the difference between this and TF TV as something seems smoother, less brash, could be the oud and saffron Lux’ing it up a bit but it doesn’t have the heft either in the Tobacco or the vanilla. However, make no mistake this is not like a ‘weaker’ One I could think of Phaedon Tabac rouge prehaps it’s more like that Parfums de Marly one? (Name escapes me) a reimagining, progressing subtley differently. I have TV so ultimately this is redundant to me but it’s long lasting and cheaper per ml than TF so worth checking out for fans who want to save a little.
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. As much as I adore Lubin Idole this stuff might just be even better. A boozy, incense and slightly leathered, sweet smell with a hint of creamy sandalwood smoothness in a long and drawn out drydown. Like some stumptuious cocktail expertly crafted by a fine mixologist to have the perfect balance of elements. I love it and I want a bottle. I wasn’t expecting that, but way to hit a home run from the first of this brand I sampled. Also, expensive stuff but actually pretty reasonable considering the quality and volume of perfume you get. It’s a low lying scent but that’s it’s nature, still lasts and projects well. Update: 10/07/24 So I’ve owned this perfume for a few years now and although it still enjoy it, I was somewhat fooled by the intensity of its composition as being ‘better’ than Idole, sentiments uttered in the review above. It’s really not. Idole is a much more nuanced version of this for two main reasons, lighter, less syrupy, boozy and fruity top notes. The sandalwood accord and dry, woody AC’s in the base are exposed for what they are in this and as such leave it lacking that extra bit of finesse.
Now I’m going to have to update this when I’ve had more experience of this fragrance but from initial sampling I absolutely adored this. My love of Prada and Andrier is well documented but I have to say the quality and creativity of this day/night line is very impressive. Now they are all pigeonholed, quite literally into catagories Leather, patchouli, Amber, oud/rose etc.... The smell of the top notes of this fragrance remind me of a friends house when I was a kid, taking me right back there, it’s not the first time I’ve had this olfactory total recall either but it’s not one note that does it, more of an accord. I don’t know whether it was my friends mum’s perfume or they used to burn incense or a combination of other things, I’ve no idea? The main thing I can attribute it to is my favourite catalyst ingrient in all perfumery Labdaum, forming a complex and luxurious opening. It then dies way back when settled to be honest, coming more into a subte sandalwood in the perfumers signature understated style. Also considering the night line are some of the more opulent feeling scents, makes me think Andrier was told to leave nothing in the lab, likely relishing using materials outside of her usual comfort zone. I loved it. I will update when I’ve worn it more comprehensively but imagine high quality sandalwood and resin with a minimalist feel of something like a Santal 33...but smells nothing like it. If you get me? Anyway...I’m encouraging fans to try this line because I liked them all.
Antaeus it seems, never really took of for Chanel. While it could have been for the maison what Coco became, Antaeus was a hit of the moment, spawning a short lived Antaeus Sport flanker, and then took refugee in the back. Few use Antaeus, even today, and even though Chanel has kept it for its followers, it hasn’t bothered to promote it; the vintage enjoys cult status, while the current, stripped by laws and cost cutting could have benefited from a newer flanker if only for the spotlight to shine on the original. Review based on a 200ml splash from 1982. Antaeus is one of the few perfumes that always brings two specific movies to my mind every time I use it; Cruising with Al Pacino, discovering his wild side in the meatpacking district leather clubs. Given the fact that Antaeus was rumored to be a huge success with the gay collective circa 1980’s, I wonder if this association isn’t that far fetched. But Antaeus is so much more than that. Less popular, less in-your-face than the popular brute Kouros, launched the same year, Antaeus always maintained a more suave appearance, a distance, just like Richard Gere in American Gigolo; is he really a killer in disguise, or has he always had the instinct all along? Herbal, dry chypre, rich in woods, leather and castoreum, with a beautiful beeswax note that got lost through the years. A deep rose, N°5 in a way that links it to the house and the grand dame. This is what the vintage smells like. Antaeus opens with herbal accents of myrtle, sage, coriander, basil... Polge’s intention was of a classical composition. But it’s 1981 and whether you like it or not, the market and tastes dictate power and strength. So Polge played with the oakmoss and the leather and the castoreum with maybe just a smidgen of civet to give the base all the power and longevity that men and women demanded, and gave the heart a more somber treatment. The rose and jasmine that glow in the background smell distinctly Chanel; there is a brief link to N°5 in this beautiful floral vein that runs among the more classic herbal/chypre feel, and the more contemporary animalic growl. The leather, abundantly rich creates the signature of Antaeus. And it’s the deep tanned leather, Cuir de Russie meets Peau d’Espagne. Classic gentleman meets his dark side. Was it there all along? Antaeus is always a pleasure to use, and a challenge to the senses. While it is unequivocally Chanel, the treatment of the notes is the work of genius. Polge created something that was in the realm of classic and respected but he also played his brutal animalic side, playing with shadows and contrasts to create something bigger than the sum. Class, elegance, sexuality, debauchery. Was Antaeus a killer all along? The longevity is outstanding, pulsating from the skin like a heartbeat in the heat of the night, while the sillage is mellow and discreet. In this sense, it doesn’t shout, but he’s always lurking in the shadows. And when he comes out, there’s no escaping.
