Reviews by PigeonMurderer

    Showing 31 to 60 of 545.
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    Quasar by J del Pozo

    Yes, it's been made by Chris Sheldrake, probably my all time favourite perfumer. And the concept is fascinating : Perfumeintelligence.co.uk tells me that it was the intention to create a smell of fresh, straight from the press newspaper.

    But alas, it's a cheap Cool Water imitation with nostril burning synthetic edge. And I don't smell anything like fresh newspaper. A shame.

    Quasar is a fruity herbaceous scent with a harsh vs. creamy woody base. People are talking about banana; and sure, I can smell it too. Vaguely, but still.

    The bottle that basically looks very good, has terrible plastic details that fell completely apart in my use.

    I don't understand why anyone would consider this to be somewhat "strange" or "challenging" a fragrance. It really beats me, since this is eventually a very mediocre, conventional and boring fragrance.

    It deserves a neutral after all, especially since it can be found almost for free.

    19 March, 2011

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    Winter Woods by Sonoma Scent Studio

    Well, at least I couldn't possibly say it wasn't interesting. Also, it is a well made perfume which isn't always the case when we talk about these little niche indie brands.

    The thing I especially like here is the fact that considering the bold nature of the scent the perfumer didn't make it shout out loud. When applied moderately it wears very close to skin creating sensual animalic and masculine atmosphere. Surely the opening could come out as quite brutal, but it's a nice and suprisingly quiet one after all.

    Smoky woods engaged with oily leather and musk.

    19 March, 2011

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    Homme (Aoud) by Martine Micallef

    Smooth and dry oud wood coated with a huge saffron-honey note. Oud in here is obviously natural one. (I thought it's worth mentioning since there are also synthetic oud's around, even in niche markets)

    Simple but very well balanced fragrance, which is despite the gender label easily wearable for women, too. Unpretentious, natural and exotic unisex juice that is not original at all (there are millions of the oud-saffron-honey perfumes available in Arabia), but comparing to many of it's siblings it is superior in quality of blending.

    The price is killing me, though.

    19 March, 2011

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    Must de Cartier pour Homme by Cartier

    What a puzzling situation : I received a 1.5ml sample vial with a card, saying Must Pour Homme de Cartier, but when I look at the notes and read couple of reviews I am quite convinced there's been a bad screw up at the factory because it smells nothing like it "should" smell.

    When I sprayed it on my hand I was a bit shocked. I got very aldehydic, crisp floral fragrance with astringent fruit note. Extremely feminine, and not in a pleasant fashion.
    I then took another shot of it, just to make sure, and yes, the results were still the same : An unpleasant, fresh aldehydic fruity-floral - no anise or such notes in sight.

    I suspect the thing that actually is in my vial is some of those flankers for Must de Cartier (for women), but naturally I can't be sure what it actually is.

    But it's interesting these things happen and I thought it was worth sharing.
    And I can't be the only one who's got that wrong juice/wrong sample since I believe they are made in fairly big batches.
    Somewhere in the world there are guys with their Must Pour Homme samples (hopefully not with blind bought full bottles) wondering what the hell is going on.

    18 March, 2011

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    Fahrenheit Absolute by Christian Dior

    It is well crafted, although I was certainly hoping for something more edgy, something more compelling. But obviously that is just too much to ask from a designer fragrances these days, and I'm afraid things wont get any better soon...

    But yeah, it's not too bad, this. Polished, dusty woody amber with refreshing violet note at the top plus a quiet animalic note in the distance. Very subtle and perhaps it should last a little longer, but it's reasonably classy nevertheless.

    Still, how could I recommend this to anyone since it lacks completely the wow factor, it isn't original in the slightest, and most importantly, it has absolutely nothing to do with (the fantastic) Fahrenheit released in 1988.

