Reviews by Arpeggiator

    Arpeggiator's avatar
    Arpeggiator
    Germany Germany

    Showing 1 to 17 of 17.
    rating

    Eau de Rochas Homme by Rochas

    There are thousands of so-called citrus summer scents on the market. Most of them aren’t worth mentioning.
    Not ERH!
    This one stands out of the mass.
    And I think the secret is that Mamounas found the genious counterpart to the lemon-citrus-notes: The myrrh.
    It gives deepness to the volatile citrus and fix it to the skin for an astonishing time. The other remarkable ingredient is the basil, which moves the scent into the spicy direction. This results that the citrus note fades away very slowly (It’s still there after hours!).
    So if ERH had a little bit more individuality it would be a masterpiece, without doubt.
    (rating: 7/10)

    8th January, 2010.

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    Antaeus by Chanel

    Amazing, that no one have mentioned the striking similarity to K10, the mother of all leather scents.
    Very typical is the combination leather-rose-beeswax.
    The similarity is so obvious, that I have great problems to distinguish.
    A very strong leather (perhaps a little bit weeker than K10) which is enforced by the beeswax and patchouli and rounded by a floral note (rose).
    The other ingredients are only accesory parts, which don't play and important role (rating 4/10).

    2nd November, 2009.

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    Fleur d'Oranger 27 by Le Labo

    I only tested it on a paper, but that's enough!

    What is this??

    There are two elements: One could be a flowery note (light, sweet).
    The other is an undefinable artificial smell, which causes an acute nausea.
    I can hardly detect one of the listed ingredients (no bergamot, no petitgrain,
    no orange blossom, no musk, no grapefruit, no amber, not at all a lemon).
    I dread to think what is behind the other 20 ingredients.
    I had to put the test-paper immediately into the last corners of my wastebin (rating 1/10).

    28th October, 2009.

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    Gendarme by Gendarme

    Gendarme starts with a sweet flowery note. The jasmine dominates the “overture”. I can also notice a very light verbena note, which gives a whiff of freshness, but is drowned out by the heavy floral note. I would not describe Gendarme at this stage as “clean” or “soapy” at all. As SirSlarty said it’s more a smell of a mild baby lotion or powder. This might be the reason for the appealing effect of Gendarme on women: No woman can resist the smell of a baby :-)

    The rest of the story is quickly related. It doesn’t happen much anymore. It seems to be linear without great development. The floral notes persist for another 6 hours. Staying-power is quite good (6 hours minimum on my skin) with defensive sillage. Regarding all these complaints about the poor longevity I expected different!

    For a floral masculine it’s lacking of a real counterpart (woody or balsamic accords) in the base or middle notes which is a precondition for this class of fragrance. I can hardly imagine a man wearing Gendarme, but perhaps could be suit to a young woman (between the age of 0-2 years ;-).
    By the way, where is the leather which is mention as a base note in the description? I can’t detect it.
    Due to the imbalance: thumbs down (rating 4/10).

    26th October, 2009.

    rating

    Or Black by Pascal Morabito

    A very vintage ambery leather scent - one among the few left hardcore-leathers like Knize 10 or Derby. A little bit more leathery than Derby but less than K10.
    OB starts with a strong leathery-amber note. But it’s not as “black” as K10 due to the warm balsamic (benzoin, tonka) base, which gives OB ease and comfort and keeps it close to the skin. It’s quiet and almost creamy in comparison to the more “aggressive” Derby or K10. Some would call it dated - I would call it mature. It has a good sillage, which is not too offensive but always present. Staying power is very good too.

    It’s a very well balanced warm leather scent with no unpleasant surprise. I can’t detect any development during the day, so it’s quite linear for me. Among the hardcore leathers I would definitely favour OB.
    (rating 6/10)

    4th October, 2009.

