You never see this one anywhere in the UK even in shops which have a comprehensive selection of Comme des garcons fragrances. Luckily I found it in the CdG perfume shop in Paris and my word is 3 the epitome of this houses fragrances(?) It's strangely aloof, avant garde and yet inviting. I can see how some of the fragrances from this house can leave people cold (especially this one) but I embrace the oddity and love to challenge my nose. So I get fresh bright frankinsence type top notes even a hint of juniper the heart is slightly peppery and herbal then a woody drydown. It's an odd fragrance and does have that cellophane, synthetic, new magazine, ink print smell to it. To me though it's quite warm and woody and comes across quite natural. I may just have a soft spot for CdG, Mark Buxton's creativity and will forgive them pretty much anything. It has an incense signature to it though and I love that about many of their fragrances, it's certainly not boring. Modern and not for everyone but I enjoyed it, performance was average and longevity was not so good.
This is as classic as floriental amber gets but for all it's 'classicness' it's quite odd. Dated is the word for this one, seriously dated. The floral opening (must be lilac?) is actually quite pleasant but not to my taste. Then the heart of this fragrance is opoponax, benzoin and vanilla. It's very balmy and powdered I sort of love it. Royal Bain represents the warm elements I love in perfume but somehow it's not something I could wear. I can't explain it...there's a certain stigma to it. On my skin a bit strange but I could imagine it being incredible in a hot bath so I've purchased it for my girlfriend for christmas.
Nothing I haven't smelled before but somehow Roses musk has bowled me over. I didn't try it on my skin but chemistry wise I do think that scents can smell different on different skin but not vastly. I mention that because I got my girlfriend to try this as I had samples on both wrists at this point. I kept sniffing her throughout the day and this is what I thought. Roses musk starts out with a very bright, juicy rose note which I deem to be feminine, possibly with the addition of jasmine? It's too rosy for me in all honesty and being a Montale this 'Opening' period is longer than many perfumes but when settled it starts to shine. The rose settles in and a soft white musk and I could swear an almost vanilla and patchouli at the back of this making it almost edibly beautiful. I smelled this in Belgium and just days earlier I'd been in Paris and eaten very fancy fresh Macarons with a rose flavour to many of them, this reminded me of that. This is a lovely, powerful, long lasting but soft rose scent.
Another fragrance I remember from back in the 90's which I simply don't see anywhere anymore. Luckily I managed to stumble upon it once more and the memories came flooding back. This is a complex woody, fresh scent but has an overiding oldskool musky element. It's a masculine, true aquatic, with hints of herbal greeness in the opening and dry cedar oakmoss and sandalwood in the drydown. Still this isn't my style and never really has been but I think fragrances being released today could take note that there's more ways to do woody or aquatic scents than bland fakery. Suitable for all occasions this one and good performance too. Also a very interesting bottle design which has stood the test of time.
Dear oh dear L'Homme Sport is awful! Can't believe it took this line so long to get a 'Sport' flanker anyway and they needn't have bothered. Seriously how can you cock up what is on the whole not a bad line of fragrances? citrus/lemon verbena and mild spices should be great? Well by giving it an insipidly synthetic, chemical amber/cedar base! That has to be it because (and I hate to be melodramatic here) it's offensive to my nose! Generic cheap and hashed together is the feel. Sport deviates too far from the original L'Homme(which is pretty average anyhow), if they'd have gone down a route of bergamot/lemon verbena/corriander/vetiver which would mirror the originals lemon/ginger thing it might have been a bit boring but better than this. The juice is a cool colour, that's about all the positive spin I can put on it, oh and it lasted quite well on my skin...unfortunately.
Who would've thought it but this flanker is amazing! Really! I'm indifferent about the original L'Homme, I like La Nuit and the parfum version and the terrible Sport version but I think this one might be my favourite. It really does invoke an icy freshness the spicy, menthol, citrus is pretty effortless in creating this feel before drying down to a more familiar La Nuit de L'Homme accord. That warm, woody, clean soapy cardamom and fruits. I like this...it's that same method of introducing a brighter fresher element to an already winning formula. However it is only really the opening that is vastly different so I couldn't justify a purchase at the moment. Still I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
The whole point of Clive Christian (Anything not just fragrance) is that they don't care about the consumer who moans about the opulence and pricing because you are not their intended market. I certainly can't afford this stuff and even if I was a multi-millionaire would I buy it?...well no but for those who do then fair enough. I'm the first to despise 'bling' encrusted, vulgar shite for rich morons to show off how rich they are but I don't think that's the case here. Maybe I just have rose tinted view of CC as a company but I defend this being sold. I don't think they are conning anyone that the juice is worth 147 G-birds it's quite obviously the flacon which I think looks pretty cool. If you have concerns about the price, you can't afford it. Three cheers for opulence and decadent excess!!!
