Fragrance Reviews by Oaksbluff

A wonderful neroli offering, and I completely agree that it is also somewhat reminiscent of Aqua di Parma Colonia. Very streamlined in its blend, other notes sluiced together to make a very classy and clean fragrance.
Longevity is not bad, I'd say the neroli top notes last between one hour and two on me, upon which time a light musky wood base carries the scent to completion.
Overall, worth every penny, and if it ever leaves my top ten, it is only whim and circumstance which keeps it away for long.

Pledge mixed with Pine Sol. Mercifully, does not last long.

another vote here for the "pro" Rive Gauche pour Homme Light. I own and love all incarnations of the RVPH, and each one lends something unique to the roster.
RGPHL has a nice watery citrus in the beginning stages; interesting for me as I almost universally detest aquatics, but this is done with such sublety in a way that indeed complements the citrus note. Right in the wings is the RGPH smell of barbershop, or shaving cream, or... well, you know what I mean.
Although this is considered "light" longevity is still pretty good, lasting at least four hours on me, with the finish... or what remains, a nice amber accord.
I'm all for it! Once again, proof that YSL puts out solid fragrances, even when they are flankers.

Does anyone else go to a dentist who uses a cleansing tooth paste which smells of Chergui? That's about all I get from this, which develops into that scent melded with cinnamon. Under all this is the treacly Lutens structure which quite frankly is just too damn sweet for this lad.
Admittedly, I am trying this from a Perfumed Court decant, and not the original bottle, but I'm willing to bet the source is pure.
That being the case, I'm glad this has its adherents; I am not one of them. This is one of three scents I've worn (Polo Blue and Montale Cuir d'Arabie the others) where I've actually had to wash them off lest there be imminent sickness.
Blind buyers beware: do not be lulled into the fantasia of hay, tobacco, and amber, thinking this a lost city of El Dorado. Try before you buy, unless you want an olfactory hallucination of dental fillings by Dr. Resnick.

looks like I'm the rain on this parade....

First off, I won't say that EeL is bad. Starts out a fairly straightforward lavender: nice enough. The drydown comes in, and yeah it's a bit incense-y... but sorta smells like a Bulgari aquatic at this point. Overall, not one of those treacly affairs that Sheldrake/ Lutens churns out by the gallon.

So, I've got to ask people this: Has anyone tried a lavender essential oil? I have yet to find a fragrance that can come close to a few different varieties I've owned.

Would I pay the premium price for this fragrance? Not a chance. Thumb sideways as it isn't awful, just mediocre in an echelon where that isn't warranted

I am a fan of Floris; their range is classy and seldom, if ever at all, trendy (a word used, I might add, disparagingly).

Vetiver starts out nicely citrus'd, with the grassy vetiver pretty tame... like putting the wildman Vetiver into a bespoke tuxedo. If the scent stayed linear, I'd be happy. However, there arises a strange note... after repeated sniffing of the wrists I can only compare it to the smell of rice crispies. And thus did the tuxedo turn into a toddler's bib.

Sorry Floris, I love ya, but this one is a pass.

I guess I'm in a minority here... I rather like Cefiro.
It's built around the usual suspects citrus topnotes, bit of bright sandalwood beneath it all. However, what is very weird, and it is the reason I not only enjoy it but love it, there is a "silly putty" smell: remember the stuff that came in a plastic "egg?"
My recommendation is to give it a whirl. Lord knows there are enough irrelevant scents out there in the world, growing exponentially, but I for one don't think Cefiro is one of them.

il Profumo makes some spectacular scents.
There is a house base-fragrance, like Guerlain has a "guerlinade" (profumanade?), which appears in a few of the masculines. If I struggle to dissect this fragrance I would put forth the following ingredients: musk, a light dose of a woody camphorous smell-- perhaps birch tar, and a more than healthy dose of what seems to me Calone. It has an aquatic vibe without being palpably aquatic. Make any sense?
Anyhow. On to Vetiver de Java. Not really sure I pick up much (any?) vetiver here... don't come looking for a vetiver stronghold in this. The aforementioned house note is pretty much what predominates from beginning to end. As for luckyscent's description, which often leads me to believe that they were creative-writing English majors before they got an MBA, they couldn't even spin a yarn beyond what the company's website says about it. On top of all this, the concentration seems weak.
Thumb sideways, as this scent isn't dreadful, just unnecessary. Tempted to give it a thumbs down as I'm miffed at a lack of another good vetiver in the world of scent... but one tries to remain unruffled.

