Basenotes - Reviews by DapperDan

Abu Dhabi

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Eau des 4 Voleurs by L'Occitane

I bought this one after reading the reviews here. I have to agree that this is definitely a classic dry herbal fragrance that starts off with a sharp burst of lemon not unlike Acqua Di Selva (one could accuse it of the bug spray accord). What surprises me is that no one's mentioned that the heart of this fragrance is actually oregano which, when mixed with the other herbal and coniferous notes does give it a piney character. It certainly comes the closest I've smelled to the much maligned "pencil shavings" accord. Personally, I happen like this dry clean woody/cedary accord . It's a very naturalistic outdoorsy scent. If you're into that kind of thing and tired of all the synthetic smelling aquatics then you'll love this one. It's definitely got a rugged provincial European thing going on. I'd put this one in the same class as Pino Sylvestre which relies more on thyme for it's herbal/coniferous strengh. Definitely not one to overdo though. This is a potent concoction with admirable staying power. I give it a thumbs up for its honesty, depth and rugged elegance.

14th November, 2008.

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Padparadscha by Satellite

I have to agree with most of Foetidus' points here. What I fell in love with in this fragrance is it's exotic, naturalistic peppery cedary coniferous top and mid notes. These are obviously high quality ingredients and well blended, however I do find as well that the wonderful opening is too short-lived and after a few hours the fragrance gradually dies down to a light skin musk with a hint of amber and cedar. Not an unpleasant drydown, just not enough there to hold ones attention.

That being said, I love this fragrance and it haunted me until I finally broke down and bought a bottle. I'm waiting for colder weather to really bring this one up to the top shelf. Seems much better suited for a heavy sweater and, who knows, maybe even a crackling fireplace.

22nd August, 2008.

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parfums*PARFUMS Series 4 Cologne: Vettiveru by Comme des Garçons

I used to mix my own scents with a pure vetiver oil base. I loved the clean, piney green freshness of the pure oil. Since becoming more intrigued by designer and niche fragrances I've been searching for that clean fresh vetiver scent in a more refined fragrance. I think I've found it in this one by Comme De Garcons. It has just enough of that clean biting vetiver edge without being overly harsh and the light citrus and woods notes are perfectly balanced to enhance the main event without overshadowing it in the least.

Vettiveru stands just fine on its own and at least on me has surprising longevity for a cologne, however I'm also finding that this is an extremely versatile fragrance for layering given it's simple and fairly linear structure. I love it with Terre d'Hermes, Safari, Boucheron PH and more recently Davidoff's new cedar heavy fragrance Adventure just to name a few. It adds that little bitter bite that I love so much about the V note without going over the top. Kudos to CdG for this excellently crafted cologne. I only wish I could find the giant 12oz jugs around because I know I'll be going through a lot of this wonderful juice. It's hard enough to come by the smaller 4oz bottles but is seems that the large ones are all but extinct.

Thumbs way up. Highly recommended for vetiver lovers everywhere!

22nd August, 2008.

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