Basenotes - Reviews by Jhutton

Canada

Showing 1 to 8 of 8.

White Musk for Men by Body Shop

At first I hated it because I stick to raunchy overly-masculine scents. I know I have a problem, and I bought this one because I wanted something lighter and more contemporary.

The opening almost reminded me of violets or something, well, maybe heavier than violets. I get a lot of coumarin, and the vetiver, to me, stands out quite nicely. It's at once got that masculine vetiver hit and a very uplifting freshness. Maybe it's a bit vague in the end, but I really love this scent. Seems to project fairly well.

Well made, extremely wearable.

14th February, 2010.

Report Review

Cuba Red by Cuba Paris

Sold by a company called Fragluxe: take a look at their website and you'll find such gems as not one but two Cool Water knockoffs, complete with the same handwriting--"Cool Dude" and "Cool Off," as well as others such as "Career Man" in a Preferred Stock-esque bottle. Pathetic to be sure, but . . .

But then there's Cuba. It's shocking how good this is, coming from such questionable roots. At first, there's a slight perfume note, almost alcoholic. Once that blows away, I became lost in the feeling of having opened a packet of Amphora tobacco. I don't smoke anymore, and one of reasons I did in the first place was just how nice good tobacco like Drum or Amphora smelled. This cheap cologne gives me exactly that, and more. There's also a slight cherry-cocoa lingering behind the tobacco sweetness. But despite the pipe tobacco scent, it has a certain dryness, more like a cigar. It's almost dusty.

I think it's very nicely balanced with oakmoss, so it's not sickly sweet. No one element is very prominent. After drydown it seems intermittent between the cherry hit, the tobacco, and the oakmoss. Quite flat, yes, but at least the point at which it flattens is a very pleasant and tasteful one. I'll be checking out the other Cuba versions for sure.

12nd August, 2009.

Report Review

Caesars Man by Caesars World

Get this: I bought this because I thought Drakkar was too expensive. Seriously. Hey, certain times call for different priorities.

It doesn't smell cheap to me. Maybe it's because I remember seeing this bottle in my parents' bathroom in like 1990 when I was a kid, and I have some nostalgic bias going.

Whatever the case, the opening was quite like someone else here described it--medicinal herbs. Now, I tend to like that kind of thing. It's fresh, maybe a tad astringent, and soapy. The astringency might evoke bug spray comparisons, I admit. But overall, I think this is pretty solid. It's like the way a man's side of the bathroom cabinet smells. It's like all the great barbershop scents but without the grandpa, and with a sharp kick to it. There's probably a Gillette deodorant stick that smells quite like this.

When I think the word "cologne," this is the generic kind of scent I'm thinking of. Not terribly exciting, but it's a good workhorse.

5th August, 2009.

Report Review

Aqua Velva Original Sport by Williams

I picked this up as an impulse purchase when I needed some razors. Being a fan of the usual blue variety, I thought this green one would be a fresher, more sporty version of the same. Apparently this is not available in the USA, which might account for why nobody's heard of it.

This is quite a hit of pine when you splash it on. For a second, it wants to smell like Irish Spring, almost. But there's a harshness here, kind of like industrial cleaning supplies. This bite takes a while to go away, and you're left with a muted permutation of Ice Blue's powdery/soapy undertone for a few hours.

It's a bit lighter than the ice blue, which, I guess, makes it a bit more "sport-like," and it's an interesting variation. I don't think it replaces the classic ice-blue, but it has its place.

29th June, 2009.

Report Review

Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum by Pinaud

This one is kind of strong at first. Not necessarily in a good way, either. Like a bunch of cookies or something. I was a bit worried, until it dried into great spice and bay notes buttressed by the sweetness that seems to be standard in Pinauds. There's something I can't quite distinguish in this, perhaps a hint of woodiness. But what it comes down to is that It's refreshing, spicy, and neither young nor old, so it'll work for pretty much anyone.

I think this is a great classic that shouldn't scare off people my age, who are terrified of "smelling like dad." When everyone is wearing the same fruity androgynous synthetic fragrances, sometimes the best way to stand out is to go back to something like this.

23rd June, 2009.

Report Review

Clubman by Pinaud

My first impression was that it smelled exactly like Brut. Soon I realized that there was a lot more going on here than there is with Brut, but I guess even then, that doesn't say much.

Having never been to a barber shop, I can't go at it from that perspective.

To be honest, I was expecting something leathery. Instead, I got a nice burst of floral notes, maybe a tiny bit of citrus. Definitely powdery. It's pretty sweet at the bottom, approaching annoyingly sweet, but not quite.

I would have liked some of the sharper notes to stay and break up this sort of heaviness that remains. Nevertheless, I like this one a lot. It's aftershave--I'm not going to go easy on it. Pour it on and whatever is left behind after an hour, I'll deal with.

It's too bad this stuff isn't for sale in any retail shops in Canada.

23rd June, 2009.

Report Review

Original Vetiver by Creed

My girlfriend ordered a bunch of Creed samples so I thought I'd take the opportunity to try this. The women's scents were great. This, not so much.

At the leading edge, there's a refreshing clean soapy thing going on. But to me it didn't last, and quickly degenerated into this heavy old man smell. My girlfriend outright hated it and would not come near me. This seemed to spend most of its time in this old man kind of drag-me-down vibe. It almost reminded me of someone trying to cover up a urine smell with perfume.

It stuck for a long, long time, and I didn't use much at all. The interesting thing was when I did a workout later on, body heat or sweat seemed to liven it a little and a nicer sweeter, cleaner scent took over from the urinal reek.

I would only wear this in hot weather, if ever. And it would need to be the right occasion. A funeral, maybe. I could see a funeral director wearing this. Can't see anyone under fifty wearing it, to be honest.

13rd June, 2009.

Report Review

Aqua Velva Ice Blue by Williams

This is a great aftershave. It does the job for which it was made, which I can't say for many aftershave versions of expensive fragrances.

Somewhere in my apartment building is a guy who used to trail this stuff in the halls. I didn't know what it was at the time, but every time I ran into it, I thought it was so badass. Then I picked up a bottle of Aqua Velva and was delighted.I think the guy is a furnace technician or something.

But it works on anyone, not just workers in overalls. It's got a solid balance between its leathery musky and labdanum notes and barbershop astringent/powdery scents. This stuff feels damned good after a shave. Expensive ones seem to lack this basic function, and are little more than cologne. Not this.

Younger guys need to stop seeing Aqua Velva as a joke, and connoisseurs need to ignore the price. This is a classic scent that should never fall out of style.

12nd June, 2009.

Report Review

Showing 1 to 8 of 8.