The iris accord has proven to be the realm of the dream-makers. There are many fragrances utilizing this note that have become some of the truly spectacular creations of contemporary perfumers. I seek them out.
Sadly, I found Bois d'Iris not to be in that company. I realize that my criticism may have a broader net, whereby I simply do not care for JC Ellena's creations; too spare at the expense of an experience for me to pay much heed. He is a talented creator, I realize, but my tastes do not hold much regard for his work. It's like stopping overly long at a Schnabel when there are Caravaggios in the next room.
Specifically, Bois d'Iris is like a pale, sweet-ish iris note that goes woody without having done much dancing beforehand.

soap lovers rejoice!
Open starts out with a massive blast of soapiness, not altogether unlike Gendarme, but there is something ever so slightly synthetic about this soap smell... I won't say that it is unpleasant, but it is rather astringent. Like Ivory soap on steroids.
That, however, doesn't last very long, and what remains for an almost insanely long time is a mossy, woodsy, vetivery scent that I, myself, have come to refer to as "barbershop" in the vein of Rive Gauche Pour Homme.
I got this in a trade and I do wear it and love it. When it comes time to replace the bottle I'll most likely get another. That opening accord is one I actually look forward to for its short duration when I reach for this strangely-shaped bottle. Then of course the drydown is one that lasts so long you should be prepared to make an all day commitment.
Now one hopes that the powers at R & G don't bungle up and discontinue it.

starts out, to my nose, like a Rose Poivree or Voleur de Roses lite: peppery, cumin-y, and the "green" rose smell that is like a rose soap almost. I'd say like TDC or L'AP with the volume turned down.
After a spell, hmmm, about 30 minutes, it becomes rosy white-musky with a cumin note in the background, as though it were talking audibly in another room.
The stuff is nice, don't get me wrong. Will I fork out the TOP dollar for it again... I don't think so. Rose scents are, when done well, sublime. There seems to be this trend afoot whereby rose needs to be made spicy, or cumin'd, and quite frankly I'm over it. Get a new line folks.
In my opinion, Montale have done rose to absolute perfection in all of their myriad Aoud collections; that, coupled with Domenico Caraceni and Czech & Speake No. 88, will be the benchmarks of classical rose perfumery.
I'll give it a sideways thumb because, well, been there done that.

sweaty cumin wearing a dying rose boutonniere drinking a Midori melonball with a celery stalk.

Bertrand Duchaufour might be my favorite perfumer working currently. His other scents in the eau d'Italie line are all equal masterpieces, and Dzongkha alone would put him into the panoply of geniuses at work today. His natural language seems to use the smoke, woods, darker smells... Magnolia Romana was one I looked forward to greatly.

First off, it is very white, clean, clear... I don't register anything terribly earthy in the beginning stages. At this point, it actually reminds me of Puro Lino. From there to the musk I have to admit I don't get any aquatic accords (as far as I'm concerned, not a bad thing AT ALL). It basically travels from white floral, exquisitely rendered I might add, to lightly wooded light musk.

Would I buy this? Perhaps wanting to own everything Duchaufour has ever made, sure. Not so sure if it is going to usurp the desired spot for white floral that Puro Lino currently occupies in my wish list. It's definitely worth a try though, that much I'll say.

take the original Kouros, turn the volume down on all ingredients, swish it around in a glass from which you drank grapefruit juice, and voila, Kouros Sport.

I love Kouros, always have, most likely always will, and this particular one methinks is good. Personally, I find all of these neutered varietals of the original tasteful, marketable, yes safe, and fine if you collect fragrance. The drydown stays ever so slightly sweetened, yet not cloying. If it were to be found at a sale price, I'd buy it. Otherwise, Kouros Fraicheur (Amazing) would be more than good for me to own. Now THAT one, I'll not ever be without.

As a child, I was fascinated by the rotting logs in the woods behind my house. I'd roll them over to find salamanders, snakes, fauna of all kinds. More often than not there were beautifully white lacy rotting bits colonized by ants, or termites, or something of that sort. Always there was a very distinct smell, not bad, not beautiful... very sharp, highly organic, like the distillation of all damp woodland nature into one astringent aroma... almost macabre. I loved it. Nothing has ever come close to this smell, and in fact I hadn't thought of it for a long while until I sampled some of the Montale Aouds. Aoud Lime comes very close to replicating this memory of scent.

It takes a very specific time for me to wear this, and I should add that if you are looking for a citrus aoud, hmmmm. I think this is lime in name only, and what you do have is an abstract rendition of citrus, not the specific thing itself. If this were a painting, I'd say it would be limes painted by de Kooning; beautifully done, almost barbaric... deconstructed and then re-assembled by a masterful vision. A challenge to wear, I find, but perfect and unavoidable when the time seems right.

well.... I love the two Heeley scents I own, Cardinal and Menthe Fraiche, but this one... can't do it.

