Reviews by peevish_yolk

    Showing 1 to 30 of 43.
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    Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d'Orange

    Oh man, the human sub-conciseness is an amazing thing. When I smelt Tom of Finland for the first time, a picture of an old shop I visited a few years back just came into my mind. That shop had an extremely attractive and promising show-window, but the store itself was a disappointment: it was so common; it didn’t look better than any other store I have seen before. So, my sub-conciseness rated Tom of Finland before I was even aware of it.
    Everything about this scent is controversial; everything, except the smell itself. Can you imagine someone who looks like Marylyn Manson and sings some commercial pop ballades? Well, I can’t and I even don’t want to.
    It seems to me that Tom of Finland coquets with an average consumer giving to the note of vanilla much more important role than it deserves.
    Etat Libre d’Orange has to be consistent to its reputation, and not just in the case of the packing. From this house, I expect the originality de facto (Sécrétions Magnifiques, Charogne, Vierges & Toreros) and not just the ostensible originality (Tom of Finland).
    Overall, this is not a bad scent, it is even pleasant, but it is not really original, and it is certainly not spectacular.
    I cannot give it a thumbs up. Sorry, I just don’t like when someone trifles with my expectations.

    15th December, 2009.

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    Jasmin et Cigarette by Etat Libre d'Orange

    Although she knows that I hate the rhetorical questions, an older female friend of mine asked me a few days back “Which woman could love her husband after 20 years of marriage?”
    This scent is like a marriage between jasmine and tobacco; the marriage which has its good and bad moments. Well, a marriage like any other marriage, someone could say…
    The main problem is that I cannot see the flame of passion in this wedlock; it is more like a habit of the concomitant life. That could be nice to someone, but it is not really excitement.
    What would the Western Civilization recommend to this couple? You must visit a marriage counsellor. What would the Eastern Civilization recommend to this couple? The happiness is overrated category; be patient and lenient. What would I say? Etat Libre d’Orange scents should provoke either love or hate; so the biggest punishment for some of their scents is to be neutral. OK, I am neutral about this one.

    12nd November, 2009.

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    Sécrétions Magnifiques by Etat Libre d'Orange

    The statement “this is awful” is not far from the truth, but it is much closer to the lie.

    A reliable source told me, strictly confidential, that this is the devil’s signature scent. That realization really frightened me. Namely, it means that devil’s taste corresponds with mine. Then I realized that I could live with it as long as I am capable to make the difference between the devil and his taste. Should I hate Marlene Dietrich because Nazis loved her songs? So, I have no intention to be the devil’s attorney but I would like to be the devil's signature scent’s attorney.

    Do you know what demands the most courage? To be different. And yes, Sécrétions Magnifiques is different. Should we burn it because of that? What do you think, the lovers of Middle Century? Should we do it? Come on, it’s easy: let Sécrétions Magnifiques pay the price! It is different, for God’s sake. How dare it? Shell we tolerate that? Oh, wait a minute; it could also pay the price of our own frustrations! Now, that’s a brilliant thought.

    You are the judge in this trail, my friend; so be a fair judge, not an inquisitor. Everyone deserves the fair trail, even Sécrétions Magnifiques. When you go to the court do not take your prejudices with you. Do not condemn Sécrétions Magnifiques just because you heard some bad things about it.

    Longevity, sillage, notes… Sorry, but that’s irrelevant in this case.

    30th October, 2009.

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    Rien by Etat Libre d'Orange

    As you already know, rien means nothing.
    One sunny day a mother took her soon to the ZOO. When they were in front of the area with the elephants in it, he asked her:” Mammy, mammy, what’s that between the elephant’s back legs?” She was a bit embarrassed:” Well, I mean… ummmm… that’s nothing.” An old man, who stood beside them, overheard that and then said to her: “Sorry, madam, but if THAT is nothing to you then you are pretty pampered”.
    I haven’t found it in any dictionary, so this is just an unofficial allegation and please accept it with the huge dose of suspicion: there are two kinds of nothing - “meh” kind of nothing and, on the other side, “nothing” which doesn’t ask are you ready or not, before delivers to you a lot of aldehydes, “nothing” that hits you straight to the head with the strong leather note, “nothing” that brings you the pleasant breath of the past, “nothing” that I proudly wear and I truly love.

