Fragrance Reviews by surreality

Orient Extreme is a feminine chypre, with rose and sandal wood playing major roles in this perfumes progression. I tested this side by side with Serge Luten's Chypre Rouge and they are very similar; with the SL offering being creamier, richer and an all round better fragrance. Not that Orient Extreme is bad, it is a well composed perfume that has good longevity and sillage. This just isn't for me.

Ambre 114 is powerful and complex, but subtle and refined perfume. It envelops the wearer in a close-fitting cloud of ambery goodness, that is always in front of the nose. The herbal top notes dampen the sweetness of the amber, making this a very wearable fragrance that never gets cloying, even in warmer weather. Apart from the top notes that last for the first hour and the musk base that becomes most evident after about 8 hours it is really hard to identify individual notes; which shows just how well balanced this fragrance is. Longevity is excellent; I applied two sprays over 15 hours ago and it is still going strong. This projects off the skin nicely, (hence the closefitting cloud of ambery goodness comment) but it isn't a sillage monster. In short, Ambre 114 is a gorgeous fragrance, one that any amber lover (and those that don't think that they like amber fragrances) should try at least once.

Serge Noire starts of with the spiciness of cinnamon bark, and the dryness of the dark rich woods combined with a large dose of camphor. These notes work together work to create an opening that is quite assertive. For the first hour or so I was thinking how linear this scent was; the opening notes seemed to linger on the skin getting rounder and less sharp as time went by. Before too long the wood and cinnamon were joined by incense and amber, with just a touch of smokiness in the mix; notes that last until the end.

Serge Noire has great longevity; it is about 13 hours after I applied it conservatively and it is still going strong. It is not a sillage monster by any means, but it does make itself known to those in your immediate vicinity. Overall, this is a really well crafted and very likable fragrance, one that will most likely find a home in my wardrobe in the near future.

This is another inoffensive fresh scent that like so many of its brethren fails to leave any lasting mark. There is nothing about this Lacoste creation that is bad per se; it smells fresh, crisp and nice enough. But there is also nothing really that good about it either, and certainly nothing about this makes it essential to one's wardrobe.

The citrus topnotes blend with something green and slightly herbaceous before fading away to leave a lightly spiced floral heart. This soon fades into a base of patchouli and sandalwood. The longevity of Essential is about 3 hours and it has a decent projection.

Polo Black is an inoffensive and well composed "fresh" scent that is is a little on the generic side but more likable than many of its competitors. The refreshing fruity top notes soon fade away, leaving a lightly herbaceous and "watery" heart underpinned by a base of patchouli and sandalwood that is rounded out and softened a little by the tonka bean.

Polo Black has nowhere near the power, sillage or longevity of other fragrances in the Polo line, it lasts maybe 4 hours before it needs refreshing. This is a nice enough fragrance but there is nothing that makes it (or the wearer )stand out from the crowd. If you are looking for something unique or sexy then this is not what you are looking for ; if you are looking for something fresh, understated and suitable for the office or class room then this may be worth a try.

For the first half an hour or so after applying Kiehl's all I could think of was "this smells a lot like Kouros". After the initial blast of Kouros-like goodness, a more floral character starts to emerge with roses and some other florals (ylang ylang?) making an appearance. A slightly dirty musk holds everything together and stops it from becoming too floral. The florals die down a little in the dry down and a certain powderiness to the musk appears, smoothing its edges and taming it to a large degree. Longevity is very good (I got slight hints of it in the breeze a good 10 hours after a light application), and it projects well although it is not a "sillage monster".

Overall, a Kiehl's a nice musk that although it brings to mind other perfumes it has a character all of its own.

Greyland starts off with an intense blast of sharp cedar, spice and a touch of incense, before moving to a heart of incense, woods, black pepper, and something that is piney, resinous and slightly citrusy. In no stage of this perfumes development do I smell cumin; I do however get a very faint indication of clove oil that seems to tie the resinous, incense and cedar together. This lasts forever on my skin, I was still getting whiffs of Greyland a good 10 hours after a light application. All in all this is a fairly linear scent, as other have mentioned it slowly becomes more faint with the sharp edges dropping off over time until only a slight musky, sloightly vanillic wood scent is left on the skin. This is a very masculine fragrance and one that needs to be worn several times to fully appreciate.