    18 March, 2011

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    Big Pony 2 by Ralph Lauren

    Very bad. It's like you took some well made modern oriental with fruity/chocolat-y flow, say original Angel (for women, that is), then send it to some talentless dube makers in China, and tell them to make a masculine out of it.

    Totally uncivilized , cheap aerosol deodorant-like fragrance.

    18 March, 2011

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    Cool Water by Davidoff

    Mouthwateringly delicious fragrance. In a way totally flawless, although it apperears to sting my nose a bit in times when inhaled too deeply. (I suspect it's the dihydromyrcenol)

    Complex and extremely aromatic mixture of herbal greens, bitter citruses, sweet musk and mossy woods. It smells very juicy and crisp, this groundbraking designer fragrance. Goes deep into the skin with great amount of nuances and strong lasting power.
    Performs like a fine soap; always natural and fresh smelling, simple yet complicated, but the one shall avoid overdoze to not to break the great impressions.

    I enjoy wearing this, but more than that, I enjoy smelling it on my girlfriend who's been lately very into a wearing it. She calls it the "Sawyer scent".

    17 March, 2011

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    Green Irish Tweed by Creed

    Today probably the most sold niche masculine ever, but I'm sure you already knew that...

    It's a fine one. The opening is a bit sharp and even nostril burning citrus-lavender, but the dry down of green leaves, florals, musk and woody amber is quite flawless, although only if I catch a sniff from a certain distance. (Too close and it's fairly unpleasant to me - still too sharp)

    Lasting power is great and I think this brilliant masculine is one of those better versatiles : Makes equally appropriate companion for a night at the opera and buying canned herrings at the local market.

    17 March, 2011

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    Égoïste / L'Égoïste by Chanel

    I do actually understand people who absolutely dislike fragrances in general, but I don't understand any perfume enthusiast who doens't love this particular one.

    Easily one of the most compelling oriental's ever made. Herbs, spices, balsams, smoky vanillic woods and candied fruits...Everything just spot on.

    Powerful, long lasting fragrance which is very unisex, although curiously I've been told a couple of times that it smellt very masculine on me.

    Nothing wrong with the current bottles, but if you can, try to find one of those original EdT splash bottles.

    17 March, 2011

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    Black Aoud by Montale

    One of the best smelling things ever created. I'm such a fan that I even had to buy me a second bottle straight away, that time with additional extra oil. (Montale actually does that in his store without extra cost, you'll just have to ask him)

    Both versions I have are fantastic, but if I had to choose I would say I prefer the regular, after all...

    Whereas the turbo-charged juice is much darker, resinous and thick with metallic edge, I love the regular's more open and positive character with that extremely delicious, rubbery, "bouncy balls & roses" tone.

    100% unisex, and in my opinion a must have.

    16 March, 2011

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    Aoud Leather by Montale

    It starts out by smelling very good - rich citrus leather first hour or so - but it then reveals a slightly disapointing drydown : It changes into a fairly thin and unimpressive blend of what seems to be actual ambergris, cigarette ashy leather chord and a hint of peppery spice. I don't smell oud in particular.

    Not too bad especially considering the brilliant start, but the fact that it eventually has a simple, singular note feel to it plus Aoud Cuir d'Arabie being so much better, gives it only a neutral rating.

    16 March, 2011

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    Vanilla Vanille by Body Shop

    Perfume Oil.

    Horrible. Nightmare vanilla; a real scrubber but the problem is it won't go away easily : You have to rinse and rinse your ass off until it vanishes only to be a loathed memory.
    It's basically exactly the same stuff (to the nth degree) they use in those yellow vanilla Wunderbaums, and I have always hated the way they smell.

    This lethally cloying and strong fragrance is a tough trial to my nose. Overall, it's just about as charming as a tapeworm.

    15 March, 2011

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    CH by Carolina Herrera

    It was awful at the first time I smelled it on my skin, and even worse at the second (I don't actually know why I bothered, but I did) time. A horrible fruity-floral-gourmand hybrid, made by three different noses, of which btw, two have proved before that they actually have talent for this job.

