Basenotes - Reviews by journeyman

United Kingdom

Showing 1 to 6 of 6.

Freshman by Truefitt & Hill

Coolwater done right. GIT done slightly differently. There is no doubt these three have some common ground, or inspiration. I'm aware that Freshman has been reformulated, so which came first i wonder.

Others have said it all - its a less synthetic Coolwater
I recieved a T&H sample pack, and the Freshman notes are:

Bergamot, Lemon, Orange Blossom, Mint, Coriander, Rosemary
Clary Sage, Gerainium, Lilly of the Valley
Precious Woods, Amber, Moss, Musk

Well .. guess what that's gonna smell like .. ;)

Fine stuff.
Folks will probably think you are wearing Coolwater though . .but ..;)

19th January, 2009.

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West Indian Limes by Truefitt & Hill

Lovely fragrange

Razor sharp Lime - a Citrus explosion - which does last on my skin, melding into a dry Petitgrain, an then a warmer Neroli and slighly spicy finish.

Its 'old-school, but oddly still modern smelling.
You would need to like limes. Its not a 'hint' of lime .. it is veeery Lime
I'll be keeping this one for the Summer - for sure

19th January, 2009.

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Trafalgar by Truefitt & Hill

Truly repulsive opening.
overpowering Cardamom spice. Smells too much like a savory cooking spice
Drydown is a little more floral, and less foul, but unspectacular.
Few things make me fee sickky - this did.

19th January, 2009.

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1805 by Truefitt & Hill

Very (very) similar to L'eau D' Issey Pour Homme.
Not identical, but could quite easily be mistaken. Dry down is not so spectacular, but remains similar.
A little less intense, and lightly less sweet/musky, and therefore a tad less potential to overapply - but overall a very similar effect.
Maybe .. all in all - not a bad thing.
Issey 'light'.?!

I really liked it.

19th January, 2009.

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Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene

Good Lord! ..
I have recently become interested in formulating a collection / rotation based on almost entirely 'classic' frags.
'Classic' in this case meaning, relatively long-established fragrnaces, but which i can still purchase today - i.e. have stood the test of time, and continue to do so.
OK, scene set.
I got myself a 30ml bottle of GF. (why cannot more juices come in 30ml sizes? - perfect for a collection!).

At first sample (wrist / forearm) I was disappointed.
The legendary 'strength' was not there, nor was I overwhelmed by what I could smell.
OK, violets - yes, cut grass, yes - something almond-like too, and a 'carnation' vibe that is not noted in the pyramid.

I got distracted by a phone call, which went on for longer than expected, and while this was going on, I became aware of a strong, and beautiful perfume 'in the room'. The crazy thing was, I genuinely didnt get what it was.
I soon realised it was the Grey Flannel. What a transformation :)
Floral, green, 'almondy' , soapy and enveloping.
I can entirely detect the suggestion that there is a Fahrenheit similarity. i dont know why, I cannot explain either.
This similarity , however is *not* on the skin - its in the sillage. GF leaves different sillage to what can be detected upon the skin to my nose. Both 'skin' and sillage notes are beautiful (after 30 + mins or more) but they differ. Now, thats a nice - and relatively rare- surprise...

And, it certainly has sooome sillage!

It occurs to me that , in looking at this classic frag, I see a 'cultural parallel' at play - in so much as that it takes a bit of patience, and a decent attention span, and (sadly) thats not of the age that this fragrance came from.

For the reviewers (and community posts) where folks have said that they wanted to wash it off 'straight away' - well OK, fair enough, but I wonder if it is their their loss - for having a Nintendo generation attention span maybe ? :)
I would compare the 'ride' to that of Eau Sauvage. - nothing especially in common, especially sillage-wise, but 'similarity' in so much as: some will tell you that ES is a Citrussy frag, and after a short time goes nowhere. ES is Citrussy, for 45 mins. Then the herbal/mossy magic begins (and citrus still)

GF does the same - with violets & citrus > herbal / mossy magic.
Give this a try, and give it at least 45 mins.

It is still evolving as I write this.
Beautifully.

18th January, 2009.

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Vetiver by Guerlain

A recent 're-discovery' (after having an unpleasant time with the Aftershave version previously).

Nothing makes me want to sniff my wrist so much as GV currently seems to.

The initial bone-dry Citrus blast, woody middle notes and that Earthy drydown, with a noticable tobacco - a dried tobacco leaf - pipe tobacco even - note. But it is not overpowering. At least not in the EDT (2000 formulation)
There is a powdery, almost talc-ish note that lasts throughout.
if you are sensitive to that note, it will be noticible, and I'd guess if you are not fond of that dry, but still sweet aspect, then it may not be of your liking. I love it.

Currently my 'new' everyday Fragrance.
Its all been said before - not much i can add. Just wanted to give it a thumbs up.

I did however have a bottle of the Aftershave previously. Oh dear..
The tobacco note seemed more prominent, and dried to a dreadful stale Body Odor stink on my skin at least..
was vert pungent for an Aftershave also. It may actually be to someones taste as an alternative. its definitely different. But not for me.

So my thumbs up (two if I could) goes to the GV EDT

8th January, 2009.

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