Riverside Drive could best be described as the bastard child of Creed's Green Irish Tweed and Millesime Imperial. The opening of this is similiar to MI and before long becomes very reminiscent of GIT with a touch of pineapple thrown in for good measure and the violet toned down just a touch. Riverside Drive has good longevity 6 hrs and projects nicely. This is an inoffensive and nicely put together scent that could easily be worn to the office.

Of the three Nasomatto fragrances I have worn Hindu Grass is the one I like least. However, having said that it is still a very good fragrance; just not nearly as nice to my nose as Duro or Absinth.

The opening of Hindu Grass is a little sharp and biting with a definite citrus character to it. There is something dark and a little smoky in the top/heart notes that reminds me of coffee. There is definitely a vetiver note throughout HG's development that in the basenotes blends well with the patchouli. Hindu Grass' longevity is outstanding (16+ hours) and it projects nicely. I think that if you like fragrances like Red Vetyver then this is one that you should check out.

eo01 starts off reminding me of a Lutens Bois fragrance; not any particular Lutens but just the general woody profile of these Lutens scents. There is a note that strikes me as waxy, like candle wax, that lasts maybe 10-20 minutes. At this point as the top notes give way to the heart, the woodiness is complimented by amber, which sweetens the fragrance and a touch of powder (iris and tonka?) that softens it nicely. The drydown, which to me is the best feature of this perfume, retains the woody notes of the top and heart with something animalic underneath that adds a degree of complexity. These animalic notes get more pronounced as the woods disappear, leaving behind a skin scent not unlike Escentual's Molecule 02.

This is a nice fragrance that is more on the masculine side of unisex. It lasts about 6 hours and while the opening notes do project fairly well after the first 20 minutes eo01 stays pretty close to the skin through out the rest of its development. Because it does stay close to the skin it wears well in warmer weather, but I think it smells more like a fall scent.

Montale's Blue Amber is beautiful and rich amber scent. The opening starts out very powdery with a hint of citrus, but soon turns into a rich creamy amber with maybe just the slightest hint of vetiver. The dry down gets a little more vetiverine giving the scent a deeper more earthy character but the amber remains in the forefront.

This is powerful stuff. A little dab on my inner elbow that I put on before bed to test Blue Amber's longevity lasted well over 24 hours and before I fell asleep I felt enveloped by the scent, not in an overpowering way but like a cloud of spicy, vanillic goodness surrounded my body. I gave this a full wearing on a cooler evening and it was sublime. I couldn't image wearing this in hot and humid weather; it could very easily become overpowering. However, I think that this will become an integral part of my scent wardrobe come fall and winter.

A nice citrusy vetiver scent. In the top notes I smell mandarine and lemon in addition to the vetiver. There is a floral note (lavender?) in the heart that lends a dryness to Pursuit once the citrus top notes leave the scene that seems to work well with the bright vetiver. The dry down is a slightly musky wood.

Pursuit lasts about 4 hrs on my skin before it needs refreshing. Overall, a good but not great vetiver, but one that is worth trying if you are in the market for a summer fragrance..

The coffee top note in Black Vetyver Cafe is very sweet gourmand note, more like a coffee candy than a fresh brewed espresso. It reminded me of a coffee icing a local bakery used to use on one of their cakes. This coffee note fades in about 30 minutes revealing an earthy vetiver with hints of wood in the background. From here the development is linear.

The longevity of Black Vetyver Cafe is reasonably good; on my skin it lasted about 5 hours before it needed refreshing. The coffee note really projects while it lasts but the vetiver and woody notes stay fairly close to the skin. If you are looking for a vetiver fragrance that is a little different then this might just be for you.

The first 45 minutes of Aa is clean and soapy, like a high quality shampoo amd is my least favorite aspect of this perfume. The floral heart notes are quite nice, they blend well with the bitter resinous note (wormwood?) and the bergamot, and are where this fragrance shines. The dry down reminds me of a light woody vetiver tinged with musk. Aa has excellent longevity (I put it on at 7pm last night and I can still smell it very lightly as a skin scent at noon and I applied it sparingly). This would suit someone looking for a long lasting, clean fragrance for year round wear.