    What could I possibly say?? Loud synthetic and cloying burst of nondescript mess in the beginning, dries down for a synthetic and suprisingly nostril burning sharp woody vanilla. Smells like a cheap pink bubblegum sticked into a plate of bitter stenching veneer.

    Not the worst thing I have smelled, but there are so much better things available.

    15 March, 2011

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    parfums*PARFUMS Series 6 Synthetic: Skai by Comme des Garçons

    I haven't tried them all, but I'm sure that even if I did this would still remain my favourite Comme des Carcons fragrance.

    I believe this was made by Martine Pallix and Anne-Sophie Chapuis, the same duo that's behind Odeur 53 & 71. And certainly there are some similarities.

    I must thank these ladies for making this since there are not many other fragrances available which I feel have my name written on it - with a huge font, even.

    Skai (what a great name) is an oddball, but to me it's extremely wearable and unpretentious. Subtle and long lasting energizing delight.

    I'm not sure what's in it, and I don't care. It smells wonderfully fresh and warm at the same time, and for sure a dream come true for a science fiction romantic such as myself, this space age fragrance.

    Skai makes my imagination run, it creates many different scenes, all the way from white shiny space leather to the atmosphere of faraway planets, down to a more everyday smells of my local paper mill and a new car smell of the interior of an all white Lamborghini Gallardo :)

    14 March, 2011

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    Men by Mennen

    I would rather be drenched in flem than wear this.

    14 March, 2011

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    Fougère Bengale by Parfum d'Empire

    I admit I was sensitive enough to be repulsed in 2007 (when it came out) by the image and concept behind the perfume itself : All that talk about tiger hunting got under my skin, and I actually tried this about two years later...

    A big love at first sniff made me forget about poor tigers and sleazy british hunters. Bought myself a 100ml bottle right away.

    FB is unbelievably delicious. The way immortelle and civet (there's a good doze of these both) are mixed with classic fougere base makes this a really unique smelling thing : Sure, it has some similarities with such fragrances as Eau Noire and Sables, but it smells very different in the end.

    I smell raisins, dried plums, wet hay bales, damp straws, warm fur of some wild animal, pipe tobacco and curry-like spices - among some other things.

    For a foody and almost gourmand scent this is exceptionally masculine, although it could of course be worn by women, too.

    As you may know this company's bottles come with suprisingly full and unsteady spray mechanism. Makes a small challenge in application since this, like some other PdE perfumes, are very strong with loads of character. The one needs to be fairly easy on the trigger to avoid overdoze and that way boredom towards this brilliant fragrance.

    Really a gorgeous thing and, if there ever was such a thing as animalic gourmand, then this is the one.

    Five shining stars.

    13 March, 2011

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    Eau de Gloire by Parfum d'Empire

    Outstandingly well made labdanum based fragrance. Eau de Gloire smells very, very good.

    Green, bitter, herbaceous, a bit soapy, extremely aromatic. Practical and very natural scent without any gimmicks or faults. Very long lasting, too.

    Mixture of labdanum, moss, hint of anise and, I swear, a dash of birch tar, creates a brilliant impression of luscious dry silver birch rustling in a warm summery evening, sometime in July by a finnish lake. Somewhat same sort of impression can be found in Palais Jamais by Etro.

    Immortelle, a listed note, is very subdued in here if notable at all. It's there, no doubt, but if you're a fan of this delicious flower and haunt fragrances with the will of smelling it, look elsewhere.

    I've always been disapointed that this wasn't in Perfumes - the Guide. I would love to know what Luca Turin thought of this one.

    Eau de Gloire is a brilliant niche take on classic Cologne. Wearable anywhere - anytime and, as others have mentioned, makes definitely a better masculine.

    Not particularly original obviously, but when it comes to execution, this is a masterpiece.

