Reviews of Mark Birley for Men (1996)
by Mark Birley

It smells nice enough in a sort of generic way, it just doesn't last long enough. There is not a lot of structure to this one, I guess you could say it is diffuse in its structure [is this what some others refer to as ozone?]. If you spray it on too heavily, the initial impact [30 minutes or so] will be too much; apply it too lightly and it is gone by the time you leave the house in the morning. Why can't we have both subtle AND longer-lasting fragrances for men? Am I asking too much? There are so few, and this is not one of them.

Clean and fresh, subtly woody and nutty and a bit rubbery with a hint of tartness, and the fresh summer linen quality others mention, this would be something I'd wear in warm weather if it had a bit more sillage (really, I haven't found many other perfumes that stay this close to the skin) and much better longevity. A great effort by the perfumers, but I expect more for the price.

My wife loves this edt on me and I also have to say that I got a lot of compliments on it.
I personally think that Mark Birley is a good edt but after a while it just got boring. It is not good enough to be on my top list. As other reviewers already mentioned- it is not long lasting, when you spray to much it gets annoying and smells primitive, if you use a little then it just fades away after an hour. The after shave also doesn´t tingle on the skin, which is for me as a lover of classic after shave lotions absolutely essential- I also don´t like mild pepperoni.
The good thing about Mark Birley is that it is hard to get and just not a lot of people wear it. It is a noble, nice all around year scent(especially good for day time), no doubt but it can`t compete with Eau Savage or the classic Armani edt.

Nice but in the long run trips and falls on its face. Sadly, it bruises and can't get back up. You want to cheer for the guy but he's just too weak to keep going.

A very well blended mixture of patchouli, woods and some herbs. Elegant and sophistication only can go so far with a thin visage. The citrus top notes mask the underlying notes that really should be the forte of the fragrance. Good but not awesome. A huge thumbs up if it lasted longer for me.

As many have noted, Mark Birley is a lovely, delicate scent, as light as a feather. On me, it had a dominant orange note. I thought it might be like Hermes’ Eau d’Orange Verte – nope! EOV is positively bold in comparison, and of course is much greener and zippier. MS is a citrus and light musk scent. It is fresh and perky, and stays very close to the skin. One has to get quite close to appreciate its subdued beauty. This scent would be best in intimate encounters. It is of the “one’s own skin, but better” variety... and thus advantageous for such episodes. I’d say it is OK but not a wowser.

Ozoney and fresh but nothing terribly unique. Not very long lasting either. I like the initial smell but it loses my attention shortly thereafter.

"Hmm? Marinus oceanicus meets citrusy woods, eh, Doctor?" Unknowingly, I've come to realize that I've cultivated a pretty decent nose in my valet, only to have this value-added character work against me on those evenings when I try to work clandestinely without my valet's knowledge. But in this case, yet again, he was close to the mark. I couldn't fault him for not knowing the name of the scent I was wearing, for I was trying it for the first time myself. However, I've tried on several occasions now, and developed a pretty solid impression of it.

The word "classic" has been used to describe this fragrance since its release in 1996. I do not quite see this, however. This scent opens with an odd, airy, ozone-like lead, through which citrus eventually emerges. I'm coming to see that many of the scents that I perceive as having an ozone-like character (which I do not particularly care for) have some measure of carrots in the. Anyway, this scent stays very light and close to the skin; perhaps I should use more than 6 sprays? Through the lemony topnote a complicated set of smells emerges, which are hard to identify individually, though vetiver is somewhat apparent. Luckyscent.com describes the composition as thus: Sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, musk, vetiver, carrot seeds, leather, lemon, bergamot, mandarin, violet, incense. Unfortunately, it does not last long enough for me to appreciate the sandalwood, patchouli, incense, and musk basenotes - it only lasts about 3 hours on me. Definitely worth a try, and perhaps it projects and lasts much better on others' skin.

Wicozani