    29th October, 2009.

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    Baby Blue Jeans by Versace

    This is certainly not the best fragrance I have ever smelled. I cannot imagine this scent as someone’s signature scent, except… ummmm… well, except in the case of necessity that Mickey Mouse has to have a signature scent. It is puerile (which doesn’t surprise us); it is pretty powdery (especially at the beginning), it is not masculine at all, but (before you think that the thumb up above is a mistake) it is extremely pleasant. I have never thought that I could say that I love SOMETHING, whose name is Baby Blue Jeans, but I am saying it right now.
    Please, imagine this scene… You are alone at the bar. A very hot chick is sitting just next to you. After a quick flirt, she says to you:” Hallo, my name is Tasha… You know what? You look like a real macho man… and, beside that, you smell really nice… Tell me, what are you wearing?” And then you say:” Well, I am wearing… Baby Blue Jeans.” She would be exceptionally impressed, wouldn’t she? So, if you decide to wear this scent you have to learn to lie perfectly.
    If you have a will to use BBJ you also have to prepare yourself to be an actor of the following situation…
    She:”Hey, you smell exactly like my little nephew.”
    You:” How’s that? I mean, your nephew is just a kid.”
    She: “Yes, that’s right… so?”
    BBJ is based on the quite interesting initial idea. It is a very well composed, informal scent and it would go along just terrific with your favorite Hawaiian shirt. In the long run, if you don’t like it, just don’t forget - you can always give a bottle to someone’s little nephew.

    14th November, 2008.

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    Fuel For Life pour Homme by Diesel

    If it seems to you that this review contains too many sentences which start with “I can’t believe”, it would be just a matter of your imagination.
    I can’t believe that two top perfumers, Mr. Cavallier and Mrs. Menardo, could create such an unbelievably frivolous scent.
    I can’t believe I got so many compliments on this senselessly fruity scent during the only day I was wearing it. I can’t believe how funny taste the people around me have.
    I can’t believe I bought this “when you see my attractive commercial you won’t mind how unattractive I smell” type of scent. I can’t believe that I could respect myself after I did it… ever again.

    27th October, 2008.

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    Xeryus Rouge by Givenchy

    I was wearing Xeryus Rouge that evening. My best female friend and me were standing on the street; we were chatting… and laughing… when she suddenly said:”Oh, your scent is making me sick… I’ll throw up.” Only few seconds later she assured me that her statement wasn’t symbolic but literal. That event taught me that I shouldn’t apply more than four sprays.
    Xeryus Rouge is fairly sweet, but it is a very specific kind of sweetness that can be pretty disagreeable to some people. Quite often, when I want to describe this scent, I have a dilemma - how should I call it: unusual or weird.
    When I read a list of the notes, one note grabbed immediately all my attention: cactus flesh. I had no idea how it smells and I was damn curious. At once, the most brilliant idea came to my mind. Namely, there was a cactus in the entrance-hall of the building I work in. One day, when I was alone in the hall, I cut out, using a little knife, a piece of that cactus. For some unknown reason, a few days later, the cactus didn’t look very healthy. I smelt a cut off piece of the cactus over and over again… However, in spite of all my effort, I haven’t recognized a smell of cactus flesh although I tried with might and main to do that whenever I wore Xeryus Rouge. On the other side, whenever I wear this scent it reminds me of the cactus that I crippled in vain.
    Briefly told, Mrs. Menardo created some much better scents in relation to this one.

    16th October, 2008.

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    Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger

    Thanks to this one Alberto Morillas became one of my favorite perfumers. No, it is not mature or deep; but it doesn’t even have the pretensions to be that. Tommy with a tuxedo, or with an Armani suit… what a comic combination, in did; but when the spring comes to my little town and when I feel young and healthy and when I need some scent which is youthful, optimistic and full of life, I always pick Tommy. It brings me back the faces of all my lovers during the college, reminds me of my juvenile naivety and wakes up some old expectations and aspirations.
    No doubt, the most intriguing note is rain. I’d rather say that it is the rainy-water which is two or three days old and I like that quite a lot.
    Now, Tommy is a good and very useful scent, in my book; but it has a huge, unpardonable sin. It deserves to be punished by stoning because of that. Namely… it is popular. A lot of people use it. So if you want to be cool you mustn’t wear it. Or even if you do, you mustn’t admit that to anyone, even to yourself. You should rather say, if someone asks you, or write in the SotD thread that you are wearing some rare scent that is only familiar to you and to the couple of other Basenoters.
    I’ll certainly wear it; I prefer being young and healthy to being cool.