This house clearly makes fragrances on an exquisite level; never do I get a whiff of any odd notes. Fine Leather opens with an amazing suede-like leather accord, with florals backing it up... but thats about where the leather starts, and unfortunately stops. This becomes a bit more of a violet scent than a leather. Also, for an eau de parfum, the strength is dim. One of the shops selling this talks about the birch notes, and that is what mingles with the florals VERY soon into the whole experience.

I'll give it a thumbs sideways, as it isn't awful, just ain't what I think it should be.

As the esteemed zztop says, this is the predecessor to the classic Polo Green. Imagine, if you will, an early generation bottle of the Polo (not that ghastly stuff peddled these days which smells like a creation of Chemical Ali), spiked with pine not unlike the incense sold to smoke out of the tiny log cabin, all poured into a bottle of Louis XVIII de Remy Martin cognac. It's piney, it's boozy, it-- sadly-- doesn't last as long as I'd love for it to. As others have said, the fleeting nature of Epicea is a drawback. But does love always last in the heart of the fickle? It comes, it lingers briefly and elegantly, and then disappears to a place where the memory of its beauty reminds us that there will always be others, also.

On a recent stop at Sephora, this was my chosen "sample scent" of the visit. The sister fragrance, Un Jardin en Mediterranee, is one of my favorite summer scents, and thus I had been eager to give this a full wearing. It is refreshing, it is tart; on me the grapefruit accord predominates for a lengthy run. As I walked around the mall (a uniquely American horrifying experience) window shopping, I became entranced with the scent: so crisp, cool and green (which I imagine comes from the mango), and I came very nearly close to returning to buy it. But there was a nagging at the back of my brain, and something just did not seem right. "Shut it," I told myself, "I'm buying it." As I hid myself behind a palm frond display, wrists pressed to my nose trying to sort this out, I came close to the realization that while I did like the scent, there was a distinct similarity to a cleaning product I've used. Hermes, Hermes.... I know it can't be easy, existing in such an obfuscatory state of the finest leathers and cashmere, but what you've agreed upon with Mr. Ellena is a very good approximation of a just-scrubbed American bathroom.

I'd bought this blind based on others' comparisons to Kouros, and I doff my hat to you all; this was a spot-on recommendation.
While Kouros can have a much more bodily intensity to (which I usually adore. I guess other reviewers say it is civet?) OS remains clean, clear, and entirely classy all the time. OS has much more orange in it, and I would proffer that any fans of the YSL would LOVE OS as a variant. The same people who think that Kouros smells heavy on me adore the Creed. I myself adore them both.
Of the Creeds I've tried, this one stands out entirely. Even though it is not of the millesime intensity of ingredients, it still has awesome longevity; the development shifts from citrus to that Creed "underarmour" aroma after about 6-7 hours. Even at that time I can still pick out what I'm wearing and others still say that I smell good.
I'd wear this day or night, and while it is a relative newcomer to my collection, I don't think there are any seasonal constraints to it.
This has also heralded the beginnings of a bit of Creed collecting, for better or worse!

Quite possibly a perfect fragrance: rather a mood of incense will not make this for everyone, but for those who can appreciate its Gothic charms, happiness awaits.
The musk and the rose conspire to make a scent unlike others available.

Admittedly, I have a thing for scents that are not the norm. But then again, I'm the kid who watched "Dynasty" with my mother, drinking ginger ale in a champagne flute because I adored Joan Collins (as anyone in their right mind should!), and who thought that watching the "Love Boat" was sufferable only as a means to stay up past my bedtime to watch "Fantasy Island."

This frag is in my top five of all time list. It is strong enough to be a classy evening scent, yet also light enough for day wear. As others have said, beware the over-application, for the kiss can turn into the slap all too quickly.

This is really a scent that needs to work with your body's chemistry, otherwise you are in deep trouble. I do admit that I have detected a vaguely piss-y like undercurrent on those not fortunate enough to wear it. If it works for you, this is not the case at all.

However, this is and will always be one of my favorite frags of all time. Want to smell like every other Tom Dick or Harry walking around the mall? There are plenty of scents for you to choose from. Rather smell like distinct, and elegant in that European '80s kind of way? Think Gstaad, Aston Martin Volantes, Nutter's on Savile Row, et al.

One of my lady friends LOVES this smell on me, and when someone else said, "what is that perfume? you smell old," my friend replied, "hot old and rich, maybe."