Fragrance Reviews by zztopp

A fruity 'floriental, Signature for her is an attempt by the (former) soccer dynamo David Beckham and his wife Posh Spice to capture share in the youth fragrance market (shots of them parading around in L.A. in mags such as 17 wasn't enough).The juice has a pale reddish/purple hue which is indicative of a certain character inherent within.

Signature opens with a bracing, youthful combo of a candy apple accord uplifted by hints of subdued anise with its fennel-licorice facets thankfully keeping at bay any extreme 'candied' attacks. Then comes forth the heart of Signature and the thing that bothers me the most about this fragrance. Composed of vanilla, heliotrope and amber the resulting heart accord has a cherry cough syrup 'Robitussin' aroma with a sticky vanilla candy-floss background which isn't the most attractive of smells. Come to think of it, I have experience this same cough syrup accord in a few other fragrances in the past and it may be because of the use of a certain proprietary aromachemical. Thankfully the cough syrup accord disintegrates after 1-2 hours leaving a pleasant but sweetish ambery base to sign off this latest Beckham money making venture.

Signature sports decent materials and isn't as crass as some of the latest Britney or Paris offerings, but its cherry cough syrup note is a weird distraction and doesn't really make it rise above the sea of fruity floral offerings in the market. I would rather give this juice to the paparazzi.

Rating: 5.5/10.0

Une Fleur is a limited-edition green floral launched in 1998. An interesting story behind this one...Karl Lagerfield commissioned nose Jacques Polge to create a perfume based on the camellia flower (Coco Chanel's favorite). "Based on.." because the camellia flower has no smell! As a result, Une Fleur is an abstract creation, taking visual cues from the flower (which looks pretty enough) and previous attempts at its 'scent' to come up with a familiar yet unique take on this 'ghost flower'.

The opening is a sweet, radiant citrus burst immediately followed by a blooming jasmine heart. This is jasmine stripped off its indolic tones and presented with its sweet, rich floral aroma upfront. An engineering act is performed in the heart notes...a rose note is twirled with the star jasmine to give it brightness and, I think, is also responsible for stripping away any unneeded arse notes. While this jasmine-rose act is going on, a green stem-like note (is it galbanum?) helicopters over and brushes this floral dance with a verdant greenness.

Une Fleur packs a punch for the first couple of hours before settling into a woody-green base. The jasmine and rose are good quality and if you are a fan of green florals but want one presented as an easy-to-wear potion, this may be right up your alley. Does it feature earth shattering originality and ingredients? No. But for Chanel completionists who want to smell what Coco Chanels favorite ghost flower smelled like, Une Fleur could be irresistible.

Rating: 7.5/10.0

Notes:
Top: Citronella leaves, Tangerine
Middle: Orange blossom, Water lily
Base: Lilac, Neroli

Falling somewhere between Czech & Speake's focused orange blossom rendition in Neroli and Creeds snappy citrus-high Neroli Sauvage, Jo Malone's Orange Blossom (OB) does its own thing with the orange blossom note...flanking it between a juicy orange top and watery white floral notes.

The tangerine blast that greets you first is suitably juicy, orangey and pleasant. The orange blossom note that peeks at you afterwards though is not of the finest quality...its not as petit-grainy as in Fleur du Male, but neither is it as indolic or rich. Rather it smells a lot like the version found in Serge Lutens Fleur d'Oranger, with a strange lack of clarity in evidence with woody highlights and little to no indoles. Good thing that this note is further flanked by pleasant lily/lilac floral notes (with an almost nonexistent base...OB just peters out over 4-5 hours) to construct a fairly unique take on the Neroli/Orange Blossom genre resulting in a tangerine-white floral perfume with an adequate orange blossom note which runs through the composition without really overtaking it. All the better I say, considering its not attractive enough by itself to sell bottles. It's Ben Affleck in the Affleck-Damon partnership (while it lasted..).

Rating: 6.0/10.0

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Neroli, Green Tangerine
Middle: Jasmine, Rock rose, Marine note, Rosemary, Persimmon
Base: Cedar, Patchouli, Musk

Formulated by nose Albert Morillas, Aqua di Gio homme (AdG) is Armani Parfums biggest cash cow and one of the progenitors of the fruity aquatic genre. Much has been written about its ubiquitous presence in hang out spots all over the world, but its hard to deny that its a well made fragrance. Inspired by Giorgio Armani's vacations in the isle of Pantelleria, the aim was to evoke "the voluptuous rush of wind and water, brilliantly combining sweet and salty flavors, with the bittersweet power of of sea water on sun-drenched skin."

The opening hesperidic blast is pleasant and invigorating, and soon after the salty-floral-fruity heart appears. Things are kept light and pleasant, with hedione (synthetic jasmine) lending a pleasant floral aroma, a bouquet of fruits (melon, etc) gushing in the accord, and a very well integrated aquatic note imparting a slightly salty tinge. There's also a spice accord hidden in there somewhere...if you smell closely enough you can detect a coriander note warming up the proceedings. The whole heart notes phase is expertly balanced with none of the various facets feeling out of place. It is however rather fleeting and within an hour or two the woody-musky base rears its ugly formulated head (AdG used to feature a better musk and cedar note in its hey day).

Yes its ubiquitous...yes its nothing outstanding (it ain't 1996 anymore)...yes there are a zillion other fruity aquatics on the market...and yes it has been done better before (1995s Creed Millesime Imperial). But credit is due to AdG for being one of the early fruity-aquatic trailblazers, and for opening up the genre for other fast-followers (it also outsells Imperial by quite a mile). And despite the inferior reformulated base, its still smells good. Like it or not you will still be seeing AdG ads in Vogue or Forbes 5 years from now..

Rating: 7.25/10.0

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by Clean Men (Clean). Usually such white-noise laundromat fragrances conform to the inane 'typical citrus-detergent accord-typical white musk' pyramid made so famous by Gendarme but Clean goes a step further and fleshes out the pyramid with interesting results.

Clean opens with tart grapfruit and a low key medicinal lavender note before blossoming into a heart of lime, raspberry and clove. Each of these heart notes has a very distinctive scent, but the way they are smoothly blended in Clean gives rise to a (very inviting) accord which reminds me of south asian supari mouth fresheners (made of fennel seeds, betels, and other aromatics). The lime keeps it fresh, the raspberry imparts just enough sweetness and the clove keeps things light and 'fresh'. The more i smell it the more i find the balance and interplay of these three notes to be excellent. The perfumer could have stopped here and finished things off with a banal woods note or cheap musk, but the drydown actually builds on the heart notes high. A cool, woody incense note and a light patchouli note ala L'Artisans Patchouli Patch end the Clean experience on a positive note.

Clean Men is more than a laundromat air freshener smell, and I find it more interesting than Father Gendarme or the trendy Prada Infusion Men. Heck Clean even smells like as if it sports better materials than those two uber famous poster boys. No, Clean Men isn't very innovative or awe inspiring in its notes clarity, but it is arguably the best of its genre. Gym rats everywhere should be made to wear Clean Men every day.

Rating: 7.75/10.0

Notes:
Top: Anise, Grapefruit
Middle: Lavender, Raspberry
Base: Heliotrope, Wood notes

Fuel for life homme (FLH), an aromatic-fougere by Firmenich wizards Annick Menardo and Jacques Cavallier, may boast a somewhat attractive whisky-flask bottle with a rough military skin but contains a surprisingly juicy and cheery juice which would make metrosexuals everywhere giddy with delight. This disconnect hints at something ...that FLH is only the latest vehicle to transport the latest Firmenich aromachemical to the masses, the aromachemical in this case being Frambinone(R) which has a fruity-raspberry-musky aroma profile (hence the 'raspberry' in the pyramid).

FLH opens with a pleasant and clear grapefruit and anise combo, the tangy sweetness of anise eradicating any possible acidic tones of the grapefruit. From there FLH reveals more depth in the form of a lavender note which immediately ushers your nose to Frambinone, errr, the musky raspberry note. Frambinone is not your garden variety uber sweet raspberry..rather it has an interesting balsamic base (so to speak) which results in a fruity-spiced woods effect. Nice, but not nice enough to be the showcase note with a 3rd rate supporting cast. And then the show ends with 'generic woods' as in many other fragrances flooding the market (is it Saffraliene(R)?), with little to no heliotrope sweetness to prevent FLH from descending into the mundane tier. But its too late: the attractive bottle has lured you in and the dichotomy of the army-cool and raspberry-happy juice stumped you long enough for you to fork over your hard earned cash to the cashier. And off go the Firmenich scientists to invent another aromachemical. The cycle repeats again...

Rating: 6.00/10.00

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin, Toscanol
Middle: Cedar, Patchouli, Safraleine
Base: Cosmone, Vanilla

Taking a page out of the Frederic Malle promotional schtick, Pi Neo is Givenchy coming clean about modern synthetics in its fragrances (inconcert with a modicum of natural oils)...and hoping to turn it into a positive (not that properly utilising quality synthetics is inherently bad or anything). Promoted as a 'fragrance that evokes high-tech adventure and the virtual world' (with Neo from The Matrix as its muse), regretfully Pi Neo is nothing but a fairly mediocre woody-oriental made more interesting because of the details disclosed in the promo materials of proprietary synthetics used in its formula.

The opening is a citrus burst with Toscanol (R) (read: an aerated 'fresh' anise note), a woodsy heart with a parched, slightly leathery-cedary note (Safraleine) and a base composed of muted vanilla and Cosmone (one of the 1000 new synthetic musks on the market). No Givenchy, this 'boast' of a marriage of 'high powered synthetics and naturals' won't work because the more astute amongst us know that thats nowadays pretty much the formula for any half decent fragrance..its not what you have or use, its how you use it. On the upside, Pi Neo will atleast make basement geeks smell better.

Rating: 5.75/10.00

Top notes: Lemon, Bergamot, Orange
Middle notes: Ginger, Juniper, Lavender, Violet
Base: Teak wood, Ebene wood

Nowadays if you walk into a department store and grab a random mens fragrance from the counter, it would conform to whats presented in Lacoste's "Challenge" (oh the irony in naming..)... an aromatic citrus-ginger spice-generic woods concoction which is now as ubiquitous as the swine flu. A top half constructed with adequate materials...a nice lemon burst rounded by a juicy orange-mandarin note, a heart phase featuring a spice note (which in 101% of the cases is ginger), some diluted lavender and juniper, and a generic low-cost woody base to finish the inbred-DNA of this 'dynamic and optimistic' frag. Just a few ago I tried another paragon of this citrus-spice style..Dior Homme Sport. In the battle of the bottom dwellers, Sport is a teeny bit more attractive because of its better melding of notes. Eitherways, if you like your fragrances safe, uncontroversial/conservative and are risk averse, just pick any of these aromatic citruses ....they are probably coming off the same lab with minute differences here and there. You can't lose (or win) with any of 'em.

Rating: 6.0/10.0

Many a times it happens that rowdy young men make ridiculous claims of one uppance ...its only later during a group shower session that the truth hangs out and the claims of superiority are exposed. The Set Sail St. Barts for Men (SSSB) vs. Virgin Island Water (VIW) was one such, albeit short lived, bout on Basenotes. Lets just say VIW leaves SSSB hanging upside down in the school playground and steels its lunch money in the process.

SSSB opens with a very good juicy lime and tequila accord...the tequila accord is suitably boozy with just the right level of alcohol. Thats about the only height this juice reaches, as the heart notes introduce a demure salty note of sorts with the tequila accord rapidly fainting before a mind numbingly pedestrian backend of a cheap vanilla and musk note materializes and spends 80% of the 5 hr lifespan of this fragrance radiating off your skin. There's also a coconut note of sorts in here...its the type which immediately elicits cheap suntan lotion vibe and provides a clear demarcation between the coconut note that lives within SSSB and the subtle, milky smooth variant found in VIW, Carnal Flower and Datura Noir.

SSSB isn't bad, its just deceptively mediocre. Its very top loaded with a fleeting heart and a drydown that was delivered on a 10 rupee budget. Compared to the slick melding of lime, subtle coconut, ginger and florals in ViW, SSSB just smells terribly exposed and underfunded.

Rating: 5.75/10.0

I have been wearing Guerlain Vetiver (GV) for over an year now, and its strange that I haven't reviewed it yet. It's probably because I have been enjoying this fragrance so much that whenever I put it on, it imposes on me a feeling of calm, its earthy yet tranquil vetiver note intoxicating in its expert realization in this manly potion.

Wearing GV is like having a knowledgeable and friendly tutor help you accomplish a task which absolutely has to be done. In this case, the task would be to familiarize oneself with the vetiver note, a note which many find too pungent and ghastly for their taste. GV makes the note apparent from the very beginning - BUT, like a good tutor/teacher, it eases you in by flanking the note with crisp citrus notes. The top construction eases you in - from there, GV evolves to a more rich and heavy base of tobacco and vetiver. During intense summers, the tobacco note may become more pronounced and might even be offputting to some - to be fair, in the reformulated Vetiver the tobacco note is a bit synthetic. I find that if applied evenly using no more than 3 sprays, the notes flow better. Longevity and sillage are near perfect.

GV is ultimately one of the easier introductions to vetiver. Some may prefer Creed's Original Vetiver (an excellent offering itself), but it comes at a price...no, I am not talking about the less intense vetiver note, I was hinting at the $195 price tag. If you are willing to venture out of Original Vetiver's protective cocoon, GV will be an excellent choice. Its easy on the wallet, and a top tier fragrance to boot. Citrus, grassy, with a base of tobacco. JP Guerlain created this when he was 22 years of age .. a hell of an accomplishment that. Be a man, take the plunge.

Rating: 8.25/10

*This review is of the EDT*

Notes:
Top: Lemon, Bergamot
Middle: Jasmine, May rose
Base: Iris, Incense, Opoponax, Tonka Bean, Vanilla

I recently revisited this classic by J. Guerlain, who was inspired by the dedication and grief shown by Shah Jahan towards his wife when she died giving birth to their 14th (!!) child. Shah Jahan erected the glorius Taj Mahal in her memory, and the name Shalimar derives from the beautiful Shalimar Gardens (in Kashmir and Pakistan) which were made by Shah Jahan and frequented by his wife.

Shalimar is exultant, sensual, bewitching and sad. Refreshing lemon and the sweet and sour bergamot convey a feeling of excitement in the arms of your significant other. Moments later, lush notes of rose and jasmine bringforth a sensual and intimate feel to the moment. From here onwards, Shalimar showcases its most impressive aspects. As far as my nose is concerned, the masterfully blended incense note is the star of the composition. Shalimar is a powdery classic oriental except its not - i.e., it is powdery, but not overbearingly so. The base of vanilla and oppoponax, while lush and deep, is lifted to Mughal empire-like glorious heights by a thin layer of chilled roses, and a slightly bitter yet always consistent incense note which imparts a strange allure and sadness to the accord. None of these contrasting notes overpower each other - the construction is as solid as the 350 year old Taj Mahal itself. Like the Shah Jehan, there are no longevity issues here - you can expect upto 14 hours of pleasurable sillage from this Guerlain love potion.

Shalimar is a multifaceted classic. It reveals glorious layers of perfume delectation, and its "powdery accord" is one of the best I have encountered. Incense is brilliantly used, and to my nose Shalimar is easily unisex; if my review didnt convince you, then perhaps the Bat-signal like bottle should !

All hail Shah Jahan and his principal mausoleum !

Rating: 8.75/10.0

Notes:
Top: Watery cucumber accord, lotus leaf, cactus flower
Middle: Linden blossom, blue tiger lilies and Dutch freesia
Base: Frosted musk and blonde woods

Cucumber is a limited-edition fragrance from the Marc Jacobs 'Splash' series...ethereal/edc-like, pleasant fragrances which eschew avant grande over-the-top 'trying to0 hard to please' perfume design, and come in massive bottles for your splash-on pleasure. Quite a bit like the recent Marc Jacobs heavily stream-lined and conservative military garbs.

Cucumber starts with a pleasant herbal/aquatic cucumber note melded with a (highly diluted) pink lotus note which creates an ethereal earthy floral watery accord. The heart notes introduce a watery floral lily and a cotton wool-like linden before drying down to a musk base 3-4 hours later. Cucumber had the potential to be a chemical mess, what with the cucumber, linden and note featuring prominently in its pyramid. But due to its light concentration, use of decent materials and a blend which coherently links cucumber-lotus & lily by recognizing their shared watery-aquatic profile, Cucumber actually becomes a very viable hot summer splash candidate. I still prefer Bond no. 9 Wall Streets more complex composition (+ its still my go-to for a top shelf cucumber note) but Marc Jacobs Cucumber is certainly a good option for those not willing to splash out $200 a bottle for a little energizing green.

Rating: 7.75/10.0

Top notes:
Kauai Waterfalls Note, Oxygenated Water, Chinese Kiwi
Heart:
Honeysuckle, Parrot Tulip, Ginger, Rose
Base notes:
White Bark, Galapagos Driftwood, Rice Fields Accord

Island might have been based on an actual island that Kors used to visit, but one glance at the notes pyramid reveals that the marketing machine is in full flow here. Waterfalls note? Oxygenated water? Rice fields accord? This is an island perfume constructed in lab with the most generic materials available and comes off as a mediocre plasticky white flower fragrance with a forced aquatic note. The initial micro seconds are a pleasant blast of a fairly competent kiwi-like citrus note with a somewhat plasticky aquatic sheen. A few milliseconds later you are transported to an artificial island with plastic white flowers from Toys R Us....this is a white flower accord you have smelled in a thousand other generic juices but it doesn't stop here; Island gets even more generic and synthetic with a woody base anchoring this Lego island.

If there was a poster child for generic, Island would be at the top of the list. It smells like a base for a concept, an internal structure which needs fleshing out, a product line waiting for a distinguishing character to quickly roll out. A look at Kors perfume line reveals that thats indeed what happened...theres Island:Hawaii, Island: Fiji and others waiting to tell us Kors vacation memories. I just hope the suits have taken a vacation to allow perfumers a budget to afford more than cookie cutter discarded materials to design these fantasy landscapes for us consumers.

Ratng: 5.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Lemon, lime, Bergamot, Petitgrain
Middle: Clary Sage, orange, lavender, basil
Base: Musk, cedar, civet

The bottle lists the notes as Bergamot, lemon, lavender, verbena, oakmoss, sandalwood but the Osmoz pyramid is the one which seems more accurate. Monsieur de Givenchy (MdG) is a citrus-aromatic/chypre from Givenchy's mythical line: classics from the Givenchy vault, and arguably the high point of Givenchy parfums. MdM is a conventional fragrance; its structure exhibits fine balance, and its made of good materials. The lemon/lime top notes are sharp but extremely fleeting...one may need to spray 3-4 times in quick succession to let the nostrils grasp 'em. Almost immediately the central powdery, musky, lavender accord takes hold with a herbal spicy-sweet basil note anchoring the other end. As the fragrance progresses I detect a lite, doughy, bread like note (is it the petitgrain?) and a sweetish, slightly animalic note (civet) and woods in the base. The musky powdery lavender heart is never overbearing, and the whole shebang lasts for a decent 5-6 hours.

At times, MdM seems like a lighter version of Signoricci (they both share a lime top and a lavender-woody heart). Sure it can boss around the anemic newer citrus chemicals of today, but when compared to its illustrious compatriots from 50 years ago it lacks the creativity of Eau Sauvage and the grand chypre finish of Chanel pour monsieur. MdM is a fine fragrance, but one can't help feel its the Andy Roddick of the 1960s citrus classics.

Rating: 8.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Grapefruit, green mango
Heart: Calamus, Lotus
Base: Sycamore, Incense

The behind-the-scenes story of Un Jardin Sur Le Nil (Nil) is one that rocketed JC Ellena into the conscience of the modern perfume enthusiast. With former fanboy Chandler Burr documenting Ellenas every move along the banks of the river Nile in Egypt in the valley of the Pharoahs, the Hermes marketing machine was in full flow to muscle in on the highly competitive prestige perfume market.

What about the juice itself? Nil is an ethereal woody-fruity-floral with a unique note of green mango, and is probably one of Ellenas most cleanly structured and distinctive compositions. Nil opens with a burst of short-lived sour and juicy grapefruit; the sour aspect leads to a blooming heart of a green mango note. Having actually eaten many southeast asian green mango dishes, the green mango note rendered in Nil is rather good. Make no mistake, its tangy sour fruity aspect is evident throughout the fragrance. I suspect that this is an Ellena sleight-of-hand .. a combination of 2-3 ingredients which conjure the smell of sour, slightly fruity green mangos. The river Nile is further mined for inspiration..a sheer blue lotus note lends a light, aquatic floral scent while the calamus/sweet cane note mainly acts as a fixative, its sweet aromatic herbal character very much in the background. A couple of hours later the vetiver-incense base materializes...the woody, slightly bitter base fills out the fragrance and stretches its longevity.

Heat and warmth are friends of Nil. Although a light fragrance, warm/hot weather makes the tangy-green mango note stand out more, the floral earthy lotus blooms further, as does the woody incense base. Many will dismiss Nil as another light and brittle Ellena haiku, but delving beneath the haiku sketch reveals an interplay of good materials which fulfill the promise of the initial inspiration. With Nil, Ellena can claim to be the Prince of Egypt.

Rating: 8.5/10.0

Notes: Bergamot, Bigarade Orange, Pink pepper, Nutmeg, Floralozone, Haïtain vetyver, Sandalwood, cedarwood, Oak moss, Myrrh, Cashmeran, Musketone, Tonalide

If there is a modern vetiver which is worthy of ranking alongside the old world vetiver classics, Vetiver Extraordinaire (VE) is it. Dominique Ropion's haitian vetiver overdosed masterwork (25% concentration) is a sleek and smooth vetiver extravaganza married to quality modern synthetics to conjure what is probably the leading vetiver fragrance out there. The bitter bigarade top note lasts for mere seconds before VE gets down to business...the green, lemony, slightly earthy vetiver digs itself out of the composition and is fleshed out with a sprinkling of nutmeg and pepper resulting in a mineral earthy vetiver accord. But it doesn't stop there. Ropion has integrated an ozonic note (florazone) which operates underneath this accord to lend it an airy distant ozone aura which feels like smelling vetiver roots in space. Florazone gives the mineral vetiver accord an ozonic-floral lift without dominating the composition. One caveat: if for whatever reason the ozone note dominates on your skin, it may spoil infect the vetiver accord with lighter-fluid or a hot-plastic note. The woody base, composed of a complex proprietary Ropion wood accord, provides a comfortable landing pad for the searing yet well controlled vetiver note. Cashmeran provides diffusiveness to the vetiver note and is thankfully not overdosed.

VE isn't the most dynamic vetiver fragrance, nor is it the most 'vetivery'. What it is though is an exhibition in providing a perfect balance of a dominant vetiver note with a nose's own interpretation of vetiver art. It is a blast from the past with a nod to the future. It is evident yet never overbearing. I don't understand the appeal of heavy handed vetiver fragrances with a crassly handled dumplings of Whole Foods(r) vetiver oil...I certainly don't have any interest in smelling like the Swamp Thing. I do however have an interest in smelling like a presentable, well groomed man with a whiff of outdoorsy freshness and a tinge of modern. Pick a vetiver which is right for you.

Other mineral vetivers: Creed Vetiver '48, Loccitane Vetiver

Rating: 9.0/10.0

This review is of the EDP.

Maurice Roucels' first composition for the house of Malle, Musc Ravageur (MR, 2000) is a strangely mainstream debut addition to a line which claims to be without compromise. Roucel is well known for his lush, big chested, expansive compositions such as Tocade et al, and his (recent) bewilderingly slavish attachment to 'bettering' classic Guerlains (in the guise of 'inspiration' in promo materials).

There's nothing ravaging in MR...nor is there a whole lot of musk (atleast none that I can detect). The lavender-cinnamon/clove-woods structure is hardly novel...it was first encountered in 1995's smash hit Le Male. Ofcourse the quality of ingredients in MR is much higher. The opening blast of bergamot and medicinal lavender is instantly ushered into a cloud of dense spicy vanillic woods (an accord responsible for the 'cinnamon bun' comments). As this gourmand Dunkin Donuts accord descends into a tonka-vanilla base, the vanilla-cinnamon combo becomes even more prominent...the vanilla is in raging form here, clobbering any musk there is in the composition to sticky bun oblivion. Hours later I perceive a decent demure musk note peeking out to see if there's anyone still conscious after the bakery assault...

MR can provide gourmand comfort with one or two sprays...if you are the type who spends hours standing near the local bakery to take in the sticky bun aroma, splash it on, MR will be heaven. The composition is well made but hardly unique or novel. And the name is a total misnomer. I heard that it was kicked out of the 'G7 Musk society' by Kiehls, Koublai Khan and others for falsifying profile data..

Note: MR Oil has a stronger more evident musk note, albeit it lacks the EDPs more complex structure.

Rating: 6.00/10.0

**This review is of the EDP***

Top: Orange, Bergamot
Middle: Rose, Jasmine
Base: Patchouli, Vetiver

Coco Mademoiselle (CM) is the flagship Chanel offering for young 'youthful' women, and is arguably Jacque Polge's most finely tuned contemporary composition for the mainstream market. Ignore the anemic, bony Keira Knightly as the face of CM; CM is a lush chypre-floral. It opens with the top and middle note phases revealing themselves as a unified block; a juicy orange note immediately linking with an expansive floral heart...rose and jasmine swirling with juicy oranges resulting in a dense fruity floral with gourmand highlights. Although indicated in the pyramid of the EDT, I also detect a minute lychee note in the EDP. The rose note seems embellished with lychee, the accord smelling like many Mistral soaps I have tried (albeit of a better quality) and could also be responsible for the gourmand-ness inherent within. Several hours later CM dries down to a light base of vetiver and patchouli...I would have liked a dose of tree-moss to provide a snappier feel to the base, but it does its job of anchoring the floral mid-half well.

A standard but accomplished fruity floral accord, good materials, and compliments galore....refined, approachable, trendy, instead of unique, ground breaking, avant-garde...quite a bit like Keira Knightly really.

Rating: 8.0/10.0

Notes:
Lavender and Freesia

Riding on the hype of the best selling Twilight vampire series books and the movie, Hot Topics (that bastion of teenage pop culture items and other naughty stuff) released a perfume in a faux Nina Ricci bottle (a lawsuit is pending), listing only two notes: lavender and freesia, a combo which I believe smells like one of the characters.

Such short lived and cash-in fragrances usually aren't very good, usually composed of the cheapest materials in the universe and dont wander much from the candy-floss bubblegum accord arena. Twilight, to its credit, contains no overtly floral or bubblegum tones. It opens with a very clean, soapy and strigent lavender note...light, a bit laundry/Gendarme like, stripped of its herbal tones, a lavender for the hormonal masses. This lavender is conjoined by a green-floral-spicy note of sorts which could only be a freesia accord (there is no freesia essential oil). A couple of hours later, this clean stark herbal accord descends into a white musk drydown and some vetiver/woods. Twilight is a surprisingly competent fragrance considering the market its targeting ..a well behaved structure with no crazy overpowering molecules, totally unisex, and even a bit of sophistication in the form of a neutered lavender note (which is like a dab of niche in the Hot Topics world).

Rating: 7.0/10.0

Notes:
Top: Citron, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Rosemary
Middle: Ginger, Elemi, Lavender
Base: Sandal, Vetiver, Cedar

The 'Sport' edition of fragrances are synonymous with clean, fresh, boring, EDC-like, generic fragrances. I don't know exactly when this association was thought up at fragrance house think-tanks but it doesn't have to be this way. Sure, the word 'sporty' can connotate 'fresh/uplifting/uncomplicated' but that doesn't mean that every 'Sport' fragrance has to descend into the depths of mediocrity and ooze generic juice. How hard could it be to incorporate a novel molecule into a 'Sport' fragrance structure to lend it a bit of a distinct character? Which brings me to Dior Homme 'Sport' (Sport)...a citrus-aromatic so far away from the Dior Homme gene pool so as to be a Dior Homme step child.

Sport encompasses everything thats wrong with the 'Sport' flankers. It shares nothing in common with Dior Homme EDT..gone is the dynamic and luscious iris-cocoa heart and the subtle leather base. Instead, the now tired and worn out pairing of citrus and ginger forms the heart of this heartless offering. Opening with a decent enough citrus blast which pierces all the way into the drydown (increasing in its sharp chemical tonality overtime), the heart notes introduce a ginger note which constructs a light spiced-citrus accord kept aloof by a background lavender note. Three hours later the even more generic base of cedar and vetiver puts the finishing touches on Francois Demachys monument of mediocrity. About the only good thing I can say about Sport is that the citrus-ginger accord is well balanced. The citron note disintegrates into a sharp chemical mess as drydown approaches and the whole composition reeks of been-there-done-that a thousand gazillion trillion times.

Fragrance neophytes will be excited by the bottle and the 'hey it smells better than Axe!' feel of Sport but for the rest of us Sport is something that some of us could have whipped up using a DIY set ..

Rating: 4.5/10.0

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Mandarin
Middle: Anise, Ginger, Cinnamon
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, tonka, vanilla, patchouli

Must Homme (MH) is Cartier doing an oriental for men... expect spicy woody creamy notes, but make no mistake anise is the star here. The first act is excellent, brilliant even. The citrus burst has a tart, slightly sour grapefruit softened expertly by a touch of mandarin, and the anise note pops in at just the perfect time...this whole grapefruit-mandarin-anise link is synchronized to perfection and is like watching Xavi and Iniesta of Barcelona FC string together uber-smooth hypnotic passes in midfield while ripping apart Bayern Munich to pieces. The anise note is in fine form here..it displays a focused sweetish, licorice-like aspects without being overbearing and echos all the way into the drydown. Overtime, MH becomes less intriguing and more conventional, with the heart notes of ginger and cinnamon barely registering on the richter scale; the second act is all about tonka...tonka and vanilla. A creamy woody cloud (very diluted though) ushers the anise note into oblivion, and 5 hours later you could be wearing just about any other competent but unspectacular woody-oriental.

The explosive citrus start with a starring anise note...thumbs up. The straightforward tonka vanilla drydown...yawnworthy. For a fragrance being promoted as '..developed around the world of daring creativity' MHs shock-then-disappoint structure is fairly by the numbers. The bouncer won't let MH into the much vaunted Club Oriental de Serge Lutens to linger and mix but MH can act like a big boy at neighborhood parties...

