Fragrance Reviews by Pipp

I received a 100ml bottle of this over 3 years ago as a gift. It is quite inoffensive, pleasant even, but doesn't really do anything to distinguish itself. It's clearly a masculine fragrance, with spice notes dominating, along with a bit of citrus, mandarin or something similar I think. I've occasionally thought I could detect a tobacco undertone, but was never quite sure, as most of the time the top notes mask anything underneath. Base notes I have been able to detect were musk, cedar, and perhaps sandalwood, but they're not particularly rich, and are outweighed by the more concentrated sweeter notes, making the scent somewhat superficial. I think there are a couple of floral scents in here too, which add to the sweetness, I can't tell what they are specifically, apart from Lavendar, which is quite easy to distinguish. This is definitely daytime wear, being bright, fresh, fruity, and airy. Considering the price of this, (just checked it online), it really isn't bad, I've smelt fragrances that cost more than twice as much as this that smell similar. If you want a cheap everyday scent, then this should do the job. I personally don't normaly wear a fragrance usually during the day, so this doesn't get a massive amount of use. It holds quite well though, lasting a reasonable length of time, but don't expect it to develop, it just retains that same sweet spiciness throughout.

This is an exotic combination of smells, but not in the classic exotic sense, as there are only a few of the usual exotic ingredients such as cedarwood and sandalwood present in what I can detect. The main part of the smell is made up with the poignant cactus and kumquat notes, which will draw attention to you as they unusual and distinctive. Below these are the warm and more traditionally masculine cedarwood, musk, and sandalwood, which will be more noticable after the stronger and more vibrant cactus and kumquat have receded a bit. On the whole this isn't a particularly warm fragrance though, with the top notes being more coldly refreshing, with the sweetness coming through more than the limited amount of warmth that is in here only later. It is certainly an attention grabbing fragrance, but once the indecipherable tropical initial smells have died down, it becomes more balanced, with its alluring properties coming through best after a few hours. I've noticed the fragrance lingering until the morning, after wearing this on an evening before, so for lastability, it scores well too. I enjoy wearing this, but I wouldn't recommend it for daytime use due to its distracting powerfulness.

I've only recently got into the habit of wearing any fragrance, and this was one of the first few I bought, I'd read reviews of it, and I liked the stylish box, and it was on sale too, so I went for it. It really is quite a sweet fragrance, with vanilla over riding the other notes to start with, it also smells like the sugar that has started to caramelise on the top of freshly baked puff pastry, and is a delicious "eat me " smell. I would reccomend it as a winter scent, with it being very warm, after the initial sweetness dies down this leaves a little bit more in the way of cinnamon, and citrus, in a marmelade / Grand Marnier kind of way, with some vague floral notes too, but if you don't get a good smell of it, you will probably just notice the vanilla. It isn't the longest lasting fragrance I've used, but a couple of sprays at the start of the evening should last through. If you have insecurities about feeling manly, then this probably won't suit you, but if you can handle walking round smelling like a cross between a marzipan factory and a bakery at Christmas, then there is a good chance that women will be queing up for a taste. I like this, all things considered, but I probably wouldn't buy it again. Not for the reason that I don't like it, but because there are so many other fragrances on the market that I haven't tried, and it would be silly to stick with this, as somewhat lacks depth.