Fragrance Reviews by rinosaur

Very smooth, subtle (but still present), and well blended, it smells high quality. Has alot of pine and cedar in it. Although it listed vanilla as a base, I can't really detect it there. I think it smells like walking through a coniferous forest after it had just rained (when the wood smell comes alive). The new slim bottle is reformulated very slightly, the only difference I smell is that the pine note is sharper now.

Ok did a near 180 on this. I originally thought it was very feminine but now its not that bad. Infact for some reason, I keep wanting to sample it everytime I see it. It is definately violety sweet, but not the powdery violet like Burberry Touch. Almost smells gourmand to me. Its modern and a bit dandy but nevertheless its a pretty unique scent.

This is very similar to the first hour of Kenneth Cole Reaction. But what is the problem with Reaction? It has very poor longetivity. This fixes that problem and leaves a very clean soapy aura around you. Some people around you may not know if you are wearing a fragrance or if it was your shampoo/body wash. You will smell just as if you got out of a shower where you soap scrubbed yourself. A very safe fragrance that isnt likely to disappoint anyone. Now don't think you wont need something like this. The perfect slap-on and out the door frag. I own darker fragrances like Michael Kors and Pi and love them; however you can't wear something like that in a hot summer day in a non-office environment. This can be found cheap online, especially eBay.

Take the horrid opening of Versace The Dreamer and make it permanent: thats Joop! Homme. Dreamer atleast dries down to something more plesant, this does not. The fragrance is as kiddy and dumb as its name suggests, what a joke.

I tried both the Aqua and the Marine side by side. The Aqua Marine picks up where the Aqua lacks - longetivity and strength. Take Aqva and add a tad bit of salt and zest and you get Marine. Just like the Aqva, the Marine stays true to the "aquatic" word, very sea-like. The improvements do however make this have an ever so slightly more generic feel to it. But I consider Aqva to be semi unique to begin with anyways. Many people wear fresh fragrances; not many wear a pure aquatic. I prefer the Aqua over this, however this doubles the longetivity of its more mature brother.

A deep water aquatic that some compare to Acqua di Gio. To me, its not very similar. This is more ozonic while AdG is more floral/feminine. One of the best aquatics I've smelled and its true to the word. Many sling around the "aquatic" word too liberally and call ordinary fresh fragrances aquatics, something not true. I'm giving this 4 stars, only because its a bit low key, longetivity may be a slight issue, however an extra 2 sprays should do the job. If you like this, definately check out the Aqva Marine flanker, it definately beefs up the strength of the juice and adds a tad bit of salt (a good thing).

Much more wearable version of A*Men, something that A*Men severly lacks. More office friendly while still maintaining the unique gourmandness. I gave A a neutral and B a positive. Not to mention, this can be found at Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx for very cheap unlike the A*Men.

I'm giving this a neutral not because I'm indifferent to it but because it has both strengths and weaknesses. The plus side is that it is a very unique gourmand scent that would work very well on certain types/personalities. On the other side, this may come across in a bad way to some people, which is not a good thing in office settings. Working in close proximity to others with this may nauseate them aswell.

This may grow on you, give it a few shots. I used to hate this, I can't believe how I did a 180 reversal. I don't know what this benzoin is but I wouldn't be too surprised if you can get high on it in the pure form lol. Bottle is soo beautiful and the fragrance is pretty simple, the pyramid confirms it, a single middle note, and a single base note. This lasts a very long time and I think the sillage is pretty strong as well. People complain that it is synthetic, you have to remember that they did not put vanilla in the pyramid, its benzoin - it smells similar but its a chemical and not the same thing.

I bought this blind after reading the wonderful reviews and I have to say that I am very satisfied. The scent reminds me of lush exotic fruits as well as some fresh tobacco. I can't point out the notes being relatively new to this hobby but those are the 2 most apparant ones. Its a very beautiful fragrance that was crafted to counter the massive influx of light aquatic/florals as stated by Michael Kors himself. Much better for cold weather and nighttime use I'd imagine since its on the heavy side. To top it off, the bottle/juice look awesome. Definately a keeper.

