Surprised that this is a unisex, I find it very manly but in a understated way and so much so that I bought it right off the bat. I'm fascinated by this scent it's a wonderful mixture of the familiar and the unknown for me. The top notes are peppery and you definitely get the papyrus. The vetiver is perfect, earthy and woody but clean with great spicing that is just low in the compositional mix. There's gentle myrrh there too this fragrance is quite a complex treat but one that you don't have to become fixated on notes and just sit back and enjoy the big picture. What I like is the way it has an animistic quality, I don't mean in the sense of an animal... I mean the human animal. It's the way it mixes with my body/skin chemistry to create something seriously primal...No wonder this is the Wolverines (Hugh Jackman's) signature scent! I've yet to sniff out a bad or boring L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrance. Love this and will be wearing it regularly although I do think it will be more suited to the heat with the african vibe.
Oh wowie wow!!! My oh my this is the complete perfect balance of Incense, Oud, patchouli and a touch of Rose. This scent is perfection for the incense lover, to me it's not smokey more of a fresh incense, the oud is really gentle, the rose is sweet its truly intoxicating. Ridiculously expensive...I mean really is a crazy price for 50ml of juice but despite being similar to many fragrances I like in terms of ingredients I found this one to have struck the finest balance. Incense Oud is absolutely spectacular no doubt about it.
I love this fragrance and enjoy wearing it every time it's very very good. I've noticed a few things having worn it extensively now. I can totally sympathize with @Prodigy's review below this is one of those scents that is Oud in name alone. However, Oud is strange in here and I always pick up on it for literally a split second after the opening then it's gone! It might be because of the boozy qualities of this and the incense and rose which are more apparent. Anyway...despite that this scent is absolutely off the charts good and the best By Killian by far!
I do happen to have an amber fetish myself and this fragrance scratches my itch BIG TIME! This is an amazing juice, totally bonkers I've never smelled anything like it...truly! A hugely complex spiced amber fragrance that somehow reminds me (strangely) of how my sinuses feel after I come out of the swimming pool at the gym and inhaling the crisp, green, evening air. I don't why that is...this is a rich fragrance not fresh or green at all, neither does it smell like chlorine but this post swimming analogy remains. I have no experience with this house but what a fantastic start to my discovery. Ambre fetiché is a rare smelling fragrance that combines some of my favourite things, masses of amber and incense. I'm totally sold on this!
Instantly this smell provoked an emotional response...A rare moment in perfumery that genuinely moved me. Not only is this an amazing fragrance that is very masculine and hugely complex and interesting but somehow reminds me of the smell of my late father. Strange really as he only used to wear dated classics in the vein of faberge brut or Fendi uomo...to name a couple and towards the end of his life he didn't wear anything but smelled exactly like this. I got pine, moss wormwood and aniseed from the star anise. What a great herbal tonic this is almost menthol, medicated but soft at the same time. Needless to say I love it and it smells like my pa so I can't help but love it.
Well here goes another MFK fragrance and I kinda know what to expect from these... unfortunately that something is disappointment. Well that's not fair at all because it's just that my expectations were so high...I want something from this house to come and smack me in the face and make me love it! (I think I'm close with Amyris Homme actually...oh and of course OUD...but I'm greedy and want more!!!) Each fragrance is expertly crafted and the subtlety is remarkable. Somehow Kurkdjian uses ingredients and concepts that don't appeal to me and manages to make them likable, APOM pour Homme is a prime example. Orange Blossom which to me is quite a complex note in and of itself, has a similar quality to neroli for me but with a hint of fruitiness and also something slightly rubbery and off putting. Having said that the unpleasantness takes a few minutes to develop to be fair the opening of this fragrance is stunning as was the last one I tried. The mixture of cedar perhaps gives this effect I don't know? The amber is a great match for the floral top notes of this fragrance and works very well in the composition. On paper again this seems a little simple and feminine but somehow isn't and manages to make great use of few notes to create something slightly more complex than the note breakdown suggests, again this is Kurkdjian squeezing every bit of character out of the different elements. The question is... would I wear this fragrance? No. Not to my taste... I think the price tag is high but if I liked it enough I wouldn't be perturbed. This has quality and if you like white floral and specifically orange blossom this is probably the most finessed fragrance you can get.
