Fragrance Reviews by finisterle

Z-14 reminds me both in name and nature of Zyklon B - a gas the nazis used to kill people they didn't like. And while Z-14 hasn't been known to kill per se its beginning is as uncomfortable as whisky vomit.

So what happens if you survive the initial agony ?

Well, after a while, sometimes a pyramid of hours, you get an odd impression of wearing the smell of a pharaoh's tomb.

There is no light except what you take with you, no wind and almost no oxygen. If history wore a fragrance this would be it.
If a man wears it on a date he's probably history before the meeting has begun. For nobody wants a partner who idealizes the picture of himself as a corpse drinking tea in a crypt.

Brilliantly made and named as it really is a continous touch of soft and fresh sensuality. The sensation of lying in a newly made bed after using your girlfriends shower gel can be intoxicating.
But like so many other men I prefer fragrances that speak of explosive adventure, treasures and elegant wisdom.
So even though I can't get around the fact that I really admire the craftsmanship and idea in Touch, I shall continue to buy old dinosaurs with questionable reformulations instead.

About Paco Rabanne edt, new bottle anno 2009: Initial blast feels dense and synthetic. Qualitative drydown begins differently depending on factors which seem almost random.

On the upside: 1. You can get it cheap on the net. 2. The bottle is stylish, especially in the coloring, in real life. 3. The drydown is quite modern, soft spoken and close to the skin. So you can apply a fair bit if you feel a sniff frenzy coming on.

On the downside: 1. Longevity is mediocre. 2 Projection is poor. 3. The drydown manages a delicate fan of aromatic honey tobacco blended with freshness from lavender and greens now and then; but it feels so unpredictable. Twisting and turning. Paco is like a decent (but not really stunning) piece of architecture which is constantly being rebullt while spending much of the time in a state of deconstructed rubble.

More spicy than warm, but it has warmth as well. Azarro coruscates with gentle fatherly comfort. If you like it I also strongly recommend Lagerfeld classic, especially in the AS concentration, and Escada pour homme. All three are superb on cold and gray days and won't leave you in a state of regret for not having dug deeper in your wallet and bought an elegant Cartier or similar.

Light & fruity opening. Not unlike the freshly vibrant air outside a flower shop on a cool morning. Has to be applied richly to be noticed at all though.
So how good is it ?
Well; I'd rather smell this than Le Baiser du Dragon, also by Cartier, on a woman.
So, if chosing among Cartiers, maybe a woman would rather smell this than Must Essence on me ? Quite possible.
But would I rather wear this than Must essence ? On first impression: no, absolutely not. It simply is: asexually boring beyond belief. But...then you get it.
It is like when a shy person finally opens his or her mouth and says something delightul in a soft pleasing voice, and you wish they would just go on and on.
Final verdict: It can put you to sleep. But it will do so in a first class bed.

It's refreshing and unpretentious. It's a train station in the morning. It's a pilot going through a check list. It's a baker or construction worker who are too busy being the salt of the earth to have time for bizaar hobbies. It is real. It smells "monday" in
a way that makes Rive Gauche look like a drag queen on stilettos. It can walk up to any frag and say "and how are you contributing exactly ?" I just bought a bottle again and keep splashing it on, totally ignoring everything else on my shelf.

My impression from the store was that it was a mature Kouros. Less invasive and more round bodied. But then I bought two bottles and was incredibly disappointed.
How can you applaud something that smells like a monday ?
RG intense is boring and not long lasting at all. Or maybe it lasts a while but I just don't notice it because it is so boring. Sometimes it smells like a pool of infected water. And sometimes it smells like something overheating. Wanna smell neutral ? - use regular soap and water !

Cloves and compact opulent darkness with initial slightly offputting soapiness. It's for a city milieu that does not exist anymore. A slower paced life in dusty silent places. Apply sparingly and you can use it anytime anywhere. A qualitative and affordable alternative for graveyard poets who never smile.

Warm, spicy and sweet in harmonious combination. And very well suited for cooler days or summer evenings.
Romantic, elegant and timeless. A bit simple perhaps, but acceptable even on the finest of occasions.
Will not irritate with sharpness or discords. Doesn´t last very long but leaves a very pleasant afterglow. The After Shave and the Edt are more pleasant than the Edp which seems to go old and dull in the bottle. Something I did not experience at all with the After Shave and Edt. The Edp mini bottle is really pretty though and worth getting to place next to your Buddha statue or similar.
Be warned though. Once opened the mini bottle can't be properly closed again.

The 0.5 oz/30 ml bottle is a petite piece of cute romantic-futurustic design. It's the sort of thing you would excpect to see in an intellectual French sci fi comic. Scentwise the marine part is a musky whale rather than a cool sea breeze. Concentration seems to fluctuate; I remember Bleu Marine being weak but the stuff I have now is easily overdosed. As warm seas go Bleu Marine is more elegant and healthier than the sickening staleness of Baldessarini del Mar. However.....even though it's not as bad as some people here say its fascinations are also far behind much of the competition and can really annoy people. I've seen it happen. If you like it for whatever reason don't ovespray.

The dress perfume of a master sadist. A brilliantly vibrant recreation of pencil shavings Declaration sings of dead trees blended with industrial chemicals and lead. Everytime I try Declaration I feel I can skip another health trip to Tjernobyl.

Cartiers appeal to people who adore well crafted things. But things usually don't have a lot of personality...

There is absolutely nothing charming or exciting about Versace l´homme. It is a cheap washing liquid smell that becomes tolerable only when having traveled far into the drydown. Perhaps the formula has been changed. If you want outspokenly lemony stuff I´d recommend buying Armani PH. At least that elixir smells classy from a fresh bottle.

Smells like hazelnut liqeur. Or perhaps a sort of nut-bodied thing with a bit of dark sweetness then. It´s done with some effort but I wouldn´t pay 10 dollars for it.

If buying anything by Van Gils buy this one. Powered by roaring 80's engines proud of the smoke they generate Van Gils is a bit on the dark and sweet side. But at the same time it is fresh and uplifting. Van Gils is an augmenting sensation of elegance, and sentimentality that celebrates what is lost rather than weep over it.


The energy has a sentimental or travelling aspect, like you are following a trail to a .

Allure is as alluring as a sharp smell of vodka bouncing around a cold prison cell. To put it in other words: it´s cheap and offensive. Of all the chanels for men Allure is the one with least charms. I would feel more comfortable standing next to a 15-year old who had overdosed on his grandads Aramis than anybody wearing Allure.

This is an allkunstwerk of fragrance name, bottle design and fragrance.

Something that a vain greek olympian youth would choose throwing every other fragrance aside with contempt.

As an art historian I adore Kouros. And I salute those brave enough to wear it. I keep a fresh bottle but I don´t wear it anymore. It´s for young men (Kouri) with perfect skin (feel the texture of the bottle),gleaming hair and athletic step.
...the stylized marble column of the bottle...reminding me of greek temples and the white marble in ancient greek statues depicting youths and gods with perfect bodies...