People call this metrosexual, it is. People call this unisex, I disagree - it is too spicy. As with many of these frags, I would give them a thumbs up for being a legend-in-use. But as a purely scent wise review, I feel this is just so normal of a frag. It's pretty bland and there are more interesting scents out. This was designed to be a groundbreaker, not a timeless scent, and in 2009 it just doesn't sparkle.

The ultimate metrosexual fragrance. Massive ad campaigns in the 90s brought AdG a big loyal customer base. Purely fresh and fruity with no complexity. I'm sure young women will love this and they would also like to wear it themselves. If wearing a unisex frag is ok with you, you wear frags just to please others, and you don't care if you are wearing one of the most popular and widely used fragrances, then its all good.

Many reviewers say that this is just a citrus scent. Its much more than that, its a very strange and odd scent. I'm wearing it as im writing this. It's just as the name implies: its a wierd metallic musky smell. It has some similarities with Cool Water but CW is more spicy/loud and is missing the metal. I have sprayed this multiple times from various stores and it always is the one with the least silliage out of all the frags. In light of the year 2009 and my experience with a decent amount of fragrances, I will give this a neutral, if I were in the 90s I know I'd give this a big thumbs up. Most people will see this scent as slightly different standard scent. However I know that there are people out there that this will just "click" and will fit them perfectly. Please, I'd refrain from giving this as a gift and also do not blind buy just based on the reviews, this is found in almost every single department store and is widely available for testing.

My first real fragrance. Its unique and mature and I haven't smelled anything like it. Dates, vanilla, and leather make for a delicious scent. Longetivity is good and its strong too. Its a tad bit synthetic thats the only bad part.

This is my TOP fragrance. Its the perfect blend of freshness and sophistication. For all those people who require quality ingredients, its made by Chanel and has the amazing drydown. The initial spray is a bit too lemony but after 5-10 minutes its just so delicious. The only problem is that its more expensive than most fragrances and I highly recommend eBay for this (no counterfeits there as far as I know).

Repulsive up to 15 minutes after spraying, smells like south asian/arab spices. Then it dries down to a pretty smooth, creamy and unique sweetness.

Ok I don't know what Millesime Imerial from Creed smells like and I noted the fact that some people think this is a copy, intentional or not I don't know. Regardless, this is the best celebrity fragrance I've smelled and it's not that same generic aqua scent like 50% of the scents coming out nowadays. I will buy if I find a good price for it.

As soon as I tried the tester at Kohl's I immediately found the gasoline/oil/grease/cut grass smell I experienced when I cleaned my lawn mower's carburetor 2 weeks earlier, disgusting. Drydown is a bit more tolerable but that gasoline just wont go away.

This was my first cologne (age 16?) and I remember choosing this one from a few at Marshalls. Now at 21 I wouldn't dare put this on (actually I just did to refresh my memory lol). It just reeks of cheap cologne with a dominant but nauseating (to me) spice added in there. Surprisingly this was the only cologne where I had somone ask what I was wearing, likely out of curiosity rather than him liking it. I will attribute this fact that I also used to spray more back then (who didn't?) so it got many more peoples attention whether they liked it or not.

I love the tea note in here however it seems its quite conservative of a fragrance. Another issue with this is that it is extremely weak. 2 sprays on wrist and 2 on neck and it seems that it radiates only a few inches from my body and after just 2 hours its gone. Reapplying throughout the day will deplete your bottle very fast.

After the opening, this reminds me alot of Chanel Allure Homme Sport. Its a very sporty fragrance that has a heavy (but not piercing) citrus opening, then it goes to a floral, similar to Platinum Egoiste. It doesn't smell synthetic at all to me, a somewhat classic style fragrance. Beautiful, but having Platinum Egoiste already, I don't feel a need for a very similar masculine floral anymore. I find on the web that this is marketed as a woman's perfume, I find that rediculous. This isn't very expensive either: a 150ml goes for around 40 online, even less for testers.

Being one who loves Ambre Sultan, I obviously find this a bit too tame. Its a rich fragrance but at the same time it feels very plain.

A somewhat harsh smoky amber with a bit of vanilla but it still smells nice and has alot of character. Gorgeous and rich smelling, its not toned down like L'Artisan or MPG Amber. This is my favorite amber scent. Be very very careful with the sprays, 2 on the neck peroid, any more and it will be offensive. One of the best Serge Lutens IMO.

