Reviews by Bavard

Patrick by Fragrances of Ireland

Classic smelling in a nice way, the smell of know-how, citrusy - not too dissimilar to an Eau de Cologne - with the warmth of other notes adding depth and complexity. Easy to wear. Nice from the first spray.

Gianfranco Ferré for Man by Gianfranco Ferré

I have a decent size spray sample of this, and it reminds me quite a bit of Patou Pour Homme, a lighter citrus version, with a smoother leather texture, a beautiful, complex fragrance.

Update: Having acquired a bottle, I'm not getting much connection to Patou Pour Homme anymore. It's a nice fragrance, just slightly sweet, agreeable, and wearable, but arguably on the tame side.

Francesco Smalto pour Homme by Francesco Smalto

A bit ‘Lectric Shave, a bit Gucci Nobile. A nice scent, bold and billowy.

Moustache by Rochas

It smells like a modern salon, with the typical dash of coconut. Borderline thumbs down - the hairdresser vibe is overplayed. Remainder of the sample to be binned.

Joyeuse Tubéreuse by Guerlain

Tuberose isn't as dominant, to my nose, as the name would suggest. I smell a nicely sweet floral. The listed notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, and vanilla sound right to me. It smells impressively refined with an exciting opening.

Eau d'Hadrien by Annick Goutal

Starts with a big, concentrated lemon, and fades into a nice creamy heart.

Oud Essentiel by Guerlain

This reminds me of Songe d'un Bois d'Ete. Cedar and leather are the common notes I see listed. Both of these Guerlains remind me of cumin. This isn't my sort of thing, and wearing it feels like a lost day of enjoying perfume.

Frankincense becomes more prominent in the base, and it's nicer than the first several hours.

Reflection Man by Amouage

It smells bitter in the opening, which could be the bitter orange leaves. The woody base doesn't smell very well done. It gets more powdery over time. I threw away the second half of the sample.

Memoir Woman by Amouage

This is a decent woody fragrance, but not too exciting.

Fate Woman by Amouage

This is a complex perfume, sweet, perhaps from the benzoin, with notes such as the listed frankincense, cinnamon, and chili pepper adding character. The frankincense is light - just barely peeking through. It has a powdery aspect, which could be a natural floral smell, and it has a warm, delicious leathery aspect.

I'm getting a sweet cola smell. I like this. It's nicely agreeable, and complex enough to be something I'm excited to wear.

Sycomore Eau de Parfum by Chanel

I'm neutral on Sycomore edp, and I was also neutral of the discontinued edt version. Both versions give me mixed signals: I like them from the perspective of a perfume enthusiast for being bold, unique, and even artistic, but from a utilitarian perspective, I'm not that excited to wear them.

I'm not that excited to sniff my wrist where I've sprayed this edp. It doesn't quite work for me.

Gabrielle by Chanel

I'm a big fan of the new Chanel, Gabrielle. I've worn it a bit, and I've also spent time with someone wearing it, and I have liked it both ways. It smells like a typical Chanel to me, and I like the house style. It initially reminded me of Cristalle edt, a crisp floral. It's fresh and playful. It smells like a picture perfect Brasserie in Paris, on a day with perfect weather, with people in good spirits, and perfume in the air.

Beige Eau de Parfum by Chanel

I scored a sample of Beige edp and I'm trying it for the first time. I'm giving it a thumbs up, it's fine, but, from memory, it's not as good as the discontinued edt. I was a big fan of the edt, though, and this is a different perfume with its own merits. The listed notes sound right.

The listed notes are quite different from the edt, which were aldehydes, hawthorn, freesia, and frangipani.

After being surprisingly different from the edt in the opening, as the edp develops, it does seem to largely merge with the essence of what the edt had been.

Bahiana by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

This is not my genre. The woods in this do not work for me.

I cannot shake the association of the synthetic smell from the Guerlain Aqua Allegoria fragrances.

Sables by Annick Goutal

Sables is French for sands, and this does promote an association with a sand-like beige color. The listed note of everlasting flower (immortelle) is prominent. Other than that, it's savory sweet, nicely warm and agreeable - maybe with a hint of the listed tea note.

Stella Eau de Toilette by Stella McCartney

A nice, wearable, fun fragrance; fresh and modern, a fruity floral that smells in style and sufficiently complex to be interesting.

Ivoire (original) by Pierre Balmain

Green (herbal) notes, carnation, and oak moss, from the listed notes, seem to match what I think I'm smelling. This has some overlap with some of my favorites that were also released around 1980.

This one reminds me of a sharp, skin-drying soap, although the smell is sharper, higher-pitched, and stronger than a soap would be.

