Basenotes - Reviews by Dr Mu

United Kingdom

Showing 1 to 14 of 14.

Mandarine by Il Profumo

This opens very brightly with a strong scent of tinned mandarin orange segments. After a little, this develops into something strongly suggestive of tangerine jelly; assuming you want to smell like jelly, it's rather nice. The dry-down is linear and the whole thing is gone in an hour.

6th February, 2010.

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5:40 PM in Madagascar by Kenzo

I tried this briefly, and as vanilla scents go, I think this is good. It opens with something that reminded me actually of vodka, and then a gentle, slightly fruity vanilla develops. Vanilla doesn't really work for me, which is why I'm voting neutral, but it's well worth investigating if you like that note.

1st February, 2010.

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Neroli by Profumum

This is like the Monty Python Viking Cafe: neroli, neroli, neroli, baked beans, neroli and neroli. Oh sorry, baked beans are off, you can have extra neroli instead.

1st February, 2010.

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Sanguine by Keiko Mecheri

This is spot-on for blood orange. Very nice, very distinctive, good longevity, just a tad on the pricey side, though.

1st February, 2010.

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Aoud Leather by Montale

The leather here brings to my mind rather old battered leather furniture, but what dominates is the smokiness, which is very specifically peat smoke. This is the most Irish fragrance I've encountered; that peat smoke is very evocative. The whole composition calls to mind something like a room in a country house out in the west of Ireland: old furniture and the whiff of peat from the grate.

Rating this scent with only three options is difficult. On the one hand, I have a lot of respect for it. On the other hand, is it something you want to actually smell of? This is certainly not a scent for everyday wear, and I wouldn't be tempted to get a whole bottle. Consider this one thumb up, rounded down.

6th August, 2009.

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Narciso Rodriguez for Him by Narciso Rodriguez

I tried this from a sample this morning and instantly regretted it. The smell is somewhere between fresh asphalt and the contents of a 1950s bathroom cabinet. I can just imagine that a target demographic for this scent might exist; perhaps third-rate professional footballers, but it does nothing for me.

9th July, 2009.

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Classic 1920 by Bois 1920

This scent conjures up for me the following image: I'm sitting in a cafe in the Domplatz, Vienna, on a sunny afternoon, looking up at St Stephen's, and I have in front of me a bowl of the most delicious lemon ice cream (not sorbet) floating in vielle prune.

It's elegant, it's reassuring, I love it and I'm going to get a bottle of it next thing.

29th September, 2008.

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Aoud Lime by Montale

The opening is huge and pungent, medicinal, almost iodine. Then a note emerges which reminds me hugely of Turkish delight - which I take to be chiefly the rose. I don't find any lime here, unless it is that here the rose and lemon of traditional Turkish delight is here subtly rose and lime. This mixes with the pungent notes in such a way that the overall effect is like eating Turkish delight washed down with a very peaty Islay malt - Laphroaig or a very aged Caol Isla.

As time goes on (and it really does last) the phenolic element die away and the rose/patchouli accord dominates, no longer Turkish delight. A rather dusty, musty rose, slightly oppressive.

I have to admire this fragrance for its grandeur, but it's not really something I would want to wear very often. I would class it as masculine rather than unisex.

8th August, 2008.

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Bahiana by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

From the notes, I thought I was going to like this a lot, but I'm a little disappointed. The opening is an attractive fruit medley, but a syrupy note develops quickly, and it reminds me strongly of a certain brand of "tropical fruit salad" from childhood. I also get a strong note of something I can't quite put my finger on, but reminds me of a certain type of sweet that was/is sold in the UK under the name of "dolly mixtures". It might be the coconut that does it.

I read somewhere that this fragrance is marketed at "the younger woman" - I find it wearable as unisex but only just. It's a bit too sugary for me - a trace of tartness would have bucked this up a bit.

24th July, 2008.

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Derby by Guerlain

This is a scent that definitely speaks of a specific time and place. The time is about 7 o'clock of a Sunday morning in early summer. The place is outside the back door of Yates's Wine Lodge in central Nottingham. Maybe there's a Yates's in the centre of Derby as well?

24th July, 2008.

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Premier Figuier by L'Artisan Parfumeur

The first time I wore this, my wife thought it smelled of coconut matting. The second time I wore this, I thought it smelled of coconut matting. Good if you want to smell like a doormat.

24th July, 2008.

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Un Jardin Après La Mousson by Hermès

I'm not sure what it was inspired me to get a sample of this, but within a few minutes of trying, I knew I wanted a bottle of it. This is a highly individual scent, not really much like anything else I know.

It opens for me with a fresh combination of ginger and cucumber, and for some reason I find it has an effect of synaesthesia - I get this impression of milky whiteness so I imagine the notes are caught up in a creamy raitha. Next along are coriander and pineapple, with the drydown (which is highly satisfactory in length) preserving a very light, flowery ginger and the coriander.

I don't find it especially feminine - very suitably unisex. And gorgeous stuff.

22nd July, 2008.

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Agrumi Amaria di Sicilia by Bois 1920

A delightful sunny citrus opening, with distinguishable notes of orange marmalade, lemon and mandarin. Sadly it fades rather rapidly, and there's not much of a drydown, otherwise it would get a thumbs-up.

21st July, 2008.

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Mister by Jasper Conran

The opening is harsh, strident, bitter, almost metallic, and it took me a moment to realise just what it reminded me of - disinfectant. Not even disinfectant fresh from the bottle, but some that has been poured on a carpet to wash away a bit of sick. This accord persists, but is eventually joined by other notes of old straw, seaweed and peppermint, in a horrible, sick-headache combination. I really felt bad about meeting people while wearing this, and eventually I had enough and went home at lunchtime to try and wash it off.

Truly revolting. The best thing I can say about it is that the packaging is entirely suitable: the bold black-and-white migraine stripes of the box exterior coupled with the nausea-green interior.

11th July, 2008.

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Showing 1 to 14 of 14.