    12 March, 2011

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    Rochas Man Intense by Rochas

    A note : This was originally made by M. Roucel but was re-formulated by J-M Duriez during 2008/2009.
    This review is for the latest version.

    RM Intense starts out with fairly loud caramelisized lavender with baked bananas and sun ripened rasberries. Captivating right from the start, but I'm sure only for the lovers of well made gourmands (such as me).

    Dries down in wonderful fashion : Refined and masterfully engineered fougere with hints of pink stuffed licorice and freshly roasted, fruity African coffee.

    This one is subtle, long lasting and seducing fragrance. Right there in the top 10 of fragrances with edible, and more precicely, dessert like qualities.

    05 March, 2011

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    Helmut Lang Woman by Helmut Lang

    This is a brilliant fragrance and shamefully discontinued. It's another fine demonstration of M. Roucel's talent, and so much better than much hyped HL Cuiron...

    Somewhat similar to Musc Ravageur, not that suprisingly. But I like this a tad better because it's not as loud. You know, musk scents are at their best when they wear close to skin without too overwhelming sillage.

    HL Eau de Parfum is mainly a mixture of candyfloss vanilla and french herbs with animalic trace of jasmine-civet-patchouli accord. The overall impression is of high quality natural musk, or the cotton candy served in a heavenly funfair.

    Long lasting pleasure.

    This is marketed to women, but don't be fooled: It's based on HL Cologne (for men) but only with more intense concentration. Totally unisex and wonderful perfume in general.

    05 March, 2011

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    L de Lubin by Lubin

    Horrible powdery floral chypre . I simply put hate these kind of scents. It is obviously not wearable by men (or who am I to judge?) but I would be repulsed even if I smelled this on some woman.

    Very old school. One of those scents that smells very make-up-like to me; Face powder, lipsticks and stuff. The result is a fragrance that smells like some perfumed skin lotion which has been putrefied.

    Cloying and almost, I hate to say; sickening fragrance.


    And you know, this following description from the manufacturer doesn’t help at all:

    “L de Lubin is a heady Eau de Toilette redolent of the disco era and was apparently favoured by the pop divas of the seventies…”

    Yikes.

    30th July, 2009

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    Aziyade by Parfum d'Empire

    Yet another intriguing creation from this man and his stylish niche house. Aziyade is very Lutens-like fragrance, and it can be seen as a close relative for Arabie in particular.

    Pure oriental gourmand with loads of caramelized fruits, bits of loukhoum with thick icing of dusted sugar, and spices.

    Comparing to Arabie this has a much more pronounced cumin/cardamom tone it and I am sure this a bit sweaty like tone will cause a big problems for many.
    Aziyade is a full-bodied, crisply sweet, and absolutely delicious. I am sure if it were any stronger or longer lasting it would be illegal.

    30th July, 2009

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    Yuzu Fou by Parfum d'Empire

    Completely flawless take on traditional animalic citrus chypre theme. It smells like a well made classic cologne juice with magnificent, subtle contemporary touch.
    Marvellously crafted with perfect balance. Bitter and dry (yet refreshing), green, very natural with notable animalic undertones. Rich and deep with terrific development. Strong enough with all-around-clock lasting power.
    Despite the (wonderful) name verbena is a key player in this scent as you shall see.

    Amazing stuff and very suitable for continual use. All around the year – anywhere, anytime.

    Practical fragrance that is not a boring.

    30th July, 2009

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    Naturelle by Yves Rocher

    Very subtle and beautiful fruity floral fragrance that has a quite high percentage of natural ingredients. It really does smell quite natural and overall the balance seems to me to be quite flawless.

    There is a slight resemblance to both D&G Light Blue and Soleil de Capri by Montale in this, but in the end Naturelle is way more subtle and quit scent. Velvety marigold makes a wonderful companion to peach blossom. Small hints of fresh lemons, apple and very creamy jasmine are detectible. Woods are extremely subdued while the (white) musky notes wrap this scent together in crisp fashion.