I'm no expert in florals and nor do I have vast experience with perfumes marketed towards women. However, upon first smelling this I thought it was very uninspiring and like many floral musk fragrances I've smelled before. However, as it settled down, more of the base was revealed and it's a little more sophisticated than I'd first thought. Green, fresh citrus/floral opening which settles back to kinda generic white flowers and white musk you've smelled a million times before and crucially not only too feminine but too boring for me to wear. This is pretty much how it remains throughout until after a few hours I get a really soft almost caramelised, sweet base which I can only interpret as sandalwood. Also after several hours the white florals do actually resemble jasmine but only very subtly. For such a big popular fragrance like this, is it enough to win people over? I think the same can be for Joy, it will sell regardless, and to me at least is less innovative than Sauvage. It's a perfectly nice gift for that special someone but nothing mindblowing. So I've given my opinion on Joy and critiqued it from a originality stand point but I don't really understand the criticism on performance or quality. I've smelled cheaper versions of the floral musk that are awful and Joy lasted and projected on me, almost too much so.
The 90’s were a good decade for nectar-ish florals and amber-ish sweetness. So many fragrances launched during those years featured them prominently; as the other side of the Calone coin and airy cleanliness, heavy honeyed florals were the other end of the spectrum. And Jean Paul Gaultier (nicknamed Classique at the end of the decade) came busting like a boudoir on fire, powder and orange blossom vanilla! JPG starts with subtly fruity and slightly spicy bergamot and aniseed. The orange blossom shows from the start, this is the note on which the whole fragrance revolves around, and it’s bigger than life. Supposedly there’s tuberose and ylang ylang, but honesty I can’t really smell neither one of them. There’s a certain ‘full fat-ness’ that I assume is the buttery quality of ylang, but the Queen is nowhere to be seen. I wonder though if you can sense her in brief glimpses of green that flash for nanoseconds before disappearing. There’s also a pronounced nail polish effect which I assume is either aldehydes or a combination of notes. After all, the inspiration behind it included powdered wigs, nail enamel and dusty theater curtains. The heart and base notes show the orange blossom in full bloom; heady and heavy, honeyed and spiced up. But the spices are gentler than what previous decades offered, and here we get cinnamon and ginger primarily, at times evoking the scented potpourris that permeated the air in homes, stores and everywhere in the mid 90’s; come autumn and winter, you couldn’t escape the scent of cinnamon and vanilla that permeated many a store! The base shows said spices, but softened by creamy vanilla, amber and sandalwood. The powderiness doesn’t show up on me until the very end, and then it’s a soft violet powder, reminiscent of Oscar de la Renta; mysterious, solemn, beautiful. The bottle which I own comes from 1995, when it was simply called Jean Paul Gaultier. And while the bottle looks like a modernist tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli’s Shocking bottle, the enfant terrible created something equally avant Garde for its time; it was the 90’s and early 00’s equivalent of what Poison, Giorgio and the likes were to the 80’s. Loud, bombastic, never taking itself too seriously. And it succeeded because it was fun and well made. A modern classic and one of the nicest orange blossoms. The formula of today is quite thin, pale and soulless (what else is new?), heck even the color is almost transparent compared to the deep amber of the vintage. The 2016 Essence de Parfum is the closest to the original release and one of the nicest flankers; while not the same, it has the same huge orange blossom, ‘modernized’ with the current novelties, whipped cream and chili. But totally worth it if you miss the old Classique. And equally strong and powerful.
