Fragrance Reviews by mikey_p

Thoroughly cheap, nasty and hideous from every angle. I felt insulted whilst smelling this.Total garbage.

If soap smelled like this I would dispense with bathing altogether. Harsh, cheap and barely fit for a room spray.

This is an acceptable quality fresh floral but nothing particularly interesting. The Absolu version boosts the florals so much more beautifully, that this version seems oddly redundant.

Yes, I smell the expected neroli but the dominant tuberose in this fragrance forces it to veer uncomfortably close to the dismal Amarige. After that unfortunate association, it was all downhill and I abandoned any hope of liking this.

Tuberose's reputation has been damaged almost irrepairably by this most horrid affair. If I were her I would sue.

Something is missing from this. What I smelled today is at first, quite like the original I remember from my youth. However, the reformulation of this once great fragrance has robbed it of its originality and has aged it a decade, placing its banal, woody drydown firmly in the late 70's with a million other forgettable fougeres.

Fruity, fun and fizzy, this sparkling carefree sugar-pop should have been a load of crap. But it isn't. This is cutesy perfumery at its best and is a million times better than it had to be. The mixture of vanilla and fruit conjures up ice cream, tangy sorbets and Soda Stream. Achingly delicious from every angle.

Whilst this is unquestionably made of quality ingredients, this Guerlain release leaves me feeling somewhat unfulfilled. I smell the rose, the bergamot and the anise, but the overall effect seems dated and stuffy. If you like Habit Rouge and want something flatter and less impressive, this one is for you.

An uninteresting and somewhat cheap smelling composition which does little to hold my attention.

This still smells just as good as it ever did. Aramis is one of the finest leather chypres around and is shockingly inexpensive. It is bold and lush without the almost borderline vulgarity of Azzaro PH. Delicious.

True to its name and one of the best genuine colognes that money can but. Orange blossom, bergamot and petitgrain. Elegant and uncomplicated, simplicity at its best.

The shokingly repulsive smell of hot vinyl and overheated electronics. Now, let's bottle it and sell it! Nice work!

A drop dead gorgeous soapy lemony rose of fuschia and red, young, pretty and sexy. The Lolita of roses.

A beautifully constructed fragrance but less so than the original and also lacks its luxurious feel. It is an elegant woody floral of decent quality but is somewhat non descript and lacking in originality. You could do alot worse.

Sweet, cheap, nasty and flat as a fart. This wouldn't even be acceptable as a room fragrance, as it actually stinks.

A total disaster from the house of Amouage. This is the only fragrance in the men's lineup which seems totally lacking in quality. It is as if the budget was blown on all the others and there was only a pittance left. It also seems particularly shapeless, much like the hideous Gucci II. In a word, horrific.

Flat, shapeless and totally devoid of any structure whatsoever. The problem isn't even that it is "feminine". This smells CHEAP!

Hideous and confused tuberose in the same vein as Amarige. I haven't actually encountered this on anyone in person, thank God.

This was a brave one from YSL which didn't quite pay off, probably because dark, smoky aromatic fougeres are so hard to wear, and love. Trying to wear this for a whole day is somewhat of an endurance test. In essence, an acquired taste which I can't be bothered to acquire.

I have heard that the original was great. Whilst I can't vouch for that, this is simply horrendous, cheap and nastly from start to finish.

So mind-numbingly dull I nearly died.

"Instant classic?" Yeah right. An overused term quite apt for this equally trite affair. This has been done a million times before from the start to the cheap drydown. Yawn.......

A beautiful dark and leathery rose with undertones of apricot and a bit of urine, which puts it somewhere between Paloma Picasso and Bandit. Not exactly a photorealistic rose or even a rose at all. Abstract, complex and greater than the sum of its parts.

I cannot think why this horridly cheap and nasty concoction achieved 5 stars in The Guide. This would be acceptable for a cheap shower gel or deodorant but that is about it. I am totally puzzled as to why The Guide would so wholeheartedly praise something so pedestrian. Cheap cheap cheap.