    Naturelle could last a bit longer; it is at its best as in pick-me-up style scent, but I definitely recommend this everyone to try. The word “beautiful” keeps on coming to mind when I think about this one.

    I am sure there are many men out there who would also love to wear this one. Personally speaking I am happy to leave this one for women’s use, though. I can just hope it comes my way as much as possible…

    30th July, 2009

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    Oud 27 by Le Labo

    This has a wonderful, animalic oud wood opening. It reminds me a bit of some really skunky mid-east oud fragrances which I have smelled. I adore this smell personally, although it might be too much for some this smell which resemblances the smell of mould cheese and glue. This is it how well aged high quality oudh actually smells. Deeee – licious.

    I have heard some comments in which some people have had difficulties to detect any oud in this scent. For these people I recommend to get some more exercise with oud – you know, there are more to it than oud in M7 or in Montale`s. Oud oils smell very different in their complex variations.

    Oud 27 smells like oud wood more than anything else. Those “supporting” notes aren’t very strong; they just back up nicely the pungent tone of oud. They are also blended very smoothly and at least for me it is very hard to separate these notes.
    Out of those notes apart from oud, I certainly get Atlas cedar most clearly.

    Oud 27 soon dries down for a subdued aromatic woodsy scent with subtle animalic vibe.

    I really like the way this smells but I definitely wish it was little bit stronger. I also think the lasting power is not appropriate for the scent that has a massive price tag to it.

    30th July, 2009

    rating

    Oxford Street by Hugh Parsons

    What a weird fragrance, mainly because it doesn’t seem to match that pyramid at all. I was expecting something dry and spicy woody scent, but no….

    Very surprisingly the first thing that comes to mind after initial spray is shampoo – some ordinary, cheap shampoo. And this shampoo vibe lives all the way through this scent.

    I must honestly say Oxford Street is very poorly made fragrance; it smells very cheap and straightforwardly made. I wonder who the perfumer behind this scent is.

    The smell is kind of intriguing at first, but as the time goes by it changes into something really annoying.
    Like I said it just doesn’t match that pyramid at all. I can smell a very small dash of (synthetic) agar wood and a minimal pinch of cumin, but apart from that it smells just like some soapy wooden bench at the shower room.

    Oxford Street is a cheap smelling fresh woody fragrance. It isn’t exactly a demonstration of any kind of skill when it comes to perfumery.

    30th July, 2009

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    Sel Marin by Heeley

    Very pleasant fresh juice. Smooth transparent citruses with watery note starts of by this fragrance. Smells very natural and well made right from the first seconds of application.

    During the drydown it develops a very interesting scent of some rare herbal green – I believe it is that seaweed. This green tone smells very fresh and aromatically luscious, yet very subtle too at the same time.

    I get very subdued woody undertones in this, and that is just fine; I think more of that vetiver-cedar-birch would have destroyed the delicate nature of this fairly beautiful scent.

    Not particularly salty scent at all, but it indeed it capable to create a feeling of the ocean (or why not the lake or a river since it is not that salty…) on some warm ethereal summer evening.

    This is definitely one of the better of these “salty ocean” themed fragrances.

    Sel Marin is beautiful, very natural and gentle. It lasts very well and is absolutely suitable for both men and women.

    Marvellous choice to be worn during the summer. Uplifting and soothing creation.

    30th July, 2009

    rating

    1740 Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums


    Terribly expensive fragrance yet it might be worth just every single penny. It is a wonderful juice with terrific presentation.

    It is captivating right from the start, love at first sniff if you will…
    Herbaceous hot spicy opening turns into an extremely full-bodied and deep resinous scent with prominent note of salty patchouli.
    Very lively scent with much changing dry down; lots of nuances can be found. For instance, after two or three hours of application there is a detectible, wonderful dried plum note. Also, there is great fresh incense-y tone against the thick base of resins; I believe it’s the elemi that does it.
    Amber is not listed anywhere in the pyramid, but I should think there is some in the mix after all.

