Fragrance Reviews by Lyman

[insert moan of delight] What a soft, foggy, sweet, tasteful, comforting scent. There's something satisfying about a scent that's so complete, like a correct mathematical formula, with a self-evident, satisfying integrity. (And the color is beautiful, and so is the bottle!)

Back in the day, I used to love this stuff, odd though it was. I never bought it, but every time I'd go into The Gap and buy a T-shirt, I'd get up to the counter and--pfft!--I'd try it on. As I recall, it was harsh, but not in a bad way. And tinny, but again, not in a bad way. Its harshness and its tinniness were simply its characteristics, were part of its appeal. I know this sounds like low praise; I don't mean it to be; I liked it, in an odd, harsh, tinny sort of way.

Opium pour Homme makes me go weak in the knees. I take a deep whiff and my eyes practically cross in ecstasy. It's both spicy and sweet, and so long lasting. Smooth, but not "boring smooth." Very exotic and sensual. And there's something ... dense about it. Forgive my choice of words, "dense." Maybe a better way of putting it is that it has a tremendous integrity to it. It's formidable.

Astor starts out extremely--EXTREMELY--floral, and I questioned, "Is this even a cologne? Surely this is unisex, or more likely perfume." But it soon tones down to its heart notes, and when it does it becomes a lovely, clean, fresh scent. To be truthful, even after it tones down it still remains a "pretty" cologne, not at all a rough, rugged fragrance. But if your taste is for a scent that's elegant and refined, rather than a scent that's brawny, Astor is about the nicest I've ever come across.

This reminds me, in a way, of Bulgari pour Homme. An absolutely wonderful--WONDERFUL--scent, but it's not long lasting. Or rather, it is at first distinct, but then quickly becomes just a hint. It's still there, but you really have to hunt for it in order to smell it. If Ormonde were only just a little less demure, it might be my all-time favorite.

It starts out strong and masculine. Initially, it reminded me of the smell of leather, which is a very pleasant scent, but not really what I want my skin to smell like. But Sandalwood tones down quickly to something much more subtle and satisfying. Still strong and mausculine, but more quietly strong and masculine. And, yes, as others have pointed out, it's long lasting.

An excellent, fresh, sunny, clean scent. It's citrus, which I think of as sharp, but GFT is smooth, almost powdery. Long lasting. Basically just an excellent scent, in every way that it could be.

Sharp and fresh, a wonderful scent of limes. And a few minutes later it tones down nicely. (Which is a good thing, because as terrific as the initial scent is, it's too sharp to wear without its toning down.) But, after that, and as others have said, Extract of West Indian Limes doesn't seem to have a lot of staying power. It's like fireworks: it appears, it's magnificent, and then it's gone.

Very fruity at first; first impression is that it's vibrant, but too zany. And then it quickly tones down so nicely. It retains its vibrancy--but a more subtle version of it. And from then on it just smolders warmly. A very comfortable scent. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be long lasting. (At least it didn't appear so to me. I only had a sample to experiment with.)

A very excellent scent. Initially it comes across as sharp, citrus, but this is a deceptive first impression. It reminds me a little of Bijan, but it's much more complex and multi-faceted and -dimensional. It's Bijan, without the glare and the hysteria.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. It's true, what's often reported, that it has a little trouble with its staying power. Oh well, then--I guess that's just one of its characteristics, something to keep in mind. Oddly enough, the scent of Bulgari pour Homme reminds me a little of the taste vodka.

My favorite, hands down. Incidentally exotic, effortlessly exotic--as opposed to, say Opium (which I do like as well), which is much more deliberately, assertively exotic. Classy. Enigmatic. Good to very good staying power. And a beautiful bottle, too.