Fragrance Reviews by twinpeaker

Reading the reviews of Declaration here I am amazed at how polarizing this fragrance seems to be. I agree with the gentleman who said that he had to train his nose a bit before he could appreciate this. And understanding the history behind it helps put it in context. If you can, smell Eau d'Hermes, the inspiration for JCE's Declaration, side by side with Declaration. Eau d'Hermes is spicy-powdery with a cumin, clove, cardamom note. It is a dense, heavy fragrance in the style of older perfumes. What Ellena does is create a fresher, more aquatic version. What's fascinating is that the dry-down for the two is identical. Check it out.

I love this; I think it is a sophisticated, unusual fragrance that has stood the test of time. I find it less linear than Terre d'Hermes (which to me is like an olfactory laser), softer, earthier. I think it is a testament to JCE's talent that he was able to create a fresh, clean cumin accord. Brilliant.

Breathtakingly beautiful. It sings QUALITY with the voice of a thousand angels. Oud, Frankincense, a very expensive rose absolute, neroli. Those are the four notes I smell in perfect harmony. It's listed as unisex, and I totally believe that a thing of beauty transcends gender, but it is hard (for me) not to think of this as quintessentially feminine. It is incredibly potent, leaving a long trail of sillage, and is tenacious on the skin.

I think this is beautiful, transparent, atmospheric, a little weird, definitely goes into "work of art" category for me. Then again, I love Mark Buxton's creations. To me, this is most similar to Monocle Scent One: Hinoki -- has the same Japanese cedar, white incense accord. My concern with the price is that it should have better longevity for $300. Perhaps if they spent less on the packaging (a block of concrete....). A keeper.

A meditation on transparent wood and incense. Cerebral and brilliant in that inimitable CDG style. This is slightly more wearable than the other Mark Buxton masterpiece MoslBuddJewChristHinDao, which is about incense and snuffed-candles. If you like one, try the other, and enjoy comparing and contrasting. Hinoki has that damp, steamed wood smell, so to me I don't smell dry wood-shop cedar curls. But I understand the reference. The peculiar musty opening "evaporates" in the dry down, which literally smells dryer than the opening. Cheeky and clever! And beautiful.

Okay, I'm a big fan of art perfumes, the strange and beautiful, but I think this one takes the cake! This has the strangest opening of any fragrance I have ever smelled, almost repellent, but it quickly morphs into something extraordinary. It is complex, haunting, gray, and smoky. At times reminiscent of Mitsouko and at other times of Sienne l'Hiver - woman and man, soft and hard, warm and cold, it is a study in contrasts co-existing. It was developed by Simon Constantine of Never too Busy to Be Beautiful (Lush offshoot) as a 50/50 combination of his masculine Exhale and feminine Inhale perfumes. Since it is the breath of God, it makes sense that the emphasis here appears to be on the Exhale, smoky incense, cedar, pepper. There is an abstract rose in there -- just enough floral to keep this from being relentless pungent, earthy and smoky. To me, the pictured conjured up in my mind is of a Tibetan temple against a backdrop of a cloudy November sky, barren trees, and the scent of a burning leaf-pile nearby, or incense from the temple. If this all sounds too arch and improbable (the name doesn't help....), give it a try, hang in there for the amazing, lingering dry down and see for yourself. By God, it works! Tania Sanchez of Perfumes: the Guide recently gave it a rare 5-star rating. This is one of those rare perfumes that changes every time you catch a whiff of it. It is far more beautiful from a distance. When you get up close the stark contrasts become accentuated. Can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it. Truly a unisex scent.

I found this to be reassuringly nostalgic without being a blatant copy of anything else. There is a very warm floral heart amid the earthy spiciness. It is not high art, but there are times when I enjoy a scent like this, the olfactory equivalent of comfort food.

Basala and Basara in Japanese are the same word, meaning free, unrestrained, unconventional. It explains why this men's fragrance was release under both names. The fragrance lives up to its name --it is bold, unique and unconventional, with only enough allusion to traditional masculine fragrances to keep the wearer from initially dismissing it as unwearable. Wearable it is (though not for the faint or heart, and not for the heat of summer), with a lovely prolonged evolution through warm spices to leather chypre. The longevity is astounding. It also has Serge Lutens fingerprints on it, at times calling to mind the suede of Daim Blond.

IMO, it is very linear; it does not develop over time on my skin. On me, it is very anisic, with a powerful, artificial musk base that is reminiscent of fresh laundry. Which can be nice as part of a bigger picture, but on me it stayed on those two notes (licorice musk) like a laser beam for 12 hours. In my opinion, the CDG fragrances that do the fresh laundry-ozonic thing are preferable, if they don't give you a headache. And I agree with the other reviewer who said that Sel de Vetiver is a more successful ozonic scent; it is a fully-developed, rounded-out scent with a nice evolution that includes vetiver and iris notes.

To be fair, I am not a fan of the "marine" scents. I feel they are like the "grape" flavoring in hard candy that we have all come to label as "generic grape" but bear no resemblance to any fruit found in nature. In the right hands this kind of artifice can be inspired, though. Take Jean Claude Ellena's Eau The Vert, which has come to represent the smell of green tea, but really smells nothing like it. My hope is that the technical and artistic challenge of re-creating a convincing impression of fresh ocean breezes will push perfumers to try new ideas and take chances. Hope springs eternal...

