Fragrance Reviews by sandyw7592

Grant, I don't know if it's appropriate to copy and paste my review of Bigarade Concentree from the Cologne Bigarade page. The Concentree version did not have its own listing when I reviewed it. Here goes, just in case you think it's okay to do it this way. (Also, the reviews credited to "Sandy" and to sandyw7592 are from one person: me.)
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Nothing short of brilliant. This is a beautiful, refreshing, utterly compelling fragrance. Balanced somewhere between the classic and the eccentric, Cologne Bigarade is like nothing else you've ever worn - all the more surprising, as citrus is a standard element men's perfumery, and has been for a few centuries. (Citrus bigaradia is the botanical name for the bitter, or Seville orange.) The description on Frederic Malle's website does not claim that the bigaradenote, or essence of bitter orange, is new to perfumery, but that Jean-Claude Ellena wanted a true bitter citrus fragrance, and that this cologne uses a new formulation as the basis for it. It may be this new formulation which allows the citrus note in this scent to be so striking: it's clean, strong, bright without being sweet, and amazingly persistent. The citrus note seems a little more prominent in the Concentree version, (which I prefer slightly over Cologne Bigarade). The Cologne version gives more prominence to the rose note, I think. The combination of citrus, rose, cardamom and, of all things, hay is what gives this fragrance its complex, herbal, slightly strange character. Try it in hot, humid weather. In short I love this. I'd give it a whole fistful of thumbs up if I could!

I agree with those who find a similarity between Dior Homme and HM. I believe that both have tonka bean in the base. I wasn't sure I would like Dior Homme - so many contradictory things have been written about it already - but the scent on a strip really intrigued me; the initial soft iris note has a powdery, dry aspect which doesn't say *floral*, precisely, but it's very intriguing. I disagree that this could be a feminine fragrance, though. The tobacco-and-leather quality is subtle, but it's there, and it takes Dior Homme out of the feminine range, at least for me. Dior Homme strikes me as a highly integrated fragrance, as well. I have a little bit of trouble picking out individual notes in its composition. To some this will mean it lacks development, but I don't need a cologne to be linear or to have all its "parts" identifiable. The combination of lavender, leather and something smoky is warm and beguiling, and that's enough. I think there might be a little too much of the tonka bean; it becomes noticeably sweet if applied heavily. For the most part, though, it stay pretty close to the skin - in a good way.

I really like this gourmand scent. The EDP version is very powerful, with a balance between floral and edible notes that's unlike anything else. The EDP may be too rich for hot weather, though. (Are we certain there's chocolate in the basenotes? Because nothing I can find from the company confirms this, and I had a sales rep. tell me that, according to the company rep., there's vanilla and tonka bean, but no chocolate. I don't know why I find the possibility that there *isn't* any chocolate in this grand mixture so disappointing, but I do.)

Almost shockingly beautiful, with an unabashed yet disciplined floral character; very pure and light but strong. En Passant's combination of lushness and simplicity feels absolutely right - almost inevitable, in the way of all great craft. The notes include orange leaf, cucumber and wheat absolute. It's not an especially green scent; the lilac note is too clear and definite for that. But the overall effect is gentle and somehow soothing. It's a very discreet but lingering scent

I can't say it better than I did on the board earlier. En Passant didn't sneak up on me, or overwhelm me with its beauty, or anything so radical as that. It simply smelled as it ought to smell; it smelled like something that I had always loved, without knowing it, as if it were impossible to imagine a time when I didn't love it. To create a scent that one immediately falls in love with is the perfumer's art; to create a scent that feels like something one has always loved is that art raised to the level of miracle.