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    Green Irish Tweed by Creed

    A fresh citrus scent, that reminds me a little bit of JF by Floris.
    The synthetic "detergent" note is not as obvious/harsh as in JF, but still present.
    I find it very linear without any remarkable development. Perhaps at the
    end (after 4-5 h) the sandalwood finds the way to the surface, but the lemon
    note still dominates.
    Longevity (6-7 h) is really good for this lemon summer scent.
    (rating 5/10)

    9th September, 2009.

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    1828 by Histoire de Parfums

    Reading the (top) notes of 1828 I expected a fresh summer scent. On the test strip it works by and large.
    The fruity top notes are there, but as well as a heavy, annoying, almost ambery note. I noticed this tang in
    Un Parfum des Sens et Bois for the first time. I'm not sure what it is, because both
    fragrances hardly have any ingredient in common. But it's off-putting for me. All the more when I applied 1828 to the
    skin: The freshness is blown away. Normally, vetiver-cedar-incense are ingredients I greatly appreciate, but here
    they doesn't work well together. It might be the combination with clove, which give them a heavy sweetness.
    I recommend to apply 1828 not on a really hot summer day like I did.
    (3/10)

    4th August, 2009.

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    Isfarkand by Ormonde Jayne

    Isfarkand starts with a very nice pepper-citrus, embedded by already noticeable woods. It's a discreet citrus, which you have
    to breathe in acitvely. I think it's a little bit hidden behind the dominant pepper note. After a good while this fresh citric-pepper note is displaced by a dry woody scent (I smell the dry cedar and little vetiver).
    I can hardly believe that Isfarkand is called an eau de parfum, because of the unacceptable sillage. This seems to be a general problem of the scents by Ormonde Jayne. In combination with the poor longevity the high price is not justified.
    (5/10)

    3rd August, 2009.

    rating

    Blu Mediterraneo Mirto di Panarea by Acqua di Parma

    Another citrus summer scent?
    Yes, but not a usual one!
    It starts with a beautiful green in a citrus accord. Very fresh and not too pungent.
    The middle notes are only weakly floral and dominated by the blackcurrant leaves and the myrtle.
    They give it a spicy-fresh base.
    One could consider it as a unisex scent, although I would say it better suits a woman than a man.
    It's a very uncomplicated scent and the ingredients seem to be of very good quality and of natural origin.
    Use it as an aromatherapy if you are in a bad mood, it will blow your depression away!

    Unfortunately there is one big point of criticism:
    MdP has a very poor longelivety. It's not a "whole-day" scent. Perhaps you can apply it for a 2-3 hours trip, or
    you take the bottle with you and apply it every 3 hours. It's definitely too short for a middle-price fragrance.
    What a pity!
    (6/10)

    27th July, 2009.

    rating

    Blu Mediterraneo Tuscan Cypress / Cipresso di Toscana by Acqua di Parma

    It's unbelievable how different the human olfactory perception is.
    Inselaffe found a "Curry powder" dry down in CdT. I definetely do not.

    CdT is an exceptionally fresh, herbal and coniferous scent at the same time.
    CdT opens with a herbal spicy sage note with an already existent cypress whiff. In the further course
    the pine and cypress notes come more and more to the fore in combination with the not too sweet floral notes.
    The flowery ingredients of the middle makes it soft and prevent it from being to dominant into the coniferous direction.
    Very well balanced!

    Unfortunately I have a problem with the sillage (which is sufficient only for the first 2-3 hours) and the longevity (max 4 hours
    on me).
    As a conclusion, if you are happy with the longevity/sillage it's one of the best summer scent.
    (7/10)

    22nd July, 2009.