    14th October, 2008.

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    Habit Rouge by Guerlain

    I was in the bank the other day and I was waiting in line. At once, I thought indifferently “A person in front of me is wearing Habit Rouge”. A few seconds later I thought “Hey, wait a minute!!! The person in front of me?! How weird…” Namely, ahead of me was an old woman. She looked pretty normally: She was wearing a very expensive leather jacket and she had a lot of rings on her fingers. I decided to smell her better. I approached to her as close as I could. My nose almost touched her hair. Suddenly, she turned towards me, with an extremely unfriendly mien, and asked me:” What do you want from me, young man?!” This question was the start of the following dialogue.

    Me: “Excuse me, missis, are you… possibly… wearing Habit Rouge?”
    She: “Am I wearing – what?”
    Me: “Habit Rouge, a famous Guerlain’s scent.”
    She: “No, I am not, I hate the scents and I never wear them.”
    Me: “I see… Thank you.”

    A few minutes later…

    Me: “Excuse me, missis…”
    She: “What do you want now?”
    Me: “Can I ask you one more thing?”
    She: “If you must…”
    Me: “Do you use any kind of preparations… or maybe some body oil… something like that?”
    She: “Yes, I use my salve for rheumatism, and before you ask me that – yes, it has a quite strong, funny smell. Would you please now stop with these silly questions?”
    Me: “Yes, certainly… Thank you.”

    “That is interesting” I thought, “a smell of her salve “in cooperation with” a smell of her leather jacket gave me a smell of Habit Rouge”. So what is the point of this story? Well, it is not necessary for every story to have a point.
    And now a more conventional part of this review: Habit Rouge is a classic, woody-oriental scent with a very good strength and a decent longevity. If you give me only two words to describe Habit Rouge, these two words would be “powdery” and “leathery”. If you give me one more word, as a bonus, my choice would be “sweet”.
    I did not like it at first. Namely, I had very wrong picture of this scent in my head and a nose that was used to Acqua di Gio and Cool Water. Oh, please, don’t get me wrong: I really have noting against these two scents. They are just very authentic representatives of their (our) era: superficial and commercial. And Habit Rouge… Well, Habit Rouge is something totally different...
    It had only my respect at first, now it has my love as well.

    8th October, 2008.

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    David Beckham Instinct by Beckham

    It was two years ago. My aunt from Germany called me on the phone and said to me:” I’m going to visit you next week… oh, and I bought you a scent.” A scent? For me? That’s nice. I was joyous and curios. More curios than joyous. Which scent did she buy…? I was inpatient to see. When she finally arrived and gave me the scent I thought:” David Beckham?! Instinct?! Is this some kind of joke?!” However, I said:” Thank you, it was a good choice”, and I smiled with the most polite smile I was able to make (it is a terrific example for the hypocrisy, isn’t it?).
    Only to show my gratitude I decided to wear that scent next day to work. I applied it at 6 am. Hmmm… a very citrus-y (bergamot) opening, I thought. I said to my aunt:” Today I am wearing the scent you gave to me.” She was quite pleased.
    In the taxi, on my way to work, I felt, but only for the moment, the notes of pimento and anis.
    My working day started at 7 am and until 10 am I got at least 4 or 5 compliments on my scent from the female colleagues. A-HA!!! The women like this one, I made a conclusion.
    About 11 am one of my female associates came into my office. She said:” I knew it, I just knew it!!!” She was pretty euphoric so I thought “Oh no, they finally found out about my secret love affair with a female colleague from the finance department” (who’s married, btw). So I felt the relief when she said:” I felt a terrific smell in the corridor and I just knew that the epicenter of that good smell is here”.
    At about 4 pm I was at home. I still was able to feel the notes of vetiver and amber on my neck.
    I know that a lot of people say that Instinct doesn’t have a decent strength and a good longevity but my experience is different.
    So many times I wanted to give this citrus sweet scent to some teenage boy but it is still in my wardrobe. I guess that the only reason why I didn’t do that is because I don’t like to give to the other people the things I got as a gift. Although Instinct has been in my wardrobe for two years, I have worn it 5 or 6 times till now.
    When someone asks me what do I think about Instinct by David Beckham, I usually answer – it is not as bad as it sounds.