This develops quite a bit. During the mid, I often thought it smelled better up close than it smelled projecting. The base is woody, just slightly sweet, free of the soapy top, but still retaining the green, herbal notes.

Infusion d'Iris Eau de Parfum Absolue by Prada

This is on par with some of my favorite iris fragrances such as Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist and Xerjoff Irisss, with a definite, pronounced iris; soft, wearable, and almost edible.

Oud by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

This uses the same saffron as L'Agent Provocateur, which can be fun. They're similar enough to be confusing during moments when the saffron is strongest, but the general feeling of the opening of L'Agent Provocateur is better for me, with its rose notes. I don't think there's much oud in this, but what there is doesn't work as well with the saffron.

The base is the scratchy synthetic ambery woods I dislike, and it will not wash off.

Aqua Universalis by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Not terrible, fine even, but on the boring side, fresh and summery. The listed note of musky woods sounds right, something to hang the citrus on, but uninspiring, maybe even slightly cloying.

Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

I do not really enjoy wearing this one. There something interesting in the smell that keeps me from giving it a thumbs down. I imagine I might like the smell coming from someone else. On me, it's too much, and not pleasant. It's sort of a slightly-burnt caramel smell, with something such as the listed balsam fir note mixed in.

Grand Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

A basic, soft, warm, sweet fragrance; likable, wearable. I'm grateful they kept it simple. It could be worth paying a premium to have a fragrance not trying too hard. The listed notes sound right, mostly benzoin, a nice, simple clean one, typically sweet.

The contrast in my experience with this compared to my typical impressions of this house, niche in general, and ClaireV's experience are striking - I really liked this, as in enough to consider buying a bottle and wearing it often, a rarity for me for any non-vintage fragrance.

The rough synth edge Claire mentions affects me in most modern fragrances, yet I didn't get it from Grand Soir. I got a surprisingly light dose of synthetic woods, a playful splash of the stuff that was undetectable without really sniffing it out on skin, and that was overwhelmed by an unrelenting agreeableness and lightly sweet roundness in beige tones.

Oud Assam by Rania J

Dreadful, punishing opening - for people unfamiliar with oud fragrances, I can imagine it being shocking, or even smelling like a gag perfume. It softens considerably as it develops, with the oud note partly burning off and partly blending in.

Collection Grands Crus : Assam of India by Berdoues

A citrus and tea fragrance. In concept, I like it. Nothing overpowering, punishing, or offensive, but it doesn't quite catch my imagination, it doesn't quite capture the smell of a cup of tea, to my nose, and it reminds me of foamy hand soap from a dispenser, although for a foamy hand soap, this would be an especially good-smelling one, so I'm in line with Epapsiou in almost giving this one a thumbs up.

Crimes of Passion: Maxed Out by 4160 Tuesdays

This smells related to Buddhawood Box, to my nose. I'm finding the same Tang powder and/or Pop Rocks candy note, this time mixed with a fruit syrup type smell and a savory aspect. I like it.

The name holds a clue: Maxed Out. This one is edgy, arguably pushing the limit of what perfume should smell like, but I think it's done well, much better for me than Cadavre Exquis, as an example of something else I think smells intentionally edgy.

Crimes of Passion: Goddess of Love & Perfume by 4160 Tuesdays

Having tried over 15 fragrances from this house, this is one of my favorites. I like how the raspberry smells in this one more than the previous ones I've tried, it feels a little better executed - easy to like, wearable, smooth and rounded.

Silk, Lace & Chocolate by 4160 Tuesdays

I would have put strawberry in the name, because it's a great strawberry fragrance. Between silk and lace, I would go with silk, landing us with "Strawberry Chocolate Silk," a wearable gourmand.

Centrepiece by 4160 Tuesdays

Lightly sweet, wearable, and complex. It opens with the smell of a sweet cinnamon roll, then the green tea comes into the smell and makes it a beautiful, interesting fragrance. It turns increasingly into an almond-oil smell as it develops.

The Great Randello by 4160 Tuesdays

This smells typically like a 4160 Tuesdays fragrance with dry raspberry, lavender, and vetiver. Ambergris is listed for some others from this house, but I might actually be detecting it in this one, a warm, salty note.

A Kiss By The Fireside by 4160 Tuesdays

This is a sweet, warm, almost smoky, intriguing fragrance with the listed note of clove seeming to match the smell, and the wood note seemingly the other main one. This is nice and agreeable. A tentative thumbs up - it feels slightly too sweet at moments, and overly familiar in the initial opening, but it's too complex and agreeable as it develops to be less than a thumbs up.