To be fair I look back at my review of this posted 2013 (but likely written sometime before that) and I'm amazed by how my tastes have changed but my appraisal of this scent even then, was pretty positive, despite really not liking orange blossom all that much. I was 'stunned' by the opening apparently and now I'm just stunned by the entire fragrance. Yet still something about orange blossom is slightly cloying and here clinging onto the warmth of the resinous base beneath it works perfectly. Kurkdjian is a master of this white floral stuff and APOM evokes the classic French and North African influences pretty perfectly. This is a summery, fresh fragrance but has a cosy warm heart, and as a convert to orange blossom I have a new found appreciation for the stuff and this fragrance.
So I asked for some samples of any of the MFK fragrances today and I received this as one of them...I was quite happy as I've reserved my judgement on many of them as I need to sample properly on my skin. When I read the accompanying card had you been there you'd have seen my slightly pained expression and my disappointment would've been palpable. Rose & patchouli? Really? Not that I dislike either note but having no prior knowledge I'd kinda hoped for something different. Well...to my dismay I absolutely love lumiere noire!!! At last a male rose scent that is better than Cartier or serge Lutens to give two examples and you know why? Because this isn't all that rosy!!! A very gentle composition that has a magnificent opening for me, the rose is used perfectly the patchouli is minimal but evident straight away and gives an almost chocolate quality which works so well with the rose. I genuinely don't like Rose based fragrances (unless very very dark) for men as a rule but the rose in this is so subtle and refined it's totally acceptable to my nose. Lightly spiced, and with a very vague almost bitter, animal quality to it...everything about this says quality, balance and harmony this is not just another bad rose scent for men this one is very very good and I would probably wear it as could most women. The problem here is the price...unless I was crying out for a very lightweight rose scent in my collection(which I'm not) I just wouldn't bother.
Put quite simply...this has to be one of the greenest fragrances I've ever smelled! The moment I tries it in the store I exclaimed "woah!!! GREEN!" Immediately, to which I got a few odd looks for talking to myself such was the impact of this juice. Not in a freshly mowed grass way, or an astringent floral way or even a boring linear chlorophyl kind of way. This has a depth and wonderful character to it which really impressed me it really is more reminiscent of wandering through a fragrant garden in the height of spring. I like rose when used sparingly as it is here and you get the freshness of berries. I'm not sure what cassis smells like to be perfectly honest but you get a pleasant leafy vibe throughout. So there you are then another great fragrance from Diptyque. I'm really enjoying their stuff, the brand image and scents have a natural vibe to them similar to Jo Malone.
This is a great fragrance, light on it's feet citrus & pepper combining to create a lovely freshness. Everything Lalique do oozes class, not overly pretentious and very reasonably priced. I often wonder why they're not more mainstream and in more stores. I kind of glad in a way because I think that would take some of the magic and exclusivity away. Okay so @freddiefingers is going to kick my ass again over this...and dude I don't just think everything smells like GIT! But... Just for a fleeting moment in the opening this reminds me of Creed Green Irish Tweed... anyone with me? I like to think my nose is not completely shot and I'm not going totally mad! I'm not saying they smell the same either it's only the opening and it's no where near as herby or prominent as GIT and the drydown is totally different, any vague resemblance is gone totally. Is it the ceder, oakmoss, lemon leaf?? something in there is creating this effect and I swear I'm not imagining it!
As soon as I smelled this I was bowled over! Fig scents to me are almost always aimed at women and where I'm not a huge lover of the note anyway I keep coming across fragrances which contain fig. I'm drawn to them without prior knowledge that they are going to be there, so now I just go with it. This one is the most outragously figgy scent you could imagine. It explodes out of the bottle with the most lush, ripe, gorgeous smell. I have the Acqua di Parma Blu Med Fico and that is very mellow and understated in comparison. Originality is the key to all the scents in the Diptyque line although the ingredients are similar to others used across the perfumery industry they are able to set themselves apart from the crowd with some wonderful smelling fragrances. Everything I've smelled so far (only about 6 of them) is stunningly good at a fairly reasonable price. The best fig scent I've smelled hands down and it drys down beautifully giving a little coconut...magic! Update: I still love this but my girlfriend really doesn't she said "If you get it... don't wear it when I'm around." Knowing I have juice to pick from but still that's not the point I thought this (although figgy) had a wider appeal and was pretty inoffensive to most tastes.
Revisited this after a few months and I still love it. Very fresh and invigorating as all Jo Malone scents but this is special in vetiver fragrance terms. Never realised how fruity the top notes were until I retried it yesterday the citrus zings and works perfectly with the very gentle spice and woody character. This might just be my favourite citrus/vetiver combo and I've sniffed out quite a few. It's a perfect composition.