Rating 6.5/10.0

Notes:
Top: Lemon, Bitter Orange, Bergamot
Heart: Cardamom, Birch leaves, Nutmeg
Base: Blue teakwood, Vetiver

Bois Bleu is a limited-edition flanker of Declaration and as the sky blue color suggests, its 'fresher' yet still has the entire structure of JC Ellenas homage to Eau d'hermes intact within its more welcoming exterior. Ellena dials down the tone of the Declaration pyramid and burnishes it with a lemony note at the top which sprinkles down into the Declaration structure with an after effect that is brighter and more citrusy while the smoky woods component is made office-appropriate. The cardamom note is as finely balanced as ever, its spicy freshness melding well with the birch-woods accord, and even the latent cumin note makes an appearance. This non-invasive surgery will make Declaration more appealing to those who found the original to be a little too strong in cumin, yet its still a step up from the laundry-clean Gendarmes of the world. Don't worry if you can't find Bois Bleu; just layer Declaration with Eau d'Orange Verte to get a similar (or even better!) effect.

BTW: 'Blue Teakwood' is marketing department speak for 'cedarwood' which is perfume house speak for loads of 'Iso E Super'.

Rating: 7.0/10.0

Notes:
Top:
Peppermint, Menthol, Eucalyptol, Lemon
Heart:
Grapefruit, Aromatic notes, Spices
Base:
Woods, Musk

The nose behind Booster is Jean Kerleo, he of Patou pour homme, so you would expect a hint of expert construction evident within and initially atleast Booster doesn't disappoint. The fresh-aromatic menthol dominated top notes are slick and smooth; the peppermint and eucalyptus molecules are stitched together with a standalone menthol molecule and any dentist/toothpaste connotations are dodged by accentuating the herbaceous tones of eucalyptus resulting in a bright, invigorating, uplifting opening tinged with herbaceous-green highlights. Naturally these euphoric topnotes won't last long so Kerleo engineers more complexity in the fragrance by incorporating complementary notes such as a spice-accord which smells mostly of nutmeg and a weirdly plastic jasmin like floral note which could only be an overdose of hedione (not redeemed by any natural jasmine whatsoever). Things get worse...this plasticky jasmine note further descends into an equally mediocre woodys-musk drydown which spoils the excellent work of the roaring top notes.

Kerleo was probably used to unlimited budgets afforded to him by the house of Patou and apparently wasn't able to balance his construction with the college-student fragrance materials budget handed to him by Lacoste. Consequently the second half of Booster reeks of mediocre perfume parts although the concept could have worked wonders with a natural jasmine heart and topnotch woods in the base. The topnotes excite me, the banal base annoys me. Investigate Booster to observe a promising concept slightly diminished by bottomline obsessed suits.

p.s.: The bottle is so ugly its beautiful..

Rating: 6.75/10.0

Notes: Orange Blossom, White Jasmine, Indian Tuberose, White Rose, Citrus Peel, Hibiscus Seeds, Cumin, Nutmeg

Here we have Mr. Lutens' interpretation of the Florida state flower. Fleurs d'Oranger (FDO) opens with a decent orange blossom note but is quickly conjoined with the white flower twins jasmin and tuberose. The immediate effect is the blooming of a floral, predominantly tuberose aroma with the orange blossom note pushed way in the background. The tuberose note, while dominant, is not of a particularly high quality and the same can be said of the "starring note" of orange blossom which cant match the intensity, brightness or richness of other superior orange blossom/neroli fragrances on the market. But a cause for celebration: the floral melange is well blended, with none of the over-the-top saccharine or over-dosage tendencies of the trademark Lutens gaudiness present in the juice.

The second half of the fragrance does the whole armpit-smell thing (via cumin) in the name of 'exotic-ness'. It may have worked in 1995 but today the cumin-spicy body-odour backdrop to impart uniqueness comes off as a wee bit cliche. After the white flower first half, the backend of FDO slowly infuses vapours of nutmeg and cumin to provide a twist to the formula. A note of caution: body heat and warm weather makes the cumin note bloom more and may end up making you smell like a NYC cab driver on Valentine's day. On the positive side, the cumin-spice backend is well restrained, with none of the indian spice-rack madness evident in some of the other Lutens.

So there it is... FDO is a decent, albeit a tad boring and cliched orange blossom frag from the former Dior makeup-meister. The white floral notes are a bit lacking in quality but the fragrance flows well. There are just too many other neroli/orange blossom fragrances that I would choose to wear before this one. File it under 'Only for Lutens fanboys/girls'.

Rating: 6.5/10.0

Imagine a new modern classic which grabs hold of your senses by a sparkling bouquet of natural citrus notes, surprises you by unraveling a well blended heart of spicy woods and floral notes, and then goes for the touchdown by landing on a ravishing base of a top quality oud note with a nod to modern perfumery by implementing a 'mineral note' flanked by a rich oriental base. 'Dynamic and entrepreneurial. Truly for the man of today'.

Well keep on imagining because you ain't getting any of that in Versace Pour homme (VPH). Bursting forth with bitter citrus and a sharp neroli note (with a tinge of aquatic whirled in), the opening burst is about the only high point of this woody aromatic/oriental from Versace. The after effects of these clean citrus notes can actually be felt all the way into the drydown .. must be some high powered synthetic note operating underneath the top construction to extend them so deep into the formula. Anyways, the heart notes introduce the 'generic gang'. Like Timbaland whoring out the same tune over and over, Morillas seems to have borrowed the current accord du jour of generic woody-amber/spicy-woods with the nutty-herbal note of clary sage recalling Platinum Egoistes' far richer heart accord. VPH then fizzles out to a tinny drydown of some thing like a bitter wood note which, if it is really oud, smells like an note leftover from Montale Aoud reject. A whiff of a mildly interesting mineral note peeks out amongst a very anemic presence of 'oriental notes' like tonka, amber and white musk. It says a lot for this fragrance that even at this point the most interesting thing going on is still the sharp neroli blast from the opening whose muted presence can still be felt. The evolution of this inane generic 'masterpiece' is finally complete and I am left clamoring for Versace L'Homme..

Rating: 5.00/10

Notes:bergamot, clove, violet, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, salicylates, incense, Cashmeran, heliotrope and white musk.

Dans Tes Bras ("In your arms", DTB) is the latest creation by Maurice Roucel and it continues from where the atrocious Guerlain Insolence EDT left off, albeit in a less incompetent way. This floral-woody fragrance intends to elicit a "sensual skin scent" aroma, probably for couples in a space age future considering the amounts of blatant synthetics loaded into this juice.

DTB is not a violet-themed fragrance. Sure, it opens with what smells like a mini-me Insolence hairspray violet (albeit toned down and greener), but thats the extent of its violetness. There's been talk of a mushroom-note, but I don't get any mushrooms in the opening, atleast none which smell like the fresh, organic ones I eat. The opening accord has a little bit of citrus, a tinge of a decent violet note, and a blast of woody-musk. DTB features an overdose of Cashmeran(R) and it makes its presence felt from the beginning as it hangs like a massive dark cloud over the whole composition (its special effect being that it makes the whole composition feel "linear"). The gears do shift a bit in the middle notes, where an earthy patchouli note peeks out for a bit before another synthetic barges in, this time from the salicylate family. I detect lots of methyl salicylate, a wintergreen like note conjoined here with clove and featured in many muscle rub creams, and although not indicated in the notes, I also get acetyle salicylate....in the form of a chemically aspirin-like note which forms a good portion of DTBs second half. Several hours later, DTB mercifully dries down to good ol'woody-musky cashmeran with a tinge of saltiness.

DTB smells mostly linear, and the accords its outputs aren't pleasant. It doesn't impress in the quality of ingredients area, nor is it a particularly unique or attractive smell (unless you aren't familiar with cashmeran and salicylates). There are many superior violet/violet leaf fragrances to it (too many to list!) and if you want an enjoyable skin scent, Azure Soleil is just one (its "warm sand" accord is far more accomplished than anything in DTB). DTB isn't terribly bad, but at its price point and considering its competition, it better roll over and play dead. Maurice Roucel has been on a somewhat of a downward slope lately .. I don't know what hes trying to accomplish with his new fragrances? Gaudy and garish? Poorly rendered violets? Just plain disregard for the public? Boredom? Whatever it is, thank God Frederic Malle lined up Dominique Ropion pronto to release Geranium pour homme so quick after this disaster. Word has it that Malle was so enthralled by Roucels' skill that he had him done a ct-scan of his brain so he could have a look-see inside the moustachioed-ones brain....considering what he did with the supposed infinite resources granted to him by the house of Frederic Malle, Mr. Malle would need to make an appointment with Lacuna Inc.soon ...

Rating: 5.25/10.00

Notes:
Top: Thyme, Violet, Mint, Juniper, Tangerine
Middle: Pepper, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Raspberry
Base: Sandalwood, Cedar, Chocolate, Amber

Elegance is an oriental-fougere marketed to the "mature" crowd, i.e., the 30+, "refined men, men with a great deal of experience, etc". Naturally, going by that marketing definition you can already guess that its a muted herbal-spicy fragrance with a little bit of sweetness to round things off and you would be correct. The opening of Elegance is the most attractive phase .. a cool, herbal, slightly sweet blast of thyme, mint and juniper...the thyme makes the top notes and is in fine form here, linking up well with a mint note operating at the periphery of the opening. 20 minutes later a "dry" phase materializes, with a little bit of fruity sweetness; the heart notes are low-key and parched but wait...the fragrance gets even drier in the drydown, with a bitter chocolate note and woody cedar dominating the amber and sandalwood notes. So after an inviting cool herbal blast, what you are left with is a dry, peppery ambery drydown.

Elegance reminds me of Davidoffs' Silver Shadow in its overall dry-oriental lite feel. Silver Shadow has an edge in that it features a fine saffron note which Elegances' star notes like raspberry and bitter chocolate can't quite match (mainly due to their muted presence). If I were a man on the wrong side of 30, I would pick Silver Shadow. And although I would (hopefully) have a great deal of experience, I would wonder why I am being marketed the same muted peppery-oriental juices over and over again in different guises ... surely someone can jazz up the formula a bit every now and then ?

Rating: 7.25/10.00

**This review is of Cologne du 68, 2006 **

Cologne du 68 (c68) is presented in a functional cylindrical flacon, free of the gaudy rotund bee-hive house bottle and it means business. The bottle is plastered with 68 notes but ignoring the phantom notes I can probably compress the pyramid to the following:

Top: Lime, Cedrat, Tangerine, star anise
Middle: Violet leaf, cardamom, coriander, orange blossom
Base: Guerlinade

c68 is an EDC with heft and substance. Sure, its a "cologne" but there is a certain volume and density to it and the general powdery/gourmand veil that is ever present is probably responsible for it. c68 is a spicy, tangy, powdery delight composed with good quality materials. The opening is a sharp cedrat note softened with tangerines which leads into a heart of zingy and fresh coriander and cardamom with a very distant green note. As the effervescent light notes dissipate, the resilient Guerlinade-like woody troupe of vanilla, tonka, amber, heliotrope, sandal and other woody notes bring about a delicious "soft" gourmand slightly powdery aura to the drydown. Each of the three distinct phases are linked with finesse, and the construction flows with nary a hitch. This is one EDC which can refresh in the dog days of summer in South Florida, and "stick around" in the frozen winters of Minnesota.

In a sea of samey EDCs, the guerlinade base distinguishes c68s' conventional structure. It has displaced the old classic Habit Rouge EDC from my wardrobe..while still pleasant, I find HR-EDCs pixie dust lemon powder to be less dynamic and substantial than c69s limey spicy gourmand show and there's a certain thinness in HR_EDC which now bothers me. Its hard to imagine that this is the same house which recently launched the modern disaster Guerlain Homme. Guerlain, please let c68 carry the houses' leading_fragrance_for_men banner for the time being .. ah, but that would require adding more $$$s to the formula won't it ? Vive le commercialism !

Rating : 8.75/10.00

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Pepper, Ginger
Middle: Marine Accord, Violet, Green Grape, Floral Aquatic
Base: Georgywood, Cedarwood, Marine Amber, Vetyver.

The name might make you cringe, but Moon Sparkle for men isn't cringeworthy - its just a bit meh. This aromatic-aquatic is intended to "evoke memories of hot summer party nights filled with a sexy, magical intensity where anything is possible." Unfortunately theres not one iota of sexy, magical intensity in this slender dark-purple ombre bottle. The construction is smooth but by the numbers: a citrusy juicy mandarin-infused opening dusted with light peppers and a bit of green in the form of violet leaf. A fizzy-spicy undertone soon materializes, mainly due to ginger and an aquatic note. To its credit, Moon Sparkle showcases a smooth linkup between all these notes and the ginger and aquatic notes, while perceptible, are never garish in their output. An hour or so later, a somewhat artificial sweet-fruity note (is it the grape?) starts to dominate the fizzy-citrus construction and Moon Sparkle soon fizzes out in an ambery woody base.
With its aromatic-"fizzy" ginger-aquatic tones and a generic base, Moon Sparkle men is about as unimaginative as they come. It will suffice an " I just wanna smell better than the guy next door" itch and I guess it has somewhat of an Escada collectors value (its a 2007 summer limited edition). Everyone else who have long upgraded from Old Spice and other aftershave splashes should file this under "GENERIC".

Rating: 6.00/10.00

Notes:
Top: Grapefruit
Heart: Coriander, Pepper
Base: Oakmoss, Patchouli

Citrus Paradisi (CP) is a fresh grapefruit-based citrus fragrance from bathroom kings Czech & Speake. A burst of citrusy, tart and slightly sour grapefruit note is the first impression. The grapefruit note, being the showcase, is not too acidic/cat-peelike or sharp (see Guerlains Pamplelune), nor is it void of its distinctive sharp smell. From this zesty opening CP slowly morphs into a citrus-spicy fragrance. The peppery heart infuses the grapefruit note with the bite of pepper and the warmth of coriander and hints of animalic civet. From here onwards only bite-size tart after effects of the grapefruit opening remain, and they last all the way into the dry-mossy drydown of oakmoss which almost exhibits none of its light sweetness. Overall CP remains very dry, spicy and tart. A grapefruit frag made for Jackie from The Darkness.

Comparisons to other grapefruit fragrances: CPs grapefruit note is more bearable than the one-tone ph-7 monster grapefruit in Pamplelune. CP comes closest in character to PdNs Balle de Match, both fragrances rendering a spicy-sweet grapefruit vista via liberal use of spices in the heart notes. BdM is a more complex composition with other complementing notes such as juniper berries and a good use of incense turning the composition into a fuller, softer mixture. CP by comparisons comes off as starker and drier, especially with the mossy base. Compared to Creeds Zeste Mandarine, CPs grapefruit note is more tart and less conjoined to the lemon note, and is void of the soft florals that provide the Creed its pleasant backend. CP is the Serious Sam of the bunch.

As my commentary above indicates, CP is a quality grapefruit fragrance but it does face good competition. To me Balle de Match is a similar (and much cheaper!) but better composition, and some may find CP to be a bit too dry for their liking. Eitherways, its good to have such a wide variety of grapefruit-based fragrances in the market .. God knows America needs more grapefruit (in any form!) to fend off the pending obesity epidemic ..

Rating: 8.00/10.0

Notes:
Top: Cognac, Rum, Saffron Flower, Cardamom, Bergamot, Mandarin Flower
Heart: Coffee Absolute Africa, Juice Apple Liqueur, Davana Flower, Tiger Orchid, Airy Ozone
Base: Sandalwood, Okoume Wood, Moss, Patchouli, Iris, Vanilla

Red Delicious for men (Red) is a limited-edition woody-oriental fragrance from DKNY. Red is in the name, red apples are supposedly in the juice, and red is what I see when I try to use the uber unergonomic and clumsily rotund bottle - it can be quite a challenge to get a spray on target. Once you do get a squirt or two on spot, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover a competent gourmand oriental with surprisingly complex structure.

Red opens with boozy notes of cognac and rum (cognac more than rum). With a normal application the boozy notes are barely perceptible so to get the full alcohol dose drench your wrist with 5-6 squirts and get the "mother of brandy" flowing.
This leads to the heart notes where the "Red delicious" in the name comes to play. The main selling point of Red is a fairly successful recreation of the "delicious" aroma of apple liquer... not apples, or green apples, or red apples, but apple liquer, a spirit based drink containing apples, spices and brandy. The accord is pleasant, with just the right balance of fruits and spices, and the coffee is used in an ingenius way. By it self it isn't perceptible but it operates behind the scenes to "dry out" the apple liquer accord and prevents it from becoming to overbearing. Throughout theres a distant chirping of an ozone note which becomes louder when the drydown of light woods and vanilla materialises (the apple liquor accord lasts into the drydown). Things get a bit scratchy in the drydown, with some less than impressive woody and moss and pedestrian vanilla note failing to provide the expansive landing pad which would have propelled Red into the black.

So there it is .. intoxicating cognac notes, a rich yet subtle spiced-fruits heart, and an "ok" base of woods and vanilla enveloped by the "everyman" ozone note. The base isn't enough to prevent Red from being a contender in the "worthy gourmands for men" category. Sporting a good structure, and an attractive apple liquer accord, Red is fun and "delicious". Just decant into a more sane atomizer before using it..

Rating: 7.75/10.0

Notes:

Top: Lavender, Cypress
Middle: Cedar, Incense, Okoume wood
Base: Patchouli, Sandal, Grey musk

Rush for men is a spicy-woods fragrance which can be considered the progenitor of the cedary pencil shavings-dry incense accord that has become so popular over the last decade. With its cassette tape, plasticky bottle showcasing an ipod-like minimalist design, the juice is similarly sparse and effective and at the same time a bit boring due to its now well worn Ellena-in-a-lumberjack guise tone.

Lacroix's Tumulte pour homme is probably Rush for mens closest knock off, and a very good (and cheap!) one at that. Rush opens with low-key lavender and herbal-woodsy cypress notes which almost immediately lead to the dry cedar-incense pencil shavings accord. The sandalwood and patchouli stay distant but provide a fuller body to the main accord. After the "shiver me timbers" plankwood heart, 4-5 hours later a light musky-woody base remains. By comparison, Tumulte pour hommes cedar-incense heart is more straightforward, slightly of a lower quality, and preceeded by (very minute) bay leaf and juniper notes but make no mistake from a distance they both smell similar.

Rush for men, now discontinued, fetches somewhat absurd prices on the net. With a cheaper option in Tumulte pour homme, and a modern successor in Gucci pour homme which does more with the cedar-incense theme, one may have to think twice before splashing out $80 for a 4" X 4" dental floss box. That said, Rush men deserves some kudos for initiating the era of hip lumberjacks ..

Rating: 7.5/10.0

*** This review is of the now discontinued Neroli EDP, not the new incarnation ***

Ignoring the mass confusion regarding the name (L'Occitane has various fragrances with some combination of the L'Oranger/Neroli/L'Oranger Neroli moniker), the dark red/golden brown hue of the Neroli EDP certainly is a forebearer of the pocketful of neroli kryptonite resident within the bottle. From the get go, a dense, syrupy accord of neroli unravels on your skin displaying all the characterisitc floral, citrusy and spicy shades of good quality neroli oil. The focus is more on the spicy aspect, with the nose tingling spices in the heart notes (I detect warm, herbaceous coriander) and a woody note morphing the composition into something else. The "woody note" smells a lot like cedar (unless its a petitgrain adulerant, gasp!), and the base (evident after an hour or two) is a tonka and vanilla finish, a respite some may say, after a 'masala neroli on a fire stick' show of the first half.

Neroli EDP seems to be quite moody. The "neroli" half of it satisfies - it does smell like a top shelf neroli note, with a more ravenous "darker" feel thanks to its spicy character, but the second half consisting of a dominant cedary woody note can feel a bit abrasive and scratchy as if the perfumers ran out of budget after blowing their top on a quality neroli ingredient. Wearing more than 3 sprays in warm weather brings forth this mutant cedar note even more, and it threatens to overwhelm the long lasting neroli top note and the decent softer base. Wear it in cooler weather where the stars align: the exotic neroli note dominates, takes the cedar note under its arm, and joins the smooth base to form a moderately unique and enjoyable neroli fragrance. It may be moody, temperamental and display some flaws here and there, but like a hot, rich girlfriend with bad BO and zit or two, you try to make it work.

Rating: 7.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Lime, peppermint, rum
Middle: Bay leaf, Clove, Rose, Tonka
Base: Tobacco leaf, Cedar, Vetiver, Incense

Czech & Speake's Cuba was based on company owner Frank Sawkins trip to Cuba, and a bottle of rum from Annabels nightclub in London. Cuba is a slick classical woods fragrance which successfully recreates various facets of the laid-back and joyous atmosphere of Havana through a restrained colonial British filter.

Opening with a "mojito mix" of zesty lime, uplifting peppermint and rum, Cuba makes a statement. The rum note is probably the best that I have smelled; it has a clean light-molasses aroma characteristic of spanish-style rum. Cuba's "mojita" opening leaves most other inferior renditions in other fragrances both shaken and stirred. It then changes gears and displays another perfect blending act of two notes: bay leaf and clove. The bay leaf with its clove-like spicy herbal aroma is infused with clove and rose to create a bright spicy-herbal spark which prevents the mojito mix from delving into the DUI zone. A couple of hours later, the tobacco leaf-dominated base closes out the show. The tobacco leaf note is of excellent quality; its moist, sweet and earthy/indolic and displays the leathery, caramelized tobacco tones expected of fine quality absolute.

From its mojito mix opening, a fragrant spicy/clove-y herbal heart notes and a moist rich tobacco leaf drydown, Cuba showcases skillful blending and good quality of ingredients. While its no lightweight interms of sillage, Cuba never plunges into "airline middle seat suffocation" sillage hell. Cuba is a sophisticated businessman in a fedora suit chilling out in a Cigar lounge, looking through the window at the Conga drum stage..
**Comparisons to the supposed classic Aramis Havava: Cubas blending is far superior, with none of the clashing discordant notes that so negatively make Havana smell like a Castro regime. It also lacks the loud "Aramis" house note: that brash, synthetic, 80s porn-star moustache note. Cuba completes the demolition by making better quality ingredients fly off the skin.

Rating: 8.75/10.0

**This review is of Heritage EDT **

Notes:
Top : lemon, lavender, bergamot
Middle : coriander, pink peppercorn
Base : patchouli, cerdarwood, tonka beans, vanilla

Heritage is a spicy-woods fragrance "inspired by men of yesterday, for tomorrows men". In essence, Heritage is a fragrance with a restrained classic "masculine" woody structure for modern times (depending on how modern you think 1992 is now).

Heritage opens with a citrus-lavender combo...more citrus than lavender, with a prominent lemon note but the subservient lavender note keeps the acidity in check and chaperone the composition to the next phase. A spicy-woods accord slowly blossoms and forms the link to the past. Initially a pepper note sizzles; gradually a smooth cedar note emerges and alongwith a light patchouli note forms a spicy/peppery-woody accord. After a couple of hours a restrained and less vanillic version of the guerlinade accord materialises and forms a cushiony landing pad for these woods on fire. While the construction is competent, there is a certain thinness or screechiness in the juice (or maybe its the high alcohol content). Longevity is good and sillage moderate. Recent releases like L'Instant homme and especially Guerlain Homme should look at their Heritage and be embarrassed of their own weak contributions to this distinguished line. Yes I realise that for some Heritage may elicit the "old man juice" feel but read sentence 1 of this review ... you were warned.

** Heritage is often compared to Creeds Bois du Portugal, but apart from a "woodsy" feel, they are different fragrances. BdP opens with more lavender, has a smokier cedarwood component and an ambery-vetiver drydown. The quality of ingredients is higher (richer, fuller), the juice overall more impressive; BdP really is its own animal. Heritage is the Camry to BdPs Lexus, a Saints Row 2 to GTA IV, or Rob Schneider to Ben Stiller if you may.

Rating: 8.0/10.0

An odd one in the "young and hip" Versace Jeans line, apart from the "railway-track worker sweat in a juniper forest" cool of Black Jeans. Blue Jeans (BJ - an aromatic fougere) is a strange combination of a standard crowd pleasing "sweet" note with a surprisingly decent construction operating underneath.

Make no mistake, the first thing that hits you when you spray BJ is a massive blast of sweet....sweet violets, and something floral. The "citrus cocktail" which contains a nice lime note, isn't perceptible unless you try to seek it out within seconds of spraying because the violet+jasmine heart that powers BJ is out in full force from the get go. This potent core is made is slightly unusual by a balsamic & sweet juniper note. This accord persists for atleast 30 mins before the latent complexity comes through...unfortunately many will give up on BJ after experiencing this shrieking, Regis Philbin-like persistent drill. Those who persevere will notice a smooth spicy woods sub-accord bubbling under this violet-juniper forest. The salty-spicy nutmeg links with cedar to conjure a woodsy note, and the lavender, previously so overwhelmed by the ionone-attack of violets, makes its quiet presence felt. Hours later the woody-floral accord blends into a base of musk with faint remnants of Willy Wonkas' bespoke scent ..

BJs sweet, woodsy accord is probably the result of a very successful focus-group study because many women dig it .. that fragrance enthusiasts can unearth a fairly competent structure underneath indicates that BJ succeeds on another level as well. However, I feel that there may be too many caveats to "enjoy" BJ.. the sweetish willy wonka accord is especially loud in warm weather, and a deft hand is required to let BJs subtle construction unravel. For a fragrance named "Jeans", its not exactly something you can slip into..

Rating: 6.75/10.0

Notes:
Top: Lime, Key lime, Peppermint, Rum
Middle: Pelargonium, Green tea, Rhubarb
Base: Vetiver, Cedar, Sugar cane

Ah, Guerlain Homme (GH)...Guerlains new flagship fragrance for men. Trebor and Vibert below have accurately described what a huge disappointment this is from Guerlain, but like a curious bystander watching an eastside cornerboy get gangbanged by westside cornerboys and aching to land a few kicks on the intruder, I will similarly land a few blows on GH here..

Like a top loaded fragrance designed for mass appeal, the "mojito" opening initially suffices. The tart, bitter lime brushed by a tinge of herbaceous and uplifting mint is joined by a good quality (light woody sweet/earthy) rum absolute note = good mojito accord. And thats about it for GHs positive qualities really and its all by-the-numbers and a generic boring mess from there. The mojito accord disappears as soon as you have swiped that credit card to pay for your bottle and by the time you step out the store you might as well be carrying a raggedy "random formula" drugstore juice in that PininFarina bottle. The heart is a light floral note thingy with a supposed "genius" addition of a rhubarb note by JP Guerlain .. ironically I suspect its this somewhat plasticky sour-floral rendition of the rhubarb note together with cedar that is resposible for the much maligned "synthetic woody amber" note that so infects many a generic compositions. The base has a mini-me vetiver note and something which smells sweetish .. is it the sugar cane? This monumentally boring backend could have been more successful if any semblance of the famous guerlinade accord could have (lazily) been copy and pasted in the formula.

Compared to the current mens flagship releases from close competitors (Terre d'Hermes, Dior Homme, etc.), GH comes off as terribly uninspired and lacking in quality of ingredients (most the simpler Aqua Allegoria series sport better ingredients). GHs promotion bears all the hallmarks of the latest designer release from the likes of Ck et al...big money launch party promotion, embarrassingly "cool" adverts ("For the animal in you"), and ofcourse a juice for the masses. Buy this if Guerlain is all you worship, or if you want to see how far this once mighty house has fallen..

Rating: 4.75/10.0

Notes:
Top: Wildflowers, Violet
Middle: Iris, Virginia Cedar, Clove
Base: Blackcurrants, Rose, Musk

Love in Black (LiB), the latest fragrance from Creed, is a homage to Jacquie Kennedy Onassis. I can't vouch for the authencity of this celeb match op., but what I can do is deconstruct this juice based on its merits and wowza this is a solid two brown thumbs up !

Classified as a woody oriental, LiB is a violet-iris exposition. The violet-iris combo isn't new .. it has been been used successfully in the past, but most of the times with little finesse resulting in an unbalanced, trashy, crass tone to the composition. LiB does this combo proud; and despite utilizing this classic combo it manages to smell unique. The opening burst hints at some floral note (is it the wallflower?) and sweet violets but within seconds a fast transformation takes place - a wet-green hue envelops the composition with an emerging doughy earthy aroma. The "wet green" effect is due to a high dosage of violet leaf (violet odorata from Parma violets; think Green Irish Tweed), while the doughy earthy note is rich buttery iris being infused in this heart accord. It doesn't stop there .. a woody aroma soon seeps in (thanks to a top quality cedar note) and thus the earthy, tarry, buttery heart of LiB is complete and it smells strange and irresistible at the same time. Imagine Charlotte York sporting a moustache and a savile row suit, posing as a man. From here LiB slowly morphs over several hours to the base of 'currants and rose. The clove note provides the link from the earthy/tarry heart and the sweetish blackcurrant (which is moderated by a cool bulgarian rose note). To me the decision to end on the rose-currant base was a wise one as it provides a cool-sweet counterpart to the woody-buttery heart. The bad cop/good cop routine to force the enjoyment out of you. Good longevity but surprisingly from the midpoint onwards sillage is moderate. And hell yea, its unisex all the way!

LiB, with its perfectly balanced violet-iris combo, hits all the notes for me: Quality of ingredients? Check. Solid construction ? Check. Satifactory evolution? Check. The best thing Creed has done since Feuille Verte? Ding ding ding...check check check !!. LiB smells unique and satisfies. One needs time to appreciate its subtle nuances as it unravels on your skin. Fans of easy wear like Spring Flower will be bewildered and overwhelmed and pass the bottle to their mother or boyfriend...everyone else will be intrigued. Yes its expensive - but what are you gonna do? It is the essence of a Kennedy after all ...

Rating: 9.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Eucalyptus
Middle: Fir needle, Jasmine
Base: Sandalwood, Patchouli, Myrrh, Vanilla

Here we have another sandalwood fragrance claiming use of the finest essential oils available to man. AOS Sandalwood (AOSS) smells like it does utilize quality essential oils but unfortunately not for the key note of the fragrance: sandalwood. It will leave many sandalwood afficionados checking the label twice: did I just buy a fake AOS off ebay?

I will give credit where its due: AOSS is a unique pairing of mentholated-evergreen notes and sandalwood...in the realm of sandalwood juices, I haven't smelled anything like it. The opening blast of cool & medicinal eucalyptus is invigorating and is immediately followed by the pine-like evergreen "xmas" note of fir needle oil...the quality of ingredients is top notch, and this combo is prevented from searing your nose with their Mount Everest chill by the low voltage warmth of jasmine. This cool, medicinal, mentholated evergreen first half especially works wonders in hot searing weather.

But this blast of North Pole air isn't what you bought this for. You spent the bucks to get some quality wood: sandalwood. The chilly piney afterfrost of the first half is so forceful that it extends all the way into the drydown, overwhelming any semblance of sandalwood that might be contained within. All I get is a microscopic woody molecule which somewhat resembles sandalwood, a watered down vanilla note, and warm balsamic myrrh. If you have any experience with quality sandalwood oils or fragrances, you will know that AOSS isn't it. A misnamed fragrance methinks. Art of Shaving Sandalwood should be renamed Art of Shaving Evergreen or Xmas Holiday. Or Art of Misdirection.

