Reviews by phantagarow

Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale

As others put it, it has a good dose of rose and heliotrope with great longevity. (I have yet to see a short lived Montale for that matter). Very much in the same line with KM Loukhoum, SL Rahat Loukhoum, and LV Musk. On a side remark, the name of the fragrance is really very well chosen here: It is sweet, it is oriental, and it evokes sweet dreams.

Muschio / Musk by Santa Maria Novella

This one smells like freshly shelled pecans with its distinctive spicy smell as opposed to the smell of walnuts. Maybe the guys at SMN derive their "vegetal musk" from pecans. It is warm and long lasting.
Definitely a winner in my book and even if you're not into "nutty" smells, I think it is well worth a try.

Cannabis Santal by Fresh

Cannabis Santal is Rochas Man meets ashtray. It is one of the few fragrances that gives me nausea. (the others are Caron puH and Versace Dreamer).

Patchouli Leaves by Montale

It is quite a linear scent of patchouly infused with Vanilla and Woods. It is creamy and smooth; potent and long lasting; and more on the masculine side rather than being unisex.(It would be somewhat akin to Mazzolari Lui if you magically remove woods from PL).

This is the only patchouly for me. For some reason patchouly turns really rancid on me which ruins the scents like Patchouly Patch, Rochas Lui, and Etro Patchouly among others. That is not so with this one.

Bois Farine by L'Artisan Parfumeur

It is what it says: Flour and woods (mixed with peanut butter). It gets thumbs down from me because it is the only fragrance (at least up to this day) I am allergic to. I couldn't stop coughing as soon as I spritzed a few times on my chest.

Anvers by Ulrich Lang

Anvers immediately reminded me of two fragrances: Havana by Aramis & Rochas Man. It smells a lot like a cross between the two. Since I am great fan of Havana (fragrances with tobacco notes for that matter) and Rochas Man, I love this one. This is a must try if you're into tobacco fragrances.

Basala / Basara by Shiseido

Although this is one of the few fragrances acclaimed universally, it is nothing special in my humble opinion. It smells like a smoky & darker version of Heritage by Guerlain. Since I had had the opportunity of trying Heritage before I tried Basala, it didn't strike me as original nor groundbreaking. This is not to say that it is a bad fragrance. I wear it when I feel like exuding power and I enjoy it extensively.

Jungle pour Homme by Kenzo

This is a nice incensy fragrance with sandalwood base that puts Santal Noble to shame IMHO. Lasts long time and has great sillage.