I'm a big fan of Jo Malone despite most of the fragrances being fresh and for women. I'm a huge fan of the vetiver and this is along the same lines even woodier infact. I really enjoy it an actual composition without an obvious name of the ingredients which are inside the bottle. Easily unisex but the lady at Jo Malone said this was more aimed at men and I can see why. Smells great.
Okay Burberry London has legendary status among fragrance heads, very rarely do I see a top winter line up that this one isn't a part of. How fitting we are entering wintertime and I'm posting a review due to the fact I too turn to this fragrance in the colder months. I'm not going to spout cliches like "...Christmas in a bottle" or anything but that's truly not a bad description. I'm surprised to see that Fir or pine is not a note listed here because that's the first thing I get from London, a very green, sappy note. That disperses quickly and your instantly into the warm heart of this juice and it is warm and super welcoming. Sweet, mulled wine, cinnamon spice, woods...it truly is as good as everyone describes, maybe even better? Even the bottle is wrapped up warm for the cold weather what more could you ask for?
Okay so I went to my local perfume counter and said to some of the women there..."You know me by now...what else do you have that I will like?" I always use certain fragrances as a reference to (hopefully) help them alert me to new ones...In this case it was Robert Piguet 'Bois Noir' and Amouage Interlude Man. She came up with this one from DSquared. It was a new one to me, the He Woods are a mixed bag and I'm not overly keen really...but I figured hey I'll try it! A pale comparison with Bois Noir which is in another league(not even gonna mention Interlude) was my conclusion. It smelled cheaper, I'd figured they were the same price but when I discovered this one was half the price it changed my perspective slightly. Really not a bad effort at the high end opulence that I crave from a spicy, Oudy, smokey, Incense scent at a designer price. Also the rose strikes a pretty good balance in Potion Royal Black, all in all not bad. For me though, I like designer fragrances for being a composition that you wouldn't see in the niche realm and this attempt is slightly redundant for me. It just highlights that If I want this sort of smell I will have to be prepared to pay for it and in truth will get something much much better than this. Update: My original point above was not very objective. I'm speaking as somebody who loves dark, eastern, incense fragrances and is prepared to pay top dollar so this doesn't really appeal to me...but more broadly speaking this might be the finest designer fragrance you can get and not to be sniffed at! (If you pardon the pun...this most definitely should be sniffed at! in a really good way.) Tried this again the otherday as I was really quite impressed the by this the first time, considering it's price point. It starts out as a really smokey mess quite frankly and is very pungent with spices and I'm not sure what it's supposed to be? You can actually sniff through the layers of resinous, smoke and reveal what struck me as an almost feminine rose scent underneath. However, as it dries down it seems to get deeper and darker and in the very deep drydown 8+ hours it becomes my favorite a gorgeous leather (Think almost Tuscan leather or Clive Christian 'C' PRAISE INDEED!) but by then it's so faint it's just barely in the realms of existence. Quite a journey this fragrance takes you on...layered and really a bold outing for a designer house with awesome longevity, so well done to DSquared.
As a big fan of masculine woody fragrances I am naturally going to love this right? Well I do and I don't there's a symphony of different characters of woody notes in here but it's just not very bold...maybe that's a good thing? It's a great gentle fragrance and I'd wear it in a heartbeat so maybe I'm just managing my expectations because they were so high with it being called 'Wonderwoods' and all. Update: having tried this numerous times now I'm starting to come around to the fact that this one is actually pretty spectacular and a much better example of a masculine woody fragrance than the DSquared HeWood line for example. It has grown and grown on me, Wonderwood is definitely one of if not THE best in the standard CDG range.
I completely echo @Maddyrain's review I was expecting something uber green from this and instead the generic fresh, aquatic I've smelled before. However, It's a very nice smelling scent and an inoffensive alternative to the mainstays of Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and the like for roughly the same price so why not get this? It's not bad.
Spices, Amber, incense? On paper this was stacking up to be a olfactory wet dream for me and as such I couldn't wait to sample it's goodness. Now that I have, the best word to describe it is... Weird! I'm really not a fan at all...I never let it drydown properly due to an erge to get it off my skin as quickly as possible. I wanted to like it so bad too, it's brave and very different it strikes me as be very excentric, extroverted. I can just imagine some hip young fashion conscious french gentleman the kind who would wear a CDG jacket with lots of ruffled fabric on the lapels and arms smelling like this...needless to say not my scene AT ALL! I like saffron but all I get in the opening is awful booziness and spice attack, turmeric galore!!! Maybe I'm not being fair and the drydown is nice but yet again I can't get past the opening, a real shame because CDG do some great fragrances.