Rating: 6.0/10.0

Notes:
Top: Spearmint, Bergamot
Middle: Peppermint, green notes
Base: Patchouli, Vanilla, Cistus labdanum, Cashmere wood

Roadster is a modern aromatic "mineral" fougere by in-house nose Mathilde Laurent. A fougere without lavender, Roadster is an exercise in precise engineering of a minty fresh note, but the composition as a whole leaves a bland taste in my mouth.

As already mentioned, 2/3rds of Roadster is an impressive display of a well engineered mint blast which foregoes any overly minty mentholy connotations and presents the fresh and cool aspects of mint without any frothy toothpaste flashbacks.This effect is constructed by spearheading (pun intended) Roadster via a spearmint note (which is sweeter and less minty than peppermint) ..this flows into the heart notes accompanied by a green galbanum like note, and then the peppermint takes over. Peppermint has a higher menthol content than spearmint, and at this point in Roadsters evolution, the accompanying green notes tame it from the get go. The spearmint note is long gone by then, but the streamlined peppermint stretches the sterile coolness of the composition well into the drydown. With all that said, the first half of Roadster is a bright, cool, non-generic minty green accord.

Then there's the second half. The drydown is a disappointing and mediocre dry woods display with a droplet of vanilla ..the dryness mainly due to a forced labdanum note. The generic gene of Roadster is in full flow here, and you can almost see the $$$s being funelled to the bottle designer. Ironically, for all of its attempts early on to avoid the "generic designer juice" label, Roadsters backend could actually be amplified by the spicy-floral accord doing the rounds on the various designer releases. But you know what, it doesn't matter. Roadsters pleasing minty top notes will draw in your average dudes who just want to smell good ..and they will stay for the generic drydown that they have loved all these years. Mission accomplished.

Rating: 6.5/10.0

Notes:
Top: Grapefruit, Coriander, Basil
Middle: Cardamom seed, Ginger, Orange blossom
Base: Cedar, Amber, Tobacco

Created for the modern hedonist who never passes by unobserved, The One for men delivers a boring, just-barely-good-enough workman like performance that will pass you by ..

Citrus painted with a coat of fresh aromatic spices and spicy-herbal basil highlights lays down the carpet for The One,...theres also a zingy ginger note acting as an outlier. Within minutes a juicy orange blossom note comes forth to form the main heart ..ironically incontrast to the top notes this is an orange blossom note stripped of its spicy tones, and is more juicy mandarin like in its effect. I detect no coconut note whatsoever .. perhaps its the intermingling of the top and heart notes via the cardamom that brings about a very tenuous coconut link for a minute or two at most, although I should say that Mr. Bareback-sex-on-a-beach aka Mathew McConoughey (the face of The One homme) wouldn't mind a fresh coconut note all.. The juicy sweetness of the blossom melds into the ambery basenotes with bare traces of sweet tobacco and woods. Moderate sillage and 5-6 hour longevity for this One.

In this era of 800 fragrance releases per year, The One's solid but very conventional construction comes off as boring and yawn worthy .. there's no edge and no distinctive accord to propel this into the top 500. Perhaps D&G need to use the nudist colonies that Mathew McConoughey is so hell bent to start as inspiration for their next juice..

Rating: 6.00/10.00

Notes:
Top: Grapefruit, Lemon, Bitter Orange, Ginger
Heart: Green Tea, Shiso, Mate, Pink pepper
Base: Cedar, Clove, Nutmeg, Gaiac wood

Tokyo: a global city, leading financial capital, and a bustling metropolis. A city of contrasts: futuristic Akhibara alongside traditional Imperial palaces. Surely it would be a great challenge to bottle the essence of such a city in a fragrance. Kenzo's attempts are puzzling and fall short.

The press release from Kenzo uses some sort of color oriented description to link the dazzling colorful atmosphere of Tokyo to the very-standard three phase structure of perfumes ("DAZZLING YELLOW for ginger, lemon, etc.."). Tokyo the fragrance opens with a bitter citrus accord livened up by a sprinkling of persistent ginger. What follows is the most distinctive part of this very standard fragrance: an accord constructed to resemble the yerba mate drink, freshened by green tea. It smells sweet, herbal, slighly grassy ...even "bubblegum" like, although in a very smooth and restrained manner (for a more expository yerba mate, try Villoresi Yerbamate). An hour later this accord melds into a woody and slightly spicy-salty (from the salty facets of nutmeg) smooth woods base. The entire tour of this poor mans version of Tokyo lasts around 5-6 hours with Kenzo like sillage.

Kenzo Tokyo is a moderately interesting fragrance. It captures little of the real Tokyo, unless the focus was on the clean-cut inoffensive demure nature of the Japanese or the asian cliche (see the obligatory "green tea/mate" in the pyramid). I would expect a fragrance titled Tokyo to sizzle up the heart notes with some high-tech and off the wall quality synthetic molecule reflective of the sometimes wacky nature of the japanese export-culture. Kenzo Tokyo is a little too tame..its more Kyoto than Tokyo.

Rating: 6.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Clary Sage, Lemon, Bergamot, Rosewood
Heart: Nutmeg, Clove, Thyme, Ozone
Base: Cedar, Sandal, Fir, Musk

Kenzo pour homme (KPH) is one of the first and (still) one of the finest marine/aquatics on the markets. Jump into the boat, take in the fresh sea air, and lets go on a sailing adventure !

Kph initiates the adventure by opening with a burst of lemony citrus tag teamed by the woody-floral aroma of rosewood which slowly leads to a rumbling ozone/marine note. The "ozone" note at first displays light seaweed-y facets before increasing in intensity to transform into an iodine like note with salty highlights (due to nutmeg) and then further morphs into a "fisherman BO" smell...before it all becomes overwhelming, the airy clove note kicks in and forms a bridge to the wonderful base of balsam fir, sandalwood and musk. There is no "aLL marRinez Are chEapo syhteTiXs" feel to the marine note, and the green-minty-balsamic fir provides an refreshing counterpart to the marine splash of the first half. The shift between the two phases is handled with utmost skill (the clove providing the link).

KPH is not as stormy or daring as Erolfa, or as floral as Mare, nor as seaweedy as Bulgari Aqua. It has its own distinct character. The bottle illustrates the experience well: Imagine sailing down the Pacific ocean, with the air redolent of the salty sea aroma and coniferous trees of the nearby land shore..

Rating: 8.75/10.0

Notes:
Top: Sicilian lemon, coffee
Middle: Cardamom, Lavender
Base: Chinese Cedar, Patchouli, Opoponax, Amber

Its hard to believe that Attitude is the creation of three top noses: Menardo, Morillas and Cresp. The juice is confoundingly conformist to current trends, and I can only imagine that a troup of suits must have forced to make the three noses work with a gun pointed at their respective noses.

Attitude opens with a lemony, "damp" coffee accord - gourmandish in a lemon-coffee cake way. The lavender in the middle notes is more fresh than herbal and does its part in tempering the top notes, while the cardamom is more of a phantom note, its spicy facets a bridge to the oriental woody basenotes. The middle notes are very temporal, and within 10 minutes of application, the smooth tonka-ambery base makes its presence felt. The base is reminiscent of the suave tonka-guiaic wood accord in Armani Code, but with coffee.

And thats about it really for Attitude...gourmand-lemon coffee top notes, fleeting non-descript heart notes, and a pleasant but worn out base. Attitude may have an attitude but it lacks a heart. Its baffling that this generic structure was concocted by 3 fine noses. This is the sort of fragrance you would buy just to smell good...a sort of Basenotes virgin's "what to wear to attract chics" frag. It also proves that super collaborations don't always work. Ah well, I just bought a DVD of the latest Indiana Jones (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) flick...will watch that to cheer me up...

Rating: 5.75/10.00

Notes:
Top: Citron, Ginger, Ozone
Middle: White Pepper, Violet, Basil Flower
Base: Vetiver, Cedar Virginia Cedar, Tonka Bean, Sandalwood

L'Homme is YSL's attempt at a discreet Bulgari fragrance. This woody floral is a pleasant well structured fragrance with ample depth but lacks an edge which makes nearly all previous YSL offerings unique and innovative.

The citrus opening is immediately pierced by a nicely modulated ginger note. I don't perceive much of an ozone note, but the citrus dissipates in seconds and the spicy freshness of ginger stays around to form the main accord of L'homme. Diluted violets conjoined with the herbal spicy-sweetness of basil high five the ginger note and drive L'homme further into the basenotes where the dry cedar aerates this ginger-dominated accord which is then softened by light touches of tonka and santal. The overall impression is of a light gingery-spicy woody slightly sweet aroma...discreet yet a few notches above "generic". L'Homme has a (diet) Bulgari Blu homme feel, although I find Blu homme to be be more complex thanks in part to its rich expertly blended smorgasboard of notes like tobacco, ginger, gingko and juniper; this is one rare instance where a Bulgari scent overpowers a YSL juice.

L'homme lacks the sometimes overt bravado of YSL fragrances, and possesses no hooks of its own. It behaves like an adept cover band who only elicit excitement from the crowd when they cover classics of yore. Its not bad, its just not very YSL.The phallic test-tube screwdriver bottle on the other carries on the YSL tradition of weird and wonderful..

Rating: 6.5/10.00

Core notes: iced coffee accord, nutmeg, patchouli, vanilla

Icemen is the diet version of the classic A*men formula. Imagine a neutered Amen running off its witty charms instead of raw sexual energy.

The opening blast of Icemen is a well rendered "cool iced coffee" accord ... a chilly citrusy effect probably created by cleaning up a grapefruit note mixed in with a coffee note stripped of much of its dense roasted cocoa bean aroma peppered with just a smattering of nutmeg spice to give it a little kick. Nothing aquatic or marine here, just a cool iced coffee latte effect. Slowly the Icemen glacier gravitates to a little floral zone (is it rose? jasmine? Its so tinny, I can't tell) before gradually melting into a light vanilla and patchouli base which together with the coffee overtones echoes the wonderful whackiness of A*Men.

Icemen is far less complex and audacious than A*Men. But I guess its also catering to a different crowd. A crowd that can't stand the "concoction of county fair tackiness" that is A*men. Its A*Men stripped down to its bare essentials, enveloped in a fresh and welcoming summer splash. It will probably get discontinued after a couple of years at most (B*Men is waiting in purgatory..), but thats the price you pay for being a seasonal flanker, no matter how pleasant or conformist ..

Rating: 6.75/10.00

Infusion d'Homme (IDH) is a (clean) woody-oriental intended to elicit 'the feeling of slipping on a clean white shirt after a nice, refreshing shower'; and it largely exceeds at doing exactly that. That said, its notes pyramid is a bit more adventurous than what the accords from the juice indicate.

IDH opens with a burst of sharp neroli softened by a juicy mandarin note and intensified by sparkling aldehydes....and a clean note. There's a halo of fresh clean detergent aroma perceptible almost immediately. Infact, a sharp-ish neroli and a fresh clean note are two notes which attach themselves to every phase of IDHs evolution like a germ cell and don't let go. The combo conjures soap, soap and more soap. There is some semblance of an iris note somewhere in here, but its not the facet usually displayed by iris in other iris powerhouses...theres no sexy powdery allure of Dior Homme nor the green rooty vegetal feel of Iris Silver Mist or No. 19. This is an iris note laid open after bucketloads of botox, or is an artificial test tube baby thanks to the wonders of synthetic aromachemicals. Does it smell good? I suppose ...it tries to impart a thin rooty aroma to the proceedings, but it really doesn't stand a chance under the avalanche of soap from the top notes. I detect a light green note rounded off by a very minute amount of soft cedar, and a very light powdery base, but the aldehydic-neroli-soapy-clean accord conquers all. Medium sillage, and decent longevity clean up things (pun intended).

IDH is like a construction worker in a Gucci suit. A workmanlike pleasant, clean, and inoffensive fragrance with a dash of forced and unrefined sophistication. A Gendarme from Prada. Its iris note is out of this world (and not in a good way), and the clean-neroli accord dominates too much, resulting in an uneven structure. But guess what? Due to the stupendous ineptness of other designer masculine releases in 2008, IDH is the best masculine designer fragrance of the year by default. In such trying times, we should be thankful for any stimulus plan.

Rating: 7.25/10.0

Notes:
Top: Lavender, Patchouli
Middle: Patchouli
Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedar, Oakmoss, Musk, Benzoin

The notes pyramid gives the impression that Patchouli is loaded with patchouli, but thats not the case. Yes, theres a good quality patchouli note in there, but there's also a whole lot of other typical Villoresi notes bonanza clamouring about in this golden brown juice.

If you aren't familiar with Villoresis signature style, Patchouli will initially impress. A sweet earthy herbaceous patchouli note dominates at first, supported by a green-musty accord of lavender, galbanum (although not listed in notes) and a woody cedar note. The patchouli note satisfies - it exhibits a rich wine-like sweetness at first, a quality indicative of top shelf aged patchouli oil, with slight bitter-musky accents. Strangely though, the balsamic intensity of the note dissipates fast and the patchouli is swallowed alive by the growling green-musty accord. To people familiar with other Villoresi compositions (especially Vetiver), Patchouli's structure will seem all too pedantic, adhering to the tried and testing formula: green-musty-lavenderish accord + [insert classic note]. Solid, but a little too predictable, like a Nickelback album. Longevity and sillage are moderate, clocking in at around 6 hours.

Patchouli is well put together, but it also smelss like Villoresi's phoning it in. Take a well established "house" structure, and drop in a quality patchouli oil note. To a certain level it works, but I find both its patchouli note and supporting structure somewhat uninspiring. Interms of overall intensity, it lies somewhere between the rich sumptuous patchouli blast of Borneo 1834, and the light elegant mass-appeal patchouli of Patchouli Patch: less forceful than the first, grittier than the latter, yet strangely less alluring than either. Patchouli may be a victim of the success of its brethren.

Rating: 7.00/10.0

Notes: coriander, amber, oregano, bay leaf, myrtle, angelica root, sandalwood, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla

Ambre Sultan (AS) is probably one of the most hyped Lutens juices (even the SA at Bergdorfs in NYC was pandering it around like holy water) but I find it appealing not because its an amber powerhouse (its not) but because of it being the "definitive" Lutens (with no overdose of candied-this or honeyed-that).

AS first ten minutes are its best. Behaving like a top-loaded designer fragrance, AS blows its load in the opening exchanges. Theres a burst of smooth ambery softness with simmering but understated spicy-herbal supporting notes, all uplifted by a cool mentholated note of green myrtle (not the red variety). Freeze this accord in time and its the definitive "arabian" amber. Unfortunately, AS degenerates (imo) into a very coarse and dry middle heart notes phase (the oregano overdose being responsible for the dryness) before slowly crashing into a base of benzoin and vanilla (more vanilla than amber). The amber pretty much disappears after the first hour max. Longevity is around 8-9 hours, but unlike other syrupy spicy Lutens concoctions like the garish Arabie, AS doesn't scream "in yo face, sucka!!" but rather somewhat stays close to the skin.

Judging AS as a definitive amber fragrance, its not even close to amber powerhouses like Ambre Precieux, Ambre Russe, Blue Amber, and others. There's just not enough substantial resinous sweet-earth amber aroma in AS to qualify it as an amber fragrance plus the note lacks the richness and depth that one expects from a quality amber "oil". With that said, AS is coherently put together and if I wanted to pick the "definitive" Lutens, a juice which most perfectly encompasses the inherent structure of Lutens fragrances and presents them in a most approachable manner, AS is it. You get the dry-spicy-herbal-sweet drama of Lutens fragrances filtered through a FDA fragrance censor. Make it your first Lutens if you yearn for the magic carpet ride of Palais Royale but can't bear the overly saccharine drag queen atmosphere.

Rating: 8.0/10.0

Top notes:
Yuzu, Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart notes:
Ambrette seed, Cinnamon,Cardamom, Spike Lavender, Shinus Molle
Base notes:
Sandalwood, White Cedarwood, Vanilla,Vetiver, Patchouli

From the promo material: Inspired by Africa, Pursuit by Dunhill has been created for ‘a man who thirsts for new experience and the thrill of the unknown’.

Ironic really, because Pursuit is anything but a new experience. It may qualify as a "thrill of the unknown" for those new to the world of fragrances, but for anyone with even a modicum of perfume experience Pursuit will smell like olfactory fatigue. The top notes are nice enough: tangy, juicy and bright, with the yuzu fruit providing a sharp lemon-tangerine blast to the opening. From there Pursuit unravels like a by the numbers performance...a thin layer of a spicy lavender accord, and hey, watch out for the fancy sounding Shinus Molle note: its nothing but what we know as "pink peppercorn". Within a couple of hours, you will, **yawnnnn**, be greeted with a very standard woody ambery base with a sprinkling of vetiver. Smooth movement, yes; will it move you, no.

Its hard to get excited by this Pursuit of mediocrity..it gets the job done, but will fail to ignite any passion amongst perfume enthusiasts whatsoever. Make this the starting point, not the finale, of your pursuit of fragrance nirvana ..

Rating: 6.25/10.0

I can't comment on the alleged reformulation of Red for men but like Foetidus below I don't understand the sky high prices this juice used to command when it was discontinued (I assume its back in stock for a more reasonable $30). It certainly doesn't deserve the Beverly Hills level price tag of $300, but it is a solid working class fragrance.

Red is a woody-chypre which opens with juicy bergamot conjoined with a green floral-spicy basil note and a host of other notes resulting in a perfumey aftershave-like opening burst reminiscent of Old Spice. The dry and herbal heart evaporate any semblance of citrus softness from the top notes with the (red) thyme and juniper lending a dry, aromatic aroma to the accord. The wormwood note in Red is very anaemic - its certainly doesn't exhibit any of the rich dry and boozy aroma as in Ungaro I. The base adds more character - dry (that word again!) bitter leather with a woody slightly animalic cedar (of the atlas variety) and hints of moss.

So there it is ... Red for mens' essential characteristics are: aftershave-y, dry-herbal, with bitter woody leather. Make of that what you will. Is it worth $300? Your money might be better spent on simmering a bottle of Old Spice, some chinese herbs, and your dads old leather belt in a pot at 300F ... nah thats too much work, I though will take a bottle at $30 please.

Rating: 7.25/10.0

Top notes: Orange leaves, Lemon
Heart notes: Sandalwood
Basenotes: Sandalwood, Tonka, Vanilla

Bois de Santal (BdS), technically a part of the Creed private collectiona, is exclusive to Harrods in London and Saks in NYC. Its one of the old world Creed wonders, and is the big daddy of the Creed sandalwoods (the others being the metrosexual woody-spicy Original Santal and the austere sandalwood-ambergris Santal Imperial).

Bds opens with tart lemon slightly softened by an orange note before quickly moving to a luscious, powerful and woody heart of sandalwood ...indeed, BDS is dominated by an arresting sandalwood note which smells like its loaded with beta-santalol, the key ingredient of indian sandalwood (indian sandalwood has a higher beta-santalol content than alpha-santalol, while its the reverse in australian sandalwood). The slightly sweet, ambery-woody and medicinal aroma dissipates off the skin and into your nostrils, surrounded by remnants of green citrus undertones left over from the top notes. I am no chemical lab rat and can't verify the individual constituents of BDSs' sandalwood note, but based on my experience with oils and other sandalwood fragrances, BDS does indeed smell like it contains a high percentage of the indian variety (mainly due to its beta-santalol overloaded note). This is a sandalwood note which is not adulterated by cedar or rosewood. Nor is it artificially engineered by presenting a good beta-santalol loaded sandalwood top which then falls aparts during further evolution (ala Etros Sandalo). The sandalwood note is stable and consistent all the way into the drydown where it smoothly links to a base of vanilla and tonka. Longevity is around 8-9 hours and although not a sillage monster it does create a decent radius of sandalwood aroma.

BDS is a sandalwood tour de force. Instead of constructing a fragrance with a lot of multifaceted notes in the top and heart phases, Creed take an uncluttered approach and rely on the complex nuances of a top shelf sandalwood accord to drive the fragrance to high levels of awesomeness. The only thing is ..an indian sandalwood shortage might threaten to rip the heart out of this superb juice and it remains to see how Creed react to that..

Rating: 9.25/10.0

Notes (from the bottle):

Top: Basil, Clary Sage
Middle: Violet leaves, Green Accord
Base: Exotic woods, amber

(from other sites: the green accord is composed of galbanum, tarragon and geranium, and exotic woods: gaiac wood, sandalwood, vetiver).

A male tandem to Givenchy Ysatis, Xeryus is an 80s powerhouse fragrance although its aromatic fougere composition isn't as butch or lumberjack-like as other virile man juices from the 70s and 80s. The trifecta of basil, clary sage and violet leaves carry Xeryus resulting in a dry, bitter, herbal and somewhat minty fragrance. The "bitter" component stood out to my nose during my initial interaction with Xeryus but soon the whole composition fell into place. The basil note is responsible for a herbal sweetness while the sage note gives off its trademark hay like herbal and slightly bitter aroma. With a combo of such inherently bitter notes there's a danger of Xeryus transforming into a poisonous potion that only perfume enthusiasts with chemistry Phds, in the name of "perfumers art", would lose their marbles over, but a geranium note of the minty-green (rather than the rosy musty) variety inconcert with a translucent violet note provides a much needed blast of airiness and creates a near perfect balance of green and bitter-herbal aroma.

The characteristic accord of Xeryus pretty much defines it. The fragrance sports good longevity (around 7 hours) but is pretty linear. The amber in the base is almost non-existent, with only lite hints of sandalwood and vetiver peeking out towards the end of this show. Its not as dynamic as I wanted it to be, but this Givenchy classics' core (masculine) accord is blended to near perfection. Xeryus is ysatis's passionate lover with a hardhitting and virile accord. How hard is it? Thats what she said.

Rating: 8.25/10.0

Notes:
Top notes : grapefruit, lemon
Heart :spicy : pink berries, pepper, juniper berries
Bottom notes : patchouli, oakmoss and frankincense

Balle de Match (BdM) is an easy to wear woody citrus anchored by an excellent grapefruit note. The opening is all grapefruit - but this is not the forceful acidic kind as in Guerlain's Pamplelune. In BdM, the grapefruit reveals all its facets: its sharp and slightly bitter alright, but its also smooth and juicy. Pairing it with a lemon note high in limonene content prevents it from developing that acerbic quality that can make the Guerlain hard to swallow.The limoneny lemon note tempers the acidity and accentuates the tangy fruity aroma of grapefruit. So yea, the grapefruit note is in great form here. What about the rest of the fragrance?

Soon, BdM starts melding into a muted spicy fruity accord .. not unlike the aroma of an indian fruit chaat. The grapefruit note extends all the way into the drydown lending a cloud of juicy softness to the entire accord, with its spicy cohorts uplifted by a juniper berry note high in pine content and low in its balsamic effect. The woody incense notes provide a warm base to rest on, but BdM is very much about a tart juicy spicy grapefruit accord.

BdM is also suprisingly long lasting for an eau de sport concentration - it easily lasts more than 5 hours on my skin. Its not a terribly complex fragrance, nor does it evolve much, but those are pretty much the only criticisms I can make. BdMs tart juicy grapefruit will provide office relief, and its spicy-woody base will lend your evenings an air of casual sophistication. What else do you want from an Eau de Sport ?

Rating: 8.25/10.0

Top notes: Bay Leaf, Laurel, Juniper Berry
Heart notes: Texas Cedar, Virginia Cedar, Atlas Cedar
Base notes: Frankincense, Balsamic Note

An ode to cedar .. Tumulte Pour homme (TPH) attempts to be the Iris Silver Mist for cedar fragrances, i.e., incorporate every cedar molecule used in the fragrance industry, and little else. No garish fireworks in this fragrance...its a very focused dry-woody resinous fragrance. The opulent and baroque aspects of Lacroix's style world are instead reserved for the fab bottle.

Although not listed, I get a burst of extremely short lived citrus when first sprayed...alongwith a whiff of juniper berry, and then its all cedarama within seconds. Smooth, comforting, well rendered cedar...the United Nations of cedar oils. Unlike iris notes which can display distinctive facets and provide the edge in Iris Silver Mist, it can be hard to detect differences between various cedar oils. Due to its extreme dry character, TPH seems to be loaded with texas cedar oil (although much less drier than pure texas cedar oil), with the atlas variety providing the minute spatterings of resinous woody highlights. Or it could be the incense note acting up with the texas oil and smoothing it out. Or it could be the virginian cedar variety at the forefront, its smoother and less parched distillation taking center stage. I really can't tell and you probably won't be able to either .. soon, the incense note slowly creeps up and imparts a resinous dark shadow till the drydown.

TPH lasts a good 7-8 hours on my skin, its woody resinous linear tone delivering a consistent performance with little deviation. For the price, one really can't complain. It lacks a distinctive edge which makes every single one of the CdG Incense series frags a must try...rather it feels like a well though out template for incense fragrances. A competent yet sparse framework that budding Duchaufours can use to create the next great cedar/incense frag...the Toyota Camry of cedar/incense fragrances.

Rating: 7.75/10.0

Top notes: Bitter orange, cinnamon leaves
Heart notes: Cedar, Saffron, Clove
Base: Patchouli, Amber, Benzoin

For Davidoff Perfumes, Silver Shadow (SS) is a happy medium between the every man fresh fougere cash cow that is Cool Water and the dripping with rich and formal cigars-and-tuxedo aroma of Zino Davidoff. Its intended for mature audiences, and thus has the sillage volume turned down but the sophistication meter has been pumped up a few notches.

With SS, Francis Kurkdjian (of Le Male fame) is at his most mellow with no evidence of the raunchy sexual prowess of Le Male in this formula. Rather, this oriental woody comes off as a study in highlighting a key note or accord - specifically of that of a saffron-clove combo. Opening with a light burst of bitter orange highlights and refreshing herbal cinnamon leaves (which are sweeter and more clove like than the traditional cinnamon spice aroma of cinnamon bark), the dry, sweet and hay-like aroma of saffron soon becomes evident, enveloped in the airy freshness of clove (rendered at a level low enough to avoid images of pesky dentists) and discreet woody notes. This is the clear highlight of the fragrance, and shows the deft touch of Kurkdjian in presenting a saffron note in a well blended mixture. The base is low key, with muted sweetness of amber and benzoin, and barely perceptible patchouli. Overall, SS is very L'Artisan like in its light feel, except that its not made for shy people. Longevity is decent (around 5-6 hours), with skin heat bringing out more sillage.

Many will dismiss SS as too light or uninteresting because it requires effort to appreciate its heart notes. Its not instantly gratifying as Le Male nor is it a "chick magnet". Twenty something gals can probably not smell this juice, while mature women (blessed with mucho patience and, hopefully, great deal of life experience) would appreciate this on their men. I would have liked the base to be stronger to provide a more forceful oriental sweetness to counter the attractive (but dry)saffron accord in the heart notes, but I guess thats what the Pure Blend EDT is for. Forget dying your hair grey to attract that divorced but attractive single mom of two who lives down the block - SS will provide an easier path to babysitting appointments!

Rating: 7.75/10.00

Escada pour homme (EPH) is the sophisticated offspring of a house more known for its brash and sometimes crass offerings. Its the first member of the family to go to college and make good use of the investment. Expecting a generic offering from my thrifty purchase, EPH surprised me with its slick blend of classic woody oriental notes and a major edge .. a perfectly rendered cognac note which lifts this composition into near classic status.

The opening is a dash of citrus notes with a light dusting of lavender and a very inviting note of pimento (sweet and peppery) resulting in an accord which leads into a more spicy melange of cinnamon and bay leaves with muted softness of geranium. The overall effect is of a spicy-sweet woody accord blended to perfection, but wait .. there's the rich and warm cognac note which makes it presence felt within minutes and swirls a wine/brandy note into this potion. The "wine note" is not overly forceful like as in Le Dandy, and EPH probably the best example of its use in a fragrance. The cognac note lasts well into the warm patchouli and sandalwood drydown, lending it a sensual booziness.

I find it hard to fault EPH. Sure, one can say its too "classic gentleman" like and its spicy-woody oriental formula is the "Eau de Cologne" composition of formal nights, but the cognac note itself makes it worth trying. The fact that the accords surrounding this note are so perfectly presented is worth a "cheers!". Also, some of the notes could be of a better quality, but I am just being overly picky now and unfairly judging it against juices which cost $300 but aren't half as coherently put together .. EPHs current composition is solid enough and you will never feel like you are spraying a synth bomb from the chemical plant down the road.

EPH...enjoy this sophisticated regal potion with a distinctive twist that promises to make you stand out when you are rubbing shoulders with people in the know ... all for only $19.99 at your local TJ Maxx!

Rating: 8.75/10.00

top notes:
Lavender, Anise, Fennel, Basil
heart notes:
Patchouli, Cardamom, Vetiver, Sandal
base note:
Amber, Oakmoss, Musk, leather

A superb aromatic fougeres, Azzaro pour homme (APH) is probably the best of its kind. Yes, it has that characteristic aromatic lavender mossy accord found in almost every fougere launched since Ron Jeremy posed in playgirl, but what lifts it into the pole position of this genre is an interesting twist involving hippie juice and what vomit.

APH opens with a typical lavender burst, but it's brushed with uplifting herbal/sweet notes of anise and fennel (smells like a more herbal anise) which thankfully prevent APH from descending into the uber forceful loud hairy chest juice types. A little dusting of smooth cardamom heats up the act before you start wondering what can APH can do to distinguish itself from the hordes of fougere liquids out in the market. Infact I am surprised that so far very few reviews have mentioned these key distinguishing ingredients in APH....ambergris and patchouli. 20 minutes after application the patchouli note lends an earthy aroma to the accord, while a vomity smelling ambergris note provides further intrigue and character to APH. The result is an aromatic fougere of an (arguably) more complexity and concrete design than other similar quality fragrances like Paco rabanne pour homme.

APH is a top tier aromatic earthy ambery fougere with excellent longevity. I don't agree that its "dated" unless ofcourse you are 35 years old and have memories of your uncle holding you unusually close to his chest when you were young and your parents were out. The ingredients are top notch - infact, I hear that amidst the messy synth bombs like Visit, Onyx and other chemical hazards, Azzaro have been forced to maintain the quality of ingredients in APH upon the order of the great don of the italian mafia who wears APH while partying with his various mistresses or extorting local business owners for "rent" ..

Rating: 8.75/10.00

Notes (from the box): Citron, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Tangerine, Cedar, Light musks.

Well this was a surprise. I picked it up from Marshalls for around $15 and found it to be a well contructed and refreshing offering. Pure Cedrat opens with a citron note of the acidic kind (italian or greek) softened by a juicy tangerines ...but the bright tart acidic trail is extended into the middle notes thanks in due to a grapefruit note which keeps the pumped up citrus act going. Shortly thereafter light underpinnings of a woody note emerge before giving way to a light and tart musk+ambergris drydown with faint remnants of the initial high PH citrus explosion.

