Basenotes - Reviews by jr8399

United States

Showing 1 to 10 of 10.

Nightscape by Ulrich Lang

Nightscape opens with a heavy dose of the clean kind of patchouli, and quickly becomes quite sharp, and as someone has mentioned, camphorous - almost icy cool - probably due to the geranium and cedar mixing with the still strong patchouli. This lasts on me for about an hour, and eventually, it transitions into what I would call a slightly dry and slightly dirty vanilla. I say dry because there is little sweetness, despite the inclusion of amber and tonka, and slightly dirty because of the amber, some light leather and musk. I really don't like wearing scents with amber and vanilla, so Nightscape is about as sweet as I can go. When I get whiffs of the dirty, I get all warm inside. The patchouli is still there but seamlessly blended in. I would have preferred the sharp woody stage in the middle to be predominant, rather than the aforementioned drydown.

However, as others have also mentioned, this is a very tame patchouli scent - especially when you smell it against scents like Villoresi's Patchouli (whew-y!), or patchouli oil. I wouldn't say Nightscape has dumbed down such a beautifully raw, stand-alone note, but simply made it more friendly, almost like what Tom Ford attempted with Grey Vetiver. Everyone I've let sniff Nightscape has really liked it, most likely because it's generally "quiet" and wholly inoffensive, yet lets enough patchouli through to remain somewhat unique, sensual and even slightly exotic.

26th February, 2010.

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L'Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer

L'air begins with a pungent (to say the very least) opening of camphorous honey, herbs and spice. After a while, it begins to show its heart of hot sand, sweet, sun kissed dust and spicy cedar. This, for me, is very nice. It is reminiscent of Terre D'hermes - although denser, darker and sweeter. However, while it is well-blended, as no one has argued to the contrary on that, it seems to just barely miss the mark. I mean that the dusty, spicy cedar with hints of amber in the back could have been beautiful - masculine, rich, deep but sharp. Even though the vetiver is present, it just doesn't overcome that hurdle and plateaus into a fleeting, rather mediocre skin scent that I honestly liken to sweet cardboard - which smells aromatic yet stale. I prefer the benzoin in Terre's base because although the cedar in this one is more rich and almost more likeable, the pungency that keeps Terre afloat on my skin is simply not there. And if you want to compare this to Ambre Sultan, just quit. While the two are similar only in unique composition and amber, Ambre Sultan is far more exotic and sensual - and for me, much more addicting and refreshing. But given all of L'air's positive reviews and fragrance blog praise, let Mr. Tauer send you a sample and try for yourself.

12nd August, 2009.

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Central Park by Bond No. 9

Holy smokes! Given the right temp and this is a powerfully fresh, cool and crisp scent. I smell cool limey water - like standing under an icy waterfall, smelling lime trees all around. This is summer. The whole thing stays limey, and becomes more woody and faintly musky towards the end. It's transparent like others have mentioned, mostly due to the use of cedar and not sandalwood. But I always wondered what sandalwood might have done here - probably given it more dense spices, which would have made it more adaptable to all temps. When it's cooler around, and the body does not heat up, it still smells great, but loses that refreshing waterfall effect. Instead, I get a weird almost buttery note with the green freshness lost somewhere in the background. Its projection does not actually change as much, but this was made for hot, and preferably humid weather. It is masculine - I honestly can't see a girl wearing this and being sexy - too woody. I can sort of compare this with Riverside Drive, but Riverside is that sandalwoody spicey scent with a beautiful basil top. Riverside is definitely a richer fragrance, but when the heat's calling, I only have one choice and that is Central Park.

23rd July, 2009.

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Riverside Drive by Bond No. 9

Riverside's opening is remarkable. I love basil and I never would have imagined it being such an amazing perfume note. But the opening is a minty blast of it, but oh so smooth and slightly sweet and spicy. It's so interesting that I went to a bunch of the Bond stores in NYC and got their free samples, atomized them myself and did my testing. I really do wish that opening persisted longer and stayed with the rest of the fragrance - wait - that doesnt mean I don't like the rest of it. Okay, so the mid notes give you a brilliant sandalwood with some fruit - it remains so nice and spicy - lots of warmth and depth there. Great. I was ready to click "purchase" on ebay, when uh oh! That pesky base moves to the front and dominates the evolution like a cockroach - okay, so not that nasty, but the base honestly ruined it for me. I closed my browser window and thanked jesus I didnt buy an entire bottle. Many people love the base - I think it's just too powdery and metallic. It is very 80's, yes. So maybe it is just me, but I cannot stand that metal and powder combo which is, yes, you all know it, CREEDY. And I cannot stand creed - the good ones are too old manish and the bad ones are a giant waste of money. That being noted, I think if you are a Creed fan, forget that crap and get Riverside because for what it is, as Sir Slarty pointed out, it is amazing. Personal preferences aside, this is one of the greatest men's scents out there.