Tried this a while back and found it enjoyable but wasn't sure if it was a keeper or one I wanted to add to my collection. Thankfully now I have a small decant just in time for the cold weather and I have to say it's an absolute knockout!!! I thought it was quite linear and first a beautifully dense, warm, endulgent, boozy plumy scent that hits you straight away and doesn't let up right into the drydown. That would be enough to sell me but just as it gets a little sweet you get deep, wet, woody oud and all this within seconds of stiffing. Step outside into the cold winter air, you can smell yourself and it's divine. The main change for me is that the fruit and wood suddenly seem dry this makes for an interesting twist. As this dries down you get more of the exotic florals coming through and a touch of vanilla which is the true heart of this fragrance although the plum note remains throughout and the oud is an ever present base. Frankly, I'm stunned by this fragrance, mainly by the way it develops. Although there's much more to it than fruitiness and sweetness if you don't like that you would probably dismiss this fragrance. If you find Tobacco vanille too sweet you probably won't enjoy this either. More fruits and Oud please in fragrances because this is another triumph from Tom Ford.
Have to say I agree with @merekkalinowski very little difference between this an the original. The sales assistant (a very pleasant French lady) was so eager to tell me the story about the whiskey casks and how exclusive this juice was, which was nice actually as most I talk to don't have a clue about fragrances or show any real enthusiasm. I have to look at the process with some scepticism because as a man of science I believe it's pure chemistry and I'm not sure how much perfume can be infused with character in this manner. As a romantic I would love these processes to be possible (oak barrel aging, smoking etc...) because it makes the artistry of perfumery even more magical but I think in this case it maybe a bit of a gimmick. That being Said...trying them side by side as I am at the moment, I get a slight(and I do mean very slight) difference between them. It's not enough really for me to warrant any change from my position on the original A*Men, it's a wonderful complex, oriental, spicy fragrance. I'm glad the whiskey, maltiness is not maximised because I was always reluctant to try because of this but it's subtle...very subtle! If you're somebody who really picks up on the difference between these and love it then good for you because this is a great smelling fragrance and it's £20 cheaper than the original so I'd chose this version even if just from a financial point of view.
Okay so this is day two of straight up comparison and contrary to what I have said below there's a definite...definite difference between these two. Absolutely no doubt about it pure malt creation is smoother and sweeter. To be more accurate actually it removes the slightly unpleasant, tinge A*Men has (which makes it sort of interesting actually) and without that barrier you can access the sweetness more easily. Why I never??? The barrel thing actually works!!! It is actually malty, as you spray it right out if the bottle there's a malty, whiskey note that I never really got yesterday. Strikingly similar but honestly I prefer this to the original for sure...what a difference a day makes! I hope they've not sold out.
Naji great review below says it all really. I'm not adverse to violets in fact I have quite a few fragrances where violet is at the forefront but non more so than this...distinctly feminine there's no way this could ever be considered unisex. I only tried it because I was given a tester and it looked interesting, smells very good indeed and settles down quickly which I like. Also the violet note is a blend of leaf & flower and as such has a rounded and accurate smell to it, not overly sweet or synthetic but very subtle and grown up. This is the dictionary definition of 'powdery'. Naturally this is far too feminine for me, too linear and very little woods in the base...but that's okay. I can still appreciate it as a fine fragrance and will be recommending and passing the sample onto my friend as she loves violets.
I love this! It really is very nice indeed a gorgeously creamy sandalwood scent with very complimentary spices surrounding it. If you love sandlewood in a soft composition then this is one of the best you can get. It's manly enough for some but not quite for this man unfortunately. Price is a factor too, it's lovely but so are the vast majority of the Tom Ford private blend line and this one isn't a priority. I like the pervy naked skin colour of the juice too!
Opium pour Homme a very interesting fragrance for me because I just don't know what to make of it? Having revisited it after many years I find it still intriguing, nothing like it to my mind. What prompted this fragrance Renaissance was my girlfriend wears Opium very often and I kind of like the fact she prefers a deep spicy scent rather than some horrible floral choking perfume. However I really don't like the interaction of floral with spice, the carnation note ruins the resinous body and nature of the fragrance...just my opinion. Anyway... Luckily the mens version is entirely different and although hasn't been on my skin for years I have huge respect for it. For me a wonderful example of a classic oriental fragrance that's maybe a little dated now but by the same rule has stood the test of time. Deep fruits, with an oriental spicy heart and woods in the base...enjoyable and masculine.