This has such a strong "old-lady" connotation to me. I had prepared myself for a sexy animalic musc, but the sweetness was overpowering, and there was a sour opening note that persisted and was actually a bit nauseating (like incontinent old lady). Had to wash it off. Twice. I'm disappointed that I was persistent in bidding for my sample; should have let it go at $25.00....*sigh* Live and learn...

I recently fell in "like" with Costes (a fragrance of mostly topnotes)-- I liked the fresh, clean lavender and rose over a slightly musky/woody base. But it has very little persistence on me, and my skin ends up accentuating the rose, making it too feminine for my taste. Coincidentally I also recently tried Encre Noire (mostly basenotes), and liked it very much, but the lack of top notes and the steady inky dirty woodiness was relentlessly masculine. So I did the unthinkable and layered the two, and had a very pleasant couple hours experiencing a more masculine Costes. The old-lady rose association was gone, there was improved persistence, and the two complimented each other nicely.

I know, I know: heresy. I should leave the perfumery to the experts, but it was a fun experiment....and I might do it again.

You know, this is a very interesting "scent", and I use that word in the technical sense. I don't feel Piment Brulant works as a stand-alone gourmand frangrance; and I wonder if it was intended as such. It is more of a fresh burst of a idea -- chocolate and chili pepper -- almost monothematic, and it's lack of persistence supports this idea. It's a playful olfactory experiment, a brief scent-definition. I put in on yesterday before I headed to the garden for some watering (heat wave in SF) and the scent was incredibly refreshing and totally mood-congruent with what I was experiencing outdoors. Today, I was making a Caribbean lime/cilantro/pepper marinade for fish, split open a Serrano pepper and was immediately greeted with the scent of Piment Brulant -- fresh, green, hot and cool at the same time.

I can imagine this scent being layered on-top of something cooler or floral, to add heat and complexity. I agree with what others have said here, but also appreciate the artistry that went into making such a Proustian scent mimic.

I agree with Andrew; this is a softer gentler Terre d'Hermes. Not nearly as breathtaking and complex as Jean-Claude Ellena's work of art (there is that sparkling crystalline quality to Terre d'Hermes that is missing here) but, to my nose, it is more wearable. It is a bit sweeter, too (not necessarily an advantage). The full-on linear olfactory laser of TDH can give me a headache after a few hours, and F pour Homme mellows out in a way that allows me to wear it all day.

Great site, I'm a frequent reader, new poster.

"Wow" was my initial reaction. I had just been trying Amouage Jubilation XXV and then tried this. Shall we compare and contrast, kids? Amouage was dense and smokey, full of incense, dark and mysterious, and incredibly complex. It is a liaison in winter under fur in front of a roaring fire with your clandestine lover. Not something I could pull off every day. So the contrast to Costes was shocking to me. Costes is stepping out of the hot Mediterranean sun and into the cool foyer of grand old hotel, the curtains gently billowing in the breeze. On me, it opens with a refreshing burst of citrus, clove and pepper. Shimmering underneath are fresh florals (bay leaf and lavender), it is very clean and smooth at the same time. SMOOOOOOOTH. In the dry down I'm more aware of sandalwood and a subtle animalic muskiness that anchor the fresh crisp topnotes and keep this fragrance on firmly unisex ground.

Classy, sexy, refreshing and smooth. Definitely a summer fragrance. This could be my new daily scent.

The lovely folks at Aedes sent me a sample of this along with some masculines I had requested. I have never been a fan of carnations, and would never have believed the could smell this good. The carnation/clove/orange accords are, for me, a new experience and I am enjoying it very much. Today in San Francisco we are having un-heard-of 94 degree weather and this fragrance could not be more perfect; it is a cool breeze stirring the leaves in a tree while I nap on a hammock. The clove (and a bit of leather?) also brink to mind the wonderful smell of an old book in a beautiful binding, making it almost masculine enough for me to wear ...

Just received my beautifully packaged sample set from Ineke Ruhlman. Apparently, the person in charge of internet sales literally lives across the street from my office in San Francisco, and walked it over himself. Now that's what I call service! It certainly puts me in a positive frame of mind to review Derring Do. So far, I'm loving it. The first impression is the citrus, light and clean and refreshing, followed by the middle notes which to my nose emphasize the magnolia. There is a flinty, almost metallic, crispness that keeps it alive and masculine. I've always been a little amused by descriptions that talk about "rain notes", since last time I checked rain had no fragrance, but this Derring Do does capture that moment when the first drops of a summer rain touch the dust on asphalt -- the scent that accompanies being caught in a downpour and escaping under a tree in the park. This is certainly NOT your father's eau de parfum.

The dry-down is warmer, but still fresh. My clients must be wondering why I keep raising my wrist to my nose....

My experience with TdH:
1) I want to love it, but it is a difficult lover.
2) It lasts longer than Methuselah.
3) I love it for short periods, it's better late in the drydown for daytime wear (which is a problem....do I apply at 4 a.m. for work arrival at 8?).
4) I agree with others here: It can give me a headache if I'm having one of those days when a headache feels imminent.
5) It lingers on clothing in a good way -- very fresh and summery -- like a memory of an old friend.
7) It is completely unique, can easily be a signature scent.
8) For those who like it but would prefer a kinder, gentler experience, try F pour Homee by Ferragamo.
A reserved thumbs up.
Merci bien!