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    Knize Forest by Knize

    I find the name "forest" a little bit misleading.
    It is a spicy fougere with a lot of herbal notes.
    But in contrast to most reviewers, I can't get the pine (coniferous) notes here like in Polo or L'Artisans
    Fou d'Absinthe.
    It starts very spicy with a touch of bergamot. It is dominated by sage (from the top to the base), accompanied in the heart by a very nice ambery and herbal note.
    I can notice some oakmoss in the dry down, which might justify the claim of a "forest-scent".
    But it's definitely not as prominent as in Polo.
    I'm in general not a big fan of fougeres, but I will KF keep in mind as a remarkable spicy scent with
    a unobtrusive fougere base. Longevity and sillage is above average.
    (6/10)

    21st July, 2009.

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    parfums*PARFUMS Series 1 Leaves: Calamus by Comme des Garçons

    This one is a nice green, fresh and dry scent, which reminds me of fresh cut grass,
    BUT....
    only for the first 15 or 30 minutes!

    It changes very abrupt to a creamy (milky?), sweet, almost floral middle note.
    (Is there a cacao note in it, too?)
    I would not go as far as Calta and consider it as puke, but it's definitely no more fresh!
    This sweet and creamy (it's subtle not intrusive) note lasts for about 3-4 hours and than fades away....

    As a conclusion I would not regard this fragrance as fresh and green, but as sweet and floral.
    One of the weeker scent of CdG.

    15th July, 2009.

    rating

    Knize Ten by Knize

    A really dark leather scent, which is primarily accompanied by an interesting floral (rose) and a rich amber note.
    Like Trebor and Squirt I notice a whiff of petroleum/turpentine right from the start, too. This might be due to the
    combination of the extraordinarily high amount of amber and leather notes in combination with the bitter petitgrain.
    The opening is very harsh and aggressive, which is typical for this genre I think. I prefer the softer version like in Dzing! as
    an example. But the real leather rooter can't ignore KT.

    12nd July, 2009.

    rating

    Ormonde Man by Ormonde Jayne

    Tam Dao, Or Black, Bulgari pH, Silver Mountain Water - all very different fragrances which were compared to Ormonde Man by some reviewers.
    I was very curious about testing OM, cause some of them I like and some I hate.
    To start with: It was not a complete disappointment.
    OM is another spicy woody scent with a good amount of incense. The first 2-3 hours the spicy notes (foremost junipery and pepper) dominate. After that the coniferous and woody-incensy elements become more and more evident. I always recognise
    a little bit unpleasant powdery undertone (which might due to tolubalsam or something like that?). To add a further comparison I would mention CdG II Man, but with a weeker incense note. OM always stays warm (after 6-7 hours it cools noticeable down), present, but not intrusive with a good longevity. So, nothing very extraordinary, but a reliable fragrance for the middle-aged.

    8th July, 2009.

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    Allure Homme Sport by Chanel

    If you want to smell like thousands of pubescent teenagers, take this!
    AHS does not have any character, not to mention a "wow" factor.
    It's just boring - a mass product.

    7th July, 2009.

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    Cefiro by Floris

    Another lemon scent by Floris. Due to some floral elements (I think it's jasmine) it's obviously warmer and not as harsh as JF, the other lemon fragrance by this house. The fruity notes (mandarine, orange) makes it sweet and feminine while the woody notes are little bit underrepresented for my taste. The impression of a synthetic scent is not as obvious as in JF but still present. The longevity is not bad for a fresh lemon scent (4-5 hours).

    6th July, 2009.

    rating

    JF by Floris

    I'm afraid degustibus is right: JF really has elements of a bathroom (I would not say toilet) cleaner.
    But that's not the problem. A bathroom cleaner could smell really good and fresh. I think the problem is, that
    JF smells extraordinary synthetic. I smell lemon, not the scent of a real lemon, but of some
    synthetic aldehyds or acetals. A further problem for me is the poor longevity. I know that this is a
    problem for most of the fresh citrus scents, but there are by far better ones (try e.g. Iskander or Eau de Rochas PH).
    And last but not least there is no (nearly no) development in the scent. Citral as a top note, citral
    as a heart note and citral as a base. Sorry not for me.

    1st July, 2009.

    Showing 1 to 17 of 17.

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