Inspired by Princess Diana? Whatever. Creed obviously didn't think much of her. This is even more pointless a tribute than the Diana Memorial Fountain in London which still baffles me. I could't think why anyone would pay such money for something so pedestrian. Smells like something Calvin Kelin would have produced in he 90's. If this was more reasonaby priced, I would have given it a neutral.

This is a bold and radiant smoky incense that is somewhat dull as there isn't much else going on. Not fantastic but quite presentable.

This is darker and more balsamic than the original and makes an interesting twist. However, I feel that this obscures some of the clarity of the original and over-complicates things. It is still outstanding though.

The groundbreaking clash between floral and chocolate/patchouli has been much imitated but not bettered, indeed the masculine version seems like a pale knockoff. Ease off the application, this girl packs a punch.

A perfect example of sleek, coherent Art Deco aesthetics in every way. So seemless, polished and smooth that it feels altogether from another world. You really can't add or subtract anything from this. Hype doesn't survive this long.

Excellent quality formula that doesn't smell like the usual cash starved high street crap. Nothing particularly novel here but it still smells great. This is a fresh floral that is anthing but trite. Excellent.

The formula feels like it cost less than a couple of pennies but seems none the worse for it. You could spend alot more and get alot less. This is a competently put together fragrance that is nothing remarkable but quite presentable.

Too cold and remote for my liking. Far too melancholic. Would make a better room spray than a fine fragrance.

Thick, cloying and stupid, this is one of the most unintelligent and shapeless vanilla florals I have encountered. The almost non existent narcissus is lost in a dense fog of suffocating caramel and candy floss. This would make an ideal Paris Hilton release.

The queen of turerose fragrances, Fracas is unapologetically heady and somewhat vulgar but gratifyingly so. Big bold and buttery, Fracas dispenses with the need to balance the tuberose with lighter, greener or camphorous notes altogether whilst avoiding being shapeless and opaque. This if tuberose for divas, simply delicious from every angle and unlike many florals today, the formula doesn't smell skimpy.

Icy and sinister, like the frozen earth on a winter morning. This is undoubtably the best iris fragrance I have encountered. Iris to the max without being overwhelming. A masterpiece.

Confused packaging that looks like a cross between a piece of dodgy 1960's sculpture and a door knocker, riduculous spaceman marketing and an equally puzzling watery mandarin makes this hard to fathom. A total waste of effort...........if there was any.

Smells like a cross between pina colada and suntan lotion, but at the price hard to see the point. It would be much cheaper to cover yourself in Piz Buin and spill your pina colada all over your bermudas.

To put it simply, this is J'Adore with more prominent florals. More jasmine, more rose and a touch of tuberose. Absolutely an improvement on the original. This is what J'Adore should have been.

As dull as dishwater................totally devoid of any interest at all. Avoid!

A fun and lively fruity and nutty delight. Not particularly cerebral but who cares? This is cute perfumery at its best without any trite cliches.

Boring and totally unremarkable. Hard to think why this was such a bestseller in the '90's. Smells as cheap as chips. Dull dull dull ............

Tiresome and far too high pitched. It has been said that this fragrance is "light". It is nothing of the sort. This is loud, screechy and abrasive like nails down a chalkboard.

It has been said the a great fragrance should be have complexity and/or abstraction. If you are a strong believer of these principles, you will probably be disappointed with this fragrance as it has neither. If however, like me, you like jasmine with no trimmings, no pretence and no silly names, you will likely enjoy this. One complaint is that the lasting power is somewhat lacking.

Smells like pine, hardly suprising, but there is nothing to grab my attention here. Sadly, pine is generally associated with toilet cleaner, especially in the UK so this one isn't to my taste. Not bad, but not good. You could do alot worse...

Probably the finest masculine citrus chypre in existence. In all fairness, nothing goundbreaking but nobody has yet done a better job than Chanel in this category. Old fashioned but certainly not dated, this is altogether in a different league to the loud and shapeless vanilla mess that is the Concentre version, which in my opinion is a load of shit.

In a word, dull. Nothing new or original in any way at all. In fact, so generic and unoriginal I nearly laughed. Nearly.