    24th September, 2008.

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    YSL pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent

    OK, I can say that YSL pour Homme is a citrus-green scent with a very decent longevity etc, etc… but you already know that, so let me say something else…
    Have you ever asked yourself how many men wore this scent before you? I’m talking about men who live(d) maybe so far away from you… who wore it maybe 10 or 20 or 30 years ago…
    How many men were wearing it when they had their first kiss? How many men were wearing it when they proposed to their future wife? How many men were wearing it when they got or lost their job? And that’s why I respect this scent so much. It has THE HISTORY, just like Eau Sauvage, Polo, Yatagan… They all played SOME role in so many men’s lives.
    When I was buying this scent an urbane SA asked me:” You want to try it first?” I answered to her: “No, I have never tried it, but I am sure I want it”.
    I got an interesting compliment for YSL pour Homme the other day. A female colleague said to me: “You smell just like a… morning”. Hmmmm… a smell of a morning… It sounds just lovely.

    17th September, 2008.

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    cK one by Calvin Klein

    Oh, man, it was so popular 12-13 years ago! I had the impression that the air had a smell of CK One.
    First bergamot, then pine and fresh spices and finally amber… thus nothing unusual, nevertheless pretty pleasant.
    Many different houses tried to make a copy of this scent. It seems that CK One has more clones than sheep Dolly. However, CK One “looks” younger and more joyous than any of its clone.
    I still have this fragrance in my collection; I use it 2 or 3 times during the summer and it always brings me a few compliments.

    11th September, 2008.

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    M7 by Yves Saint Laurent

    I give just one chance to the people, and sometimes I think that even that is too much. On the other hand, I am convinced that every scent, with no exception, deserves a second chance.
    I bought M7 without smelling it first. When I smelt it for the first time, I did not like it… I did not like it at all. It was somehow… weird. My father wanted to encourage me with a following, very suggestive, compliment: “It smells exactly like lubricating oil.”
    After that I didn’t use it for some time. A few months later I tried it again… and I liked it. The time transformed the weirdness into the originality and, after some time, I fell in love with it. Agarwood just took my heart. Cavallier and Morillas proved that they are a great team.
    I get the compliments (and I mean – the “real” compliments) every time I wear it, and not just from a female part of the population. Namely, I regularly get the compliments even from men. I said “even” because in my country, which is still living in the 20th century, a man just doesn’t give the compliments to another man.
    There are only three situations when you, as a man, can get a compliment from another man on your scent:
    1) He absolutely adores your scent and He just can’t hide that, although he thoroughly tries to do that,
    2) You put a revolver to His head,
    3) You are the big boss and He is your ancillary and a toady.
    M7’s longevity and sillage are as enormous as my love toward this brilliant scent.

    17th July, 2008.

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    Boss Bottled by Hugo Boss

    Whenever I wear this scent people tell me that I smell as a candy shop which, a priori, isn’t a bad thing.
    If you’ve tried only 10-20 scents in your life so far you’d might adore this one, but if you’ve tried a lot of scents you’d might just like it… and that’s the whole story about Gray Boss.
    There are people that simply don’t want to be spectacular; they just want to be nice, nothing more. There are the scents with the same “intentions”. Boss No. 6 is just one of them… and there is nothing wrong with that if you ask me.

    17th July, 2008. (Last Edited: 17th July, 2009.)