23rd July, 2009.

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parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Kyoto by Comme des Garçons

Kyoto starts harsh in the summer and a lot less so in the colder temps. The initial and middle phases can be beautiful because I am taken to a cold, damp, green forest at dusk, wandering through and catching hints of a smoldering fire in the distance. The drydown is quiet and does lack the "umph" that Ouarzazate provides, but it leaves a very soothing trail of amber and incense. A great scent but I can see how some people don't care for it. I probably won't get another bottle, but I'll definitely enjoy what I have left.

23rd July, 2009.

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parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Ouarzazate by Comme des Garçons

Ouarzazate (pronounced WAR Jzah Jzaht) opens with the aforementioned burst of pepper, sage and some incense. After the hot blast, a lovely leather begins to emerge and persists for a while in what can best be described as amazing - sexy, mysterious and deep. The drydown is slow and eventually the musk and light vanilla join the wenge to form a very woody, masculine base. My roommate was thrown off and quite grossed out at what he called "a spit smell." Admittedly, it does slightly resembles saliva on the skin, but little does he know (his nose is not sophisticated enough) that he was sniffin some very fine musk mixed with labdanum (cistus). I think this is an oft overlooked quality to this scent, as the other notes are so busy and mesmerizing that this aspect is only mentioned as a complement to the other notes in the drydown. When i first smelled this, I was entranced with how sexy it was. Ouarzazate has an animalic dirty sexiness (in a clean way) that persists for hours. It stays close to the skin, which is another beautiful quality because I have been told by many girls who love this scent on me that the subtlety of it only enhances the sex appeal. In sum, this is a badass mother of a fragrance and absolutely sets itself apart from the other incenses in the series because, as others have pointed out, this is rich, dense, slightly sweet and as I will now add, very very sexy (masculine).
Recommended for cool nights out and those special times when you want to hypnotize your significant other, or whoever you bring home that night. Go get em, stud.

23rd July, 2009. (Last Edited: 26th October, 2009.)

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F pour Homme by Salvatore Ferragamo

Soap! - It starts out very nice - Sweet, woody apples - Like the entrance way in Restaurant Bouley (the original in NYC). The black pepper gives it a nice warm spice, but there's something about the labdanum at the base that really smells like dish soap. Sillage is poor, but on me. Now, I get the references to Terre, but it really does depend on your skin - Mine's on the dry side, so the nice parts of this scent disappear to quickly, while I can wear Terre without it releasing its "bug spray" demon - that's the benzoin. But if I had less dry skin, I could see this being a nice alternative to Terre.

31st January, 2009.

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Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa by Acqua di Parma

Amazingly classy warm weather fragrance. Very masculine with the sparkling ginger/lemon at first, then dried down into a lovely leather/musk/smoky woods/patchouli base. Reminds me of a mix between the impeccable Royal English Leather and the better parts of Tabarome Millesime (Ginger/tobacco/bergamont). Should be worn in spring/summer though due to the poor staying power - but the warm air and humidity should boost it back up to par. This is one of those gems that will make you melt as much as the girlies will.

28th December, 2008.

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Polo Double Black by Ralph Lauren

Ridiculously cool opening - smells creamy/fruity/spicy. Then, dries down into a decent cardamon/woodsy base. Like others have said, I wish the whole thing would be as good as the opening notes - the rest of it is so-so. Pleasant, but starts to smell cheap after a little while. Still, it's worth takin for a spin.

28th December, 2008.

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Terre d'Hermès by Hermès

Here's a tip for this amazing, masculine, clean, enigmatic juice: if you have oily skin, don't wear it or wear very little. Same goes for hot weather. Its real brilliance is in the drydown, where the benzoin, cedar and patchouli meld into natural beauty - warm rocks, cool breezes, plants, etc...
So this is best worn in colder weather on people who have less oily skin. Otherwise, that rotten, cloying thing happens and people around you will not want to come too close
This is one of the most amazingly transparent, linear, non-gross feminine "Male" EDTs (like Bond or Creed) out there right now.

28th December, 2008.

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