As Pidgeon Murderer says, its smells like shampoo. Its very sharp, and pretty offensive to me. It is very strong and there is something sweet about this fragrance, I don't even know what muguet is but its probably that. Original Musk was on the shelf near it, they shouldn't be: Kiehl's OM is on a different league.

People say this smells like dirt, I smell rich clay. Initially you will get the orange and clay and in the drydown you'll get a tad bit of citrus, clay, and lots of vetiver. Being the fragrance with the 2nd most reviews on Basenotes, it would seem to be popular, but thats simply not the case in the US (It was #5 seller in France though lol), Macy's and some other department stores don't carry this. If real-world popularity was directly linked to reviews numbers on BN, than AdG, Code, Issey, CKs, and D&G Light Blue would dominate the top 10. Anyways, its not a safe blind buy, nor is it a clean fresh fragrance, you gotta go try it out. Its earthy, masculine (not spicy or sweet), and has a whole lot of character so be careful with the sprays. One of the top 5 I've smelled.

This may be slightly more citrusy than the standard Bph but it fixes JUST what the original one needed - longetivity. The PH wears off in under 3 hours and stays very low key from hour 3-5. This fixes that issue and projects farther. The extra citrus however does take away from the uniqueness and subtle class of Bulgari PH. I prefer Bulgari PH over this though, if they only made it an intense version of the same scent it would be marvelous.

It has the Kenzo creamy lemon note in it that is found in L'eau par Kenzo and Kenzo Homme Fresh and that is a very good thing. Its a floral which already sits well with me, it smells so beautiful. I like the concept of the "imaginary flower" - this is just what I'd think it would smell like. Not many masculine florals have come out in recent years and this one really caught my attention. It doesn't seem masculine at first but there is a certain sharp green note in the background that prevents it from being feminine. Absolutely perfect for summertime and it has a cool looking canister bottle. The only problem is the name, "Power" isn't really fitting for a light floral :P

This is exactly like what L'eau par Kenzo and Kenzo Homme would be if combined. Its has a light creamy lemon/floral on the top and a toned down version of the raw Kenzo sea in the background. By doing this it does lose character and becomes a bit more generic smelling which is my only gripe about it. Its absolutely perfect for the summer, very refreshing and soothing.

This is my favorite of the Men series although I haven't tried Pure Coffee. I take wearability into consideration when rating fragrances and in the end I rate this best, B*Men is second, and A*Men is last. Wearability aside, this is still the best smelling frag of the 3. Its creamy like the other 2 but its not as sweet as either, which I find is the killer of A*Men (its just too much). I don't know what the note is but there is a really sharp note in this that really go all the way to my stomach and to me this element just makes the fragrance so much better. If you like A*Men give it a shot, if you like B*Men more than A*Men (like me), then you should really really try this.

This is THE best true marine that I've smelled as of yet. Most "aquatic" scents just take a few elements of the sea and leave the less desirable ones out while adding the same ol citrus blend in. Kenzo PH incorporates all aspects of the sea, the ozone, seaweed, brine, saltwater, etc. Its raw and powerful and it does its job like no other.

High quality and very well blended masterpiece that commands respect and gives out an aura of confidence - so be confident yourself. Smells just like taking a whiff of a beautiful flower in a garden. That smell is balanced with a bit of citrus and cedar. The result is a masculine floral. There weren't many mens floral fragrances released in recent years and the ones that have been are quite unisex. Platinum Egoiste carries a high level of masculinity (not powerhouse like though) while being floral which is what makes it so amazing. Its more summer friendly than Egoiste and both fragrances are marvelous. I know there are Egoiste fans who don't like this - that could be because they find that Platinum isn't an improved Egoiste, its not Egoiste + more, its a different fragrance altogether and should be treated so. One of the top 5 I've ever smelled.