    This is not an authentic imitation of the way leather smells, but for sure the structure is very “oriental leathery.”

    This certainly reminds me of something that could be basically released under a label of Serge Lutens – but to be honest, this is way much better fragrance than most of his creations. Not all of course, but most of them.

    Unisex.

    30th July, 2009

    rating

    Five O'Clock Au Gingembre by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido


    Apart from delicious lemon-honey cookie-like opening I find this utterly disappointing.
    It just doesn’t satisfy like some other Lutens releases. Simple as that. I find it too subtle, too vague and fairly lame after all, to be honest.

    I was hoping for something savoury, crunchy and full-bodied scent, but no; this dries down for a weak and quite thin scent that in addition of having anything to get hold off, smells very ordinary and boring.
    After one or two hours of application I get this wimpy ginger note out of it that’s mixed up with some patchouli and a couple drops of honey. Distant whiffs of that peppery cocoa. It leaves a very subtle dry incense-y trace after some time. Overall FoCG is quite long lasting and it is able to put out decent yet very gentle sillage.
    In this stage this scent lingers on as it starts to fade away. Very simple scent – no layering’s, no special nuances or any depth.

    This time Sheldrake obviously failed to create anything particularly special.
    Not terrible scent no, but the question is how the one would like to spend 80euros for this scent since there are so much more interesting perfumes available, from Lutens as well as many other houses.

    Two stars out of five and thumbs very much down.

    30th July, 2009

    rating

    Kenzo Power by Kenzo

    Very nice scent with some surprising twists in the development; I find this to be a quite complex scent.

    It doesn’t matter that the smell doesn’t match the official concept at all in my opinion (this suppose to be some kind of “graphical flower” scent for men, but I don’t get the floral theme basically at all…).
    To my nose this is well made contemporary woody oriental fragrance. Really, no flower-y smell dominates here at any part of the duration.

    It starts off by smelling very aromatic and spicy fresh. Very full-bodied straight from the beginning.

    Tolu balm is obviously a key player in this scent, creation that rich, warm and a bit of a medicinal cough syrupy smell. It really smells sort of glimmeringly compelling when the dry down gets going.
    At some point I get very strong resemblance to Opium Pour Homme (that one is heavy on tolu balm also). Aside from tolu, I get samekind of fruity blackcurrant tone that is very detectible especially in Opium PH:s EdT version.
    As the hours go by the similarities to Opium PH gets a more distant but, I am surprised that no one has mentioned that YSL scent at any point.

    Excellent dry down keeps actually getting better and better, and although the ingredients are quite limited, it is amazing how much I am able to find different kind of nuances from this.

    Kenzo Power is a good casual fragrance that is fresh and warmly resinous, fruity and sweet. It could easily be worn by women too, and do I even need to tell you that the bottle is magnificent...


    Btw, there is a Kenzo Power site in the web where O.Polge tells about the creation process of this fragrance. Its very interesting video interview and the man seem to be extremely likeable person. Check it out: http://www.kenzopower.com/EN/KENZO-POWER.html

    30th July, 2009

    rating

    Sycomore (new) by Chanel

    Flawlessly blended savory vetiver fragrance that is extremely natural smelling with strong feel of class and luxury. It really does smell simple yet very “expensive”.
    Warm, earthy and salt spicy with a dash of smoke. It reminds me of Malle`s Vetiver Extraordinaire, but Sycamore is perhaps a bit more subtle and sharp with smokier feel to it.

    Sycamore is a wonderful scent that is also extremely easy to wear; anywhere, anytime. It certainly is not a so called “sexy” fragrance but much more importantly, it is beautiful and able to make its wearer to feel extremely good about everything that’s happening.

    This is 100% unisex.

    30th July, 2009

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