Pure Cedrat smells good and I don't detect any obviously synthetic 'lemon pledge' like notes which can drive EDC enthusiasts up the wall. It can also be found online for very reasonable prices. Buy and spray away!

Rating: 8.00/10.00

Ah, a bit better than Bulgari pour homme from nose Cavallier ... but not by much. Instead of the muted parched peppery musk of pour homme, what you get in au The Blanc (aTB) is a fragrance built around white tea with that discreet Bulgari touch.

Smoother, sweeter and less "leafy" than green tea, white tea is supposedly more nutritious and it's rendered well here. Preceeded by an extremely short lived, slightly sweet and herbal note of artemisia leaves rounded off by what seems like is a fleeting and juicy note of mandarin. Soon the fragrance settles down into the main accord of a musk and white tea accord ..it smells nice enough with that "office cologne" quality about it. At times the accord smells a bit plastic, as if you are smelling a pot of boiling tea covered with a cellophane tape. About 5-6 hours later, a light ambergris note makes an appearance but its just there for a bad after taste.

Try aTB for a decent exposition of a white tea note or if you want an "office cologne". But that bottle of au The Verte will look more enticing after you have had your fill of this demure yawn-inducing potion ..

Rating: 6.25/10.0

Blu pour homm (BPH) is probably the most potent of all the Bulgaris and perfumer Albert Morillas has certainly created a somewhat unique and intriguing composition here. The star melding act here is the spicy freshness of ginger married to a sweet tobacco note to create a zingy powdery somewhat earthy accord which will certainly pique noses. However thats not all there is to it .. I also catch something skanky or dirty underpinning this accord ...a covert 'dirty socks' smell (perceptible 3 minutes after the scent is sprayed on), which is probably the gingko (sp?) plant .

The opening half of BPH is the most captivating .. all the aforementioned contrasting notes and accords meld together beautifully to create a complex feast for the nose...and then the scent shuts down. Its as if the Bulgari accountants burst through the doors when the perfumers were getting all excited playing with their perfume organ and said "Enough fun! Lets revert back to the quiet and demure Bulgari signature!". With all the core dynamics extinguished, BPH plunks down to a slightly gingery somewhat powdery aroma which stays close to the skin for the next 3-4 hours. BPH can be unbearable if sprayed on heavy - for best effect, use no more than 2-3 spritzes sprayed from 3-4 inches away to let the scent notes slickly unravel on your skin. I find Versace's The Dreamer to be somewhat similar, but BPHs structure is more stable and its distinctive accord more enjoyable (although The Dreamer exhibits better evolution and sports a louder juniper note).

If you want to wear a Bulgari scent to an Old Greenwich swingers club, Blu pour homme is it.

Rating: 7.5/10

A multilayered and rich formal fragrance, but the sandalwood here is of the mucho cedar-infused variety. The opening coffee and amber notes are strange and intriguing - they collide with the woody backend. The coffee beans and vanilla accord slowly gives way to a cedary sandalwood accord. This woody accord smells a bit too much like the innards of a finely crafted drawer or cupboard...which is fine if thats the variety of sandalwood you like and are familiar with. In terms of pure high quality sandalwood notes, this one lags behind other powerhouses like Creed Bois de Santal, Santal Imperial, Sandalo, and even the cypress-green Tam Dao. Ignoring this, Santal Noble is rich and very well put together. Just adjust your sandalwood expectations before diving in.

Rating: 7.5/10.0

Top notes: Bergamot, Lavender, Mandarin, Aldehydes
Middle notes: Pepper, Coriander, Geranium, Carnation
Base notes: Cedar, Amber, Tonka, Oakmoss

What we have here is Cavallier trying to do an Ellena under the minimalist guise of Bulgari's scent umbrella. Bulgari pour homme's (BPH) notes pyramid is flattering. BPH comes off as a simple scent; and even if the notes are well blended into a single coherent accord, that accord in BPH isn't very nose pleasing.

The 5 second opening burst of pleasant of uninspired citrus aromas hide a mini-lavender note; this is immediately overtaken by the main accord of pepper....or musky pepper. BPH is all about a very transluscent and quiet musky pepper accord with a bit of tea freshness thrown in just because Bulgari are great tea sluts when it comes to their fragrance line. There's minimal notes movement, and the pepper accord is lent a bit of softness by "in the background" florals and amber notes. And thats about it. Its very Gendarme like in its feel, and its quite apparent that Cavallier wasn't able to generate a transluscent fragrance which incorporated some semblance of notes movement (smell Bulgari au The Verte for comparison).

BPH doesn't excite or interest me much but I can see where it can work. Add 2 to the score below if you are an uptight conservative or an office rat.

Rating: 6.0/10.00

Top note: Orange, Lemon, Mandarin, Orange Blossom
Middle note: Mint, Papaya, Mango
Base notes: Patchouli, Oakmoss


Eau D'Orange Verte (EDC) is a classic citrus scent which exhibits characteristics typical of such scents: its fresh, its tangy, its fun, and it suffers from poor longevity. It has also been offered as part of a gift package in various airlines to cure passengers of air sickness and smelly co-passengers.

The lemon and orange top provides an inviting opening - its a bitter citrus blast but is not bitter citrus. Rather its a top quality citrus note punctuated with lemon edges to give an aromatic and bitter but still refreshing aroma. From there the scent unravels into a "smelling the fruit and the whole tree with twigs and all" phase.. the mango and papaya salsa comes forth with a light fruity vegetal freshness to temper the bitter citrus opening but in the background the march of mossy undertones can be heard. And it stays that way .. quite distant. The alluring moss and patchouli combo never increases in intensity; instead, Orange Verte silently peters away to a very light mossy drydown which wont be perceptible unless you splash 1/4 of the bottle on your head. Which you should anyways, considering how refreshing and wonderful it feels. That said, it does share some characteristics with Chanels pour monsieur, which is more dense, spicy and mossy. Eitherways, splash on a bottle and jump out into the 98 degree heat...let your body heat conjure the wonderful aromatic-mossy aroma of Orange Verte.

Rating: 8.0/10

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Orange
Middle notes: Cardamom, Tea, Lily of the valley, Rose
Base notes :Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Musk, Amber

Bulgari's first perfume and (arguably) still the best. This is where it all started... the beginning of Jean-Claude Ellena's signature minimal accords. Ellena shopped this composition around in the late 80s early 90s, but there were no takers .. incredibly the composition was considered too off-beat for the crazy hairdo wielding populace of that period. Ultimately Bulgari took a chance on the composition, and used the juice to aerate one of its flagship stores in NYC. Rest as they say is perfume history..

TheVerte (TV) elicits the aroma and freshness of green tea, but as far as I know it contains no green tea note. Ellena uses a smorgasboard of notes to recreate the freshness of green tea. The juicy citrus opening is immediately followed by a (comparatively) more complex heart of florals and spices...but these are florals and spices suspended in space, their loudness barely audible. The spicy freshness of cardamom (a regular ingredient in Chai tea) is rendered soft by a dusting of jasmine and rose while the remnants of the citrus opening infuse the composition with a tangy element. The basenotes provide ample support in the form of cedar and amber. Its a quiet yet substantial scent and easily lasts over 6 hours on my skin. For a more impressive effect, use it as a room spray - the ambiance it lends to space is an olfactory experience to behold.

Nowadays Ellena maybe accused of riding on his past glory by regurgitating his minimal sweet and vegetal formula dressed up in fancy international marketing, but his classics have stood the the test of time. The Verte has been oft copied but never bettered. Put a bottle in your guestroom and the guests may never want to leave.

Rating: 8.5/10

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart: Orange, Clove
Base: Amber, Musk, Tonka

I have been wearing Orange Spice for quite some time now, and felt that the time was right to revisit it and share some new impressions. It might have been made for a bold, uncouth yet charming and youthful European prince with penchant for a festive attitude towards life.

This is one of the funkier Creeds whos unusual spicy citrus accord has been paid homage to by many other fragrances. The accord is the result of an interesting pairing of orange, bergamot and clove. Its the accord which dominates Kouros' top notes (and has been replicated somewhat in MPG's Secret Melange) although its much more impressive here with a better flow and clearer notes. I am not implying that Orange Spice and Kouros are similar - Orange Spice lacks the civet madness of Kouros and is a simpler potion overall. Body heat brings out the civet in Orange Spice (although its always a bit subdued), but the indolic character is everpresent in Kouros.

It really is all about the bright spicy refreshing smell that Orange Spice blasts out, and it lasts deep into the drydown (some 7-8 hours later) before settling into a less clamorous amber and musk combo. Orange Spice is a simple yet forceful and satisfying fragrance. This 1950s spicy citrus accord has been duplicated quite a few times yet never bested. The quality of ingredients shines through and it sports excellent longevity despite being an EDT. Orange + Spice = very very nice !

Rating: 8.0/10

Top notes: Bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, lemon
Middle notes: Pepper, sandalwood, cedar, gunpowder
Base: Ambergris, musk, tonka

It actually took me various trials to really analyse this Creed. There is a lot of talk about Silver Mountain Water and Geir eliciting that fresh mountain air accord - in my opinion, Himalaya elicits that better than either of those two scents. This is a deceptively light fragrance - for a woody citrus, it packs a fairly intense initial sillage, but calms down soon after. The top notes of mandarin and grapefruit, along with the light nature of the scent, really do make you feel as if you are getting whiffs of the cool mountain air. The basenotes of tonka and cedar are spicier, and provide the long lasting base which complements the airy top notes. Very appropriate for intense summers, and would wear well during the winters too. I dont agree with the claims that this is a clone of XS pour homme - their is a slight fleeting resemblance at the start, but the coriander, juniper berry and wild flower notes (all missing in Himalaya) stick out the most in that and make the two fragrances different from each other and each worthy of a try. Comparisons with Chanel Platinum Egoiste: Once again they share a certain character, but Plat Egoiste has a distinctive smoky herbal clarysage-galbanum heart which differentiates it from both Himalaya and XS homme.

Overall, while longevity is good, the sillage is average, but nevertheless, after avoiding it for so long, I may eventually invest in a bottle of this Creed (and what a bottle it is !). Himalaya is Creeds "everyman" fragrance...it won't blow you away with originality or construction, but damn it smells good. On another note: Does anyone else think Creed launched this in north america to increase market share?

Rating: 7.0/10

One of the stars of the Creed line-up, and launched to the public in 1994 to celebrate Creed’s 140th anniversary as supplier to the Imperial Courts of Europe. This oft-imitated fragrance was one of my first exposures to this house and is a permanent fixture in my wardrobe.

Imperial opens with fresh notes of lemon and bergamot. Its in the middle notes where the magic happens. Imperial contains an unusual aquatic/marine note with a hint of "watermelon" or a "sweet note" which makes it incredibly irresistable. Maybe its the iris blending with the "marine accord". Or maybe its the musk. Or its Creed magic. Whatever it is, it draws people to this scent. The aquatic note is expertly blended here ..its not garish and plasticky like as in many haphazardly put together low budget chemical juices or even in other expensive niche fragrances where this note sticks out like an ugly child (Malle's En Passant is an example). The composition lands on the signature Creed ambergris-musk base. Another note: if you have a bottle of older juice, the drydown will be more rapid.

Imperial is very wearable, fanstastically crafted, works under all situations, often used as inspiration (Unforgivable, Wall Street), all with good longevity. And that gold plated bottle is a cracker (try to grab one fast - Creed is changing the packaging to clear glass). Creed do citrus and aquatics extremely well, and this is yet another example of it. Fantastic stuff.

Rating: 8.5/10

I have been wearing Virgin Island Water(VIW) for over a month now, and it was quite a hit over the recent spring break. As a rule, I dont like coconut in fragrances (Frederic Malle's Carnal Flower is about the only one to execute a coconut note with panache in recent memory). I detest sweet fragrances even more. VIW is guilty of breaking both rules, yet somehow it works - quite wonderfully I might add.

A splash of tart natural lime opens the fragrance - it smells refreshing and very natural, and I expect no less from Creed since they do citrus extremely well. Shortly thereafter, coconut makes an appearance - at first it just peeks behind the lime curtain drawn earlier, but slowly it makes its presence felt. The coconut is obvious, but never overwhelms the composition, and thats where VIW succeeds. Jasmin and ylang ylang add a more floral feel to the composition in the heart notes, but before the composition threatens to get too saccharine, notes of ginger and rum come to the rescue and balance the composition beautifully. Longevity? Despite being a citrus fragrance, I got 8 hours out of it easily. With lime and ginger on top and a rum base, the sandwiched-in-between coconut toddy has quite an enjoyable time pumping out attractive sillage.

Comparisons to Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime and Verbena: ViW smells deceptively simple at first. Some critics have dismissed it as an overpriced Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime and Verbena cologne. This is like dismissing all EdCs because they smell very similar and share most of the ingredients. I have used CoconutLimeandVerbena products and they are nice and refreshing. At a higher level of abstraction CLV does share some key ingredients (lime and coconut) with VIW, but has zero depth. A deeper analysis of VIW reveals many hidden facets like a strange subtle spicy woody note (hibiscus + ginger), jasmine sweetness and a wonderful drydown of rum and musk.

Warm weather seems to brings the best out of VIW, and as I mentioned earlier, it was quite a hit at a recent spring break outing. I got all sorts of inquiries as to what I was wearing. "That smell delicious!", "Rum and coconut?", to "Whats that smell (in a good way)?". An instant classic? Its too early to tell. For now, I will just enjoy this sexy and fun fragrance come the intense summers ...

Rating: 8.0/10

Feuille Verte, or "Green Leaf" is an incredible fragrance of extremely high quality. As of now, it stands as the best release of 2006, and easily holds its own against the best that the house of Creed has released over the past 240 years. Yes, its that good.

The olfactory experience starts with a sharp, piney and fresh top notes of lime and madarin. These top notes awaken you to the olfactary experience you are about to undertake and command attention. The lime is especially attention drawing. After 15 minutes, its onto the middle notes. Here is where you will experience the "Forest smell" of Verte...the oakmoss brings about that earthy smell. It is kept in check by the wonderful vanilla and Bulgarian rose notes so as not to deter people wary of vetiver-type earthy notes. After that phase subsides, you experience the drydown, which is simply superb...instead of the usual Creed ambergris/musk/vanilla drydown, you are treated to a jasmin note of the highest quality. And this completes the olfactory journey of one of the finest fragrance creations around. All of this is provided to you with a guarantee of good sillage and longevity. If you are a fan of "green" scents, or just a fan of fragrances in general, you need to try this.

The only negative is that, for now, this is a limited edition fragrance. Its a disappointing that Creed doesn't have plans to add this to their permanent line.

Rating: 9.5/10

Originally commissioned for King George IV, and a favorite of Churchill and Bogart, Tabarome certainly has an impressive list of past patrons. Ignoring all that star hype and power, I can easily say that Tabarome is one of the most finely crafted fragrances I have experienced, with near perfect longevity and sillage.

Tabarome contains notes of tobacco leaves, green tea, pepper, and ambergris. It smells quite unusual for a tobacco fragrance in that it is quite fresh. Upon initial application, it exudes an uplifting and pleasant aura. It must be the green tea with some mint or lavender. A few seconds later, an exquisite tobacco note joins in. The tobacco is never heavy or overbearing, and never mutes the other notes. Instead, it flows alongside the pleasantly uplifting top notes to make this an extremely wearable and classy tobacco fragrance. Infact, this might even appeal to people who dont like tobacco - Creed has managed to to transform a (usually) powerful heady note into a note which works from all angles. The end result is a masterpiece which exudes power, grace and class.

Comparisons to "New" Tabarome: New Tabarome contains a prominent combo of ginger and tobacco. Compared to the Vintage formula, New Tabarome, while good, smells more brash and less crisp. If you want your tobacco well mixed and uplifting, Vintage is for you. For a dominant tobacco note (with some equally heady ginger filtered through a flacon of citrus and ambergris), "New" might be the way to go.

Rating: 9.5/10

top notes: Petitgrain
Heart notes: Orange Blossom, Fern Accord
base note: Coumarin

I missed all the furore that followed the launch of Le Male and didn't really get the snarky sailor ads and that striped torso bottle. Having spent time playing (pun intended) with the Fleur du Male (FdM) bottle for the past couple of weeks, I can say without hesitation that the bottle is one of the oddest things I have felt up. A headless pale-white colored stud of a man with a prominent bulge and rounded buttocks, my little nephew who has quite a collection of Pokeman, Takara Transformers and other assorted figurines had a puzzled look on his face when I handed him the bottle. Apparently it appeals to neither of us, and it should be as well..its whats inside that counts. Does FdM sell poorly in the red states?

I don't understand all these "its too feminine for me!" comments here regarding FdM. A little insecure are we? FdM isn't half as sweet or floral as some of the more disingenious men's juices out there. Opening with a burst of well rendered and juicy neroli, perhaps because of budget limitations, composer Kurkdjian instills a woody petitgrain facet almost immediately ...this makes the opening more woody, and ironically, more masculine. The woodier aspect grows and growns before it touches base with the oh-so-familiar-but-so-sexy smooth vanillic coumarin and fern accord. Wheres the middle notes phase? Dont know...FdM skips the dinner and heads straight for third base. This signature le male accord is also more well behaved and less ravaging in this incarnation. While FdM appears to be more presentable and wearable, it comes off as less complex than le Male, with fewer notes bouncing off each other and less dynamic movement between the notes phases.

Le Male's signature accord was always a hit with the women and now FdM adds a very pleasing (also to women!) woody-neroli top note to this base. There are 15-17 year olds who complain about FdM not being manly enough for them (and these are the same hormonal teens who spend weeks growing a decent moustache amidst a plethora of facial pimples to get a date). Little do these hormonal teens know that the neroli top married to the le Male base works magic on women. Le Male, and now FdM are also (apparently) big in gay circles. Hundreds of years ago, neroli essential oil was used by Kings as an invigorating and relaxing tonic; now queens can join in the fun as well!

Rating: 7.5/10

I must be smelling a different fragrance here: Original Santal (OS), for some reason, gets slammed at basenotes. Many compare it to Joop! homme...I dont get the similarities. There is a slight resemblance for the first 6 seconds, but thats about it. And as for the Allure homme comparisons, I dont get them at all. Sweet? Compared to many Lutens concoctions, A*Men, or other metrosexual 90s juices, OS comes off as very demure. Loud? OS is nowhere as loud as some of the grandma juices from the 60s or 70s. Infact, OS is not even the sweetest or the loudest Creed .. just try Royal Delight, Royal English Leather, 2000 fleurs, Ambre Cannelle, etc..

On with the review: OS starts off with spicy citrusy notes - its the cinnamon locking horns with the citrus notes initially. I detect a combo of lavendar and orange in the top notes - this combo stays on stretches way into the drydown (although its quite muted by that time). The coriander comes into play soon and ups the spice tempo, while the lavender provides a discreet halo-like medicinal effect. The middle notes introduce some nice woody and benzoin notes - the cedar and/or sandalwood let off a pungent woody odor. OS dries down to a low key vanilla base - after the twists and turns of the top and middle notes, the drydown, while pleasant, comes off as bit of a disappointment. Vetiver, leather, or some balsamic notes would have been welcome and would have put the finishing touches to a good display. Joop! homme by comparison contains a very sweet opening which introduces a strange, sometimes sickening, relentless motor oil note which goes away only when the fragrance dies.

OS is a nice, well made fragrance with excellent sillage and longevity. Its a "spicy wood" fragrance, sort of like Luten's Santal de Mysore except that its less intense and balsamic. Compared to Creed's Santal Imperial and Bois de Santal it doesn't possess as clear a sandalwood note, but its construction is more complex. Its a different fragrance catering to a more modern crowd. Creed already have two top drawer sandalwood fragrances and OS does its own different thing well. There are only so many sandalwood plantations a house can uproot to serve its royal clientele...plus you know you want the glistening Red Ombre bottle in your hands !

Rating: 7.5/10

Top note : Mandarin, Neroli, Artemisia, Coriander
Middle note : Cardamom, Pepper, Jasmine, Orris
Base note : Cedarwood, Vetiver, Leather, Amber

What we have here is man-of-the-moment, scent-strip magic weaving and international perfume media hog JC Ellena emulating his idol E. Roudnitska by emulating the masters' venerable juice Eau D'Hermes. Declaration is more watery but the basic citrus-leather accord is present. Declarations opens with a pleasant juicy mandarin accord before slowly revealing an attractive spicy-peppery layer of notes softened by iris and jasmine - this is probably the juices' most appealing phase. 45 minutes laters, the slow march of the dutch-oven accord becomes more perceptible: hints of cedar with mighty sweaty cumin infused with light and smoky birch. The iris and jasmin soft palette is all but gone by this time, and depending on your skin, the cumin will bloom like a skunk in heat. I find the balance to be a bit off here...lengthening the iris-jasmin accord into the drydown would have provided some much needed relief against the fart attack.

Declaration is where it started it all .. you can smell the sparse signature Ellena accords: the pepper-cedar combo, the liberal use of cumin, the earthy tones...but nearly all of these accords now exist in better and more improved variations in the form of Ellena composed juices like Terre dHermes, Bigarade Concentree, etc. Declaration, at this point, serves nothing more than an Ellena fanboy trip down the memory lane, but for those who balk at Malle and Hermessence prices, thanks to Ellena's now repetitive and promiscuous use of signature accords Declaration is all they need to get their Ellena fix.

Rating: 7.0/10

Santal Imperial is one of the most focused and high quality sandalwood fragrances around. Made for a king a long time ago, this imperial sandalwood still rules the roost.

Opening with a burst of citrus (and bergamot), the woody powdery heart of one of the most authentic sandalwood notes makes an appearance and takes center stage for several hours before melding with tonka beans and ambergris in the base notes to conjure a fantastic rendition of the Creed house note. Santal Imperial's laser-like focus on displaying a quality sandalwood note with minimal distraction by supporting notes is nearly unmatched. Its light and distinguished, and possesses enough virility to satiate any woody desires. Conservative? If you want a moroccan spice rack or ghastly chemical lab notes like burning tires and spermicidal lubes in your spray juices, this might not be for you. The sandalwood note might be less vivid than (Creed) Bois du Santal (another sandalwood powerhouse) and the overall composition less metrosexual than Original Santal, but this is still a must try for sandalwood afficionados.

Rating: 9.0/10.0

Top notes : Pomegranate, Pink Pepper, Raspberry

Middle notes : Plum, opopanax, frankincense

Base notes : Patchouli, Musk, Spicy Woods

The inspiration for Pomegranate Noir (PN) came to Jo Malone after she saw one of her friends dressed up in a red silk dress at a middle eastern hookah party all the while stuffing dollar bills in her cleavage. I have enjoyed the simple uncluttered soliflores of the Jo Malone line so the "Noir/Dark" label of this fragrance made me wonder if Malone was going all Lutens on us.

I shouldn't have worried. PN opens with a perplexing accord. Its sweet, lush and minty....and for a moment, does smell like Vicks vaporub except that there's a plummy fruity aroma enveloping this "vicks" accord. I am intrigued by how this minty fresh smell is engineered .. I don't see cloves listed in the notes pyramid, so the only explanation I can come up with is that PN is probably employing a variety of frankincense that is higher in its camphor (moth ball smell) content than the other constituents. Interms of fruitiness, this primary accord has all the hallmarks of a prune...it can be enjoyable and fun as well as occasionally grating and temperamental. While the incense does its camphor like thing, the distinctive sour and sweet smell of pomegranates is neutered by plenty of sweet raspberry and plum notes. PN loses much of its midnight vaporub funkiness after half and hour or so, and lets a timid patchouli note and some non-descript spicy woods base lead it to its quiet but not-so dark conclusion. The longevity is good..around 7 hours.

I admit I expected more "Noir" facets from this scent but knowing Malone's style I wasn't expecting a Jules or Vintage Tabarome. It says "Black Pomegranate" on the label after all, and that could mean "Over-ripe Pomegranates" for all I know. I would have liked more patchouli and spices, and less raspberry and plums in this concoction. Its more complex than other Malone's like Grapefruit and Amber Lavender but is also, strangely, less interesting. With that said, during the dog days of winter and nostril scraping flu attacks, I would still like to spray a spritz or two of PN on my chest before going to bed....I hear it attracts fairies in red silk dresses.

Rating: 7/10

**This review is of the EDC**

Habit Rouge (HR) was created by JP Guerlain after a rather freak accident where he spilled lemon sherbet on his red jacket while riding a horse to the Guerlain fragrance lab. From the Guerlain site: “The Habit Rouge man represents the height of elegance. He is intimately aware of his powers of seduction and the only thing that ruffles his perfect outward appearance is the faint glimmer of uncontrollable passion that smoulders deep in his eyes.” Well I can’t imagine Bill Clinton wearing this but hey who knows ..

HR smells like a refreshing tangy vanillic sherbet. While that may sound like a sickly sweet potion geared towards facebook-humping teens, in the hands of the vanilla masters at Guerlain this classic potion exudes class and displays superb blending skills. From the first blast the tangy sweet lime citrus notes are apparent, with a faint veil of vanilla creating a light warm sensation. Soon the delicately balanced spicy heart of cinnamon and carnation makes itself apparent, with a little bit of cedar lending an airy dryness to the composition. The spices are never nose searing and the cedar never gets into the “Oh my god! I smell pencil shavings and hamster cage!” phase. From here the tangy vanilla spicy accord evolves over the next few hours to a smooth amber and vanilla base with the barest hints of leather to keep things interesting.

If one looks at the pyramid, HR might seem like a heavy stomach churning fragrance with notes of vanilla, benzoin, patchouli, cinnamon, etc. The reality is it’s a light even airy fragrance with deceptive depth. It smells like what most L’Artisans aspire to smell like (“light skin scents) except that you don’t get the watery sensation of most L’Artisans resulting in a feeling that the fragrance house is skimping on the essential oils and feeding you romantic stories to make a buck or two. HR’s composition is substantial but never cloying….and it manages to succeed because of its EDC concentration. In the hands of other lesser perfume houses, the vanilla note would have most probably turned the composition into an overwhelmingly saccharine and unbalanced composition. But Guerlain show in HR how to control and maintain a note of excess. Bill Clinton would be proud.

Rating: 8.5/10

Notes: lemon, rosemary, petitgrain, basil, jasmine, rose, iris, oakmoss, vetiver, and musk.

Eau Sauvage (ES), the 1966 classic from Perfumer Roudnitska was groundbreaking in its use of the synthetic hedione molecule. This citrus chypre has influenced many, and while it may have been usurped by other fancy new citruses in the media, it still has the moves which can surprise many.

Opening against a backdrop of clear and light lemons, ES almost immediately generates soft floral notes of rose and jasmine which are rendered "masculine" because of the lemon and petitgrain notes...the petitgrain note isn't too strong so as to introduce an annoying "dry & woody" sensation which lesser citruses do. This supremely light citrus-floral combo mingles for a while before the most intriguing phase of ES comes into play ... its the vetiver note, and at this point ES smells like if you took a whiff of the air after someone who has had too many lemon drop candy let one lose. It smells a bit like lemonade infested with maggots...yet it works. This dirtiness gives ES its fine distinguished character, and it works because its light and balanced. Roudnitska probably knew that to convince people to splash on this dirty water, it had to be a light, balanced, and only slightly offbeat. And judging by the success of ES, he has entirely succeeded in doing so. I dont smell a lot of oakmoss, if at all..compared to another substantial classic, Chanel pour monsieur, ES smells impotent in its oakmoss content. ES lasts a good 7 hours ... there's not much sillage, but someone in close vicinity can certainly smell the dirty-clean vetiver-lemon bubbling on your skin.

ES probably won't wow as many people as it did during the Kennedy era. It might be the old man of citruses, but its definitely no old man scent..it smells as relevant today as it did when it was launched, and few citruses are as balanced and expertly blended. When everything else fails, just grab a bottle of ES. As Donald Trump once said, "If you need Viagra, you are probably with the wrong woman". Apparently Dior has been very faithful to the original formulation of ES....ES don't need no modern molecules to keep up with the spunky new CKOne's of this world. This old timer can still surprise the ladies with its stamina, energy and years of experience.

Rating: 8.5/10

Top notes : whisky, cognac, Korean calamus, wild carrot

Middles notes: tanned leather, Iris of Florence rhizome, Brazilian copahu essence

Base notes: Caucasian leather, Haitian vetyver, Turkish Latakia tobacco, Mexican opoponax, Yemenite myrrh, Indonesian patchouli

With Bois d'Ombrie (Wood of Umbria, BO), Perfumer Duchaufour promises to whisk us away to the deep dark and autumnal green forest of Umbria..."a golden embrace of wood and leathers". If you have hitched a ride with Duchaufour on his eastern travels to Bhutan on L'Artisan airlines, this trip to the dark forests of Italy might smell strangely similar.

BO opens with a wonderfully pleasing accord - an alcoholy burst of goodness, a smattering of porous leather notes, and a resinous frankincense like balsamic and woody note of copahu. Attracted by the beautiful opening, you keep walking further and further into the deep and dangerous woods of Umbria and soon realise what twisted freaks of nature reside within. The leather increases in intensity and takes on a peculiar dry, salty and spicy character. Sprayed on too heavily, I can see how it can remind some peope of vinegar...imagine inhaling the vapours of boiling vinegar, and how they zing the nostrils before sawing the brain in half with their splintery accents. The salty character becomes too pronounced. However, with a light application what one gets are occasional whiffs of a perfectly balanced salty-spicy-woody leather accord. I am especially intrigued by the spicy aspect of it and wonder how Duchaufour achieved it. Is it because of a certain type of leather used? Maybe so. True, this forest could use some trimming...this accord needs softening around the edges, some sugar to balance its salt N pepa. The myrrh, patchouli and iris notes need to be increased in intensity to simmer down the overly zealous leather melange. BO is also a long lasting fragrance...I could detect it 9 hours later, that spicy salty leather kick perking me up late in the afternoon when exhausted by the sameyness of the cubicle environment.

So there you have it .. BO smells good, but like its namesake, it needs to be handled with care. Too much BO can smell bad...but a little BO goes a long way, and can intrigue the opposite sex. Animals with primal instincts live in the deep dark forest of Umbria. Enter with precaution.

Rating: 7.9/10

Villoresi's Wild Lavender/Inglese (WL) is a spicy lavender fragrance which smells like an english fougere at times, thus the confusion in naming it. After having spent time with some of the big name lavender fragrances, I find that WL is neither at the very top of the list or at the bottom. However there's no confusion regarding its quality; it fits snuggly somewhere in the middle of the lavender powerhouses list.