Not sure how wearable this would be for me but I was very impressed with this composition indeed. I really haven't smelled anything remotely like this a wonderful fruity/berry/citrus type opening then an explosion of florals which I can't even begin to categorize (at least in the opening)I think it's mainly peony and rose TBH, but I'm not expert. Then incense, musk, patchouli and my favourite saffron this is a veritable classy (up)marketplace of notes! The drydown is a delicate suede, leathery, talc which remains floral and uplifting and works well with that saffron note. I think L'Olympia Music hall is a definitely a unisex fragrance but it would take a man braver than me to pull it off, and I'd wear almost anything! It's not feminine, just very daring. Good longevity and projection a wonderful creation from Gerard Ghislain (someone I can't say I'm familiar with) truly innovative stuff. Fragrance lovers need to get your nose on this love or hate it will reinvigorate your appreciation of fragrance.
This fragrance is absolutely BANGIN'!!! A big regret of mine from a recent trip to France is that I didn't buy this, it's superb and a stand out juice from this house. I'll be honest I'm usually not a fan of immortelle and I definitely smell something of it in here, floral yet sweet and caramelized but in this context it's appealing. That's probably because in the main 1740 is a heavyweight masculine bomb of leather, patchouli and resin which totally speaks to me. Perfect mixture of heavy indulgence and something more animal and dirty. This is a rich, oldskool type of fragrance with the raw power of spicy leather, bracing labdanum (which I love) and even a hint of vanilla detected in the drydown. This sweetens things up and does give add a boozy, maple syrup vibe to proceedings. I love 1740, strong on the skin projecting well and lasting for ages, my collection is crying out for this one.
Late to the party on this one. Some of my reviews are done way after my initial try of a fragrance but some classics do pass me by. This was one which I do remember from the 90's but hadn't seen for sale in years and figured it was discontinued, however recently I found it to revisit. It's a true classic this one. Tsar to me still has an authentic aromatic feel, a great fresh sappy/citrus opening, then moss, leather, lavender and a hint of smoke. As it settles the prominence of the opening sappy green aldehydes show themselves as wonderful resinous pine. Complex, beautiful, masculine and perhaps a little dated but this kind of scent is more palatable to me than VC&A Pour Homme for example. The drydown is a gently smoky, sandalwood/pine/leather I suppose? Lavender and pine give this perfume a laid back, soothing feel to what could be quite a strong manly affair. Well worth revisiting, nice strong silage for the first couple of hours then dying down nicely to a decent longevity performance. Nothing not to like here if you're a fan of the classics.
I have to say despite the lack of creation you could accuse this line of, I like them on the whole. The fact that this is quite different and is perhaps my favourite speaks volumes. It has a wonderfully bright and accurate citrus and fruity berry type opening to me. Then some leafy greenery and a base of patchouli. That's not all I can say about it, there's hints in there nods to wood and resin even incense but very tiny. This makes for a long lasting and interesting fruity scent of which you get more Patch in the drydown. I really liked it.
Unsurprisingly this too has the resinous, woody, oud accord of Black afgano perhaps with a hint of the spicy wood from Duro and magic from Pardon? A well and truly trodden pathe then, some might say trampled but I say...I love it! There's an earthy, tobacco perhaps some patchouli there? It's instantly recognizable for it's similarities to many of Gaultieri's work...but I'm not fussed, doesn't make me want it anymore than the ones I've mentioned. I think if you had Black Afgano and Pardon, Duro etc...would you really need this? I suspect not. Worth a sniff if you're a fan of Nasomatto.
Deep, deep, jammy, dark rose! Although the rose is super dominant I'd almost swear there's a hint of oud or something woody at the back of this...maybe that's just my imagination from all the Oud/Roses I've sniffed. Do not make any mistake this is the epitome of Turkish roses but not something I'd wear as it's too rosy for this gent. The performance and strength of this juice is truly stunning.