A beautiful lemon scent that comes off medium strength and then steps down to a creamy lemon-aquatic. There is one use for this and its exactly what I use it for: scorching hot days where I know I will get sweaty. There is no better fragrance I've tested yet that is more suitable for extreme heat than this.

review under construction: I tested 3 diff frags on the Porsche test strip since thats what the store had, until I can confirm which one is the Porsche (may not be the one I originally thought) I'll leave this review neutral

This is a very beautiful spicy-sweet classy scent. Not as masculine as Chanel PM and Platinum Egoiste. What this scent reminds me most of is gingerbread cookies. Its a warm scent with sweet spices and some woody qualities in the drydown. Aside from being like Chanel Egoiste, its quite a unique scent, fresh but mature. I wouldn't recommend it for hot summers, but if you are in a cold office, then it doesn't matter that much anyways. I hope I didn't make it seem to sweet which its not - remember its like cinnamon sweet, not syrup/floral sweet. One of the top 5 I've smelled.

Beautiful smoky woody vetiver. Its a slightly lighter version than Encre Noire. Opening smells a bit harsh but drydown is downright gorgeous. One of the best vetiver loaded scents out there. I actually think its pretty good that its marketed towards females. Most probably wont want to wear it since it is a bit masculine, and 99% of guys wont venture off to the womans side to buy scents. Thats what makes it a rare fragrance. I was however surprised at seeing Sycomore at the mens section of the Chanel boutique.

It a heavy floral to me, but I'm still a noob reviewer. Its classified as a unisex but its pretty feminine. Benzoin is listed as one of the base notes but I just cant detect it, either its effectively not there or its so light that I can't detect it after a day of heavy testing. As a male I can't really recommend this fragrance. For females, I don't know what many femnine perfumes smell like and therefore can't really give a review from that side. It does smell alot like potpourri.

This is just loaded with watermelon, kiwi, and apricot although apricot isn't listed in the note preview thats out. I came thinking these were unisex but this one is clearly feminine and even then it smells way too fruity to me.

This has a few notes that I can't readily identify such as birch, juniper, pink pepper, and orris. Still, its a beautifully crafted fragrance, smells kind of unisex to me woody and musky in the drydown just as its supposed to. Has alot of spices in it but its not heavy at all, very inoffensive while smelling uncommon.

To be quite honest this smells a bit bland to me. Even though the fragrance is supposed to be a aquatic/cedar/vetiver it just doesn't end up to be all that unique. But if you really dig into the smell which I tried with the best of my ability, you can pick out the notes and the whole thing smells high quality. I will admit in the end that I am a fan of most vetiver present fragrances.

Lol this fragance is so rediculous. Its conjures up an image of a fiery demonic cult ceremony. Very dark, and actually to be quite honest, the smell combined with the bottle are scary to me. The fragrance is totally unique to me and very interesting as most famous painters are. But in the end, its as wearable as Joop!, wait.... its less than Joop! (aka keep it at home).

Big time powerhouse fougere. Its so freakin heavy to wear and very masculine, I don't like the smell but I wouldn't give it a negative just based on that. I think its nearly unwearable possibly even offensive to some.

Violets, suede, and leather. Its pretty feminine to me, I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing it. I'm fine with true unisex such as the CKs but this one crosses over. I think the name hits it right on, amythyst is a very appropriate stone/color to match this fragrance. It definately smells of a quality fragrance.

Its a pretty nice sweet amber but there is a slight tart note maybe clove as another suggested that kinda kills it for me. I prefer SL Ambre Sultan though this isn't a bad amber.

Good for cold weather. Its classy as is many of the Creeds, but it is very complete in its blend, its not missing anything. To me this is the epitome of high class fragrance, and unfortunately alot of high class brands (including Creed) keep coming out with mediocre stuff.

Can be pretty offensive if smelled for more than a breeze. It honestly does seem like a depressing fragrance with some violets. But if it really is inspired by Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Tobacco and ginger dominated. I find this a classy fragrance with an old but noble feel to it. But there is the salty/sweaty part to it which I just can't stand.

Wow this is so boring, a very light orange and also very low key. Seems so mediocre.

Cinnamon and cedar. Its pretty air freshener smelling as is Daim Blond which I smelled this along with. This smells nice as a scent, but I don't think it would go that well on humans.

Very powdery sweet in the beginning, not fruity or vanilla sweet, its just feminine sweet. Its nauseating to me and very powerful. My dad used to wear it after it was given to him. I cant stand it.