WL doesn't exhibit the trademark Villoresi fragrance style: an explosion of a mishmash of notes which settle down into a coherent arrangement within minutes. Rather, WI opens with (comparatively) straightforward pungent lemon and lavender notes - fresh, prickly, and invigorating. Almost immediately the spices brewing underneath this combo come forth. Its cloves, ginger and pepper marching in unison to spice up the lavender opening. At this point, WI exhibits the greatest variation in the defining accord it lets loose - all depending on how you apply it and when you wear it. Applied lightly and in cool weather, one gets a balanced bitter lemon and lavender accord with a smattering of spices kept cool by a clove note. With heavy application in hot weather, heavy spices with a smattering of lemon and lavender which join forces to conjure the smell of guava (with some masala sprinkled) on. Its quite amusing, this masala guava image that WL conjures...I was almost compelled to rename it "India", instead of "English", but I guess its the same thing considering how most of England now indulges in south asian cuisine like chiken tikka masala and biryani.

WL lacks the clarity of the lavender on display in fragrances like Caldey Island Water and Lavanda Tonica (amongst others), and isn't an uncomplicated but somber fragrance like Luten's Encens et Lavande. It does however share certain characteristics with Creed's retro-modern Royal Scottish Lavender. Both open with a lemon+lavender combo, and use clove in the heart notes to render light the increasingly complicated development. WL has more spices, a murkier lavender note and a lighter drydown of musk and rosemary (compared to the Creed's "victorian era with a hint of BO" drydown of amber+vanilla).

WL is a quality spicy lavender fragrance with no rough edges or whacky and needless "niche fragrance" tricks. The lavender note could be more prominent, and the spicy heart could be a bit unstable in how it unravels, but apart from that this Royal Scottish Lavender-lite will find many fans.

Rating: 8.2/10

Notes:

Top: Bergamot, Orange, Geranium, Nutmeg
Middle: Orange Blossom, Rose, Jasmine, herbal notes
Base: Sandalwood, cedar, vetiver

No. 89 is Floris' flagship fragrance and the favorite of Ian Fleming, James Bond, Inspector Gadget, Kim Jong Yil and few other high profile celebrities and fictional characters. It also shares a few properties with No. (89 - 1).

No. 89 is based on a formula which is intended to represent what an english gentleman is smells like. Some say it also "reeks" of funeral parlors. I haven't been to a lot of funeral parlors, but I don't think that they would smell like No. 89, which is a grand yet understated aromatic woody floral. This is no "old man"/"dead" smell, nor is it a sombre scent. No. 89 opens with a complex citrus-floral-spicy accord which then gives way to a prominent flowery middle notes phase. However No.89 is never overly floral because of a well assimilated nutmeg note which provides a spicy kick to the mix...yes, the overall impression is still of a gentleman's rich aromatic floral fragrance, but its never overbearingly like Enya's garden.

Comparisons to Czech & Speake no. 88: No. 88 and 89 share some similarities. Infact the notes pyramid share a lot of notes. Both open with a burst of bergamot; No. 89's opening is more elaborate, but the heart notes are what sets the two apart. No. 88's luxurious and powerhouse notes of rose otto, cassie and frangipani in concert with sandalwood introduce a distinctively full-bodied accord which is missing in No. 89. Instead, no. 89 has a less potent rose note, and features an equally dynamic if less ravaging spicy-floral mix as its distinctive accord. No. 88 also has a longer march to its drydown, which richer and fuller than in No. 89 due to its richer concentration of oils (its an EDP). No. 89 has a soft woody floral drydown - I don't get a lot of vetiver or cedar, but instead there is an outlier of a sweet floral note which is kind of interesting and lends a certain powderiness to the drydown.

No. 88 and 89 do share some similarities and No. 88 was probably inspired by No. 89. If you find the rich composition of no. 88 too much to handle, try the floral-spicy concoction of no. 89; the reduced potency and the diluted rose notes alongwith the nutmeg might feel fresher and less daunting. Eitherways, No. 89 is a fine fragrance in its own right, and a true classic. I can't picture the grim reaper handing it out at anyone's "going away" party.

Rating: 8.6/10

Notes:

Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Mace, Pineapple
Middle: Violet, Lily of the valley
Base: Tonka, Cedar, Moss, Musk

Kiton is one of the most exclusive fashion houses in the world. Their suits normally take about 20 hours of labor and atleast 45 tailors contribute to one. For sure Kiton won't be outsourcing the stitching and sewing of their suits to south Asia to be hand knitted by 10 year olds at $1 a day anytime soon. Unfortunately Kiton Men (KM) doesn't exhibit any of that fine attention to detail. While far from a substandard fragrance, its mossy-woods composition exhibits characteristics of a wearable and well-made designer knock-off.

KM opens with tangy citrus accords and a floral heart of violet notes which immediately brings to mind the hypnotic, unique and bewildering "green and gasoline" accord of Dior's classic Fahrenheit. This floral gasoline accord is toned down in KM, and is infused with tangy citrus notes of pineapple and lemon. By comparison, Fahrenheits honeysuckle and violet dominated "gasoline-like" accord is richer, smoother and overall more satisfying to my nose. KM can be viewed as a sporty version of Fahrenheit; it might be more approachable for noses which can't fully inhale the floral motor oil wonder accord of Fahrenheit. The dont detect a lot of moss in KM's basenotes, but there is a woody floral tinge in there somewhere (is it the lily + cedar ?).

Comparisons to Creed's Green Irish Tweed: KM is far more similar to Fahrenheit than is it to GIT. The violet note in GIT is more grassy, and is of a different character than in KM and Fahrenheit.

Overall, KM is a pleasant "green" fragrance with good longevity and sillage. Its composition doesn't posses the snob value or the superb artistry of the Kiton suits, but it does pay homage to a fragrance which does. And that's not a bad thing, is it ?

Rating: 7.5/10

Rive Gauche pour homme (RG) is one of those fragrances which elevates my mood when I have it on. I really don't get all the retro greasy Travolta references ... the only Travolta I know is the one who did the twist with Uma Thurman. It could also be because I am a product of the 80s (I cried when E.T. had to go home and I was in love with a girl named Rio). Eitherways, RG kicks ass and takes names.

The initial impressions are certainly barbasol + man smell. I find the opening burst of a shaving cream accord amusing, interesting and at the same time it makes me exclaim "Wow, thats hell of a recreation of barbasol!". Its a familiar smell which draws you in. I get a unified shaving cream accord but spraying it 2-3 times in quick successions breaks up the composition and I am able to detect the well integrated tart spiciness of star anise, a dim lavender note, and the spicy coolness of cloves. Within a few minutes of this elasive barbershop opening RG begins its descent into a woody melange of patchouli, vetiver and gauaic wood out of which patchouli is at the forefront with hints of dry sweet spicy guaicwood. The clove in the heart notes has enough potency to keep the base from becoming overly woody or "old manish". The intermingling of this barbasol smell and patchouli is the best facet of RG, the combined accord creating a clean, classy and chic aura. RG doesn't create a lot of sillage but sports good longevity (the drydown is noticeable upto 9 hours after application). A criticism is that I would have like the opening accord to hold on for more than a few minutes before melding with the woody base.

RG is cool, crisp, and stylish. Its familiar yet unique, light yet substantial. Its not a terribly cerebral fragrance, but its a perfect example of a fragrance which can make you feel damn fine when you wear it. Wear it.

Rating: 8.2/10

**This is a review of the EDT**

Notes: orange blossom, bergamot, mandarin, clary sage, iris, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, vetiver, styrax, leather, amber, vanilla

"An ashtray doing a flower vase"

Ernest Beaux's 1924 classic, Cuir de Russie (CdR) is widely regarded as one of the finest Chanel fragrances as well as one of the best leather fragrances ever created. Created to paint an image of an elegant snobby woman rummaging through her fine leather bag to look for change to tip an escort for a night of much fun, CdR displays all the hallmarks of Beaux's expertise, alongwith a few eccentricities introduced by Polge.

CdR opens with a burst of citrus melange with a sage note inserting enough bitterness to offset the smooth orange blossom and bergamot. Hints of leather (due to isobutyl quinoline) are perceptible from the beginning. Soon, CdR transitions to its most feminine phase - Beaux's signature trifecta of ylangylang-jasmine-rose infuses a dose of floral sweetness with an element of coolness due to a shy iris note; the florals threaten to drown out the gradually increasing intensity of the leather. CdR was reorchestrated in 1983 by Polge and the floral heart was increased in strength while the leather note was decreased in potency .. can't say I like this "tune up" but it makes it more approachable to women I guess. Another smooth movement of accords takes place a few hours later and CdR enters the drydown phase which is more masculine due to smoky styrax and vetiver which are prevented from rampaging the composition with their supposed tenacity by gendarme like notes of vanilla and amber. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I dont smell a lot of civet, if at all. Longevity is good at around 7-8 hours, and sillage is medium.

CdR presents a well behaved leather note interjected with a good dose of florals to result in a smooth and slightly floral leather fragrance. The ambery styrax+vetiver drydown is the highlight. Those of us looking for a wild no-holds-barred "look ma I am wearing a cow-hide" leather might be disappointed with CdR's cultured and metrosexual approach to a leather romp. With that said, this is arguably the best leather for women...its flirty yet classy, confident yet sensual.

A quick comparison to some of other notable leathers:

Caron Tabac Blond: its leather is more smoky, its vanilla base more unrestrained and naughty. Marilyn Monroe vs. Elizabeth Taylor.

Creed Cuir de Russie: loads of birch tar with ambergris. A very unusual leather. More manly.

Creed Royal English Leather: Resembles the first 2 minutes of Chanel CdR with its mandarin+leather mix. The leather note is more raw and substantial.

Serge Lutens Daim Blond: No. I want a sexy sensual leather on my woman, not decorate her with a fruit bowl.


Rating: 8.7/10

Notes:
Top: Lemon, Mandarin, Basil, Petitgrain
Heart: Lavender, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Lily
Base: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Cedarwood

Supposedly Armani Eau Pour Homme (APH) was Giorgio Armani's personal day-time fragrance before being released to public. Going by the composition, Mr. Armani must have been a big fan of the classics like Dior Eau Sauvage, Chanel Pour Monsieur, and especially Nina Ricci Signoricci.

I was initially perplexed by APH's performance on my skin. Testing it amidst a flurry of recent citrus purchases and that too in the searing summer heat, initial impressions were that it's a standard lemon pledge like citrus fragrance with a bromidic dry herbal mossy drydown which revealed itself too fast. A different technique of application revealed a more consuming side - spraying from a distance allowed the latent notes to bloom, and I perceived an immediate (light) woody-citrus combo of lemon and petitgrain lent a light airy floral aroma of lavender inconcert with a subdued spicy nutmeg note which renders an enjoyable if restrained aromatic citrus accord. The problem here is that this accord gets more and more anhydrous - the sandalwood in the base doesn't possess enough potency to neutralise the dryness...I would have preferred some forceful floral notes to counteract this unbalanced desert wind like drying act, or pumped up the lavender note's concentration instead. By the drydown, I am left with a parched mossy accord on my skin which reminds me of gardening in the backyard with lemon juice crusts on my fingertips.

Mr. Armani probably wanted a Signoricci of his own. The notes pyramid reveals a lot of similarities as does testing them side by side. It also reveals that Signoricci is the better and more balanced scent. The lemons are more luscious, the lavender smoother, the petitgrain woodier, and it has the missing floral components to counter balance the mossy-herbal drydown that afflicts APH. Yes, Signoricci is the better fragrance...but APH has the better bottle! Also, can anyone confirm whether Armani's clothing line has been similarly "inspired" by other fashion houses?


Rating: 7.3/10

Notes: amber, myrrh, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, aloe wood, cedar, civet, nutmeg, clove, cumin, musk, mandarin peel, orange blossom.

In the technology adoption lifecycle while crossing the chasm to mainstream acceptance, entrepreneurs need to find product and market alternatives to their product. This can also be accomplished by taking a successful product and using its features to fulfill the needs of a need in a new market. Lutens and Sheldrake take this approach with Cuir Mauresque -they take a successful leather fragrance, perform minute customizations, and then name it "Moorish (Spanish) Leather".

Cuir Mauresque (CM) is one of the more pleasant and wearable Lutens offerings. While a great leather fragrance, to my nose it also borrows heavily from Caron's nearly 100 year old classic, Tabac Blond (TB). Both feature a smoky leathery heart derived from the molecule isobutyl quinoline. The smoky leather note is richer and more forceful in TB, while its considerably tame in CM where the use of clove, aloes wood and mandarin peel strip the leather of most of its distinctive characteristics and present it as smoky-leather-lite. There is a layer of the lutens trademark oriental madness bubbling under the leather show, but thankfully it doesn't materialize or develop further. While TB ends with a rich smoky vanilla accord, CM's drydown marries the muted smoky leather note with a cool yet never overbearing incense note which to some people might spell "Tabac Blond for men".

To summarize, CM is TB with a little bit of sweetness, the same smoky leather note but toned down 5X in strength, and an incense infused drydown instead of the smoky vanilla accord in TB. If you found TB too leathery and smoky, CM might be your ticket to leather salvation. Spanish leather is marked by a distinct sweetness in addition to leather, and Lutens/Sheldrake take a fast follower approach to success by taking the TB blueprint and adding a few sweet notes to the formula - and voila!, the result is a fine spanish leather fragrance which destroys the competition (ex: Trumper etc's offerings which are too sweet and musky with barely any perceptible leather).

Note: Depending on how CM reacts on your skin, you might either get the impressions discussed above, or a heavy saccharine scent ala traditional Lutens fare (if your skin amplifies the amber and mandarin peel notes). Try before you buy.

Rating: 8.4/10

**This review is of the EDT**

Notes:

Top: Leather, Linden, Carnation
Heart: Iris, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang
Base: Cedar, Patchouli, Vanilla, Amber, Musk

Said to be launched to celebrate the liberation of women in the 1920s a movement which allowed them to vote and mate without male consent, wear skimpy bikinies and take care of that ever growing bikini line, and ofcourse smoke in public. The name might be a misnomer, but there's not an iota of smoke in Tabac Blond's performance - this is a crystal clear display of excellent perfumery skills.

Tabac Blond opens with a fresh blast of a sweet citrus note conjoined witha bright floral spicyness of carnation tinged with the barest hint of leather. Its an inviting opening and only hints at whats to come next. And that hint only grows more and more obvious over the next few minutes. The castoreum-based leather heart of Tabac Blond grows in prominence and starts dominating...and what a leather note it is! It shares some similarities with the turpentine-like leather note in Knize Ten, but unlike that motor-oil mechanic juice note, is never harsh or overly chemically (probably due to the iris and ylang ylang, which smooth out any rough leathery tones). Its smooth and as well-balanced as a leather note can be, and although I don't smell much tobacco or smoke, there is a general underlying smoky feel enveloping the heart notes. The leather is impressive in its longevity - this sublime note lasts for a good 4 hours, before the fragrance transitions to a smooth resinous vanilla-amber base, which surprisingly smells cool (is it because of the enduring musk and cedar notes?) compared to the leather action in the heart notes.

Tabac Blond is Carons' flagship perfume, and even in its EDT form, is a fragrance which very few, if any, leather fragrances can claim to compare to. The movement between the three notes phases is dynamic, the leather note is substantial yet never overbearing, and the vanillic-amber-cedar-musk base finishes off the leather powerhouse display with a rich melange of temperate and sensual notes which provide a frore contrast to the leathery warmth. Tabac Blond was a fragrance way ahead of time; its time though has come. The time is now. This is a fragrance for bold women, women who find the fruity florals littering the malls insubstantial, inchoate and insulting to their driven motivated interior. Women who have had enough of the vanilla-amber-laden sweet bombs. Women now lead Fortune 1000 companies, are career driven, and play an equal hand in marriage. I can easily see such independent women do Tabac Blond justice. Its also a clearly unisex juice, although Mr. Moms might be better off with the generic aquatic. Tabac Blond is smokin'.

Notes:
Indian, Egyptian and Moroccan jasmines, green shoots, honey, clove, benzoin and musk

One of the better and more sensual jasmine based fragrances around. The quality of jasmine oils used in this one is excellent, and its the darker more indolic interpretation of the flower...however as all thing Serge Lutens, the jasmin is flanked by lots of benzoin honey and vanilla to give it a rich decadent and at times suffocating feel. Infact, it can at times feel like a scrubber because the top notes are uber strong and sweet. But ofcourse, if you are a Serge Lutens fan girl or fan boy, you know what to expect from this honey-and-benzoin-morocco inspired house, so you are probably prepared to handle this assault. Things do improve and simmer down by the drydown phase, and A la nuit fares better if applied lightly. During cooler weather, the indolic jasmine melds well with my skin to give it a bit of a dirty and sensual metrosexual skank, but in warmer weather, the honey and benzoin infuse into the jasmine oils to surround me with an aura of transexual confusion (which I am not a big fan of).

If you are looking for a rich indolic jasmin fragrance, A la nuit might fit the bill. I personally prefer Creeds' beautiful non-cloying Jasmal, which highlights a superb jasmine heart with sophisticated green accents.

Notes:
Top: Citron
Middle: Olive Blossom, Aromatic, and Anisey Accents
Base : Tonka Bean, Blonde Tobacco, Gaiac Wood, Smoky

I am revisting Armani Code/Black Code after some time off from Armani fragrances (trust me, its hard to do if you frequent department stores - can't escape the Di Gio), and I have to admit, I am finding more redeeming qualities in this one. While the adverts come off as a bad case of The Matrix trilogy hangover (dark shades, spandex and slo-mo bullet dodging is so played out!), the sleek curvy dark bottle with just the right degree of curvature and heft isn't as embarrassing.

Code opens with a citric blast which is a bit unusual; its hard to describe. It smells citrusy alright, but theres something medicinal and gaseous about it with a floral hint. Its interesting to say the least - the floral note is probably the olive flower, which isn't as sweet or intense in its scent profile as something like tuberose. The heart notes amp up the intrigue factor with a dose of anise, its tangy sweet character continuing from where the olive flower and citrus combo left off. The smooth and suave creaminess of the tonka bean makes its appearance shortly thereafter. And here lies the problem - the transition from top and middle notes to the base takes minutes...5 minutes to be exact. Thats too fast for a Matrix wannabe. Slo-mo, take your time to develop. Thats not to say that the base is bad; its chockfull of tonka bean with a dry woodiness about it (with a light smoky character) thanks to the guaic wood. The end effect is of a light, creamy, slightly woody skin scent, with good longevity but low sillage.

The quality of ingredients is decent, and there are distinct phases of development. Code however is less interesting than its orange blossom laced womens counterpart, and reveals its trump cards too early. With that said, it qualifies as a good discreet/office scent. It has also made Armani a ton of money already, and just having both Code and Aqua di Gio in your wardrobe is a pretty respectable option for a casual fragrance fan. I dont care much for this musky light skin scent, but for some strange reason women like it a lot .. that last statement itself will now entice hordes of teens to stock up on the Matrix love juice. What is the Code ? I dont care because I am happy doing my own thing with Terre D'Hermes and Chanel Allure homme.

Top notes: Lavender, Galbanum, Cumin,
Heart notes: Osmanthus, Cistus oil, Neroli
Base notes: Labdanum, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Lavender Concrete

Having spent the past month or so trying out a batch of Villoresi decants, the house's Vetiver stood out the most in its overall flow and construction, and the quality of its ingredients. All Villoresi fragrances smell good, but theres something more striking about the Vetiver, especially when it comes to its ingredients. Whenever I wear it, I smell a wild untamed beast in the potion, yet the beast never claws me to death or rip me to shreads ...rather it overlays on me a raw hide skin, intense yes yet friendly at the same time.

No, Vetiver doesnt smell like its loaded with vetiver, rather, the vetiver is buried beneath a smorgasboard of other herbs, citrus and floral notes. But the scent explodes with a fantastic lavender note paired with a green herbaceous accord and a pine like note which, dare I say it, provides the fragrance a "fresh" feel. There is a persistent yet austere labdanum note which drills into the drydown decorating Vetiver with a smoky, woody and slightly salty/iodine-like accord. The effect is not unlike a refined and much better executed version of the mineralic and iodine-laden Vetiver des Sables by Montale.

Like all Villoresi fragrances, there is a raw untamed monster of a feel in Vetiver, yet at the same time it also smells powerful and distinguished, like a caveman dressed in a suit (picture Robin Williams at the Oscars). Each of the notes is crystal clear and rendered in high-def...my guess is that Vetiver probably the most expensive Villoresi to manufacture. Its not a naked display of vetiver root oil like Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire or MPG Route de Vetiver, but it is a very well crafted fougere with a modicum of vetiver. Vetiver is kryptonite for the senses...except that you are not Superman.

Exquisite white flower notes rendered in such a way so as to be light yet substantial, thoroughly modern yet composed with a classic touch.

In Love in White (LIW) the daffodils and magnolia are the clear highlights, are given a gentle sprightly introduction by the use of orange zest in the top notes. A combination of daffodils, magnolia, and rose can potentially lead to suffocation but here this floral heart is joined by a rice husk and orange zest to restrain the floral madness that so plagues fragrances from grandma's days (or even when compared to some of Creed's older fragrances for women).

Love in White is a well-behaved and well-composed bouquet of white floral notes infused with a transparent layer of orange zest which filters out the cloying heady vapors that so many florals emit. The longevity is excellent and the warm vanilla/sandalwood base introduces a hint of creaminess. LIW is an excellent demonstration in exhibiting the inherent rich characteristics of white flowers in the purest yet most restrained manner.

**This review is of the original version labelled 'Chanel for men'; I can't comment on the recent reformulated juice because I haven't had the misfortune of smelling it**

Notes:
Top: Lemon, Verbena, Neroli, Orange
Middle: Cardamom, Coriander, Basil, Ginger
Base: Oakmoss, Cedar

Lately, I have been on a citrus kick. Ploughing through the hordes of citrus fragrances which are so similar in their genetic makeup that one might think they were the result of a massive inbreeding swinger session between citrus fragrances, I was able to fine tune my nose to sniff out a few citrus fragrances which have sufficient identity of their own. Henri Roberts' classic Chanel pour monsieur (CPM) might have its seed strewn about everywhere, but it retains enough distinct perfume traits to still command respect and stand out from the crowd.

CPM is an aromatic citrus with chypre underpinnings. The opening is a refreshing splash of citrus puntuated by teeny bits of aldehydes to give it that distinct Chanel character. I smell lots of verbena and lemon, and a distant march of spice troops. The spices slowly grow in intensity, and after 15 minutes, join forces with the citrus top notes to create the main heart of CPM. The cardamom and coriander lend warmth and depth to the composition, and never become overbearing or cause that 'burning nose' sensation. Intermingling with the citrus notes, the spices conjure a citrus-spice accord which is amongst the best I have smelled. Its also delivered with much more panache and expertise than in fragrances like YSL Live Jazz or Caron Eau Forte, which are good fragrances in their own right. An hour later, CPM slowly transforms into a moderately 'drier' fragrance, with cedar and oakmoss joining the fray. Its true that CPM doesn't output much sillage and stays close to the skin, but its more perceptible in warmer weather, lasts for atleast 6 hours, and the drydown gets more 'chypre' like.

I read this about CPM on osmoz : 'It is the secret 'plus' of elegant men, highlighting their refinement with discretion.' And I totally agree. Its one of the best citrus aromatics around, and people weaned on A*Men and the like will not appreciate the understated elegance on display here.
This is not the type of perfume which creates an atomic blast like intense sillage and longevity which you can still smell on your skin a month later. Its a discreet, stylish, (still)distinctive fragrance which is expertly composed with decent longevity. Henri Robert created a classic in 1955 which has stood the test of time, but which (unfortunately) looks like couldn't guard itself against the greed of Chanels' profit lusting financial officers...

I found two distinct note pyramids for Signoricci:

Notes-1: mandarin, petitgrain, sage, alpine lavender, haitian vetiver, exotic woods, and oak moss.

Notes-2:
Top note : Lemon, Lime, Petitgrain, Basil

Middle note : Aldehydes, Jasmine, Carnation, Mandarin

Base note : Musk, Moss, Tonka, Amber

To my nose, Signoricci smells like:
Top: Lemon, Lime, Basil
Middle: Sage, alpine lavender, petitgrain
Base: Amber, exotic woods, moss, musk

These citrus fragrances are a dime a dozen. 95% of such fragrance smell so similar, its like they have hardly evolved since the dawn of time. They all follow the standard lime-herbs-woods formula that has rendered the "my citrus is better than yours" argument irrelevant...get more creative with your EdC's perfumers! Signoricci, while not as unique as I would like it to be, is one of the better standouts of this genre. I neither have time nor care to investigate the confusion regarding which Signoricci is which ..this is another one of those maddening scenarios which perfume houses create just because the management/perfumers were too lazy to lift their pokey fingers and engage their brain to number the perfumes properly.

Signoricci opens with a crystal clear and natural smelling blast of lemon and lime. No synthetic lemon pledge or chemical warfare smell here, this is a clear and enjoyable lemon lime note which lasts! And does it ever! It squeezes its way through the heart notes and deep into the drydown where one can still catch whiffs of lime. A subtle lavender note anchors the lemon in the beginning, before being replaced by a superbly balanced petitgrain note. Unlike in some other fragrances which I couldnt be arsed to name right now, the woodiness of petitgrain is kept well in check. Its like a "dry" lemon at times. The marriage of lemons and petitgrain gives Signoricci its slightly distinctive character which is then joined by soft amber in the base to round off one of the best and long lasting lemon fragrances around.

If you are in the market for a lemon dominated citrus fragrance, Signoricci is one of the best around. Its a refreshing EdC with ample depth, quality ingredients and good longevity. I dont think its as amazing as some others make it out to be, but I would certainly put in the top tier of citrus fragrances. Alert your nose to be on the lookout for petitgrain in this one, else it might smell similar to every other Eau De Cologne (or maybe not)

Top note : Bergamot, Mandarin, Lavender, Coriander
Middle note : Pepper, Anise, Geranium
Base note : Cedar, Sandal, Amber, Vanilla

I admit that Chanel Allure homme has been one of my guilty pleasures. Its not the most remarkable fragrance, but it wears remarkably well on me, has ample depth, is suitable for all occasions, and that milky oriental woody spicy accord is tenacious yet never overbearing. Its a workman-like fragrance like a studious student who does follows instructions to a tee, is clinincal in his execution and understanding of concepts, yet lacks a creative spark. A student who takes his mentors work and keeps building on it throughout his career, never diverging from the well set path . Enter Lalique pour homme, the mentor of Allure homme.

Lalique pour homme smells similar to Allure homme. Considering that it was launched in 1997 and Allure homme in 1999, it seems that Polge was "inspired" by Roucel's juice in the fancy crystal bottle. Add a dash of a porous lavender note to the fresh burst of allure's citrus opening and you have Lalique's opener. Mildly spicy heart notes power both the fragrances, although the cedar is more prominent in Lalique. The distinctive sweet woody spicy milky oriental accord is present in both, but its heavier, richer and better blended in Allure. The reticent vetiver in Allure adds a touch of earthy woodiness to the tonka + santal + vanilla drydown, while the cedar in Lalique keeps things lighter, airier, fresher. Lalique is your late night sensual madame being graceful and ladylike. Allure is the lady of the night (no not those kind!).

So there you have it. The most "creative" mens fragrance from Chanel within the past decade or so was actually by Maurice Roucel not Jacques Polge. However, I prefer Allure homme to Lalique because of its richer composition and depth, but many might prefer Lalique's lighter, cleaner rendition of this oriental woody smell. Maurice Roucel is the Super Mario of the perfume world in more ways than one. Still, Super Mario was the original platformer and deserves a thumbs up for all the other platformers it has inspired !

Top notes: crisp watery notes, pear, cardamom,
Middle notes: nutmeg, suede, patchouli,
Basenotes: vetiver, warm woods and vanilla.

“Aha! This is what Daim Blond was supposed to smell like!” – not quite, but Obsession Night for men (ONM)delivers what I was looking for from Daim Blond and largely succeeds.

Yes, the opening is fruity. But this is good fruity. A pleasant “watery” and delicately sweet pear note intertwined with a sprinkling of cardamom to restrain the generic bonbon fruit bomb opening that plagues 90% of the fragrances on the market results in an attractive, delectable and well designed fruit accord. More spices in the form of nutmeg add further vibrancy before the suede makes things interesting by lending a smooth leathery tone which in concert with the diluted pear forms one of the most accessible yet satisfying light fruit and leather pairings around. The base adds a comforting warmth and gourmand feel to the suede-pear unison. The one complaint that I have with ONM is that I would have liked the suede-pear layer of goodness to last longer. Although I still get hints of suede, whiffs of that watery pear and tinges of spices every now and then, the vanilla and “warm woods” clearly dominate the base, which deep down into the drydown smells like a caramel skin scent not unlike the effect found in the smash hit Tom Ford Azuree Soleil (although its not as sweet here). This skin scent drydown lasts for around 7 hours.

If Daim Blond had violated your olfactory mucosa with an apricot and heliotrope blast intense enough to put Willy Wonka in a comma, and left you nosing around for even the slightest hint of suede, you need to try ONM. It succeeds where the Lutens falters. While the pear note lacks the richness of the apricot in Daim Blond, it is still wonderfully rendered here and is presented at the right concentration so as not to distract from the composition. And, the suede/leather fits right in. Forget the bell jars, buy this pear shaped bottle.

Top notes: Lavender, Pine, Bergamot
Heart: Patchouli, Wormwood, Precious Wood, Jasmine, Geranium
Base: Sandalwood, Tonka, Honey, Amber

Going through Jacques Polge's fantastic work for Ungaro mirrors my experience with Peter Jacksons' award winning gamble of bringing to life the seminal Lord of the Rings series. So far I have enjoyed both the works of art in reverse chronological order, thoroughly satisfied with parts 3 and 2. I am yet to watch my copy of Fellowship of the Ring, but thats because I was lured first by Ungaro I and its wormWOOD note instead of the ghastly look on Eijah WOODS face on the cover of the DVD.

Ungaro I's main focus is wormwood (absinthium), a key ingredient of german Wermuth beer and french absinthe liquor. However, before you reach the heart of 'wood, Polge leads you through pristine opening notes of lavender, bergamot and pine. The use of pine in just the right concentration here certainly contributes to the fresh, uplifting, yet non-generic tone of the top notes. Alas this phase is extremely fleeting. But wait, you can already smell the boozy molecules marching towards your nose receptors...the wormwood slowly makes its presence felt. Similar to what YSL M7 did with oud/agarwood, I find the singular focus on wormwood interesting to say the least, and its rendition here to be absolutely perfect. Its not overdone, yet its very obvious. Its superbly balanced and anchors the fragrance well. It lends a "red", "boozy", non-alcoholic, wine-like sensual aroma, which is slightly sweetened towards the end of the evolution of Ungaro I. You can expect to get 'wood for 7+ hours.