oh dear. This fragrance is a real chameleon, cool bottle, unusual name, herbal/woody opening but sadly dries down to the same old Solo accord. This is why I've put all the Solo's in 'reminds me of'...because it does. I'm not a hater when it somes to this line, I own Solo platinum and I'm an admirer of the brand, but redundant flankers annoy me slightly. Most of the time I couldn't care less about them, or let them bother me but when they promise a different experience and deliver much the same, it irks me slightly. I suppose the opening being a fresh, fir like pine and woods/clean cardamom/vetiver smell sets you up for something else to what you eventually get. It's so odd then that it transmutes from that after about 10 mins into an even more annoying version of the original Solo. Like I said I have platinum which does have a similar smell but is much more resinous and amber like which completely negates the cheap, orangey/lemon haze of the original...and with a minor tweak becomes palatable.
This fragrance is all about balance. Era somehow conveys a misty, hazy, frosted glass, translucent vibe to me. Both creamy and warmly exotic, sweet but also sour and with a slightly funky edge. The opening is quite discrete but the overwhelming smell in here is oud. The combination in the opening is mainly a iris/leather/saffron but it's not that extremely earthy, sharp saffron, just to stress again it appears in a very complementary dose. As this kinda satin, gourmand leather settles and the iris dies quickly, I get the oud and it's almost that cheesy (I quite literally mean cheese) smell of 70's flat-pack furniture, seriously! Slightly barnyard but not all the way and perfectly fitting for this perfume giving it some animalic edge. The drydown is a very familiar accord to me but I can't place what perfumes it reminds me of. I get a sugared, sweetness of a powdery amber, almost ambergris meets synthetic (maybe even ambroxan) then with the oud coming on strong in a kind of heady, Arabic sort of way. This is a very luxurious composition, which at first you might think could be a shrinking violet, not lasting or projecting but you'd be very wrong, this thing is a real silent killer, just speaking even more to the quality of the ingredients. I've sampled the whole line but this is my first experience actually wearing one and I've got to say they are very Impressive brand, and era is a great example. I've got a sneaking suspicion that Era will be a polarising/marmite type affair. I love so Marmite so it's all good.
Opium! Den of pleasure, carnal delights, ecstasy. Forbidden euphoria. Blockbuster since day 1, Opium is (was) the unparalleled success of Yves Saint Laurent. Cleverly following the footsteps of Youth Dew (Lauder once said it was ‘Youth Dew with a tassel’), Opium landed like a bomb in 1977 taking the whole world by surprise. In a time with no social media and focus groups, Opium alluded to the thrill of the forbidden and the state of mind; guilty pleasure and erotic ecstasy via the heavy spice route sweetened with exotic flowers. The Opium den that Yves conjured and which caused an outrage in the Chinese-American population, banned in many Arab countries and sold without its name on the bottle in some European countries, was nothing but hedonistic pleasure in liquid form. Opium didn’t endorse drug abuse, something that was increasingly the theme du jour in the late 70’s, nor did it condone it. It simply alluded to the state of trance and sensuality one feels under the right circumstances. Opium was either understood and immediately adored, or rejected like the plague. True vintage Opium, with all its forbidden notes, ingredients and allergens is one of my most loved and cherished fragrances. Nothing, absolutely nothing comes close. And sadly, this makes it extremely hard to replace. Long review/homage based on various bottles, splash and spray, from 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1984. When Opium launched, Yves sought to create the complete opposite of Y, his debut fragrance which was a beautiful and elegant aldehydic chypre. He wanted a heavy, languid, extremely powerful and sensual oriental that would make women go crazy, and men completely surrender to its charms. He enlisted Jean Amic, Jean Louis Sieuzac and Raymond Chaillan and together they created a legend that catapulted to success before its official launch, resulting in stolen testers, ripped publicity banners, sellout within hours of hitting shelves, all the while causing a little dementia in the population. Oh, Opium! Heavily reliant on cloves, carnation, incense, Mysore sandalwood, resins, myrrh, opoponax, adorned with orchids, rose, lily of the valley, jasmin, peach, plum, orris and mystified with labdanum, castoreum, bay leaf, pepper, balsams and musks, Opium was like the breath of a raging dragon. Deep reds, golden ambers, the flowers of fire; the flowers of life. Up to this day, words elude me when talking about Opium; I find it