Very sophisticated and well blended fragrance. Its has alot of vanilla like Pi but it smells more natural to me (maybe because Pi is listed as benzoin). This also has a nutty and a slightly spicy touch to it. Just plain beautiful. One of the top fragrances I've smelled.

I tried the EdT and the EdP side by side. The EdP version is simply a higher concentration of the Edt, I could not detect any new ingredients or smell. I know the EdP is more expensive but its nearly twice the intensity so you wont have to apply as much. EdP = 2 sprays on neck max. EdT you can add one extra for the wrists.

Wow, I came in with the notion that this would be a black scent as the name suggests. When I smelled it in the mall, I found the dark spices and I thought that it wasnt for me. When I got away from the commotion and into the car, I thought I had accidentally overridden the scent with another since I smelled so much vetiver in it (I sprayed around 9 other scents all over my arms). Now that I confirmed the fragrance by seeing the notes listed here, it smells very deep and intriguing. Can be had relatively cheap now as well.

If this came out now, I wouldn't really take much notice, but for the 1976-1989 era, this is definately good stuff. Woody and distinctly masculine. Seems to be the epitome of a man's fragrance, even more than Chanel PM. Bottles are quite expensive now but this is a must for a collector, its a legend.

Wow this stuff is nasty - smells like a bunch of bathroom cleaners. Love or hate frag and I bet 90% of the population hate it, can be offensive to many.

I love Allure Homme Sport but I realize that its on the edge as to how much citrus it should have, any more and its offensive to me. What the Cologne does is amplify the citrus by 2x and removes the creamy side of AHS. Its simple, a bit harsh (not nearly as much as Colonia Assoluta), and just not worth the price IMO. Kinda low for Chanel to be making this kind of stuff.

I don't understand all these niche fragrances. Its like their sole purpose is to be something you haven't smelled before without any regard to its wearability. This is hardly wearable, smells like some incense oil, probably offensive to many ordinary people.

As Sir Slarty put it, its A*Men with coffee, not chocolate, thats exactly what it is. To pure coffee lovers (not that mochalattefrapaccino crap you get at Starbucks) it smells amazing. But how does that work out as a fragrance? It seriously smells like you just ground some coffee that morning and got some of the powder on you. Good smells, not that good to "wear".

Vanilla cake gourmand fragrance. It smells good - alot of things do, but as for a body fragrance, its no good. I find this the case with many niche fragrances.

Soap and apricots. Its very smooth and air freshner like. Had this come from a "lesser" house you wouldn't see so many positive reviews.

Wow another copy of GIT. Atleast Cool Water came out just 3-4 years after GIT was released. This took 17 years and its just a dull version of GIT/CW. People wont be able to tell the difference between a $200 Bond and a $30 Cool Water. There is no way I would give this anything but a thumbs down.

Citrus and a bit of musk at the end thats all. Beginning is just like Assoluta but the drydown is much better, still not worth the price.

Citrus citrus citrus and a bit of musk at the end thats all. Boring, extremely harsh opening, and definately not worth the price.

Nasty stuff, smells like a dirty diaper, just wow. This should be called Dung! not Dzing! Disgusting

Its just as it says, basic incense. I don't know why anyone would want to go around smelling like this.

I had high hopes for 2 Man but this is absolutely loaded with smoke and nutmeg (I believe). The first 1 hour of this was quite bad to me. Later on the vetiver comes in and the smoke goes away and it turns decent.

Very nice fragrance that bears great resemblance to Sean John's Unforgivable (not as much as GIT/Cool Water though). The problem is, you have this popular, mass marketed fragrance that smells just like the one you paid $200 for. Regardless, as a scent, it is finely blended and is smooth and not nearly as loud as Unforgivable. Mandarin here dominates the other few ingredients but each one has its place in the blend.

I am writing this review with a common nose with a slightly hightened sense of smell. The main thing I have to say is that this smells just like Cool Water, but CW came out in 1988 and this was in 1985 therefore I would have to say that CW may have taken hints from this. I can't speak of quality of ingredients since I'm not that trained but to 99% of people, this would come across as Cool Water. Except here you are paying $200+ and CW can be bought easily for $30. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful scent thats fresh and would work equally well in all conditions - very versatile (as is CW).