Fragrance Reviews by Nacht

Just brought from Cologne. When I tasted the Chanel "Cuir de Russie" for the first time, I wished there would be something resembling for men. Here it is!
"Russisch Leder" immediately reminds you very much of Chanel's "Cuir de Russie". It also (logically) has some similar notes with Guerlain's "Derby" and almost unknown classical russian "Chyprè".
It's also very well balanced and respectful. The only one weak point - the concentration: it exists only as "Eau de cologne" and evaporates too fast...
Any way it's good and quite economic - only 22 Euro for 100 ml.

Just awful scent... Flat, boring and troublesome. It really makes me feel sick. Seems to be a sustaining single note played at the early electronic piano.

Now it's my "alter ego" scent. First it seemed to me a masculine caricature of "Shalimar". But it proved to be like the olives: nobody likes them at first taste but mostly becomes their admirer then.
This scent makes me always feel a kind of "deja vu" just as the old songs by Marlene Dietrich. By the way, she consedered it to be the best masculine fragrance.
Anyway it's a carismatic, harmonic and at the same time contradictory between sweet and bitter notes scent. It couldn't be entangle with no other scent.

For me it became a real and welcome and unexpected substituition for quite feminine (IMHO) Jickie. Greate and sumptuous scent, unfortunately it's not intended for modern every day life. But for some special events it makes you feel rising to the occasion.

Unfortunately it seems to be a scaled-down edition of Guerlain's "Vetiver". What for if there's a complete one? But it's not that bad, just as all the Monothemes scents.

It's quite feminine, than multigender scent, IMHO. And it strongly reminds the old days "Must de Cartier du Soir". Just ambergris. And it doesn't sounds chip at all. Simple and dignitive.

Bought just for the reasons of economy and made me fall in love with it. But for some hesperide notes (tangerine & neroli) slightly reminds of rare and discontinued Veejaga "Hascish". In severe conditinos of a CITY like Moscow it's a real compromise between your and the other's privacy. It doesn't provoke nobody in the crowd for the irritation. It is and it isn't simultaneously all day long. Very olfactively correct.

After about a year of tasting and thinking I bought it, especially for it's heliotrope note... But it goes away too fast, leaving a persistent "modern" spice scent, I can't stand... Maybe because of Eau de parfum concentration I got without paid heed to. (It's a taste bottle).
Just a disenchantment.

At the late 80's I saw it being sold by italian correspondence sale firm "Postalmarket" toghether with mass market fragrances like Atkinsons. In 1993 I tasted it by a fluke from my italien client and falled in love with that dry, clear and limpid patchouly leaves fragrance. I asked him to bring it to me, but unfortunately it wasn't available any more... Tragedy!
Recently I found a fragrance, that slightly reminds of it - Patchouly Leaves by Lorenzo Vidal "Monotheme". But it's more sweety due to tangerine note.

As for me, it's a great disenchantment... After the quite common and traditional lavender top go away, you remain with a precise Shalimar's replica scent on your skin.
What for does exist a Shalimar like man's fregrance, if there's the original feminine one?

As for the fragrance's history... Several years ago I became acquainted with an ex-employee of italian firm "Magnani Glans", the last brand's owner before Luca Cordero de Montezzemolo and Diego Dalla Valle. He told me, that the fragrance was composed by an englishman, named Rose (I'm not sure for his surname spelling), who lived in Parma that time. He made two fragrances: "Style" for the italian market and "Acqua di Parma" as an export product. The local perfumes factory "Adams" was the manufacturer.
At early 70's "Magnani Glans" went broke eng sig. Luigi Magnani sold the brand to the shirt factory, named "Pizzarotti", who continued to produce "Acqua di Parma" till late 70's. Ultimately the name was bought by two friends and successful brand developers L.C. De Mentezzemolo ("Ferrari") and Diega Dalla Valle ("Tod's")

Great and involved fragrance with a perfect base notes.
I found it my wonderfool every day substitution for Guerlain's "Mouchoir de monsieur", which I think to be too gala and for quite feminine "Jickie", at least on my skin.

Great pure fougere fragrance: clear, crisp and bright, as that Christmas Day ought to be. It's much more definitive, than Penhalogon's English Fern and notably much more reasonable in price.
I suppose, it could be up to Queen Victoria's taste, if not too stringent even for her.