Ungaro I is a superbly crafted dark/boozy/red wormwood fragrance. I dont think its quite the masterpiece that the lavender+civet dynamo that Ungaro II is, but thats probably because I personally prefer those types of fragrances. I also prefer M7's smoky agarwood to Ungaro I's absinthe, but once again thats because I am not a big fan of wine/alcohol and boozy notes. That said I find Ungaro I to be substantially more worthy of my money than something like L'Artisan Fou d'Absinthe; the wormwood in Ungaro I is richer, longer lasting, and closer to the real essential oil. Ungaro I is also less saccharine and fruity than the whiskey blast that is D'Orsay's Le Dandy. If you like this sort of thing in your fragrances, there are very few (if any) which are better than Ungaro I. Even at its slightly inflated discontinued price of $65+, its well worth the moolah. At the very least, it has raised my expectations of LOTR1 : Fellowship of the Ring....

Notes: (contrary to what the Basenotes notes pyramid says, gingerbread is not an actual note in Bois Des Iles)

Top: aldehydes, bergamot, neroli, peach;
Middle: jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, ylang-ylang, coriander;
Base: vetiver, sandalwood, benzoin, musk.

This review is of the EDT.

Created by the legendary Chanel head perfumer Ernest Beaux, a Russian immigrant, Bois Des Iles (Bdi) makes a strong case for importing Russians brain power and creativity! Bdi might be the best of Chanel, and one of the finest fragrances created. It’s a masterfully composed and perfectly balanced woody-gourmand fragrance. It makes most recent Chanels look like an embarrassment to the Chanel fragrance catalog. And yes its got that gingerbread/donut note thing going on, although I cant see anyone wearing this perfume perfection to a giggly carefree Dunkin’ donuts date…its far too suave for horny high-school first base encounters.

The most surprising thing about Bdi is that its more of a sandalwood fragrance than many fragrances that claim to be constructed around that note. From the more-cedar-than-sandalwood fragrances like Santal Noble, Tam Dao, etc., the cloying sweetness of Trumpers Sandalwood to the spicy sweet attack of Original Santal, Bois des Iles shows them all up with its superbly blended sandalwood note. A sparkling and smooth citrus (and slightly fruity) accord opens Bdi, and the medicinal yet cool vapors of sandalwood make one exclaim “Eureka! I found wood!”. The sandalwood is lent a comforting softness and approachability by a deft use of a floral heart.

Bois des iles is also (suprisingly) a very adept gourmand. It has a lingering "gingerbread" accord which is most prominent in the middle floral notes. It’s strange and captivating at the same time and is probably the result of a collision of the lingering ‘wood, the sweet florals and coriander. This spicy sweet accord inconjunction with the smooth sandalwood is woody nirvana. Its somewhat similar to Lutens Santal de Mysore, but unlike that fragrance, its less loud, more restrained, and far better balanced, i.e., the spices and (turkish) sweets dont bury the sandalwood six feet under. The cool sandalwood returns to the forefront in the base, and alongwith the vetiver, extends the longevity to way past the 7 hour mark.

If you like fine classic fragrances and/or are interested in experiencing one of the more impressive sandalwood fragrances on the market, Bois des iles should be at the top of your list. It also smells surprisingly contemporary - Ernest Beaux had set out to create a fragrance that bestowed a feminine character to the traditional masculine domain of dark woods. Little did he know that almost 80 years after its creation, this classic fragrance’s gingerbread note would represent the upper echelon of perfumery amidst the plethora of fruity, aquatic, and “gourmand” juices. Ah yea, that gingerbread note…..no, I can’t imagine Ted Kennedy wearing this one.

Notes:
Top: Basil oil, Clary Sage oil, Lavender, Origanum, Petitgrain
Middle: Carnation, Cinnamon, Geranium, Hay, Jasmin, Patchouli, Pine Needle, Sandal, Vetiver
Base: Amber, Castoreum, Leather, Moss, Oilbanum, Tonka, Vanilla

Its interesting to note that so far, none of the reviews have described Patou Pour homme's (PPH) composition in detail. Is it really the best mens fragrance created? Is it worth selling your kidney for? Is it really that much superior to similar classics from the 70s and 80s? Will gas prices keep rising? I will take a crack at providing a detailed review and answer these questions in the process.

PPH initiates the supposed godly experience with top notes of lavender piggybacking on a crystal clear clary sage oil note. This pleasant opening fades fast, and is ushered to the heart of the composition shouldered by jasmin and carnation. These floral notes are the calm before the storm - a soft inviting aroma before the more "macho" accord muscles into contention and takes over. The main accord of PPH is a bitter herbal slightly smoky aroma which may not be to everyones liking. It blooms more in warmer weather, but thankfully a vibrant patchouli note adds a much needed ambrosial earthiness to keep things balanced. From here its smooth sailing - PPH's base introduces a warm and smooth amber dominated melange which when combined with the herbal smoky character of the main accord creates attractive sillage.

PPH is a light oriental which is well composed, sports good quality ingredients, and lasts for a good 8 hours. With all that said, I dont find anything in its composition to put it at a higher pedestal than say Van Cleep pour homme, Chanel Antaeus or Gucci pour homme ('78 - discontinued). At its regular price, it would be a thumbs up - however at its current discontinued price of $150+ I am not so sure. Try before you buy, and try the aforementioned classics as well. Patou pour homme - whats in your pocket ?

• Top notes of bracing mandarin, lotus leaves, cardamom, and ginger.
• Middle notes of coriander, bay rose, macy, davana, and violets.
• Base notes of patchouli and dry amber and musk.

"A fragrance that exudes Italian elegance, excellence, creativity, vitality, and energy. " ... I thought I had lost all those attributes after taking one whiff of this generic unexciting impotent mess called Subtil pour homme.

I had just had my way with another (and more expensive!) disappointing plasticky aquatic (Clubman by Truefitt&Hill) when a sample of Subtil pour homme dropped into my lap. First impressions were decent; a well executed mandarin note complemented by spices like cardamom, coriander and ginger to perk things up (interestingly cardamom is the Truefitt&Hill house note). Soon after that the all too familiar (and poorly executed at that) "village bicycle" aquatic note corrupts the olfactory receptor neurons causing them to go haywire. The notes pyramid sounds more interesting than it smells...dont be mislead, Subtil is little more than spices + generic aquatic cologne.

If anything, Subtil has slightly more character and panache than Clubman. Another thing...with Aqua Di Gio around, theres no need to invest in this Italian mess. Close the books, this ones not getting promoted to the upper echelon of perfume ranks.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Galbanum
Middle: Hawthorn, Mimosa (Acacia)
Base: Ambergris

Aubepine-Acacia (AA)? Hawthorn-mimosa? The manatee name didnt interest me at all, and I had purposefully delayed testing this Private Collection fragrance because of its classification as a "feminine" frag (although its easily unisex). I should have tried this earlier when I had a chance to buy the 8.4Oz flacon for $160.

AA is a stunningly beautiful fresh green floral fragrance. The top notes are captivating: lemon and bergamot ride a wave of green-green-green galbanum to create an undercurrent of a bright and fortifying herbal-citrus accord. The citrus notes then drop out, the hawthorn slips in and then slowly but surely the mimosa flower makes its presence felt. The floral heart powers AA from here onwards, although some remnants of the "green" accord remain to ensure AA's true classification as a "unisex" fragrance. The mimosa heart is rich, plentiful and exquisitely rendered. I also detect either a pine, mint or clove note burried in there somewhere - this "easter egg" note is instrumental in making sure that the pretty mimosa doesn't turn this into a "girly men" fragrance. Longevity is excellent (clocking in at over 8 hours) and AA pumps out some of the most attractive multifaceted sillage I have experienced.

And multifaceted it is...you will get whiffs of green, lemons, subtle hawthorne, gorgeous rich mimosa, and even some pine and or mint the entire time you have this scent on. Its as exciting as playing out ones role playing fantasys behind closed doors (and smelling good while doing so). I never thought I would say this, but I have probably found the perfect floral for men for this summer. AA - get with the program.

"For the 007 kind of guy elegant, sophisticated, debonaire, suave, sexy, and D A N G E R O U S! "

Conquest to my nose is an interesting alliance of two notes: grapefruit and lavender. Its flow is like a game of two halves played in the same style by two different teams. Its also not your typical run of the mill citrus fragrance.

The notes pyramid can actually be reduced to: Top: Grapefruit, Middle: Lavender, Base: cedar, vetiver, benzoin. Conquest opens with a burst of tart citrus notes; its the dual combo of yuzu (a small grapefruit like fruit), and grapefruit (err...its grapefruit) that provides this sour yet appealing opening. I cant discern the fig note but I believe its role is to diminish the possible astringent impact of the yuzu and grapefruit pairing to manageable levels..and it succeeds. The heart notes are all about lavender (or Iced Lavender, according to the official notes listing)..interestingly to my nose, it seems that the yuzu/grapefruit note and high octane doses of lavender in this rendition share a trait - a tart character. Once again, the floral and apple notes are barely perceptible to my nose, but I believe they control the intensity of the "iced" lavender note. By this time, Conquest has entered its last phase of dominance .. and here is where it reveals its rich set of notes. The lavender, while still prominent, is joined by vetiver and benzoin to form a complex base which lasts for atleast 5 hours.

Despite sporting widely varying notes in its pyramid, the dominant accord of Conquest is surprisingly coherent (although the base does reveal a more varied set of notes). Conquest differentiates itself from the hordes of cookie cutter citrus releases every year, and is definitely a must try if you like grapefruit and/or lavender notes in your fragrance. Its citrus start belies the fact that its elaborate basenotes make it suitable for evening wear as well. Conquest will probably not make it into my rotation because there are many fragrance in the crowded citrus realm that I like more. However, it doesnt really matter whether you are a 007 or 711 kind of guy - Conquest can help you conquer the challenge of smelling good.

A side note: Despite what's stated on the bottle, Conquest for men is actually an EDP, composed of 18% concentration of oils.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Petitgrain, Clary sage, Green note
Heart: Jasmine, Mandarin, Clove, Rose, Aldehyde
Base: Patchouli, Moss, Leather, Amber, Vetiver, Musk, Tonka

As the_good_life, Eluard and hirch_duckfinder point out, this is a vastly underrated and overlooked fragrance. We have all experienced (and at times, been assaulted by!) those unrestrained, brash overly leathery and mossy grandpa scents from the late 60s. R de Capucci (RdC) is that fragrance but after spending a season with the guys from Queer Eye for the Straight guy.

As soon as I spray it on, RdC pleasures the senses with a smorgasboard of intricately arranged and extremely pleasing notes. Its an exhilirative attack on the senses. Theres lemon and sage with the subtlest hints of jasmin and rose - this cocktail is boosted by superb use of aldehydes which provides just the right degree of sparkle. I could spray RdC over and over again just to experience this opening set of notes. The composition then shifts a gear, loses a couple of notes, but maintains its bright feel by introducing a superbly rendered clove note which maintains the luminous path blazed so far. Half an hour later, RdC dries down a noticeable yet never suffocating notes set of leather, moss and vetiver.

RdC is a "summer chypre". Its a chypre perfect for people wary of harsh mossy fragrances from 760 B.C (made by cavemen for cavemen). It wont make you feel like as if you are being strangled by a raw leather belt which has been left in the sun for far too long. RdC lays a welcome mat before sipping you your hard-to-ingest capsule coated with a layer of sugar. You feel good and well taken care of. Layering Yatagan with Aramis wont do - you just have to try RdC on its own.

Notes: Vetiver roots, ginger, spices, wood, cedar.

Smooth, suave and distinguished .. no not JFK, I am talking about Vetiver'48.

Vetiver'48 has fast jumped to the top of my favorite vetiver fragrances list. It smells clean, yet deep. This is not the well made but linear rendition of the vetiver like in Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire. The vetiver is obvious to the nose, yet it isnt harsh or overly earthy..its extremely well balanced and is sieved through a mixture of citrus, ginger (+ possibly other spices) and cedar notes. A special note has to be made of the ginger in use here - it provides a zing! to the formula, yet is never overbearing and is mostly responsible for giving Vetiver'48 its arresting elevating accord. It is multifaceted yet has a calming and powerful effect on the senses. Sillage is perfect and longevity is over 7 hours.

Vetiver'48 is one of the best vetiver scents out there. Its not as "fresh" as Original Vetiver, as "earthy" as Route De Vetiver, or as "linear" as Vetiver Extraordinaire. It avoids all those classfications by being superbly balanced. Vetiver'48 has a signature aroma which is edifying and provides lots of confidence. With it on my wrist, I can have any woman on my arm.

Notes:
Top: Lavender, Lemon, Basil
Heart: Woods, Cedar, Incense, Rose
Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Tonka, Amber, Musk

"The name Grafton was given to Truefitts’ newly blended fragrance in 1983 at the suggestion of one of HMS Grafton’s officers, who while being attended to by Truefitts barber, particularly liked this unmistakably masculine fougere aroma and suggested that the new fragrance is named after the gracious line of HM battleships."

I have to agree with my friend hirch here. This is a top tier green fougere and possibly one of the finest "barbershop" scents around. Lavender is the main star here, but unlike various raw medicinal interpretations of that note, the lavender in Grafton is presented in a very nose-pleasing manner. Its stripped of its at-times harsh natural edge, and brings about a certain uplifting "brightness" to the composition inconcert with a backdrop of refreshing. The lavender powers through the fragrance, and is accented by a delicately weaved incense note which injects just the right amount of smokiness to keep the scent well balanced. The rose and lemons, while not that obvious to the nose, do their part in providing a scent barrier which prevents the incense-lavender combo from going into overdrive like as in Encens et Lavande..

Talking of which, I was also testing Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande at the same time, and for comparison purposes, found that the incense note far dominates in the latter half of that scent. The real showdown in the "Battle of the Barbershop Cologne King" though is between Grafton and the classic Caron pour un homme. The 100 year old classic, while a fine scent in its own right, outputs a harsher lavender note and is more powdery. I find the effulgent aroma of Grafton more engaging, and the core ingredients better renditioned. Grafton isn't just a fine barbershop scent - it posses enough depth in its composition to be suitable for formal occasions as well. Like the Grafton Type-14 Blackwood, its a deceptively simple, yet highly effective fragrance. Unlike the Blackwood though, I dont expect Grafton cologne to be decommissioned from my wardrobe anytime soon ..

A sweet, soapy, spicy accord with hints of "dirty" is what all Spanish Leather is about. This is my first experience with Cordovan leather (made from "horse butt" hide) and from what I have heard and read, spanish leather is usually more "festive" spicy and sweet than English or Arabian leather.

Despite having a distinct musky tea-like note indicating at a possible "unisex" tag, an underlying layer of light leather steers this ever so slightly towards the "masculine" category. For men, its like wearing pink and getting away with it. There is a certain spicy cool effect in play here (probably clove buds note?). Unlike other "sweet" leathers like Serge Lutens Daim Blond, T&H Spanish leather doesnt overdo the sweet and musky elements of the composition. Spanish Leather dries down to a musky woody base with longevity clocking in at 5 hours. There's not enough latino heat in Spanish Leather to make it a permanent part of my fragrance harem because the scent isn't as "well rounded" and "voluptuous" as I would like it to be. Still, its an easy leather to wear and one of the better fragrances from T&H.

I came across a sample of this recently, and enjoyed it. Its not your typical aquatic/marine fragrance (its even spelled differently than the other Aqua's out there).

Acqua lacks the stark, briny ("saltwater"), realistic stormy seashore effect of Erolfa, or the deep ocean algae-laden (posidonia - "soiled diaper") aroma of Bulgari Aqua or Mare. It captures the more pleasant less common aspects of the marine domain. Infact, I am not sure if its a marine fragrance at all. The main accord (well theres very little development here) is fresh (minty) and sweet with herbaceous notes. Its not overly minty or sweet and at times smells like soap. It lacks that metallic synthetic "twange" that corrupts the composition of so many generic aquatics (which probably speaks to the quality of ingredients in use in Acqua). Sillage is low, but it lasted well over 5 hours on my skin.

Acqua will challenge your idea of what a marine fragrance should smell like. For many, it will seem (and smell) grossly misnamed. But if judged on its composition only, you will find a nice subtle minty sweet fragrance with hints of herbal elements. Its simple, very wearable and pleasant. A top "office frag" so to speak. Acqua wears well on skin, but I would imagine it would do even better as a home fragrance. Acqua isn't just another fish in the pond.

Notes: Lavender, Amber, Incense, Sage

If like me you are wary of the sometimes scarily oriental fragrances that Mr. Sheldrake puts out, dont worry. Encens et Lavande (EL), like Iris Silver Mist, is one of those atypical Serge Lutens fragrances and is better for it.

Lavender and incense play a big part in EL. The lavender isn't sharp and piercing like as in Caron Pour homme, and lends a cool and fresh angle to the waves of smokiness brought on by the incense. Theres are hints of some herbal elements in the composition but they are very much subdued by the dominant lavender-incense accord. EL goes quiet within minutes of application, and its no sillage monster like other SL creations. Longevity is good (approx. 6 hours).

EL is a refined, sophisticated fragrance which showcases an excellent lavender note supported by beautifully rendered incense. EL isn't as pure and grand as Creed Royal Scottish Lavender (the best lavender out there), and isn't as playful and fresh as Acqua Di Parma Lavanda Tonica. In some ways, EL smells dark to me. A charming handsome man who's also a silent killer. Wear Lavanda Tonica to office, and reserve EL for close intimate settings.

Official description: "A fresh aromatic characterized by citrus, mint and a crisp oceanic accord enhanced by fresh florals, woods and musk"

Really? An oceanic accord in the 1880s? To the best of my knowledge, the molecule responsible for oceanic accord ("calone") was discovered by Pfizer in 1966, and since the late 80s has been used in a zillion teen-ho frags. My guess is that the "oceanic" accord in Clubman is probably accomplished using geranium (it smells a bit similar to Amouage Arcus)

One would think that a citrus fragrance released in the late 1800s (from a respected british barbershop) would smell clean, simple and distinguished. Not so. Clubman starts off smelling pleasant, if quite unexciting. The subdued citrus and mint notes create a relaxed feel, before your nose rudely assaulted by an extremely common and synthetic ("plasticky") smelling "noise" in the perfume. Yes, this is the same cheap clumsily incorporated "oceanic" note which can be found in many drugstore fragrances (unless its geranium). Thats the extent of evolution in Clubman; its like A-to-Z from citrus+mint to "chemical juice". There are far too many superior aquatic and marine fragrances - a little known fragrance by the name of Acqua Di Gio is one of them.

Notes: Citrus, Jasmin, Spices, Cedar, Sandalwood

A bit of trivia about this cologne:
"Trafalgar owes its name to one of the most celebrated naval engagements in European history - the battle of Trafalgar. This famous maritime confrontation took place off Cape Trafalgar, on the southern coast of Spain, on 21st October 1805, the very year in which William Francis Truefitt established his business. The overwhelming British victory destroyed Napoleon's plan to invade England and helped to secure the British naval supremacy for years to come. The British however suffered almost 1500 casualties, amongst them, Britain’s hero, Admiral Nelson, who was mortally wounded."

Cardamom definitely plays a big role in Trafalgar. Its almost immediately perceptible from the beginning, first meshing with citrus notes at the top before defining the main accord with cedar and jasmine. Jasmine does it part in subduing the potent combo of cedar + cardamom. Trafalgar is one of those moody scents; in cooler weather, the cardamom blends seamlessly with other more bright and floral ingredients to create a masculine spicy woody aroma. In warmer temperatures, the cardamom gets out of control, and just like the british, overpowers the composition, establishing its nasal supremacy.

Would I buy it? No. Do I care about British history ? No to that too. But Trafalgar might be worth your time if you are partial to the note of cardamom.

Notes:

Top: bergamot, aldehydes, leafy green
Middle: hyacinth, white rose, lily, geranium, jasmine
Base: sandalwood, vetiver, musk amber

Opening with a burst of aldehydes, Calendre greets you with a briery powdery smell which fortunately gives way to a rich coherent heart of rose, jasmine and lily. This is not the cheap plasticky floral accord which infests numerous whorific celeb-teen inspired bile. It smells clear, natural and possesses an unusual character. Temperamental as they might be, the floral heart has distinctive characteristics representing a herbal-metallic twinge which I find quite attractive. It doesn’t overpower the scent, but is there in just the right amount to keep things interesting. Calendre doesn’t scream – instead, it stays close to skin, creating a micro-sillage factory which pumps out a powdery floral accord infused with bits of metal.

Calendre is for a woman who started off as a small town girl and was gifted with enough natural beauty to go on to become Miss . This same woman is also smart, a “beauty-with-brains” and was accepted to medical school. She’s not a nerd, has streaks of individuality, and can balance both fun and work. Shes not afraid to party hard, has a wild side which can seem freaky, and is as comfortable at an Aruba nightclub as she is at the library. She’s driven, likes to drive, and can keep her boyfriend/husband on a leash if she wants. Shes feminine, and ambitious with a steel exterior. No, she’s not Hilary Clinton.

Notes:

Top: Bergamot
Heart: Cypress, Galbanum
Base: oakmoss, ambergris, musk

Originally created for french actor Maurice Chevalier in 1948, Cypres-Musc (CM) is a gritty, manly yet at the same time beautiful fragrance.

While most cypress, cedar or juniper dominated scents come off as one dimensional and incomplete, CM succeeds because of its brilliant rendition of a high quality cypress note. The cypress is allowed to showoff with minimal interference by complementary notes. It’s obvious from the get go, and is punctuated by hints of citrus and herbal notes to create a refreshing coniferous experience without being too lumberjack. When drydown approaches, the cypress has mellowed in intensity, and a “green” musk with layers of moss indicates that its time to stop hunting deer and head home and relax infront of the fireplace.

So why the neutral rating? (Creed) Epicea. While based on the essence of Russian pine, I feel that Epicea overlaps with certain characteristics of CM. To my nose, pine and cypress share some olfactory vibrations. While less piney than Epicea, there is a certain degree of similarity between the two. Epicea renders a realistic pine note supported by clove and spices while CM is more categorical in its execution. Part of the private collection CM is also far more expensive, and hard to come by in 2.5 oz. bottles. Epicea, being an EDT, can be had for much less. With that said, if you are looking for one of the most exquisite cypress notes in perfumery, CM is a must try.

Notes: Orange oil from Valencia, pettigrain, orange flowers from Tunisia, jasmin from Egypt, iris absolute, leather with birch tar, Spanish ciste, oak moss and patchouli.

Cuir D'Oranger (Cdo) is one of the more interesting "leather" scents that I have encountered recently, and surprisingly it may be one of my summer staples. Don a leather jacket, grab an orange, step out into searing heat and you are set to experience Cdo.

Cdo opens with a burst of bitter citrus which immediately piques the senses. Gradually the jasmin and iris heart, while being discreet, tame this intense opening. The floral heart is sandwiched between two intense notes set, and thus isnt explicit in its performance. The bitter orange accord is here to stay because it plays a starring role in Cdo. The base reveals a smorgasboard of notes: stinky birch tar, desiccant moss, and drafts of leather. Its dirty, raw, and alluring at the same time. The bitter orange swirls through this rich mossy base, providing a sharp contrast to the dry animalic show on display. The resulting accord smells like if a batch of raw oranges was left to decompose on a leather seat in a car in 100 degree heat...weird, but interesting. The moss-birch laden base reaches your nostrils filtered through a veil of orange oil.

CdO is definitely worth a try. Its more of an oakmoss-dominant fragrance than a leather one. In cooler weather, the moss base is more prominent (thus Cdo smells drier), while in warmer weather, the bitter orange top melds well with the moss-birch base to create enticing sillage. This is probably one of the best fragrances from the house of Miller Harris.

Notes: Mysore sandalwood, cumin, spices, styrax balsam and caramelized Siamese benzoin

While on my sandalwood adventure, I recently decided to seek out this non-export Serge Lutens rendition of the mystical mysore sandalwood. The sandalwood gets whacked early on in the game, the captains take over too early, and the fragrance lacks stugots.

The sandalwood is apparent from the beginning. While lush, it is cocooned within the serge lutens note palette of various spices, cumin and amber/caramel. At this point, it smells like no other sandalwood fragrance out there...unless ofcourse if you have tried other Lutens fragrances; then it smells awfully familiar. The cumin, spices and caramelized benzoin with hints of sandalwood smell delicious - infact, I see streaks of a well behaved Arabie (2000) here; the main accord here smells like a toned down version of the spicy-sweet nastiness found in Arabie's juice. As the fragrance progresses, the sandalwoods' cohorts take charge and morph it into the familiar sticky-spicy-sweet-profuse aroma which emanates constantly from Sheldrake's lab....except this time around, its not as cloying and suffocating. While the sandalwood has all but disappeared from the composition, it seems that its imperceptible woodiness restrains the typical lutens sugary accord from venturing into the "cloying" territory.

Is Santal de Mysore the ultimate sandalwood scent? Definitely not. While I prefer it to Arabie, it smells like a subtle variation on the standard Lutens perfume design pattern. The sandalwood isn't plentiful enough, and the rest of the composition smells tired and repetitive at times if you are familiar with other fragrances from the house. Santal De Mysore isn't bad, but Etro Sandalo, Villoresi Sandalo, Creed Santal Imperial/Bois De Santal, and Diptyque Tam Dao are all more worthy of the sandalwood name. This cuminized mysore potion needs bigger balls with more juice.

Cafe Cafe Puro pour homme (ccp) is a text book example of seduction via top notes. An inviting and well balanced fruity-citrus bouquet of notes makes a good initial impression. From there, it all goes down hill. My nose picks up some clove and spices before an extremely generic and synthetic plasticky drydown hits like a ton of poorly mixed concrete. It has that "I have smelled it elsewhere" vibe to it - well yes we have, we have smelled it in every generic mens cologne released since the mass use of cheap synthetic molecules in perfume. Its a chemical fart of epic proportions really and it wont let up.

Even at $15 per bottle, this is not a "good value" fragrance. You really are getting what you pay for. Old Spice is good value. Brut is good value. Iceberg Twice is good value. Hell, many classic YSL fragrances are now amazing value. Ccp is not "good value". The most interesting thing about Ccp is its sinewy snout-like bottle, which along with Smallto Fullchoke's bottle might find multiple uses inside and outside one's personal den. Sad really.

Tam Dao notes: Rosewood, Cypress, Goa Sandalwood, Ambergris

I know this is a review of LV Sandalo, but my initial impressions of it were "A Glorified Tam Dao!!". Upon closer inspection and comparing it with Vanuatu and Australian Sandalwood EOs unveiled deeper intricacies of these mysterious "mysore" wonders.

Sandalo features a copious heart of Rosewood while Tam Dao's first half is an excercise in hitting the senses hard with a forceful Cedarwood note. It is important to understand what Rose/Cedar wood smell like, and to not confuse them with sandalwood (which happens a lot). Rosewood has a floral-sweet smell with hints of spiciness while cedarwood smells woody and "pencil-shaving like" with hints of smooth sweet warmth which is quite "sandalwood" like. As previously mentioned, Sandalo hits hard with rosewood. Initially, the excellent notes of lavender and rose do a coital dance over the underlying layer of rosewood - after a few minutes, these two notes merge and bring forth the rosewood heart in naked display. I believe that it was a design decision to use lavender and rose inconcert with rosewood to amplify the rosewood accord (a mix of lavender and rose can smell a lot like rosewood). The rosewood persists for a while before the drydown introduces amber and patchouli to "smooth things out". In the case of Tam Dao, the harsh pencil shaving cedar gives way to a somewhat similar drydown - the rosewood intermingles with ambergris to give birth to a sweet creamy accord.

I am not a scent guru by any means, but these are my observations: Both Sandalo and Tam Dao smell a lot like Australian sandalwood to my nose. Theres nothing wrong with that - the sandalwood down-under may lack the medicinal depth and "magical aura" of the mysore oil, but it is a fine sandalwood blend in its own right (and easier on the nose if I may say so). Sandalo's drydown smells the closest to the Aussie blend to my nose - its less sweet and more "tart" than the aus santal. Sandalo may disappoint if you are looking for something close to the mysore oil mixed in with the composition (although none of the fragrances duplicate the mysore smell very well - Santal Imperial perhaps comes the closest). However, by all other accounts, Sandalo succeeds. The pairing of rosewood/sandalwood with a host of other uplifting and meditative notes like lavender, lemon, rose and neroli give it a certain brightness and spark. If Tam Dao left you wanting more, give Sandalo a try. While I much prefer Santal Imperials less cluttered but more accurate blend, Sandalo is worth seeking out if you are on a journey to find your HG. It may well suprise you.

Notes:
Top: Citrus, Lime, Lemon, Bergamot
Heart: Petitgrain, Neroli, Citronella
Base: Orange-flower, clove

West Indian Limes (WIL), released in 1870, is probably T&H's best seller. West indian lime, the fruit, is small and less juicy than other lemons and lime, but has the best tangy and refreshing lime aroma. I had high hopes from WIL after trying the excellent T&H WIL scented shaving cream, but wasn't very impressed.

Going by the notes structure, I expected a consistent citrus output throughout the duration of the scent; there are a host of citrus fruits in the top notes, neroli in the heart, and orange flower in the base indicating so. The reality is that WIL is impotent, yet can go on for hours (well, by citrus standards). The opening is zesty and refreshing with lots of lime and lemon which unfortunately lasts for only 2 minutes before melding into a floral-citrusy-woody heart of petitgrain. Yes, petitgrain is the king of this West Indian juice. Possessing that distinctive woody-dry yet every so slightly floral heart, the petitgrain accord slowly squeezes every last bit of juice from these small west indian limes in a scintillating authoritative display of flexing its clout over the proceedings. I get the slightest hints of clove in the drydown, and while the limes last all but 2 minutes, the petitgrain stretches the longevity to over 6 hours (albeit discreetly).

If you like petitgrain, WIL will interest you. I have tried many better more potent citruses, but considering that WIL was released over 125 years ago, its somewhat impressive (from a historical perspective). A commoner like me would not have been able to afford this in 1870 (I would probably be dousing myself with the inferior 4711 instead). WIL is no lemon, but in 2007, it just comes off a bit derivative...and common.

Official notes:

Top: Bergamot, mandarin, Cardamon
Heart: Lavender, Geranium, Clary Sage
Base: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, musk

1805 starts off with somewhat fresh and attractive citrus notes with hints of the ocean air. And thats the height of its achievement really. From there, 1805 fast disintegrates into a persistent overly synthetic and salty accord which never lets go. Salty can be good if done right (try or taste Erolfa). But here, the notes smell cheap - theres just too much cardamom and geranium and it overwhelms the composition. The sandalwood and musk dont even get to enjoy the ocean voyage.
I have also tested the shaving cream, and its just too salty - it made my eyes water, resulting in more lubrication for my wet shaving experience.