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    Versace pour Homme by Versace

    First of all, I would like to say that this is a very unoriginal and uninspiring scent so it is not my fault that the following review is boring…
    Well, let us see…
    Your best friend’s birthday is next week. (You are thinking:) What kind of present would he like for his birthday? Maybe a scent? Yeah, definitely, it is a terrific idea. He has only Allure Homme Sport in his wardrobe. But, what happens then? You and your best friend have some stupid conflict. You are mad at him; he has said to you some things that hurt you. I will offer you a perfect solution. Just buy to your friend Versace pour Homme for his birthday. He will get a copy of the only frag he already has, he will smell unattractive, and it will be an adequate punishment for the words he has said to you.

    15th July, 2008. (Last Edited: 17th July, 2009.)

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    Gaultier² by Jean Paul Gaultier

    I love (sensual) amber, (intoxicating) musk and (powdery) vanilla and this scent gives all that to me.
    When I smelt G^2 for the first time, I thought “OK, this one is good, but it is too feminine for me.” Today, G^2 is in my collection although I still think that it is quite feminine.
    I am living in a pretty patriarchal/conservative environment, where G^2 on a man is a huge social NO-NO. If you wear G^2 and you are living where I am living and you are a male, people around you would definitely think that your sexual orientation is “problematic”.
    However, if I put my love toward this scent on one pan and the people’s tattle on the other, the first pan would be much, much heavier.

    15th July, 2008.

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    Boss Pure by Hugo Boss

    If BN Directory’s rules allow that, my review for Pure would be purely simple, it would have just one word – distasteful.
    I know, it is hard to believe, but this scent played quite an important role in my life. Namely, it forced me to believe in Murphy’s Law and here is the story about that…
    At first, I had smelt Pure from the bottle in the perfume store and I did not like it. Nevertheless, I decided to splash some on my arm. Alas, the spray mechanism was broken, so a lot of the liquid ended up on my arm. Couple of minutes later I had just one wish – to scrub it out. On my way to home, I met a girl whom I liked for some time. We were talking for about ten minutes. She was watching me somehow… weird, during our conversation, and I could be quite sure that the reason was my goofy smell. When I came home, another pleasant surprise was just waiting for me: there was no water… the reason: some problem with the installations or something like that. Well, I had to bear Pure for another couple of hours.
    I would just like to add that Pure reminds me of Echo with a mellow touch of Banderas’ Diavolo, maybe... and maybe not.
    In sum, this is an ideal present for someone you really, really, really hate.

    4th July, 2008.

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    Vetiver by Guerlain

    I respect this legend so much that I am standing while I am writing this review…
    First citrus, then vetiver and tobacco. Very simple, very beautiful.
    Vetiver is probably the most natural scent I know. Sometimes, when I wear Vetiver and when I’m alone in my office (I don’t want someone to think that I’m a crank) I close my eyes and imagine that I’m laying in a meadow and I feel the sunshine on my face, smell of the grass and worm earth under my hands.
    If Vetiver is a synonym for natural, its antonym could be Cool Water or 212 Men or Echo…

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Ungaro III by Ungaro

    Some people say that this is an evening scent. I strongly disagree: Ungaro III is exclusively a nocturnal scent. So, if you have a date with your beloved at (about) midnight Ungaro III is more than an appropriate solution for that occasion.
    It is “on the rose based” scent but I’m not capable to imagine this one on a woman.
    I was thinking for a long time that Ungaro III is a timid scent, but… on New Year’s Eve I was at the municipal square. I chose Ungaro III for that night. I was alone before one of my friends walked up to me and told me that he first detected my scent and saw me just after that. I have to mention that, when he saw me, he was at least 20 feet far from me.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Obsession for Men by Calvin Klein

    This is my favorite oriental scent. Couple of days ago I was in a corridor talking to a female colleague. Obsession was on my neck. She asked me:”Could you please droop a bit, I want to smell you better”. I did it and several seconds later I felt her lips on my neck. I was quite surprised. She is 13 years older than I am; she is married and the mother of two children. Then we proceeded to talk like nothing happened. I have to say that I am just an average looking guy with not much charm… so it must be the scent…
    Thanks to Obsession I got my first retroactive compliment (it means: somebody notices your scent, (s)he likes it, but tells you that just couple of days or even some weeks later). A female friend told me once:”Last Wednesday, when you passed next to me, you smelled just great”.
    I do not enjoy in any specific note (not even in amber or mandarin which I love very much, and definitely not in myrrh or clove which I do not like), but the interaction of the Obsession’s notes is simply perfect.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Nightflight by Joop!

