Unforgivable (2005)
by Sean John

Nothing special here. Its fresh citrus and floral opening is nice enough but it lasts all of 45 minutes on my skin before becoming nearly imperceptable.

Body Chemistry.
Short Shelf Life.
I'm not sure which all I know is that I put this on twice and both times I felt like I stank like rotten garbage. People reacted to me in the same manner.

And this, dear reader, is unforgivable and re-taught me a valuable lesson: Try Before You Buy.

So, no, I do not think that this fragrance deserves even to be listed as Best for Day Wear, or Evening Wear. For me it serves as "proof" why one should never buy a celebrity endorsed anything.

Honestly, the bottle and it's packaging is nothing but design hack, nice enough but not worthy of any kind of an award.

Nevertheless taste varies as does body chemistry. So, my recommendation is simply: Try before YOU buy. Also if you like the sample but when get home and it smells bad - Return it Immediately.

While there are similarities between Unforgivable and Creed’s Millésime Impérial (MI), I think it is oversimplistic to say that the scents are identical. The opening of Unforgivable is very different from MIs. Herbal notes overlay the aquatic character in such a way that they blunt it. I find the opening to be disappointing compared to MI. (I think Kenneth Cole’s Reaction is much more similar to MI in its opening, but develops differently). After about 30 minutes, Unforgivable’s fruity-aquatic character begin to dominate, and yes here we see a strong similarity to MI. However, it is not as potent as MI, nor as long lasting. There are some pleasant and interesting ‘purer’ (i.e., not fruity) aquatic notes later on that I find enjoyable and different than MIs. Overall, I think Unforgivable is less interesting than MI and should not be viewed as a substitute. I think it has merits of its own and certainly I cannot fault anyone for choosing it. I don’t have enthusiasm to buy it for myself.

I think this smells EXACTLY like Bond No 9 Wall Street!

Since I have not read any of Basenotes review guidelines, I will try to be as clinical as possible. To my nose, this scent is not only not good, it is objectionable. I cannot overemphasize the degree to which I disliked this product.

As another reviewer recommended, you can save a good deal of money by buying "Unjustified" at Wal-Mart which advertises itself as a clone, and, in fact, smells very much like the original, but only costs about $8.

I tested both the original and the clone. Unfortunately.

Try before you buy. Make sure you have a wash basin nearby. If your nose is like mine, you'll need it.

I don't get the comparison to Creed's Millesime Imperial, but I do think its a very close copy to Bond No. 9's Wall Street - In fact, I am sure that the creator had WS in mind. I think that the difference lies in that the ingresients used in WS are of a higher quality and have much greater staying power. But Unforgivable is a decent alternative if you cannot shell out the $$ for Wall Street.

On another note, I am reminded of the original D&G when I smell Creed's MI. D&G is a bit harsher, whereas MI has a more smooth, mellow basenote. Eventually, after the dry-down, they smell very much alike.