The meanest, dryest and most unpalatable fragrance I have ever encountered. To wear this hideous concoction is to experience a Japanese style endurance test. I felt as though the smelling strip was telling me to F*ck Off.

A very unisex herbal, anisic twist on Angel. Much better than the masculine. Fabulous!!

As most of you are probably well aware, the word "Gardenia" in a fragrance title is mostly meaningless as it generally means that it will smell nothing like gardenia, and a lot like a half-arsed mix of jasmine and tuberose (and in Goutal's hideous confection, celery, bizzarely). VG is an exception. It opens with a delicious Gardenia with that all important damp earthy mushroom note which give fresh gardenias their characteristic odour. The gardenia persists well into the middle notes and into the drydown as it begins to take on a darker, more animalic, more sinister turn. Men should not shy away from this as it could hardly be called feminine. If Tim Burton did gardenia, this would be it.

I'm not digging this one at all. It is to me, somewhat similar to the dismal Coco Mademoiselle, which I find nauseating. Loud, crude and totally unpresentable.

Sparkling and effervescent, this fragrance is the "masculine" version of DKNY woman and arguably less impressive. It has the same fizzy soda pop effect of Donna Karan's 1999 triumph, but seems less finished and is even more fleeting. Whilst this is good, cheap fun, guys would probably be best suited with the DKNY.

This fragrance is very much of its time, but unlike most of the 80's heavy-hitters, as well as bellowing from a distance, it is warm and calming up close. The combination of leather and beeswax gives the feel of a well worn antique chesterfield sofa in a candlelit library.

Bizarre fizzy, earthy, orangey, limey soda pop, sweet yet dry. Utterly mystifying. I feel like this fragrance is trying to trick me...............but i dont mind, it's kinda fun.

I feel Luca's and Tania's review of this was a little unfair. I agreed with nearly all of "perfumes: The Guide", but not with the review of this. Light Blue extends "floral fresh" in a new direction without the tiresome overdose of Calone used in the 90's. Totally unisex and devoid of any pretence, like a delicate cloud of duck egg blue powder. Men and women can enjoy this one.

Warm, peppery, plasticky, milky. It is difficult to pin this one down. Maybe it isn't supposed to be. Ethereal and indescribable. Don't try to figure it out, just enjoy it.

Cheap and not particularly impressive, but at the price it isn't too bad when you consider all the crap being sold as prestige fragrance. Quite presentable.

I don't really get this one. It is a floral aldehyde seriously lackin any sort of weight. The aldehydes are too watery and the iris almost imperceptible to me. This is hardly a grand showcase to iris. Ok, but not brilliant. Serge lutens Iris Silver Mist is a million times better.

Absolutely drop dead gorgeous, huge and simply heartbreaking floral bouquet. There is nothing like it. I do wear feminines, but there is no way I could pull this one off. I wouldn't even try. Shame though...

Smells like a cross between old pot pourri and wine dregs. Thick, cloying and crude.

Hideous, vulgar and intrusive. Not as good as Azzaro or Aramis. No thanks.

Unearthly dry yet sweet hot laundry accord quite unlike anything else I have ever encountered. Would make a better masculine than a feminine.

A big orange blossom and pineapple accord supported a mighty tuberose made this fragrance hard to miss yet it was one of the better 80's fragrances. Very few women dare to wear this these days but it is still excellent.

I have flashbacks of me trapped in the back of my mum's coupe been driven to school c1987. It was one of those cars where the back windows would not wind down, they kind of opened on a latch. She wore loulou. Lots of it, and when I got out the car I could smell it on my clothes. Well, forgiving her all that, Loulou is one of the best of the 80's fragrances, big and beautiful, if a bit gaudy.............a bit like a bloody good trifle.

Oh look, another dull faceless aquatic men fragrance. Not awful but not in the slightest bit interesting.

Flat and lifeless jasmine. There are far better jasmine sloiflores on the market than this.

The scent of fresh, moist pipe tobacco with a gentle whiff of jasmine. Shame it doesn't last a bit longer but still excellent.