    I remember, in an interview with a fashion magazine from this area some singer said about Nightflight (the question was – what is your favorite fragrance?): “I don’t know much about scents, but I think that Nightflight by Joop! is just brilliant. It’s quite original and sexy. Nightflight is far better than many, more famous, scents.”
    This statement is absolutely correct but just till the first score. Nightflight is very unoriginal and un-sexy scent. With no identity; With no authenticity; With no sense. It’s soapy and nothing more but soapy.
    I have it in my collection but it was (that’s my excuse) a blind buy. I hated myself because of that for a long time.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Escada Homme by Escada

    This fresh oriental scent is pretty rich, spicy and ambery. The note of cognac, no doubt, is quite interesting, but the notes of pepper, sandalwood and musk give me a bigger pleasure.
    It reminds me of a very polite, retiring gentleman who won’t impudently demand your attention but if you pay your attention to him you’d be pleasantly surprised.
    Escada Homme do not bring me the compliments but it always brings me the pleasure what is more important.
    This (not spectacular but nice) scent is a very good example that sweet scent could be quite manful, at the same time.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Dune pour Homme by Christian Dior

    It was a summer evening and I was at the beach. I was wearing Dune. Suddenly, a tall, good-looking blond woman approached to me and said: “Excuse me, you smell soooo nice, and I just couldn’t resist coming to you and smelling you better. Can I?” I wanted to make an impression on her as a smart and eloquent guy, so I said: “A-ha”. She leaned over me and I felt the touch of her nose and after that of her lips on my neck… and then… and then I woke up and I realized that people around me could love Dune only in my dreams.
    I bought this one and CK Escape for Men on the very same day. It was a double mistake.
    I was wearing Dune when someone said to me that I smell as a brand new rubber toy… and when you smell as a brand new rubber toy you definitely do not smell mainly, sexy or attractive.
    I have never thought that I could say that I hate some scent… but I do hate this one, as much as I hate the hypocrisy, waiting in line or my ex-girlfriend.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Antaeus by Chanel

    No, the main trump of this fragrance isn’t its smell per se (it’s quite classical). Antaeus is a very important part of the magical olfactory world and that’s not without a good reason. First of all Antaeus has an exceptional strength (even the compliments I get for Antaeus sound like “oooh, that one is REALY good”).
    Very often, when I come out from my room (with Antaeus on my neck) ready to go to work, my father says:” Is there any liquid left in that bottle?”. That strong it is.
    One more example: A female colleague asked me one day: “Were you in the accounting department yesterday (I’m working in the marketing department) at about 11 am?” I was astonished: “Yeah, how do you know that? I didn’t see you”. “I detected your scent in the corridor”, she said with a smile. Of course, I was wearing Antaeus.
    It is strong, but it is elegant as well. There is no doubt; Antaeus is a Rolls-Royce among the scents… the big, black, shine Rolls-Royce.
    It’s not indispensable to love Antaeus, but one has to respect this true legend.
    Just one more remark: you don’t have to wear black clothes when you have Antaeus on your skin, but that would make your look somehow complete.

    25th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Escape for Men by Calvin Klein

    Escape for Men is a pretty aromatic and synthetic scent. I like its hyper fruity opening. Grapefruit and juniper are quite lovely. It’s hard for me to explain why I dislike its drydown. I like sandalwood usually but not in this case.
    At first, I wore Escape for Men exclusively during the hot days. I didn’t like it. Then I started to use it on the windy and cloudy days and it made a better impression on me.
    On some sites I found that Escape for Men is a marine scent… a-ha, certainly, and I am Krusty the clown.

    21st May, 2008.

