Basenotes - Reviews by Smeghead

United Kingdom

Showing 1 to 6 of 6.

Mat; Male by Masakï Matsushïma

Malt;Male is a very casual fragrance in my opinion, suitable for the warmer spring and summer day wear and not much else. It has this strange quality that my inexperienced nose just can't pinpoint. It's most likely the parsley, but either way, it seems incredibly herbal and almost medicinal in the opening, with a little mint and citrus to give an intriguing fresh opening.

As it develops, it becomes more mellow and sweet, and you start to get a bit of that tea and the melon. Unfortunately I don't get much after that, which is a shame because I actually really enjoy the middle notes, but after this is just dissipates into nothing.

Which takes me on to the longevity. I get absolutely awful longevity. I think possibly the worst of anything I've tried on my skin. It lasts for about 2-3 hours before fading into the background, with you having to put your nose right up against the skin to smell the faintest of smells.

Linearity - 3/5
Longevity - 2/5
Projection - 3/5
Versatility - 2/5
Smell - 3/5
Overall rating - 2/5

A somewhat unique hot day fragrance, but the incredibly poor longevity and not many situations to wear this make me pass on a full bottle.

2nd May, 2010.

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Philosykos by Diptyque

After trying Creed's Virgin Island Water, I became intrigued by coconut/fig scents, so I started my journey. First came Marc Jacobs for Men, which on first impression seemed nice, but after some thought I realised it was linear, too powdery and just smelt overwhelmingly of figs. Second came Acqua Di Parma's Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi, and while it was better than Marc Jacobs, being more citrusy and fresh, it still just smelt overwhelmingly of figs. I started to become tired of this "genre".

Then I tried Philosykos. Wow, what a nice change! It opens with an incredibly strong leaf and earth smell, with the fig just in the background rather than a prominent feature. It reminds me exactly of a WET fig or coconut tree. Very very unique from the same old powdery rubbish I was experiencing before.

In the mid notes, the earth and leaf smells die down, but really there's not too much change throughout the progression of the fragrance.

However, despite the uniqueness, I just can't imagine wanting to SMELL like wet leaves all day, no matter the weather or situation.

Linearity (low is bad) - 2/5
Projection - 3/5
Longevity - 3/5
Smell - 3/5
Overall rating - 3/5

2nd May, 2010.

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Versace pour Homme by Versace

OK, let's just get it out of the way - yes, the opening is uncannily like Allure Homme Sport. I had a test of AHS recently and the similarity was shocking, it smelt almost identical. However, once you get past that, Versace Pour Homme develops into a wonderful fresh scent. Unlike AHS which dries down to a powdery vanilla, VPH develops into something that reminds me of an aquatic. A very clean and sharp scent. The musk really comes out too from pretty much the get go, which adds a whole masculine edge to it.

In terms of sillage and longevity, probably about a 6 or 7/10 for both. On my skin I get about 6-8 hours, and while it's not a sillage monster, 1 to the chest and 1 on each wrist is usually enough to project enough that it's noticeable if you're say, walking in a crowd.

Overall a very solid fresh scent for the more casual occasions.

16th November, 2009.

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Burberry London for Men by Burberry

Just a wonderful fragrance. At first I wasn't won over by the almost cherry-like port note that permeates throughout the progression, but i've grown to love it from start to finish.

The dry down is one of the best i've experienced at my current early stage in fragrance discovery. You get the smoke and wood, with that port juuuust peeping in to lift the whole thing. The port note is somewhat cloying, but definitely in a good way, as it helps balance the notes in the dry down. Definitely a cold wintery scent. It paints a picture of sitting by the fireplace eating Christmas pudding while the grown ups are in the background drinking wine after the big Christmas dinner.

In terms of longevity and sillage, they're not terrible, but they're not exactly great either. Now sillage is probably a 5/10. You'd probably have to stand like a foot away (if that) to notice it. The longevity (on my skin at least) is rather strange. While the main body of the scent lasts around 5-6 hours for me, i'll easily be able to pick up at the very least a tiny bit of the tobacco and definitely some of the port probably 12 hours after application.

Overall a wonderful fragrance for colder weather, marred only by the spotty longevity.

16th November, 2009. (Last Edited: 27th February, 2010.)

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Bulgari Aqua pour Homme by Bulgari

The couple of times I tried this, it seems pleasant enough at first, but by the time it dries down it just reminds me of a sweaty hobo covered in urine, and it's the urine-like smell which really stays. Not for me.

17th October, 2009.

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