Hey @freddiefingers I agree with your original point and repost to an extent. I have often fell victim to modern technology(ie iPhones iPads etc...) when surfing the web pressing things mistakenly due to touch screen swishing and swiping. I've noticed I've voted on sillage and longevity before without being aware and sometimes without having tried the fragrance which is what is frustrating to both of us given that this corrupts the results and the data becomes impure and subject to false positives/negatives. I suspect this might account for some of the 'early bird' responses. Just a thought. Anyway...I'm truly looking forward to trying this as a proud owner of Hommage L'Homme it seems really interesting from the notes listed here and the bottle looks stunning in that colour.
I've been waiting to try this fragrance since long before it was released and I can't believe it's taken me until now to finally get my nose on and subsequently purchase Lalique Hommage A L'Homme Voyageur. The main reason was that the release of this scent coincided with the withdrawal of Lalique from Selfridges in the UK meaning that Lalique could only be found in the remotest boutiques and even then many didn't carry the new fragrances like this one or Encre Noire Sport. I managed to find this in an ornament shop which sold Lalique glassware and several nice fragrances from Lalique and Bentley. The opening of this was just a yes for me straight out of the bottle, I found it to be a masculine poem of notes which invoked a list of fragrance comparisons in my mind but nothing, the same or copied as you'd expect from Lalique. The citrus brightness of the opening then woods of vetiver and cypress with oakmoss it actually evoked Vintage Halston Z14 or TF Italian Cypress. That was my impression on the first wear but with each subsequent wear this fragrance changes and the main event now is the unforgettable and smooth signature of patchouli adding the earthy smokey effect of birch wood at times. Another comparison would be to Guerlain Heritage or even Lubin Idole. This fragrance coupled with the smokey smell of cigar smoke on my coat actually conjured up Creed Aventus for a brief moment. Very interesting and subtle stuff from Lalique the drydown is a pleasant combination of amber and patchouli which is chunky but smooth and the citrus top notes actually last a long time before retreating. Personally, I think this fragrance is another success story from Lalique and very nearly something I love unconditionally. The only reason I don't and have slightly less enthusiasm for it than I did at first sniff is because wearing HL'HV a few times my 'love' has mellowed & dwindled to just a 'like'. Lasting power is okay and silage too, Lalique have added a really decent fragrance to an already strong lineup.
So another L'Homme fragrance to try and without being compelled to own any of them, I have to confess they haven't been bad at all! L'Homme original is classy and fresh, L'nuit (all versions) is my favourite well balanced and sexy and Libre is inoffensive, bright violet scent. This one however is the exception as I'm not a fan. This maybe due in part to appealing to a younger demographic (or attempting to) I personally don't think that much about age in relation to fragrances but when the shop assistant says it, I can't help but think they've read some press release bumf rather than forming their own opinion. Anyway... I love amber and looking at the colour of the juice I was excited at the prospect of a great warm, sexy amber scent. However it's disappointing...not rich with amber and sweet to the point that I couldn't wear it and I have a very sweet tooth. Let's get it in perspective...it's not awful just not up to par with others in the L'Homme line. Furthermore... I hate Diesel fuel for life spirit, it's probably the most scathing review I've written. I hated that stuff with a passion!!! To see so many comparisons here I feel there must be something to it, although I didn't enjoy L'Homme Parfum Intense I didn't think it was boozy and harsh like the Diesel fragrance, it did have the same sickly smell. I need to revisit the diesel to check this out...either way it's not going to change my opinion about this one, a poor edition to an otherwise strong line of fragrances.
Got loads of samples of this today through my friends at various Tom Ford counters around the north west...so thanks for that. When I looked on here at the notes I was expecting a totally different fragrance as I suspect many others were. The review below says it all really the same fragrance as Noir, a deep warm wonderful iris, pathouli, amber, resiny, vanilla, animalistic, spicy...the list goes on quite frankly a staggering concoction of notes. I have noir eau de parfum and personally I love it! I can't understand people who bang on about Noir de Noir, and make like for like comparison...just because they have both have noir in the name. They really are very different fragrances. Anyway...this eau de toilette for my Money has the same longevity, projection and sillage as the EDP (black bottle) with a blast of citrus in the top which genuinely wowed me at first because it gives this fragrance a new dynamic. Unfortunately top notes being true to their name are gone very quickly...if this scent could somehow retain those fresh citrus notes at least a while longer into the drydown it would be a hugely interesting fragrance against that Noir backdrop. So effectively what I'm saying is, this drysdown to Noir and is not noticeably any weaker so if I had the choice again I would probably go for this just because of the interesting fresh opening, and if the price is cheaper(not sure what it is?) you could plump for this one.