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    L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme by Issey Miyake

    That day I was sitting on the bus on my way to work. Next to me was some young girl (apr. 18-19 years old). I was thoughtful. Suddenly I felt something on my shoulder. It was her chin. Her nose was quite close to my neck. She had a little smile on her face and it was so obvious that she was enjoying. Her nostrils were spread, her eyes were closed. It was no doubt; she liked my scent very much. She didn’t say anything and there was no need to. I must say this: She wasn’t aware of my existence, not even for a moment, and because of that the whole situation was even more likable.
    Well, sometimes we receive speechless compliments and they can be more convincing than “oh, my God, how good you smell!!!” compliments.
    By the way, I was wearing L’eau d’Issey that day.

    20th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 13rd June, 2008.)

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    Fleur du Male by Jean Paul Gaultier

    And what do we have here? An average/ordinary female scent became a modern male scent… No, I’m not surprised: in the strange world we are living nowadays.
    It’s floral, very long lasting, floral, partly powdery, floral, quite strong and… Did I say it’s floral?
    However, if you’ve already bought this one (like me, for example) you should know that it’s not so repulsive on very low temperatures.
    I agree with just a part of its name: “fleur”… oui, sans aucun doute, mais “du male”… je n’ai pas cette impression.

    18th May, 2008. (Last Edited: 14th July, 2008.)

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    Givenchy Gentleman by Givenchy

    When I look at my bottle of Givenchy Gentleman I see how some ingredients, such as leather and civet, “float” in patchouli. This is the patchouliest (I don’t know whether this word really exist, my English isn’t that good) scent I’ve ever smelled. Its start is pretty alcoholic.
    The most often comment for this one is “it smells like the very old eau de colognes/after shaves”. The weirdest comment (more precisely, the most stupid) I’ve ever heard about some scent it was just for Givenchy Gentleman “it smells like burned ping-pong balls”. One of my male colleagues said that, but he is not a good example for a normal person, anyway.
    In sum, if you love “old-school” type of scents and adore patchouli, with this one your satisfaction is guaranteed.

    18th May, 2008.

    rating

    Vetyver by L'Occitane

    You have already said that the most similar scent to Vetyver is Envy for Men by Gucci (what is absolutely right, by the way). I have both Vetyver and Envy in my collection and sometimes I splash Vetyver on one and Envy on the other arm. Vetyver is just more “austere” and “mature” than Envy.
    How could I describe Vetyver? It is woody, spicy, very deep and, for the first half an hour, bitter, after that it is quite sweet. The smell of Vetyver reminds me of our local alcoholic drink named “Bitter leaf”.
    This fragrance is on my skin pretty short lasting and quite timid so I use it purely for my personal enjoyment at home.
    I have to say one more thing: I respect very much L’Occitane’s ecological orientation and I’m always ready to give L’Occitane’s scent a huge credit because of that.

    15th May, 2008.

    rating

    Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent

    Well, nobody has said to me yet that I smell “dirty” although I wear Kouros quite often (maybe, I meet exclusively polite people;-). On the contrary, mainly I hear “it smells somehow… chemical, like some purification’s liquid”; but that’s OK, I don’t even expect from the people around me to “understand” Kouros. I reconciled to that long time ago and I wear it just because of my own pleasure.
    At first, the animalistic part of the scent is ably covert; But, after some time it becomes very significant. Kouros is just like a successful first date. At the beginning you are quite polite. Gradually, you become loose… And, at the end, it is right time for the animalistic part of you to show up… in bed… or somewhere else, immaterial.
    You can find in this one clove, cedarwood, mace, oakmoss and (my favorite) civet, but one note is extremely important here and I want to say something about it. Here is the story…
    There is an interesting religious custom in one part of the orthodox world. Namely, people set fire some incense and with it they go through the whole house/apartment. They do that on days of the greatest saints. People believe that, with this ritual, they drive the devil out from their living space.
    It was Sunday and a saint Nicola’s day. I was in my room with a bit of Kouros on my arm. Suddenly, I felt that some smell came into my room and I thought mechanically “Hey, why the whole apartment smells just like my arm!?”. Naturally, it was a smell of burned incense.
    Several days after that, I splash some Kouros on my arm and I asked my parents: “Does this smell remind you of something?”.
    They didn’t have any dilemma: ”Of incense, assuredly”.
    If the devil utters a wish to come into my life I would wear Kouros… just in case.

    15th May, 2008.

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