1805 isnt a "terrible" scent, but many at Basenotes have beaten the "oceanic/marine" fragrance (sea)horse to death and theres simply no place for 1805 in the crowded sea of offerings. Creed Millesime Imperiale, Creed Erolfa, and even the obnoxious-little-brother Creative Universe's Mare blow 1805 out of the water.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, French Lavender
Heart: Cedarwood
Base: Mysore sandalwood, Bourbon Vetiver, Amber

Bois Du Portugal (BdP) has been granted lofty distinctions as "the king", "best fragrance ever", to weird associations like "old man smell" and "Old Spice 2000"...sometimes you start wondering whether some people are handicapped by a wooden nose.

BdP is neither God's personal cologne, nor is an "old man" smell. It is though a masterfully crafted dry woods fragrance. It announces its presence with a bang - a powerful force of sharp lavender, bergamot and dry cedar results in a tingling spicy woody accord which can either instantly draw you in or turn you off. But wait...spend some time with the scent before you go off writing praises about it or crying to momma that you spent your yearly savings of $180 on a 1670's fragrance. There's no oakmoss in BdP as far as I can detect. What I do detect after the thunderbolt opening is a stark change to a vetiver dominated accord - yes, vetiver, a note which almost no one has mentioned in the reviews so far. It must be my skin then. The formal/powerful/forceful theme continues albeit this time in a more understated fashion, with a smooth vetiver note joined by subtle sandalwood tones. I catch whiffs of the powerhouse opening from time to time, but its the "hidden" vetiver in here which attracts me the most. And it lasts and lasts, if less forcefully than before.

BdP is a tad overrated and a tad underappreciated. Its a powerful, masculine and forceful composition whose qualities I have only recently unearthed over the space of an year. Be on the lookout for the brilliantly utilized vetiver note on display here, which complimented by the spicy woody top notes pushes BdP to regal heights. GIT? Old Spice? Oakmoss? Get real people. Smell the full force on display here.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot
Heart: Italian Jasmin, Bulgarian Rose
Base: Mysore Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla

Made for Empress Eugenie (a woman who seduced Napoleon and brought the downfall of an entire nationa), I found JIE to be quite a surprising scent. Dont be mislead by the name - the real star of this scent isnt Indian, not Italian.

JIE opens with an attractive lush bouquet of jasmin and roses, with the bergamot providing fresh overtones. Shortly there after, a transformation begins to take place - the sandalwood creeps out from the base, and envelops the floral elements in its smooth, woody, rich creamy aura. Yes, JIE is less about jasmin, but more about an exquisite note of sandalwood. This is probably one of the best renditions of sandalwood I have experienced (and I have tested a lot of sandalwood scents). The drydown consists of just the right amount of jasmin weaved with the creamy sandalwood, resulting in an intoxicating and comforting smell. Longevity? Lets just say after putting this on, you will be at "it" all night long..

JIE easily smells unisex to me. If you are looking for a heavy floral jasmin scent, JIE isn't it. It is however, an exquisite sandalwood fragrance with a secondary jasmin note providing a floral element to the drydown. Empress Eugenie was renowned for being strong willed or hard headed, and the prominent sandalwood note in JIE perhaps speaks to that fact. Highly recommended for both men and women!

Notes: Indonesian patchouli, white flowers, cardamom, camphor, cistus, galbanum, cannabis resin, cocoa accord

Too many Lutens offerings adhere to the following design template:

candied fruits + honey + hay + benzoin + amber +

That so called rich oriental arabian inspired perfume design pattern has exhausted my nostrils, and theres only so much candied someone can take. I wonder what an eau de cologne from Lutens would smell like? *shudder* Eitherways, Borneo 1834 joins my short list of SergeLutens fragrances that dont send candied shockwaves to my brain and make me fear their uber potent sugar coated wrath. Borneo is not a particularly impressive fragrance though, but what it does it does with grace.

Right off the bat, I will state that there are similarities to the now legendary A*Men. Sure, they arent the same fragrance, but Borneo smells like a less complex, muted version of A*Men. The patchouli, cannabis and especially the cocoa form an appealing yet linear dry accord which forms the heart of the fragrance. I also detect delicate hints of spice in the mix. By contrast, A*Men opens with a rousing start, displaying attractive notes of lavender and mint(much needed in gourmand fragrances to offset the sweetness), with a stronger heart of coffee and patchouli and "that caramel, chocolate and vanilla drydown" which has won it many fans. The more I compare the two, the more I realise how much better A*Men is (for a fraction of the price). Borneo's longevity is average too.

Borneo is a nice but unspectacular "exclusif" fragrance. Its a dry cocoa scent which isnt particularly complex, and suffers from average longevity. It smells decent enough, but its definitely not worth a plane ticket to Paris to pay homage to the wacky den of Mr. Lutens. I gave A*Men a "neutral" rating, and although Borneo isnt a "terrible" scent, its definitely not as good as A*Men thus warranting a "thumbs down" rating. But I guess it would somewhat work for people who find A*Men a little too much to handle, so heres a neutral rating for Borneo 1234.

Notes:
bergamot, lavender, geranium, oppoponax, sandalwood, amber, vanilla

Or Des Indes (ODI or "Gold of India") is a suprising title for a fragrance. What is MPG trying to recreate here? The smell of gold after it has been transported through the harsh streets of Calcutta? Or is it ridiculing the fact that India is the largest consumer of gold despite the fact that 75% of the population lives below the poverty line? Whatever the reason, lets go onto the review!

ODI opens with an orangey yet tart combination of bergamot and lavender before unraveling into a pungent, bitter and sweet aroma. Oppoponax is the main star here, and it displays its supposed spiritual cleansing and demon vanquishing powers with full force. Unfortunately, this phase doesnt last as long as I wanted it to, but the sensual comforting drydown of sandalwood and amber with that trademark metallic twinge present in so many MPG drydowns provides a fitting finish to a smooth and rich display of fragrance notes. I dont find it to be overly powdery, and it can easily be classified unisex.

Or Des Indes smells nothing like gold - dont let the name scare you away. It doesnt smell chemical-ly like a lot of bling bling. It does however smell like the meditative temples of India. It is comforting, relaxing, and soothing. I would have liked more oppoponax, but I guess MPG can go for gold next time.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart Italian Jasmine, Turkish Rose, Violet
Base: Leather, Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla

Inspired by the "sport of kings", i.e., horse riding, I expected Royal Delight to smell "green or mossy" with a hay note in play somewhere. None of that can be found here. No carrots either. This is one of the most potent Creed creations, an oriental/sweet powerhouse which rivals the moroccan dreams that are conjured "by that Shiseido duo".

Royal Delights' main accord hinges on the interplay between the rich and lusty heart of turkish rose and jasmine, and the basenote of leather. The turkish rose and jasmin lend a dense floral depth to the composition which when joined by the top note of mandarin creates an accord which smells somewhat like scotch-tape. This is especially noticeable if more than 3 sprays are applied, which should be a no no especially in warm weather, because the sillage could suffocate a horse to death. Applied lightly, Royal Delights reveals all its delights - the initial thick and full-bodied accord is more subdued, and blends well into a base of vanilla and hints of leather which impart a mysterious seriousness to an overall sensual potion. Longevity? 12 hours should be expected at the minimum and the sillage will make A*Men fans sit up and take notice.

I feel that Acier Aluminium does the sweet-fruits thingy with more panache and style, but if you are looking for a rich, sweet, intriguing and somewhat exotic fragrance by Creed, Royal Delight should be at the top of the list. Just go easy on the application, else your horse may want you to lead it to water.

My first foray into the house of Ungaro, and what a start! Ungaro II (U2) is one of the most sensual and well blended fragrances I have tried in recent time.

I couldnt find the notes listing for U2, but despite being masterfully crafted its not hard to detect whats going on. U2 opens with a slick lavender note - its neither too floral nor sharp, and piques the senses. Soon after, I detect hints of citrus, followed by a floral heart which enriches the composition. At this point, the much talked about civet note makes an appearance - to me its a stroke of genius to mix gonad scrappings with the sensual + happy-go-lucky feel of the previous notes. The civet isnt raw or unbearable - for sure its detectable, but instead of recalling images of donkey poop on an exquisite floral bed on a sunny afternoon, the civet note here draws images of a sensual passionate encounter with the opposite sex at a richly perfumed private dig amidst secrecy.

Ungaro II is a sensual, rich, provocative fragrance. The lavender + citrus + floral composition is enriched by a near perfect rendition of a civet note. These are cat gonads at their finest. Some things arent meant to last forever, but this is one rare case where I longed for some discontinued gonad goodness.

Released in 1924, Knize Ten certainly has a lot of history behind it. Its a leather powerhouse with a few caveats.

The opening accord is a burst of assorted citrus notes which resemble the smooth mandarin-dominated accord of another leather classic, Creed Royal English Leather, except not as smooth or rich. Despite what the notes pyramid indicates, the leather makes its presence felt almost immediately. Its a powerful pungent leather note which unfortunately does smells quite a bit like turpentine. Its not the most appealing leather note, and it actually distracts from the overall construction which is extremely well blended. The supporting citrus, wood and floral notes do a good job of toning down the intense acerbic leather, but I think it will bother quite a lot of people. Some may wonder, why bother? The same effect can be had by spending time in a crusty car garage meddling with various motor oils and tools.


The trick to enjoying Knize Ten is to:

1) Wear it in cool weather
2) Mist instead of spraying

If you follow those two rules, you will enjoy the depth and complexity that this leather classic has to offer. Longevity is excellent. But can people look past its brash and corrosive leather note? Knize Ten has an attractive exterior with a heart of stone.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, mandarin
Heart: Jasmine
Base: leather, oakmoss

Leather perfection in a bottle.

Unlike other various leather scents which feature ghastly & raw interpretations of leather, the leather note on display here is perfectly balanced - just the right amount of rawness, pungency, and smoothness. The leather base is integrated with the superbly blended combo of a mandarin top and a jasmin heart resulting in a rich otherwordly vibe to this potion.

Royal English leather is potent, powerful and perfect. If leather scents have scared you off your hide, Royal English Leather will draw you back in. It is history in a bottle. It is leather perfection in a bottle. All other pretenders should kneel down now.

HOT Always ... hell yea, hot it is! A blazing cinnamon note is the star here. New York? It smells like Laurice Rahme came up with the inspiration for H.O.T Always after a visit to Phoenix, Arizona during the blazin' summers.

For sure, you shouldnt be averse to cinnamon else you will not enjoy the better part of this fragrance. The cinnamon comes out blaring from the start. Its almost like a Malibu fire raging through billion dollar homes. I get all sorts of notes in the beginning - cinnamon is very obvious, wafting amidst a puff of floral notes with hints of civet and patchouli. The potent cinnamon note blazes a trail down to the basenotes - the drydown is a pungent, animalic yet alluring mixture with hints of cinnamon keeping things interesting.

I like this Bond. Sure theres a bit too much cinnamon in the composition, but it wears well in cool weather (during the summers, I feel this will be a little too much to bear for many). Its loud, its potent, and it draws attention. I dont know how similar it is to Givenchy Gentleman, but as a composition, this is some hot stuff. Ignore the cheesy name, and give it a try. You might get HOT and bothered over it.

Notes: civet, castoreum, costus roots, cistus labdanum, ambergris, Morrocan rose, cumin, ambrette seeds, patchouli

The notes are a powerful tour de force of all things animalic. I went in expecting smells of a wet dog, unshaved dirty hormonal crotches, sweaty armpits, dirty socks, etc. I came away confused.

I dont know whether its the skin chemistry acting up, but what I get from MKK is sweet light airy floral which dries down to a sexy musk scent with hints of civet. While a pleasant smell, it smells quite feminine, really. It must be one darn potent Moroccan rose in use here. Something like Kouros blows the pretentious animalic doors out of this one, while Musc Ravageur does the sex/sensual/pheromone with much more sexual panache.

Overall, MKK isn't a bad scent - its just not what I was expecting. Its a fairly tame, demure fragrance (never thought I would say that about a Serge Lutens fragrance!) with a light pleasant musky floral accord. Would I shell out the big bucks for a freaky bell jar of this one ? Definitely not. It doesnt stand out much in its composition, and cheaper alternatives about. All the talks of this smelling like Genghis Khans nether regions turned out to be false - it smells more like one his harems before the late night carnage of love making.

After Erolfa, Mare has been the most talked about aquatic/marine fragrance. The initial notes dont give any indication of its intent to imitate the smell of the ocean/beach - pleasant and floral, the ginger lily note presents an inviting opening. From there, the sea salt and the avocado form a characteristic accord which smells green, earthy and salty at the same time. Infact, the effect is not unlike the posidonia "soiled diaper" note in Bulgari Aqua, except that its not as prominent in Mare. The ginger lily does great work in controlling this "soiled diaper" note, and the overall effect is of walking near a clean breezy beach with some salty decaying seaweed in the vicinity. Mare also suffers from poor longevity: 3-4 hours max.

Mare's not a bad scent, but it does share similarities to Bulgari Aqua, which I am not too fond of. Consider Mare to be the toned hotter beach sister of Aqua; same family, better genes, wears bath suits with aplomb and shows off more at the beach. I had grown tired of Erolfa after wearing it for 6 months. Wearing Mare reminds me how great Erolfa is. Erolfa: still the king of aquatics/marine.

Notes (from chanel.com):
Top: Clary sage, Lavender
Heart: Patchouli, Sandalwood
Base: Amber, Rockrose, Spice, Honey

"Men can be both strong and vulnerable, and the ANTAEUS fragrance reminds us of this by alluding to the theme of virility with tenderness and indulgence" - This very apt description of men and Antaeus (the god) is explored in this classic via a masterful demonstration of modern perfumery.

Sparkling sharp notes of sage and lavender greet you almost instantly upon spraying. These top notes are gripping and powerful, with lavender being the dominant note. A luscious heart of sandalwood and patchouli tone down the loud notes and lend a light powdery feel to the composition. The heart segues into a dry, arid base of leather with a touch of amber keeping the proceedings from disintegrating into a caustic leather showdown. The longevity is legendary, just like Antaeus himself.

Antaeus is probably the finest mens fragrance from Chanel. Its a virile potent juice which is skillfully composed with impressive results. The intensity exhibited in the top notes subside as the fragrance progresses from the top notes to the basenotes. Its a reflection of the battle between Hercules and Antaeus. Wearing Antaeus won't make you feel like a god, but it might make you appreciate a near god-like performance in modern perfumery.

Notes:
Top: rose, bitter orange, lemon
Heart: cedar, patchouli, sandalwood
Base: amber, musk

Sandalwood apparently promotes creativity and concentration, and eliminates anxiety. While Sandalo may not be one of the most creative scents around,it does have enough mysore sandalwood to eliminate any anxiety attacks you might experience a depleting bank account after you become
addicted to fragrances of this quality (maybe).

Sandalo opens with a bitter orange note which lasts for seconds before the royal note of mysore sandalwood makes its appearance. From my experience,
this smells like the real deal - it possess that slightly dry yet creamy quality that sandalwood from the city of palaces is known for. I dont smell any rose - its not needed here eitherways. I prefer my sandalwood without overpowering dewy floral elements (which attract too much attention to themselves). 5 minutes later, the cedar note rises in intensity and overpowers the sandalwood - at this point, it smells like the cedar powerhouse that is Tam Dao (really, Diptyque should stop
marketing that buddhist temple fest as a sandalwood fragrance). As Sandalo slowly transitions through the heart notes, the cedar slowly fades away and
sandalwood is prominent once again. But now, another complementary note will make your nose twitch - its the patchouli. This patchouli-sandalwood
combo forms the main act for sometime before the sandalwood runs out of steam, and Sandalo dries down into an ambery patchouli base. One of my main gripes here is that the basenotes last for a good time, and the sandalwood is long gone by then, leaving you with a patchouli dominant base (this isn't "Patchoulo", Etro). Despite being
an EDC, Sandalo does last a good 6 hours.

My hunch is that Etro did use real mysore sandalwood oil, but didnt use a whole lot of it inorder to keep costs down. The composition is well constructed, flows smoothly, and
contains a decent smattering of sandalwood evident at various times during the evolution of the scent. If you are averse to patchouli, you might not like the drydown. This is my
first Etro fragrance, and Etro's off to a flier. I cant wait to try other Etro fragrances. Let the anxiety attacks begin.

Notes: currants, white honey, candied Turkish rose, Egyptian jasmine, smoked leather, beeswax, Balkan tobacco, Peru balsam, patchouli, tonka bean, styrax, juniper, vanilla.

The Sheldrake-Lutens extreme oriental duo is at it again. Look at the notes. You can already guess whats coming up.

Fumerie Turque starts off smelling quite pleasant. Fresh notes of currant , rose and honey meld with hints of tobacco and leather to create a pleasant aroma. And then suddenly it all goes downhill. The tobacco increases in intensity, as do the syrapy notes. The notes of styrax, patchouli, vanilla, rose and tobacco join forces to hammer your senses. Its sweet pipe tobacco - make it very sweet. It just doesnt smell right - tobacco if used correctly provides depth and richness to a composition. Here its cross-dressed in fruity syrupy notes. Its like Arnold Schwarzenegger being handed the role of John Nash in the movie The Beautiful Mind. Its just not right. It doesnt remind me of a gentlemans club in swanky Manhattan - rather the image I get is of a grumpy old man smoking a pipe in an ethnic candy and sweet shop. Oh, and the longevity is less than impressive; 4 hours max.

Let me quote a sentence from a blog review: "..tobacco leaves soaked in honey and caramel redolent rum". Bam! A perfect and succint description of Fumerie Turque. People were actually buying back up bottles of this tobacco candy - really, what are you smoking people ? (pun intended). If you are a fan of Serge Lutens' earth-shaking orientals, and would like tobacco with 'em, change the rating to a thumbs up.

I am glad this remains an "exclusif", locked up far away in a chamber in Paris.

I recently revisited Bel Ami (it was my first Hermes). Leather dominated on my skin - an offputting mixture of indian masala, raw green lemons, and artificial plasticky leather. To my at-the-time inexperienced nose, it was a little too much to handle. I may have been less shocked by the urinal masterpiece that is Kouros. A 100 fragrances (from 10 different houses) later, its still too much for me to handle. I don't get much vanilla. It was my first Hermes and put me off the line for a long long time - till I sampled Terre D'Hermes and Hiris.

Sorry Bel Ami, there are many other top tier leather fragrances which need more love from me.

Notes include: iris pallida root, galbanum, cedar, sandalwood, clove, vetiver, musk, Chinese benzoin balsam, incense, and white amber

I feel that the Sheldrake-Lutens style of moroccan honeyed candy infused fragrances is limited. Thus, I was quite relieved to find no listed notes of "honey" , "candied mandarin" or "chocolate covered cashewnuts dipped in sweetened butter" in ISM.

There is a raw and rooty iris note which runs through the entire composition - the immediate opening reveals a doughy iris accord not unlike Hiris. This lasts for mere seconds before the vegetal and earthy iris side is revealed - it smells a like a very raw violet note, but is probably the result of iris, cedar and vetiver coalescing together. I dont find it unnerving or distracting, but I prefer this accord over the Hiris-like iris note which opens ISM. The iris accord then further evolves to a make-up smell like accord which so dominates Dior Hommes iris composition - however here, the accord doesnt smell like a drag queen in heat, and thats probably due to superior note blending as well as ingredients like incense and clove which keep this "make-up" side of iris under check.

Luca Turin called ISM "a total success, the only current iris worthy of the name". Although he is entitled to his opinion, lets not get ahead of ourselves here Turin dear. The guy holds a PhD yet sometimes spews out gems which at times resemble the sophomoric and totally moronic exhaltations of Mr. nincompoop himself, Chandler Burr. Good thing the year was 1994 and the internet hadn't penetrated much of Europe so thankfully many people were safe from his writing (Burr's, not Turin;s). Sure, ISM contains a high quality iris note, and thankfully its not a candied mandarin and honey sensory attack that most Serge Lutens fragrances are, but it does have stiff competition from Hiris and Iris Bleu Gris (IBG). Its iris note lacks the earthy and cold nature of iris found in IBG, which is what makes IBG to me the definite iris accord in perfume. Its also less varied than IBG in its evolution. I dont doubt that ISM contains a high percentage of iris absolute (Serge Lutens was apparently unhappy with Maurice Roucel's initial iris concentration and requested the iris concentration to be doubled many times over - maybe he was likening iris to honey ) but to me, the overall composition doesnt stand out much. At various facets it resembles other iris interpretations, and consequently suffers from a lack of individuality (and especially compared to the other Lutens). Yes, it definitely smells good, and is probably a fragrance you should try if you like the iris note, but I have a feeling that most Lutens fanatics rave over it because its part the "exclusive" line and they would have to make a pilgrimage to the land of Eiffel tower and underarm hair to acquire it - thats part of the allure, isnt it ? Oh and IBG can be had for $110 for a large bottle...still, I give ISM a thumbs up. Finally a quality Lutens I can actually wear !

It seems like ages since I wrote a rave review for a Ralph Lauren fragrance. Since 1992's Safari for men, the house of Ralph Lauren has disintegrated into a mass commercial perfume juice factory releasing one haphazardly put together fragrance after another. While Polo Double Black (DB) doesn't exactly put Ralph Lauren back into the big leagues, I am glad to report that its a pretty decent fragrance in its own right.

The initial blast of mango and pepper is probably the highlight of DB - the resulting tangy aroma smells delicious. It reminds me of the period where I used to sprinkle black pepper on my fruit salads - yum ! Sadly, this accord is very fleeting. A bitter coffee note enveloped with low key nutmeg introduces itself next, and from here onwards is where I have the biggest problem with DB. DB evolves to a very dry and spicy fragrance - the nutmeg note increases in power, and alongwith the juniper berry and cardamom, makes me feel as if I am drinking sweetened jalapeno water while sweating it out in the arid Sahara desert. Amber, sandalwood, or even the spicy mango accord would have been very welcome at this point. Longevity is excellent, easily topping 8 hours.

So there, DB isn't a disaster - phew! It wont set your world on fire (unless you use 10-15 sprays that is), and the house of Ralph Lauren still needs to do a lot of work to climb back to the highflying heydays of Polo '78 and Safari '92. Double Black though is a turn in the right direction.

The house of YSL has a long and storied history of excellent fragrances, and Opium EDP is certainly one of the house's best offerings.

Opium EDP is an intoxicating oriental. The defining accord is a spicy sweet scent conjured by the interplay between the fruity blackcurrant and spicy peppers. The balance is perfect - it smells sweet but never cloyingly so, with the peppery heart providing an ambrosial quality to the fruity top notes. Opium EDP settles into a soft vanilla drydown with a herbal balsamic tinge. Longevity is fantastic - while the intoxicating sillage simmers down after 4 hours, the longevity averages 7-8 hours.

If you are looking for a sensual, deep and fiery fragrance, look no further than Opium EDP. Its a finely crafted spicy oriental with layers of sensuality. It is addictive, sedative and comforting all at the same time. It brings alerts senses and relaxes the mind. Continued use of this captivating concoction can lead to loss of rational decision making capabilities - not yours, but of the people lured in by your sillage ;)

Notes:

Top notes: Bergamot, Bitter orange, Mandarin, Leaves of Vetiver
Middle notes: White pepper, Coriander, Rose pepper, Ginger
Base notes: Sandalwood, Haiti Vetiver, Amber, Musk

Revisiting Original Vetiver (OV) after wearing it in both temperate and harsh weather, and I am glad to report that it wears equally well year round.

With OV, Creed's motive was to provide a fresh interpretation of the beneficial but difficult-to-wear vetiver note. A more earthy and mineral vetiver offering can be found in their classic Vetiver '48, but OV was created to appeal to the modern consumer who doesn't like raw vetiver roots dangling near their noses (not that Vetiver '48 smells like that). A soapy, fresh, citrusy opening draws in the vetiver wary wearer (try saying that fast!) - many draw parallels with Mugler Cologne, and for the first 15 seconds, yes, OV does smell similar. Nothing wrong with that, Mugler Cologne is a quality fragrance in its own right. After that though, the two take different paths to their respective drydowns. OV's heart notes provide a peppery edge to the composition - the main accord of OV is a peppery vetiver scent. This is not the caveman armpit lotion-like earthy vetiver of Route De Vetiver, nor the linear straight from the farm interpretation of Vetiver Extraordinaire. Creed have created the sugar-pill or the fruity vitamin chewables of vetivers. This is a smooth, easy to ingest vetiver with all the hard earthy rooty edges eliminated. The citrus notes, in concert with the pepper and vetiver provide an extremely pleasant smelling fresh and uplifting accord suitable for all situations. Longevity is very good, clocking in around 7 hours.

OV is a modern and dramatic reinvention of their original Vetiver '48 classic. It has been specifically designed to make the harsh note of vetiver more accessible to the modern fragrance crowd. The initial soapy blast mixed with pepper and vetiver notes creates a fresh yet complex fragrance which I would guess is about the only vetiver on market you can wear to office. You might be disappointed if you are looking for a rich and earthy vetiver here - Route De Vetiver or Vetiver Extraordinaire are what you should be looking at then. Or Creed Vetiver '48. Eitherways, with Vetiver '48 and OV, Creed have you covered whether you like your vetiver straight from the soil or clean and well behaved.

Time for a real review instead of a retailer mishap diatribe ;)

Fleurs De Gardenia (FdG). A UNISEX gardenia fragrance. Quite interesting, considering that I have never seen or tried a gardenia-dominated unisex fragrance. My curiosity piqued, I set out to discover how Creed intended to accomplish this .. and whether they succeeded at it or not.

FdG opens with a light almost watery floral note encircled by a citrus essence. Shortly, jasmine makes an appearance, and enrichens this opening accord. The jasmine is never indolic or heavy. Despite the presence of two floral notes (peony and jasmine), this initial accord clearly smells unisex due to the presence of a very well blended orange note. Mission (half) accomplished, I was eager to observe how the gardenia dominated middle notes would phase. With gardenia essences collected from every corner of earth, this was a gardenia big bang waiting to explode on my skin. Will Creed succeed in tempering a estrogen injection that a hefty infusion of gardenias usually bring about? Well, yes they will actually. The gardenia heart is surprisingly well behaved - instead of a rich floral bouquet, what I get is a controlled display of understated gardenia essences. It smells great without being loud or heady. The drydown is a deep and very pleasing musky, slightly salty accord with a light gardenia note wafting in and out. While the sillage is cut in half when the gardenia heart is exhausted, the drydown lasts a long time and stays close to skin - I could smell it 7 hours after application.

Creed has succeeded in creating a unisex Gardenia scent. At every level of its construction, the composition is perfectly balanced by notes which prevent it from being overly floral. The profound salty-floral (!) drydown is addictive and longevity is high. Fleurs de Gardenia proves flowers aren't just for women. I highly recommend this hard-to-find Creed.

Notes:

TOP:Cinnamon leaves, pink pepper
MIDDLE:Rose, cinnamon, bay leaf, coriander
BASE: Ambergris, Tonkin Musk

Even though Ambre Canelle (AC) isn't one of the more popular Creeds, I was intrigued by the name as well as the fact that it supposedly contains one of the highest quality ambergris notes in existence. Oh, and that its basically sex in a bottle.

AC has an immediate impact. It took me multiple wearings to decipher its opening accord. Its soapy yet spicy, spicy yet skanky, skanky yet sweet, and sweet yet soapy. It gets even more perplexing as the fragrance evolves - theres a certain amplitude to this accord, which is perhaps brought on by the use of jasmine in concert with the pungent bay leaf and spicy coriander. It is startling and intriguing at the same time, and a far cry from the usual citrus/lavender opening accords of the mass fragrances. This soapy/indole-laden/spicy accord lasts for an hour before drying down to a luscious and provocative ambergris and musk combo. The ambergris smells slightly sweet, deep and powerful; its in fine form here, and the quality of ingredients shows. This whale vomit is so good, you might want to bath in it. The sensual drydown stretches the longevity to almost 7 hours.

Ambre Canelle is an unusual and sensual offering from Creed. From its multifarious soapy/spicy/indolic first half to the ambergris-dominated pheromone-like drydown, its an arresting fragrance experience. It may not be for everyone, but once you are lured in by its composition and witness its bewitching effect on people around you, you may never want to go without a bottle in your collection.

Lavanda Tonica is a simple but classy lavender fragrance. Initial application reveals a brilliantly realized lavender note. It's potent, its virile and it takes centerstage. It almost approaches the regal heights of lavender nirvana found in the amazing Royal Scottish Lavender. The notes of lemon and bergamot stay in the background, and for good reason - when the main star of the show is letting it rip James Brown style on stage, the backup dancers should stay in the background and provide a coherent backdrop to the star's performance instead of disrupting the masterly show on display. I would have preferred this
lavender dominant accord to stay put - instead, Lavanda progresses to a rosemary and musk drydown. The drydown is powdery, even pot pour-ish in nature. It is comforting, and rounds up the fragrance evolution well.

Despite all the mention of virility and potency, the lavender by this time resembles an impotent 90 year old man - its still there, but its barely managing to stay on top. Despite this, Lavanda is no nancy boy fragrance - its unisex through and through. The fragrance as a whole is limping along at this point - the longevity is poor, 2 hours max. A heavy application can bump up the longevity to 4-5 hours, but at $55 a bottle, its not exactly cheap.

Lavanda Tonica contains a clear, elaborate lavender note which will probably rival any lavender interpretation you may have experienced before. The powdery drydown provides a sharp contrast to the lavender brilliance of the top notes, but like me, you may want the pyrotechnics of the curtain-raiser to never end. Sadly, they do, and so does the entire show inside 2 hours.

"Thou shall not cheat the customer with a misleading headnote", say LesNez. How about "Thou shall not cheat the customer selling a perfume concoction which skimps on notes and passing it off as an example of sophisticated niche minimalism", eh LesNez ?

The LesNez perfumer has been working on L'Anitimatiere (The Anti-matter) for 10 years....TEN years !! And this is the end result ? A faint alcohol opening, followed by a mineral water smell (i.e., nothing), before settling 20 minutes later into a trifling musk base which is barely perceptible 2 hours later.

I like the concept of anti-matter: from Wikipedia "Antimatter is not found naturally on Earth, except very briefly and in vanishingly small quantities (as the result of radioactive decay or cosmic rays). This is because antimatter which comes to exist on Earth outside the confines of a suitably equipped physics laboratory would inevitably come into contact with the ordinary matter that Earth is made of, and be annihilated." However, uninteresting minimalism demonstrations like L'Antimatiere deployed using basic notes like alcohol and musk are *not* interesting. Skip this alcohol + water + musk travesty and try Gendarme: minimalism done with panache, quality, and longevity. Heres a physics lesson for LesNez - after this one bombs, their lofty hot air ambitions will come down to earth.