Any one here actually tried the fragrance? Well I have and 'Natural' or not whatever the case maybe I thought I loved both 'Animal' Amber (Ambergris) and 'stone' Amber (the fantasy resinous accord) but I have to say I wasn't the greatest fan of this. I was excited to try it too as Ambre nuit from Dior is one of my all time favourites and that too apparently contains Ambergris. I've smelled raw ambergris and although it's a bit weird possesses some gorgeous qualities. This isn't sweet, nor does it have the multi faceted charms again it's just very strong, quite musky and almost medicinal to my nose. I think I will have to try it again but first impressions were not positive.
Wow! These Dior Exilir's have certainly sparked debate. I'm not going to get into it though. Synthetic or not the musk in this fragrance is horrendous! Choking strong and just plain funky! Might just be my taste but the only ones I really liked in this collection were the Oud and at a push the Rose. Whatever is going on here it's odd.
Oh wow! Got to try these in Paris and I have to say I was impressed by how uncompromising they are, this is fragrance for the heads! An Oud of high quality, majestic, cerebral, complex and deep. A perfect balance of smoky, dark, woody spice and animal, musky, slightly medicinal tones. That's not the whole story though because it also has facets of ambery sweetness. Like all these high end Dior fragrances just seems to strike the right balance. I really liked it, not my favourite thing but goes to show Oud continues not to give up all it's secrets.
As a sweet and gourmand fan I loved this. I'd never really given Yves Rocher a second thought until I was with my girlfriend on holiday and she was trying cosmetics in a YR store. I tried a couple of fragrances and I have to say they were pretty good. Only a minor criticism here but I was expecting more pear I'll be honest but I appreciate it's kinda hard to juggle two quite different notes and for me the caramel dominates. This isn't a bad thing the pear is detectable but dies back especially in the drydown to a perfect, not overly sickly sweet gourmand scent. I love it, not great longevity or projection but hey worth a sniff.
So weird that I thought to myself after sampling this entire line (well after about 2 actually!) that these were more than reminiscent of Nasomatto. I thought it was just my imagination because they where positioned next to the Nasomatto's in Jovoy, Paris. Hardly surprising then that they are from the same perfumer and it really shows. This is not a bad thing at all though because you get those lumbering, great big, sledghammer compositions. This is a massively resinous, deep, dark heavy chocolate fragrance with that putty like woods of Black Afgano. I actually loved Boccanera to be honest...but it's undoubtedly well trodden ground, especially from this perfumer. Hey I'm not going to criticize.
This is a good scent. I'm not going to go mad about it, Zizonia is good! A fresh opening leads into Creamy woods and gentle spice. I get mainly geranium, nutmeg and sandalwood, cardamom (in fact a range of spice) but it's a mixture of really well blended notes. That's the story of Penhaligon's complex but oh so simple, I wasn't surprised this was aimed at women because I felt a certain soft, powdered femininity from it... but don't be fooled I'd wear it. My girlfriend however thought it was too minimal and didn't like it...not gonna find it in her christmas stocking then! It didn't last on my skin though, and I don't just mean in the way that many from this house don't, I mean it's very soft and close to the skin from the start.
This fragrance is a bit of a mess. I remember reading the blurb about it when it was released and giving out a 'pffft!' at the prospect of it. I thought it's either going to be utter genius or completely awful and in actual fact it's neither. The opening totally reminded me of a fragrance I'd purchased just days before (CdG) Pharell Williams, 'Girl' which also has a really odd unsettling, unnatural vibe to it... They don't really smell alike though. Blamage is a difficult clash of super heavy woody notes, wispy, powdered florals (maybe iris/rose/violet?), something metallic, something ambery, resinous and sharp maybe labdanum and an air of sophistication from saffron? It's a weird thing...if that's what Gualtieri and Nasomatto were going for I think they've succeeded. The heavy 'extrait' feel is certainly in abundance here but it does feel quite chemical for all the efforts to make this a stand out piece of artwork Blamage is just a bit lacking in focus. The Flacon is pretty cool and an interesting if not hideous stopper to go on top of it. This shouldn't detract from the rest of the offerings from Nasomatto which on the whole are great and this definitely fits into a space (perhaps that didn't need filling?)despite being such an oddball.