Oh look, another fresh, aquatic, faceless men's fragrance. What a suprise..... It's from Chanel.....now that IS a suprise!

A quality modern, fresh aldehydic floral. Sharper and lighter than Gold, yet just as beautiful. Dia is the sun to Gold's moon.

Hideous, confused, cloying and utterly shapeless vanilla floral mess with a bizzare curdled milk note. Great bottle though.

Beautiful fizzy pop soda that smells like an avant garde concept. This literally bristles with humour and intelligence. I would say though that this is nothing like L'Eau D' Issey because it avoids the tiresome Calone note that defined the 90's. Excellent!

Shockingly hideous, tank busting tuberose and orange blossom overlaid with alarming notes of hot plastic. My assistant wore this 80's throwback last week and when I walked in the office I could taste it in my mouth. I have no idea why this hasn't been discontinued. If you are wearing this garbage and someone asks what fragrance you are wearing, don't kid yourself that it is because they like it.

Now don't get me wrong, I love gardenias, but this is certainly not it. Why ruin an already mediocre fragrance that smells nothing like gardenia with a hideous celery note which I'm suprised nobody has mentioned. In my Bloody Mary, Yes, in my Waldorf Salad, Yes, in my fine fragrance most certainly not and I don't care if Madonna stinks of it.

Beautiful, fizzy and uplifting peachy chypre. One of the easiest of the chypres to love. Heartbreakingly delicious.

Hot vinyl and champagne? Tart's handbag? Canned peaches? Whatever this is, it's not appealing to me. Great idea though, it just doesn't kick it.

I really don't get all the negative views on this one. I find it to be a delightful refreshing and innovative metallic floral. There is simply nothing quite like it. Sorry guys, but it's a thumbs up for me.

A cloying, confused and frumpy floral confection for those who buy frangrance for any reason other than to smell pleasant. One of the first Chanel "mistakes". To wear this hideous creation is to have no duty of care to your neighbours.

A rather odd and nondescript gunpowder note and a slight whiff of muted florals is all I get here. It feels like an avant garde fragrance idea gone horridly wrong. Confusing.

Beautiful rich and leathery jasmine reminiscent of a hot summer night on the mediterranean. However, it does not captivate me, despite what Luca Turin says. Certainly not a masterpiece. It stains like a bastard too.

Unchanged formula? Whatever. I used to wear this in the late 90's when it was good. The lovely lady at the Guerlain counter swore blind that the formula was the same. It isn't. More lemon up top and a watered down vetiver throughout. In a word, "modernised". Shame.

I'm not feeling this one at all. While unquestionably of excellent quality, the exceptional dryness and austere nature of this fragrance leaves me unfulfilled, as if it is trying to prove a point that I don't care for. It also has a wet cardboard note that I find most depressing.

Hideously synthetic, cloying, sweet and utterly obnoxious fragrance of no value whatsoever. Oh and one other thing, what's up with the stupid packaging??

This is absolutely my favourite. I must admit, some may say it is a bit old fashioned, as it reeks of the '80s, but it is certain to get you noticed without being overpowering. Its ultra masculine unlike most fragrances today and has a lovely woody chypre smell. Unmissable!

My first experience of this was somewhat shocking, even to me. Now, I would like to think I'm an open minded kinda guy an I'm willing to try most things once as long as it is legal and it won't kill me (I even wear Carnal Flower with ease). However, even I was not at all prepared for the epic floral extravaganza that is Amouage Gold. The first blast of this was a floral explosion of such richness and yet such delicacy that I thought that no man could ever pull this one off. This is a shockingly beautiful melange of jasmine, tuberose, civet francinsence and musk like I have never experienced before in a "mens" fragrance. You have to be secure in your masculinity to wear this one, and I most certainly am. In the book "Perfumes: The Guide", this is described as a "Romantic Floral". Very apt..

An iconic fragrance, a work of outstanding skill. This fragrance really does work, but its unusually invasive nature and its instantly recognisable sillage makes it border on the anti-social. Because this evokes such strong responses it is almost impossible to wear. Strictly for indoors. Having said that, it's divine..