Hypnose Homme is a pleasantly sweet oriental scent that wears well in warm weather; although in hot and humid conditions it could be cloying.

The topnotes blend well, no one note overpowers the others. On my skin the lavender carries through to the drydown where it is joined by sweet amber and wood notes. Hypnose Homme is long lasting (7-8hours) and has good sillage. Overall this is a good fragrance that is better than many of the mass market designer fragrances.

Vettiveru is a fresh, clean, slightly soapy and very well made cologne. The bergamot and neroli are notes that really play well with the vetiver. Wood becomes noticeable in the drydown. This lasts about 4 hours on my skin (and I applied this conservatively) which is better than many scents at this price point. This is a very wearable fragance that is great value for money. I'd have no reservations recommending this to anyone looking for a light summer scent that is versatile enough to wear to work and play.

The opening fruity notes of Silver Mountain Water quickly morph into a crisp clean cool scent that has hints of something green in the background. The dry down reminds me of other Creed's that I have tried; SMW is maybe slightly fruitier but not so different from other perfumes from the Creed collection. This has good longevity and projects fairly well. Overall, SMW is a light fragrance that I find enjoyable, perhaps best suited for summer day wear.

As one would expect from a scent built around honey, Miel de Bois is sweet but Lutens has managed to stay away from making Miel de Bois too sweet. The first notes to hit my nose were woody and resinous, notes that were soon joined by honey and beewax. These two notes take center stage pushing the wood notes into the background. The dry down still retains a dominant honeyed note that is balanced by a slightly dirty animalic note and something powdery (pallida iris?). Miel de Bois has great longevity (7+ hrs) and projects well.

Miel de Bois is definitely not a warm weather scent, I think it is more suited to cold, long dark winter nights in front of a roaring fire. This is an interesting fragrance that certainly gives honey a dominant role but I find this hard to wear.

A sweet (but not too sweet), slightly earthy perfume that really puts vetiver in a starring role for the first 30 minutes or so. Vetiver Ambrato is nicely balanced fragrance that becomes more ambery in the dry down with notes of vanilla and musk becoming noticeable. This is an understated, and as others have mentioned, classy fragrance that lasts about 4 hours with a moderate sillage. This would be suitable for business or casual wear. I like this but there are other vetivers that I like much more, so I don't think this will find its way into my collection any time soon.

Yuzu Rouge has a very light, crisp citrus opening that quickly develops just a hint of rose that balances the sharpness of the citrus. The dry down takes the rose theme a little further adding just a little sweet spice to the mix. The longevity of this is typical of citrus scents on my skin, about 45min and it seems to have very little sillage. I think this would be much better as an EDP, as both the longevity and sillage would be greatly improved. Yuzu Rouge is definitely a warm weather fragrance best worn in daylight hours, and can be easily worn by both men and women. Overall a very nice fragrance but not one that I feel the need to own.

Ambre Sultan is a very good fragrance. Amber features dominantly from beginning to end, as one would expect, but it sweetness is cut by the use of dry herbs and a touch of cedar that provide a nice balance. This is a very powerful scent; one spray is often enough (and a reason I'm thinking of decanting some into a small roll-on vial).

Vetiver Oriental is bright, sweet and earthy but still manages to have a great depth and warmth about it. The first note that jumps off the skin is that of a lush, dark chocolate. This is followed by a heart of earthy vetiver, sweetened with just a touch of amber which is balanced by a dry woody note that lasts into the dry down where it is joined by a touch of musk. This is another fun scent that just feels good to wear. Light enough for wear in warm weather, but warm enough for cooler days as well. On me this has great longevity (6-7 hrs) and stays fairly close to the skin. This is probably my favorite of the Serge Lutens Export line; its a pity its a limited edition and will one day soon become available only in Paris.