Just Cavalli the original was a knee jerk buy for me and a fragrance I subsequently got shut of in a recent wardrobe cull. However I don't think it deserved the slating it gt from the fragrance community because it wasn't that bad, the reason I got rid was because I found it a bit too much like a mundane deodorant not due to any offence it caused. I have to say the bold opening notes of this fragrance made me stand up and pay attention reminding me spicy scents like Xeryus Rouge or Hot Water and kind of sharing something with D&G's The One. Then a drydown which delivers a coffee note (which is even a bit nutty) in addition to what is an incredibly warm base of woody notes and approxmated 'leather' from the original fragrance (which everyone seemed to HATE!!!) and a soapy spice of cardamom. When you weigh all that up it sounds like a very interesting fragrance right(?) but in reality you end up with something a little uninspiring. I don't know why that is because I quite like Just Cavalli Gold and the performance seems to great. This is second time trying it and it's definitely wearable and an improvement on the first effort in this range. Still something is cheap and cheesy about this whole thing slathered in Gold and snakeskin it's just tacky. No one is going to smell this and declare it as revolutionary but worth a sniff for those after a thick, heavy, wintery 'Going out' fragrance.
The cynic in me wants to scream 'D&G rip off!!!' (Not that I like the term or would ever say that.) My instant thoughts on Yves Rocher's Ambre Noire, even before seeing the flacon was that it would maybe resemble 'The One' and it does in more ways than one. The tester I tried didn't have a stopper on it but the bottle is very similar, not that it's a criticism, if you're going to copy something then you could definitely choose less wisely. However, upon sampling this amber coloured juice I noted that it has it's own distinct vibe going on. It's not really fair to compare them because they're far enough apart to justify both in your wardrobe for sure although comparisons will obviously be made. The sweet, warm amber/tobacco/vanilla is one thing and reminscent of D&G's The One but then this has a slightly herbal element of vetiver and patchouli with the vanilla toned down and more of a tonka bean scent. Despite this, I think Amber Noire actually comes across a bit smoother and sweeter even than the one. I liked it but then I am a sucker for warm oriental fragrances and if you are too then this is worth a sniff. Longevity and projection are pretty average, well out performs The One though, food for thought perhaps?
I feel quite privileged to be the first reviewer on this scent because I absolutely loved it! Not much rhyme or reason to my assessment just a brilliantly done, fresh fragrance which was love at first sniff. I've tried the EDC too and I have to say there's no comparison this one is better. I got a fresh fruity citrus/juniper type of opening from this juice, then a heavenly greeness which doesn't overstep it's bounds and somehow remains sweet. I'd say it's a fruity gentle musk in the main but what elevates it is the subtle hint of booze, tea, spices maybe some rose and the ambergris? I'm not saying I can smell all of these constituents but something is certainly contributing to making this a superior juice. To be honest, I only tried it in store on my skin once so I really need to get my hands on a sample to get a better idea of what's going on here? Longevity was okay but again I will need to try Old Bond Street Triple Extract to be more conclusive. To me this is a great, summer scent and not to be overlooked. Update: well I've managed to get my hands on several sample vials of this and the cologne version and I have to say I stick to my above statements. A refreshing yet warm, mellow vibe. This time I do get a huge dose of green slightly metallic tea (reminiscent of Creed silver mountain water) with delicate soapy cardamom at the back of it and a dry down that is laid back but impressive because this is such a gentle scent. It delivers on everything really and has a air of sophistication about it. Simple not earth shattering but I really love it!
I tried this yesterday and I have to say it's fantastic! Yet another enigmatic, smooth, complex yet effortlessly simple creation from Penhaligon's. Lothair starts out with fresh top notes of juniper and fig, juicy and watery but then more herbal lavender strong, dry, woody notes, tea and oakmoss. Slightly soapy spice of cardamom in there too it's typical Penhaligon's really, understated and elegant but in no way lightweight, Lothair to me comes off quite masculine. Does suffer a little from the usual penhaligon's issue, Longevity! It's not great but totally acceptable because the fragrance is good...another winner from the house. Update: I'd just like to add that upon wearing some samples a couple of times now I'm glad I didn't buy a full bottle. Nothing wrong with it at all, it's all the things I expect from Pengaligons and largely what I said above, with the exception of quite a lot of cedar present throughout and I'm not sure it's as masculine as I first thought? I'm glad I opted for Levantium in the end, and I really don't get comparisons to Aberdeen lavender? Still alright though.