Smells like cheap jasmine air freshener. Horrid!

A strange dissonant peppery/woody fragrance that is jarring, uninspiring and thoroughly uninteresting. This is in the same vein as Angel, but shares none of its originality or beauty. This fragrance has no purpose whatsoever. Buy Angel and forget this confused jumbled mess.

Errrr......is it just me or has nobody realised that this smells NOTHING like it used to. My mum used to wear this in the 80's when she had big hair and did her makeup like one of the women in the Robert Palmer video. We were in Selfridges last week and she thought she would have a little squirt as she hadn't worn it for years. The result was puzzling. Neither of us recognised it. It was like some sort of watered down pissy patchouli mess. Gone was the dirty civet animalic sexiness. My mum instantly said "Oh, that's horrible, it is totally different". Alas, another victim of reformulation. When we went home, she sprayed her original vintage bottle, and no, our sense of smell had not changed. Very disappointing.

The similarities between this and Kouros are quite striking, both have that animalic civet sexiness, though I feel there is more of a civet presence here. I can't wear Kouros myself because of that strange harsh chemical/soapy note that has been mentioned before that adds an intolerable harshness, though I quite like it when I catch it in a stranger's sillage. That note is absent here, and OS has a chiffon like lightness that is always easy to wear. True, this is much simpler than Kouros, but that is in itself not a bad thing as sometimes you don't feel like wearing a fragrance that talks too much. This is like a light civet/orange gauzy veil. Divine...

No no no. This is vile. This conjures up a combination of tandoori and bonfire. Why would I want to smell anything like this?

I can't say that I really took to this one at all. To me, it smelt like some sort of cheap room fragrance. I do get a certain cumin "body" smell which in itself is not unpleasant but the overall effect to me is far too loud and "80's". The orange blossom had a very synthetic effect, similar to that of Giorgio and I feel this scent is already dated.

Jicky is simply radiant. True, it was not love at first sight and I would say that it is most unlike the majority of boring fragrances produced today. This can be quite alarming to those not having encountered it before. The civet in Jicky is particularly evident. Some say it is faecal and I would have to agree with that. However, it is anything but unpleasant. It gives it a warm soft and somewhat animalistic feel. It does seem to alternate between masculine and feminine but I would say mainly masculine. I dont normally like lavender, but it is done so well here. I have both the EDP and the Parfum, and I must say I prefer the EDP. It does not last as long as the Parfum, but it is more soft and the civet is more pronounced here (which I adore!) I dont normally care if anyone likes the fragrance I am wearing, but I would say that I always get compliments when wearing this.

I remember the beautiful original, as my mother wore it when I was a child. This is now a sad and pale comparison. I don't know what they were thinking of when they reformulated this, but in my opinion it has been massacred. I smell it and............nothing. No memories, only a distant faint imposter. Terrible.

Dear God!!!What on earth is this??? My aunt Helen used to wear this in the early 80's and I didn't like it then. I still don't. This is simply horrid. One of my work colleagues came into work with this on a test strip and I couldn't help but notice the faint smell of unwashed dirty body, not in the sexy MKK way, but a filthy unhygenic way. She told me that the YSL counter had a special offer on with an Opium scented candle. Why bother? I'm sure you could get the same effect by leaving a pair of dirty knickers on a hot light bulb.

I didn't really like this particularly at first, as I found the opening too balsamic. However, this gradually grew on me, and I find it to be the perfect musk scent. MKK is absolutely gorgeous, but I find few situations where it would be appropriate to wear it, this is more versatile. It has a slightly gourmand quality with a faint hint of Coca Cola, but don't let that put you off. Sublime!!

Utterly gorgeous very unisex white floral. The scent of tuberose and jasmine on a hot summer night on the island of Cyprus. Well worth the high price.

The most blatant rip-off of Mugler Cologne. " Old English" Creed seem to sell fragrances by giving the false impression that their products are of superior quality, which they are not. They are all highly priced and poor lasting. Americans seem to fall for this cynical marketing ploy more than most. There isn't any detectable vetiver in this anyway. Buy the utterly marvellous Mugler Cologne and avoid this overpriced rubbish.