Chypre Rouge is definitely not one of my favorites by Serge Lutens. The opening is very sweet, almost candied (something reminds me of creme brulee just after the sugar on top has been caramelized with a blowtorch) with notes of pine just peeping through. The sweetness does mellow a little after the first few minutes but I find that the heart and base notes tend toward the feminine; it reminds me of something my mum wore many years ago. I think I'd prefer to smell this on my wife rather than wear it myself. . . but only very ocassionally.

CR has great longevity, just like most SL creations and projects well. This is a cool weather fragrance (part of why I decided to test this today, its only 61F outside) that is more suited to evening wear.

While Agrumi Amaria di Sicilia is a very nice, summery grapefruit scent that really does smell refreshing, it quickly fades into nothingness; on my skin I can hardly smell it after 15min. This is way too short lived for the price and although I do like it I cannot give it a thumbs up.

Bois et Musc is a well crafted fragrance that smells exactly like the name claims; Wood and Musk. The cedar notes last about 30 minutes and there is something in the opening that reminds me of warm beeswax. All the notes blend very well with the musk, creating a fragrance that is warm and inviting. The musk in the drydown is a somewhat cleaner musk than MKK's drydown, but it still retains enough dirtiness to it to make it interesting.

As for sillage, Bois et Musc it tends to stick close to the skin. The cedar notes project more than the musk does (which is to be expected). The scent doesn't last as long as other SL creations (namely Ambre Sultan, MKK) but is still noticeable ~6 hours after I applied it.

This would probably be a good choice of scent for someone who finds MKK too loud but who still wants a very good musk perfume.

It looks like I'm the lone dissenter when it comes to Dirty English. I've sampled it twice now, and have been unimpressed both times. Something about this just seems muddy; not as in it smells like mud but in that it is ill defined and "brown". It is as if the nose behind it wanted to make a complex and interesting fragrance but ended up with something way too busy to be interesting. For me Dirty English's best aspect is the drydown; a slightly sweet, woody musk slowly emerges from the mud after a couple of hours. I sampled one single spray on the wrist and the scent stayed with me for about 6 hours with a good sillage.

Chocolat Amere is a deep, dark, semi sweet chocolate that really grabs one's attention. Resinous woods add complexity and stop this from being too foody. This has a good longevity, 5-6 hrs, and a decent sillage. A very nicely done fragrance, but one that I couldn't see myself reaching for very often. This is definitely for after-dark use.

This is a hard scent to review. Molecule 02 is so subtle that it almost disappears into the background, but doesn't. This smells like clean, sun-kissed skin mixed with ocean breeze, that stays very close to the skin.

Boss Pure has a fresh, clean, lightly citrus-y, aquatic, opening, balanced by a floral heart. Drys down to a woody, slightly vanillic note. Good longevity for an EdT (3-4 hrs) with a decent sillage. Definitely aimed at the younger crowd who want something different... but not too different. This is a nice enough fragrance, but there is nothing really special about it. The florals in this put it in the realm of a unisex fragrance.

Hmm... I've worn Himalaya a couple of times now and I'm still not sure if I like it enough to buy a bottle. I certainly don't hate it though. The initial blast of citrus is refreshing and cool but somehow it just seems slightly unbalanced. There is a note that on my skin gives the warm lightly musky drydown a certain crispness. This is definitely a warm weather fragrance to be worn during the day.

If I could only use one word to describe this perfume it would be: Nostalgic. One spray of Philosykos transported me back to my childhood; in particular to the days when I would stuff my face with the figs that grew on the tree in my backyard. This is the essence of fig tree; the fruit, the leaves and the wood captured in a bottle. This is not a perfume I could wear very often but when I do wear it, it makes me happy.

The rosemary and mint top and middle notes, coupled with its longevity on my skin, really makes this one stand out from the CK crowd. If your looking for something highly original, quirky or elegant then this fragrance is NOT for you. However, if you want something unobtrusive but still a little different from most of the mainstream fragrances out there this may just be worth a try.

I really wanted to like this... before application this is rich, exotic and sumptuous but as soon as it hits my skin, all I get is an unholy musty smell.