so masterfully blended, so true to its meaning, that I cannot (and don’t want to) analyze it or dissect its notes. It’s inevitable that some of them pass right under my nose and are easily detected, but Opium is such a state of mind that the real pleasure comes from surrendering to it. Yes, it’s spicy, floral, aldehydic and mysteriously powdery in the drydown, yes, none of what was used freely to create it can be used with the same abandon today, but why break it to pieces? If for nothing more, the pleasure is smelling it all day long and watch it’s evolution, how it caresses the senses and how it embraces the ones lucky enough to love it and adore it. Opium is highly polarizing, and for most people, it stirs up memories; any kind of them. Good, bad, the ones who wore it, the elevators it permeated, the boss that doused in it...love it or hate it, this most recognizable magnum opus cannot leave you indifferent. Consider yourself lucky if only you can even smell it in your mind. While Opium does not go bad, it does mellow with age. Vintage bottles still pack a punch with enormous sillage and 24 hour longevity, but they have lost the fresh sparkle that was there in 1977; they have mellowed and concentrated in a way that it smells richer and more dense. The patina of time, but still unbeatable. And my personal opinion; up until the early 80’s, Opium was not reformulated, maybe only having suffered minuscule changes. It was so unbelievably expensive to produce that it was simply inevitable. By the late 80’s/early 90’s, the changes were a bit more pronounced but it was still itself. At the dawn of the new millennium, Opium started to suffer the consequences of cost cutting, change of taste and society’s evolution, and by 2005/6, Opium was not Opium anymore. L’Oreal simply murdered it completely, and what has been selling under the name Opium since then, bears nothing, zero relation but the name. It should have been discontinued altogether. While future generations will likely never have the pleasure of getting to know this gem, anyone that has had the pleasure of experiencing it is extremely lucky. And I thank my lucky stars and eBay for allowing me to have the pleasure of dowsing in it. My sillage is free of charge; no thank you needed.
Powerful sensual chypre. Just like many others that belong in the same ballpark and share similarities (Paloma, Diva, Eau du Soir..), Knowing goes from executive decisions in the morning to a theater function in the evening, before winding in an underground club. While the others feel more ‘take no prisoners’, Knowing shares the debauchery of La Nuit; they don’t smell alike but they could be sisters. Carnality is the theme du jour! Honey is majorly present in Knowing, just like in a fragrance 20 years younger and inspired by it; Soir de Lune. And if it’s not, then it must be the pitosporum which does a similar job in Blonde (Versace). Opening with a rush of aldehydes, Knowing feels animalic and honeyed from the very start; melon? Not so much, but plum adds a beautiful juiciness that wraps the whole composition. On some days, I get the florals distinctly but on most the blending is so well made that I just get lost in it. Some days it’s powdery and I think ‘oh, there’s the mimosa and the orris’. Some days the woody facets shine more, or the spicy side, and I sense the patchouli, and the sandalwood, and the spices...always floral, narcotic, and never demure. Oakmoss shines big time from the heart onwards and never fades away. Civet is a major player from the opening to the drydown, and this erotic dirtiness that never fades away, but engulfs the other notes in unashamed badness is what links it to La Nuit; elegant, well made, classy, but with a dirty side that can’t be hidden. Knowing is a gorgeously sweet chypre, less on the rose side, and more on the oakmoss and white floral one. Gorgeous on both men and women. Reviewing a first release vintage splash, and comparing with a sample I have from the mid 2000’s, up until then Knowing held pretty well. I don’t know about current bottles but my vintage packs the punch of a lifetime. And it’s all the better for it! One of the best Lauder creations; the woman knew what she was doing!
Opens up with a fir resin and musky sharpness, this doesn't mess around in letting you know it's a indie bomb of a fragrance but crucially not a patchouli one...at least not for the first few minutes. Then the patchouli comes on stronger and stronger as it settles to a very earthy, soil tincture that would satisfy any patchouli lover. For me though I like patch when offset or tempered by other elements, this however uses darkly resinous tones and other stuff which makes it slightly too rich and peaty for my blood. Don't get me wrong it's really good and in fact turns on it's head again in the 3rd act because the drydown gets really cozy and resinous again almost to the point of an oriental amber. Great quality and thanks to Memoize for the sample, I enjoyed it.