This is a confused mish-mash of jumbled up notes that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. POINTLESS!

This is so shockingly animalic!Pure filth in a bottle. This conjures up the odours associated with the most intimate of activities. Absolutely mesmerising without ever being overpowering. Nothing remotely like it around. I cannot rate this highly enough!!!! GODDAMN!!!

Run out of ideas??? I think so. This is somewhat similar to the awful classique and can hardly be called unisex. There is something quite jarring about this fragrance, it simply does not work at all. Kirkdjian is starting to look like a one trick pony.

I really cannot wear this, a bit too feminine and makes me a bit nauseous.

Nice, but lasts like 5 minutes.

I can't remember if I have already posted a note on this. Here goes. I used to absolutely love this. It is very true that you only need a little bit, too much and you will get arrested. The drydown is lovely but the first few minutes can be a bit too much. Shame you can't get it anymore.

Difficult to get hold of in the UK. I can't wear this very often as it kind of wears YOU, but it's bold, brash and gets you noticed.The first hour or so can be a bit harsh, but the drydown is lovely. Don't wear it on public transport.

Not as good as the original. To the untrained nose, its just like the original, but stronger. However upon closer inspection, the drydown is too vanilla-sweet to the point of being sickly. Not exactly offensive but certainly not for me.

This has sentimental value to me as it was the perfume of choice of my sister. She moved abroad 6 years ago, but every time i smell it, it is like she never left.

Smells like cheap rubbish. Someone bought this for my sister as a present......she never wore it. Sniff this and it becomes quite apparent why.

The first sniff of this was an emotional experience. One minute I was in the store Space NK in Manchester, the next I was picking figs from my uncle's fig tree on a hot dusty summer day in Cyprus. A memory in a bottle. I can even forgive it for its feeble staying power. I haven't been to Cyprus in 6 years, but whenever I want to back, I reach for that little bottle in the bathroom cupboard.

I don't know how anyone can say this is feminine. This is a symphony in a bottle...........utterly timeless.

Sorry, this gives me a headache.........smells a bit like petrol.

I don't normally do patchouli, but it works very well in this. However, i dont like the drydown as it is a little to vanilla like for me.

I started off liking this but it is far too synthetic for me. You simply cannot compare this to Chanel Pour Monsieur which is an absolute classic....This smells like a cross between WD40 and the inside of a computer case.

This fragrance is uninspiring and utterly heartless.....ideal for the american and british market.

Too feminine, too sweet. The last time i sprayed this, i actually felt sick. I couldn't even wash it off!!

Smells like melted caramel spilt on the bedsheets of a cheap paris bordello.

You cant deny how innovative this fragrance is, but that doesn't mean it is wearable. This is a truly atomic strength fragrance destroying everything in its path with sickly sweetness. God save us!!!

I initially loved this, but sadly, the novelty soon wore off. It is remarkably persistent and now i can't even bear to smell it on someone else as it gives me a filthy headache........aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

One of my absolute favourites. Unmistakably masculine. This is not for someone who wants subtlety. Its bold, brash but never offensive.

I have no idea what they were thinking of with this one, a bit like Brut gone wrong. It is harsh, metallic and synthetic.

Very powdery and potent, great for warm summer evenings but best used in moderation.

i absolutely love this. I am a great fan of the old fashioned colognes, but they never last long on the skin.....not this! Its extremely long lasting without ever being overpowering. Its a wonderful combination of natural and synthetic. A masterpiece!

This is quite unlike anything else and when i wear it im always getting asked why i smell so delicious. its woody and quite powdery without being feminine. If you want something different, this one is for you. This is one of my all time favourites.

i used to wear this at college....nice and lemony with a woody dry down. Is very classy and never offends. A classic.

You cant deny that this is unique and i have the shame of admitting that yes...........i did indeed buy this once myself. However,this fragrance is like a bad joke, entertaining at first but then totally annoying. It seems as though every 14 year old who wants to be a man wears this foul, sickly and totally intrusive fragrance.