Wow!! I've worn MKK four times and each time it suprises me. It is one of those fragrances that I find myself unconsciously stealing a sniff of during the course of the day. The initial impression is a beastly smoky funk, that tones down into a deep dark, but slightly rosy, musk. This fragrance doesn't so much develop as it tames; what starts off as a nearly uncontrolled beast tames into a purring lion cub.

Not a bad fragrance, but not great either. Sweet and slighty floral opening which gives way to a subtle, warm leather note that lasts for a good two or three before turning into a very light and slightly smoky musk that stays close to the skin. I think this perfume best suits cooler weather.

In the aphorism 341 of The Gay Science, Nietzsche introduces the concept of the Eternal Return by asking us to contemplate the following:

"What if some day or night a demon were to steal into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it you will once again and innumerable times again; and there will be nothing new in it. . ."

Just as in the hypothetical posed by the demon, every moment of olfactory sensation while wearing Eternal Return is the same. There is no development in this scent; the scent that goes on is the same 2,3 or 6 hours later. This wouldn't be a bad thing... if the fragrance was interesting. However, this is not the case. Not that this is a bad scent, it has a certain woody freshness that would be pleasant enough in a room spray or a furniture polish but as a perfume Eternal Return misses the mark.

Duro is an unabashedly, powerfully, masculine scent. There is no sweetness to this at all; it is dry in a good way, like a fine extra brut champagne. The leather in Duro is nicely complimented by wood and herbs (something about this vaguely reminds me of the herbs in SL Ambre Sultan; is there oregano in here somewhere?) and creates a complex scent that one immediately identifies as leather, but a leather unlike any other.

Duro means business; this is not a casual scent like Nasomatto's Absinth. This would be a great fragrance to wear to an important meeting or interview, something about it projects an attitude of self-assuredness, class, and confidence.

This extrait has excellent longevity (8-9 hr) and a good sillage. I think this would be easy to overapply, and it would probably appeal to those who are prone to do so. Given its longevity and sillage ~$150 for 30mL is a fair price; a little goes a long way.

Euphoria Men opens with a citrusy note which quickly moves into an herbaceous and slightly floral heart. This drys down to a woody basenotes with a hint of suede. This lasts maybe 5-6 hrs and has a decent sillage. This is a pleasant, unobtrusive fragrance that seems to wear better in cooler weather.

Nice bright citrus scent underpinned by a green woody note. The EdP has good longevity for a citrus scent (4 hrs). Good for wearing on a hot summer day.

This is an OK scent. Very short lived (2 hrs), with an opening of fizzy lime that quickly fades revealing a very slightly musky pine/cedar that stays close to the skin. This is good for hot summer days when you want a scent that wont become too overpowering or cloying, but be prepared to re-apply a couple of times throughout the day. I definitely wouldn't pay full price for a bottle of this, but I wouldn't toss out a freebie either.

Harissa opens with a fairly dominant clove note, which soon becomes an earthy spicy citrus which lasts maybe 40 mins before drying down into a vegetal musk (the angelica root and cardamom perhaps?). Being an EDT it doesn't have great staying power (3-4 hours) but it is very pleasant while it lasts and wears well in warmer weather. This could very well become my go to summer scent.

Nothing special here. Its fresh citrus and floral opening is nice enough but it lasts all of 45 minutes on my skin before becoming nearly imperceptable.

This is awful stuff. The initial blast is like a bad 80's generic aftershave mixed with burnt motor oil. It has got good sillage and is long lasting but I find this to be a totally unwearable scent.

This is a near perfect fragrance. This is a woody, spicy and earthy scent with just a hint of sweetness that adds to the complexity of Absinthe. The drydown on my skin gets a little leathery, and a little musky (Montale's Musk to Musk not MKK)Like Duro, this is definitely a masculine scent but where Duro is all business (the noughtie's equivalent to a 80's power scent) Absinthe is fun. This could be worn just about anywhere. Wearing this just makes me feel good. My only complaint with this is its longevity; this just doesn't have staying power, 2 to 3 hours max, which seems unusally short seeing that it is an extrait. This however will not stop me from adding a flacon (or two) of Absinthe to my collection.