Let me Play The Lion (LPTL - theres no way I am going to type that entire name again in this review) smells a lot like L'Artisan Fou D'Absinthe (FDA). I am guessing that the middle and basenotes are similar, with cedar replacing the absinthe heavy top of Fou D'Absinthe in LPTL.

Cedar is the first observable note, and is immediately followed by a not-so-roaring spicy sweet accord of spices and anise. Pine/Fir provide a tranquil frosty base to the spicy composition. Its not too hot, and its not too cold. It almost smells like a Moroccan spice market in winter (add some flacon loads of candied honey and sugar, and it would qualify as a Serge Lutens fragrance)

I think I prefer LPTL to FDA - while equally watery, it lacks the blackcurrant note which nearly ruined FDA for me. Its not intriguing enough for me to wear on a regular basis, and the name is too wordy and stupid for me to say it out loud in case I am complimented on it - for that reason alone, I might opt for FDA most of the times. Let This Be a Lesson for LesNez to Choose Less Doltish Names for its Fragrances (LTBLLCLDNF).

The Unicorn Spell was designed around the concept of “frostiness, violet, moonlight and transparency." To me it smells anything but transparent or frosty. Vegetal and very green, it should have been named The Unicorn Breath instead.

Violet flower forms the main heart of the fragrance. Its all about raw vegetal violets. The opening smells like salty cold cucumbers lying on a dinner plate in a hot and humid room. I dont know how this is supposed to convey frostiness and transparency. I doubt you will smell anything like this at the Himalayas or the North Pole. A floral (berry?) heart provides much needed sapidity to the droning violet accord, and the drydown introduces a pleasant but muted tea note. Longevity is 5-6 hours.

The Unicorn Spell fails to live up to its original flowery (no pun intended) description. Judged solely on its composition, I dont find it to be a particularly appealing violet fragrance either. If you are looking for a fragrance which highlights the vegetal dirtiness of violet, this might be worth investigating. I would recommend you try the classic Green Irish Tweed first, a fragrance which not only showcases the vegetal side of violet extremely well, but flanks it with notes of lemon verbana and sandalwood to form a very compelling potion. If you are on a budget, look no further than the excellent Grey Flannel - a superbly blended fragrance which is a must for violet lovers.

Notes: bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, ylang ylang, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, clove, oakmoss, tobacco, musk, iris, sandalwood, vetiver, leather, castoreum, patchouli and labdanum.

A bit of history first: Cabochard was created in 1942 for Madame Gres, a Parisian fashionista. After reading the notes list, I was ready for an olfactory equivalent of the Katrina disaster. After sniffing my way through a decant of Cabochard, I was impressed by this classic fragrance which I had formerly classified as obtuse.

Experiencing the fresh mandarin which opens the fragrance, you wouldnt guess that this is actually a fairly complex chypre. The high-pitched citrus notes blend with rose and jasmine to create an alluring floral blend which soon gives way to green notes. The green notes providing an interesting diversion, but aren't really the heart of the fragrance - so its good that they are fairly fleeting making way for the smoky balsamic leathery goodness that Cabochard is so famous for. Cabochard is a green chypre at heart. While the latter half of the notes list might indicate a full blown animalic leather snapping assault to the sense, I found it surprising well behaved with just the right amount of animalic leathery goodness and coolness. Coolness as in feeling fresh and minty. Not minty as in the fluoride toothpaste substitute that is Penhaligons LP#9, but minty in the way that animalic and leather notes are very well counterbalanced by the clove note. I didnt expect to like it as much as I did. It was almost like going to a Paul McCartney concert and actually enjoying the music.


Cabochard is an influential classic, and it shows in the way its composition unravel infront of your nostrils. The blend of fresh citrus, rich floral and earthy green notes all leading to the cool animalic leather accord is a textbook example of what good perfumery is all about. If you are a looking for a green chypre, Cabochard should be at the top your list.

Revisiting Davidoff's Zino after developing my fragrance dissecting skills even more. Zino holds up well. Very well, infact.

Zino is a rich, luxurious blend which showcases what Davidoff is (was?)capable of if it ever diverges from its money making water (eau), the Cool Water (and its derivative spin-offs). Featuring one of the great openings in fragrances, Zino grabs you by the crotch - but in a good way. Such attention grabbing top notes can be gimmicky (like I just did with my previous sentence), but in this case are a prelude to the great experience that is yet to come. Bergamot and sage around a heart of lavender - and it smells exquisite. I would be more than happy if this was only what Zino offered. But there is more to experience here; a rich floral heart to indulge in, to be exact. The floral duo of rose and jasmin provide complexity and sophistication to the fragrance. A smooth base of patchouli and tonka lends a soft, sweet ending to this olfactory powerhouse. This is a potent juice; 2-3 sprays should be more than enough to put you in a distinguished state of mind.

Zino might not appeal to you if you dont like florals. But that fact doesnt diminish its quality. Like men who can get away with wearing pink, its a masculine fragrance despite being a predominantly floral composition. While it doesnt approach the regal heights of mens florals like Van Cleef pour homme (a subtle jasmin note blended with powerful leather and castoreum) and Czech & speake no. 88 (rose otteo + vetiver), its not far behind. But there is a wide gulf between Zino and Cool Water for sure.

Royal Ceylan (RC) - a 2006 limited edition release - 1.7 Oz. for $270; at that price, this stuff better be the nectar of Gods itself.

Its hard to describe Royal Ceylan because no one note stands out. RC contains a characteristic accord which showcases a central citrus note complemented by less discernible notes of ginger, tea and sea salt. These complementing notes give RC an evolved citrus accord, with occasional whiffs of ginger and salt. The fragrance stays close to skin, but longevity is good (around 7 hours).

RC is copacetic - infact, it smells like a refined Erolfa, which is a good thing. However, when compared to Feuille Verte, it is lacking in flow and evolution, and doesn't smell as arresting. The singular and exceptional jasmine basenote in Feuille Verte itself surpasses anything Royal Ceylan has to offer. At regular Creed prices, I might give this a neutral rating, but at prices costing a credit card and a nostril, it really cant be recommended.

Olivier Creed visited far flung islands to seek out pristine ingredients for Royal Ceylan. If only the end result was as gratifying as his sea voyages..

Notes: Wild Mint, Violet Leaves and Blackcurrant over a base of Oak moss, Sandalwood, Patchouli and Musk.

Green Valley is a Creed offering which, like a bad family secret,is rarely talked about. Well the secrets out - this Creed's a winner!

I recall trying Silver Mountain Water (SMW) for the first few times and thinking "smells nice, but if only the sweet blackcurrant note was tempered by a mossy, citrus or mint note". Well, Green Valley smells like what my thoughts were envisioning - it has a blackcurrant note which is definitely noticeable in the composition, but its opening note of fresh mint alongwith violet leaves in the middle notes lends it a "SMW refined" aura to me. Infact for a short while during its evolution, when the violet leaves are making their presence felt, it does smell quite a bit like Green Irish Tweed. Green Valley is still very much its own fragrance though. At times it smells like an illegitimate bastard child of GIT and SMW, conceived in lush green valleys on the banks of a fresh spring.

Contrary to the reviews below, it smells nothing like Diors Fahrenheit; that "motor oil" note of Fahrenheit is nowhere to be found in Green Valley. I also observed that depending on your skin, either the violet leaves or the blackcurrant will be the more prominent showcase note. On clothes, its the earthy violet leaves which are more dominant. Longevity is around 5-6 hours.

Eitherways, if you thought Green Irish Tweed was too "earthy" and SMW was too sweet, give Green Valley a try. Exhibiting great composition and evolution of notes, it deserves more attention - just like the music of The Meat Puppets.

Notes:

Top: absinthe, angelica, blackcurrant
Middle: anise, pepper, clove, nutmeg, and ginger, patchouli
Base: pine, cistus, fir balsam.

Let me start off by saying that I wasnt expecting much from this fragrance. Hence, I was somewhat surprised to find Fou D'Absinthe (FDA) to be a well composed and wearable juice with decent longevity.

The fragrance is apparently constructed around the note of absinthe, an alcoholic herbal ingredient used in liquor. FDA certainly opens with a boozy alcoholy blast - this quickly recedes to make way for a sweet and herbal accord. The blackcurrants make their presence known at this point - theres that certain fruitiness abound. Thankfully, before the blackcurrant fruitiness has a chance to relegate this concoction to the generic "Kool Aid" category, the spices in the middle notes rescue it and usher it to the pine needle and fir balsam base. I would have liked the spices to stay around longer. The drydown is a sweet slightly boozy accord, which is pleasant enough. Being an EDP, FdA lasts longer than your average L'Artisan - ok, not THAT much longer, but you will be able to squeeze out 5 hours from one application. It doesnt project much, and stays close to skin.

FdA has a smorgasboard of interesting ingredients, but there seems to be something "Absinthe" (absent) from its overall construction. The boozy "absinthe" note doesnt last long enough, and the spicy middle notes make too brief an appearance. Ultimately, it settles quickly to a herbal-sweet accord which may not be to everyones liking. I would have liked something more in the drydown to spice it up...like a few spice notes. I dont think I will wear it often, but it is one of the more wearable and satisfying offerings from the house that Laporte found.

Notes: iris, neroli, carrots, coriander, hay, rose, ambrette seeds, almond wood, cedar, honey, and vanilla

"Hiris" is not just a clever play on words (Hermes and Iris were gods in greek mythology) - it (almost)approaches god like status for iris fans too.

Hiris grabs you from the opening blast - a sublime earthy iris note supported by crisp green and citrus notes create a vibrant feel. If you like iris, you may start believing in god, if you dont already...the opening is that good. I dont smell the carrot note anywhere, but some other people claim that its in there, if existing only briefly. Hiris then begins its (not so long) journey to what it really is - a smooth, doughy, sweet iris scent. The iris note never goes away - and thats a good thing. And despite the sweet sounding supporting cast, it never smells of "make-up", like Dior Homme. Thats a very good thing. The drydown is less earthy than the stunning top notes, but the iris is still noticeable, but this time flanked by the saccharine cast of ambrette seeds (they smell like musk), honey, vanilla and almond. It never gets cloyingly sweet like many Serge Luten scents, so you dont need to be worried about the honey and vanilla knocking you out, but I would have preferred a stronger coriander note, and a little less focus on honey and vanilla. But this is a scent for women, so I guess the sweet bias was intentional. Longevity is moderate, and sillage is good.

Hiris is one of the best iris fragrances around - it exhibits the iris note exceptionally well, and embellishes it with a varied set of notes. I would have liked the neroli and coriander notes to be stronger, and the longevity could be improved too, but those minor shortcomings aren't enough to pull down this great fragrance by the perfume Iris herself, Olivia Giacobetti.

Since the release of Envy, the house of Gucci has been on a downward spiral. And Gucci pour homme does little to change that.

The first few seconds are pleasant. It smells sharp and bright. Almost immediately, you get wood. Lots of it. Powerful cedary wood enough to make you feel super manly. And thats the main problem with this fragrance. Its too much of one accord, leaving you clamoring for more. Some accords/notes lend themselves to a one man orchestra much better than others. Sandalwood, rose, vetiver and even some citruses qualify for that. Cedary wood is a no-no, atleast for me. It smells unfinished, as if it was supposed to anchor some other notes which didnt wind up in the potion. It like eating pasta without sauce, pizza without cheese, or salad without lettuce (for all you health freaks out there). To add insult to injury, this wood needs a dose of viagra every now and then - its lasting power is less than impressive.

"Tom Ford wanted this scent to be like the classic men's fragrances of the seventies", so says the Basenotes write-up. I say, why not bring back from the dead the classic Gucci Pour homme (1976)? Unlike this train wreck, that one actually has balls.

Ah, how times have changed.

Gucci pour homme ('76) hails from a time period where men didnt used to shy away from manly mossy-chypre fragrances. A time when A*Men loving metrosexuals were quite rare.

I procured a decant of this from a swap, and am disappointed to discover that Gucci have discontinued this classic. Maybe fruity-ozonic-florals are to be blamed. Or just fruity people. Just Kidding. I wasnt able to find the notes structure for Gucci ('76), but I find that it exhibits a refined macho 70's vibe. The opening is sharp - lots of lavender and some bergamot. From there, its all woods and moss. Infact, it smells like a drier non-floral version of another 70s classic - Van Cleef pour homme. The base is mossy, woody, and animalic (is it castoreum that I smell?). A far cry from the sweet sexiness of Gucci Envy, this should have been rereleased instead of Gucci pour homme (2003). Longevity is great - atleast 7 hours.

Its unfortunate that great fragrances of the past have to be discontinued or are limited in distribution just because the nowadays the general public prefers to smell like lollipops, soggy fruit, the Red Sea and chocolate bars instead of bold mossy-chypres which used to be the main staple of the complex manly concoctions of past. Gucci pour homme ('76) is the latest victim of this trend that I have discovered on my fragrance journey.

Notes (official): "A fresh lemon fragrance with woody undertones." (yes thats all there is)

Bois de Cedrat (BdC, or "Drink Citron", in English, according to Google translation tools...seriously!) contains one of the most natural smelling lemon notes. The top note of lemon is distinct, clear, and coruscating. And the best part is that this lemon lasts. And lasts. Theres a lot of juice in these melons (sorry, lemons). It lasts way into the drydown, which smells woody mossy, but not overly so. I dont know why Creed have to be so cryptic about the notes structure. Why not shut up about the celebrity client list and open up their fragrance note structures to the public instead?

"Drink Citron" is a simple, but very elegant fragrance. Considering that its over 100 years old, it smells very contemporary. The simply construction of citrus top notes and a woody-mossy base has been copied by many, and its a testament to BdC's quality that it still smells great. I do find similarities with Trumper's fairly recent GFT; the notes pyramid smells quite similar, except that GFT's lemony top notes arent as exhilirating and fade faster than BdC's. GFT also contains a more pronounced woody-herbal base. I prefer BdC's overall flow because the excellent lemone note stays till the drydown. Longevity is very good for a citrus fragrance - atleast 5 hours.

BdC isnt the most complex fragrance out there, nor the most startlingly mindbending. Its a simple lemony-woody fragrance which still smells outstanding after all these years, and is amongst the best citrus fragrances you can buy today. Simple, elegant, classic, with a rich history. Bois De Cedrat is no lemon.

Lately, I have been on a floral-fragrance hunting spree, trying out various florals and training my nose. A crash-course, so to speak. Recently, a little known fragrance by the name of Fracas crash-ed on my table, and I had a chance to give it a test drive.

Fracas is widely regarded as one of the finest tuberose fragranes ever. I am wary of how cloying many florals can be. However, I had heard enough positive comments about Fracas so as not to have any preconceived negative notions about it before I had tried it. Didnt want any dashed and crashed hopes. Fracas greets you with a cordial accord - the hyacinth lends a fresh sweet smell to the opening, while the "green notes" (no they dont smell like money) afford a green grassy scent. I love this opening accord. Its Fracas-tic! The main guest of the evening is introduced during the unraveling of the middle notes. No, the guest isnt here to crash the party, but rather to be the life of the party...the party animal, loud and boisterous and drawing attention. Sort of like that drunk annoying school jock at a frat party, except that this time hes a straight A student too. Its the "Tuberose". Fracas probably has one of the longest middle note ingredient listings! Look at the middle notes list at the top...it scrolls over to the second line! It looks overly flowery, but Tuberose (and Coriander, to a lesser extent)clearly dominate - I observed that Fracas's evolution and note prominence depends on the weather. In cooler weather, its all tuberose. In moderate to warmer weather, the coriander is more evident, and imparts a spicy tinge to the floral goodness of the tuberose. Eitherways, the tuberose note here on display is excellent. It extends deep in to the drydown as well - I dont smell much of the woods and vetiver mentioned in the basenotes. Longevity is HIGH...8 hours easily. While it doesnt feel heavy, it creates killer sillage which might lead to bumps and crashes in closed constricted environments. Fracas-tic!

Fracas will probably be close to a holy grail if tuberose is your thing. And even if it isnt, its worth trying if only to experience what many regard as one of the finest tuberose fragrances in existence.

Oh, and Fracas = "Crash" in english...

Notes (from the official Dior site):

Top: Hawthorn, Honeysuckle
Middle: Sandalwood
Base: Cedar, Patchouli

Released in 1988, over the years Fahrenheit has crafted a loyal following and made women swoon over its addictive and intriguing aura.

Fahrenheit has three phases - first it smells of fresh cut grass. Shortly thereafter is revealed its defining accord - a strange but very enticing "motor oil" accord. I dont know what exactly causes this - is it the honeysuckle+sandalwood combo? Or is it the result of patchouli combining with sandalwood? Whatever it is, its enough to lube you up with a macho trail and make women follow your every whims and wishes (ok, maybe its not THAT magical). And no, you cant replace your KY-jelly with it, but it complements those coital scenarios very well, thank you very much. Eitherways, this unique motor oil accord stays till the very end, where the patchouli makes its presence known, resulting in an earthy-woody base. Coupled with good longevity and killer sillage, and Fahrenheit is a must have in any collection.

Fahrenheit, as the name suggest, pumps up the heat - its a manly concoction with a woody motor oil accord which elicits many compliments from men and women. Its still the best offering for men from the house of Dior.

Notes: bergamot, the citrus fruit of Sicily, Mysore sandalwood, floral and vanilla

Sandalsliver, The Perfume Originally Intended to be known as SANDALSILVER (yes, it was a printing gaffe by Montale!), the Perfume Originally known as SKIN. There are some fragrances with note structure and evolution that are so complex that they sometimes leave me confused while trying to unravel their intricacies. In the case of Sandalsliver, I was flummoxed even before the precious drops of this $135 bottle of rare essences hit my SKIN - and it wasnt because of its composition.

Despite what the name suggests, this isnt really a sandalwood fragrance. There is some sandalwood deep down in the composition, but its well hidden (sort of like Sandalslivers' "beauty", which I am still trying to discover). The sharp citrus sweet opening is good, if a bit unremarkable. From there, Sandalsliver takes a sharp turn and tries to mature into a musky sexy scent not unlike Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur. Although its not mentioned, I smell clove in the middle notes and musk in the base. The overall accord is bright, sweet and musky. Its not as overly provocative and deep as Musc Ravageur because it has a longer lasting citrus component. But it does smell like something from the same fragrance "family".

Its recommended that adults use Musc Ravageur to attract the opposite sex and enhance love making. By comparison, Sandalsliver smells like Musc Ravageurs less complex and less serious brother - a fragrance which can perhaps be used by aspiring Romeo's to reach first base. Maybe Montale had originally set out to create a musky provocative scent (as evidenced by the original name SKIN), and then decided to change course and go after the sandalwood aficianados. The result is a mismatch between the name and the fragrance. Its a decent effort, but it likely to disappoint sandalwood fans. And people looking to get to first base.

Notes: angelica, tuberose, amber, incense and vanilla

Part of the Creed Private Collection, Angelique Encens is a distinctive and elegant green incense fragrance.

As the name suggests, the two main notes on display here are the herbal flower Angelica, and incense. The incense note is noticeable from the top notes through the base. Smoky incense and the herbal overtones of Angelica are most evident during the unraveling of the top notes. The incense almost disappears during the middle notes where the angelica is joined by a muted yet refined note of tubeurose. The tubeurose provides a sweeter more floral depth to the angelica. The drydown introduces warm notes of ambery, vanilla, and incense; Angelique Encens ends with as much panache and grace as it started with. Lasting power is around 5-6 hours, with the fragrance keeping close to skin during the latter 1-2 hours.

Angelique Encens is one of the highlights of the venerable Creed Private Collection. A mysterious, elegantly composed fragrance, it ranks as one of the finest fragrances which showcase the note of incense.

Notes:
Top: Bergamot, lemon, brazilian, orange
Middle: Neroli, rosemary, nutmeg, coriander
Base: Musk, sandalwood

MPGs pour le jeune is a great spicy citrus offering. One of the first things thats noticeable upon initial application are the very natural notes of lemon and orange - bright, effervescent, natural, they just smell great! These are shortly joined by a spicy tart accord - the combination of nutmeg, coriander and a sharp neroli note lends a spicy tinge to the overall composition. The coriander and nutmeg never take over the scent unlike say in YSL Live Jazz. The drydown is smooth, musky and muted.
Sadly, le Jeune is lacking in longevity - on me, it lasted for 2-2.5 hours max.

Pour le Jeune is not terribly groundbreaking or original. It is however a very well made spicy-citrus scent from a great house. Although it's lacking in longevity, this is one I wouldnt mind refreshing (If I were loaded, that is).

Notes: Sicilian Bergamot, Rosemary, Fruit of Casoar, Iris, Nutmeg, White Pepper, Cashmere Wood, Oak Moss.

I admit I was excited by the opening notes. Fresh, tarty, with a hint of herbs. Good stuff! The listed notes sounded good - iris, pepper, wood, oakmoss! I kept waiting for the goodies to unravel.

It didnt happen. "Z" was stuck in its opening notes phase. Maybe it was one of the few fragrances where the top citrus notes really do last ...yay! So I waited a bit more. No. This was it. Tart, fresh, herbal and citrusy. This was the entire composition, with no depth or evolution. The notes list lied. This puts "Z" into the "generics" category pretty fast.

"Z" doesnt smell bad; it just doesnt stand out from the million other generics. Maybe there was a hint in the name..."Z"....the last letter of the english alphabet. The beginning was the end.

Reviews elsewhere say that Bois De Santal (BdS) doesnt contain any sandalwood. I say that it does. Atleast it does in the first 15 seconds or so.

BdS opens with a cedary sandalwood note (not unlike Tam Dao), which disintegrates fast. Its interesting to see the sandalwood note (which traditionally lingers at the basenotes) moved to the top of the notes pyramid. The accord smells quite woody - lots of cedar and a bit of sandalwood. Its all good, except for the fact that it evaporates inside 15 seconds. After that, the main accord of BdS appears - its a boozy smelling slightly sweet accord which reminds me of D'Orsays Le Dandy. Maybe its the result of the floral (osmanthus) and whale vomit (ambergris) notes. I like ambergris, but here with the osmanthus note it smells a little too "alcoholy". Longevity is a little over 4 hours, albeit in a discreet way (stays close to skin).

BdS contains a top note of cedary sandalwood which doesnt stay around long. I would have liked it to slowly make its way to the basenotes, lessening in intesity; this would have provided an interesting demonstration of the evolution of a sandalwood note. As it is, the name "Bois De Santal" isnt very fitting for this potion. "Bois De Booze" or "Bois De Osmanthus" is more apt - if you like your main accord heavy on osmanthus or alcohol, this might be worth a try. The problem is, many other fragrances do the sandalwood and the booze-accord thingy much better than BdS.

Notes: Ingwer notes, pepper, elemi, cardamom, woods of teak, kayak, cedars, Aromatic Cystus Albidus from the coast of Southern France, grey musk, the finest sandalwood, leather

Greyland is a spicy woody fragrance to the extreme. Upon contact with skin, Greyland immediately releases a smelly cloud of woods, cedar, and cumin. Especially cumin. Greyland is cumin-ed out to the max. The overriding accord driving Greyland is a salty spicy woody smell with loads of cumin, which inturn makes it a bit "smelly". I kept waiting for the musk and sandalwood base to appear and tame this cumin-ized accord, but it never happened. Cumin won it all, and conquered Greyland. Longevity is average.

Greyland smells like "Jean Pascal by Jean Pascal" without all the citrus-lavender notes taken out and the salty spicy wood notes bumped up in concentration. I like Jean Pascal because of its great mix of spicy woody fresh and faintly animalic smell. Greyland on the other hand smells like the spicy-salty part of Jean Pascal...and feels overdone and unbalanced. Theres only so much cumin a person can take. Grab a bottle of Jean Pascal and drive past Greyland without stopping.

If, like me, you were shocked by A*Mens' garish albeit genre-defining formulation, fear not...Mr. Mugler has created B*Men for all the people with no love for A*Men.

With a fruity spicy opening, B*Men indicates that its a very different offering than A*Men. The rhubarb and perhaps bergamot conjure simple yet effective top notes. The rhubarb is the main star of the show here. It creates a dry woody accord (with the help of other corroborative notes) that persists till the very end. Spice notes in the heart notes provide more depth, while the base of amber and vetiver gives the main dry-woody accord a soft yet non-intrusive base to fall against. While B*Men isnt a sillage powerhouse like A*Men, I find that it lasts almost as long, albeit in a more discreet manner.

B*Men sets things right for people who found A*Mens gourmand college party a little too overbearing. B*Men is a more controlled, mature and serious offering; its a dry-woody-spicy scent which smells nothing like A*Men. Interestingly, some might say that it is an interesting counterpart to its gaudy older brother, and thus it might be woth having both of them in your collection.

Notes: tobacco, leather, burnt wood dry notes, Oud

After having tried many spanish, english and russian leathers, I came upon Montales' Cuir D'Arabie (Arabian Leather). While I love many classic leathers, Arabian Leather left me indifferent.

Cuir D'Arabie opens with an extremely antiseptic smell - it smells sharp, like some disinfectant. I wonder what note this is ... is it the result of mint and tobacco ? Things get worse - within seconds, a dirty soggy unwashed sock accord appears. This seems to be the result of the leather and burnt wood notes. Its quite disconcerting. I dont know whether true Arabian leather smells like this, but even if it does, its a very repugnant smell. I prefer my leathers to be Russian or English, thank you very much. Are camels some how involved in the creation of arabian leather ? Just wondering. Their meat has a distinct smell, you know. Eitherways, Arabian leather lovers might like this scent (if its an accurate creation, that is) - even then, this leather accord doesnt last long. 20 minutes max before it disappears like Aladdin on his magic carpet running away from Jaffars castle. Slowly but surely, that familiar high quality oud makes an appearance. And just like in Aoud Lime, takes over the fragrance. 30 minutes into the fragrance progression time line, and its all aoud. Its not bad, its just not what the scent is about. Longevity is good, but the leather accord is short lived.

Montale Cuir D'Arabie falls short in two main areas:
1) Its leather accord doesnt last,
2) Even if it is an accurate recreation of arabian leather, I find this leather smell not to my liking. Montale Cuir D'Arabie falls short of the lofty standards set by Royal English Leather, Cuir D'Russie and Knize Ten.

A*Men is pretty popular. No doubt about it. Its also quite unpopular. No doubts about that too. And, its also a ground-breaking fragrance.

A*Men opens with a well-balanced, rich, slightly minty accord. Have a look at the top notes; bergamot, lavender, mint. Nice. The top and middle notes overlap, because almost immediately you can also smell some distant yet rich coffee notes. This blend of fresh and minty top notes with the rich coffee is excellent. It reminds me of Bond No. 9s' New Haarlem. So far so good. However, this is the mercurial A*Men. From here, the fragrance goes into overdrive. The shift from middle to basenotes brings a flacon-load of tonka, vanilla, caramel and chocolate notes. This is where A*men no doubt turns into the king of gourmands. Rich, sweet, and a total sillage monster. A holy grail, if this is the sort of thing you like. A skin hugging air sucking nightmare if you dont.

I dont think that highly of A*Men, but any fragrance which was able to carve out an entirely new category of fragrances deserves some respect. I dont like A*Men much, but I respect it for what it did for the fragrance industry. For me, if it had stopped evolving at the confluence of the top and middle notes, it would have been perfection. However, A*Men works well if sparingly sprayed on, and in cold weather. I dont hate it, I just dont like it much. I like its successor, B*Men, more. However I can understand the need to have both in the wardrobe.

Notes: Sandalwood and Bergamot, Geranium, Rose Otto, Cassie, Frangipanni, Vetiver.

No. 88 is a universally lauded fragrance with a celebrity client list to rival Creed. Naturally, expectations were high when I sat down to analyze and review it. Based on an old Elizabethan recipe, No.88 smells as relevant today as it did 100 years ago. Needless to say, No.88 doesnt disappoint.

No.88 is constructed around a rose note. Theres no escaping it. This is a rose scent. A manly rose scent to be sure. If you dont like florals or vetiver (which is elegantly used here), No.88 might give you a pause. Nevertheless, I suggest persevering simply because this is one of the most masterfully blended perfume concoctions around. The opening act of bergamot and rose absolute is a stunner - two notes harmoniously blended with the rose giving depth to the opening. Usually the citrus notes dissipate fast, but here the bergamot stays around for sometime - the rose then bids adieu to the bergamot, and takes no.88 further. The vetiver and rose then fuse together to create the main accord of no. 88 - an irresistable dark, woody, yet still soft and pleasant accord. The vetiver is noticeable, and its partnerships with rose absolute and a hint of sandalwood in the base creates a complex manly mossy floral drydown.

No.88 opens with fresh top notes, and then progresses to a complex floral-vetivery heart and base. Its a complex scent which I find to be very potent and quite wearable. While more suitable for the winters, it can be made to work for all situations and climates if applied lightly. This usurps Van Cleef pour homme (another excellent fragrance) as the best mens floral. While it may not live up to the unusually lofty expectations, No.88 is at the very least worth a decant or a sample for every mens fragrance aficionado. If women have Chanels No.5, men have Czech&Speakes' No.88.

Sandalwood Cologne (SC) is said to be Trumpers most sensual and complex offering. While it is a very well made fragrance with high quality ingredients, it comes up a bit short in terms of versatility and quantity of sandalwood in its composition.

SC opens with cracking notes of bergamot, lavender, herbs and spices. The opening is so good that if SC stayed linear after these wonderful top notes, it would easily qualify as a top tier fragrance. However, SC is composed of two halves. The less appealing half reveals itself midway through the floral heart. The floral midnotes reveal a pleasing yet slightly sweet accent to the proceedings. Note that so far, theres no sign of sandalwood. SC is flying high purely on the supporting notes cast. Good, but not what we were promised. The basenotes are rich and sweet - lots of vanilla, amber and patchoulli, with hints of sandalwood. The sandalwood is drowned by tons of vanilla here - it might as well be called "Vanilla Cologne".

SC is a rich, extremely creamy sandalwood fragrance - with little sandalwood. I find that a little goes a long way, and that it wears better during winters. It can get quite cloying at times. If you like sweet fragrances, SC would be right up your alley. However, sandalwood aficionados will likely be disappointed by SC; like Creeds Original Santal, it contains little sandalwood. However, I find this one to be less wearable than Original Santal. Sandalwood Cologne is good - but it really doesnt play in the same league as other sandalwood heavyweights.

Notes: mandarin, bergamot and lemon, a heart of tarragon, lavender and cypress on a light musk-like base with notes of cedar and moss.

For sure, there are a LOT of fragrances which have the typical citrus-herbal pyramid construction. And GFT is no different. But GFT is worth a try because of its good longevity.

At first GFT smells like lemons. Nice lemons. Fresh uplifting lemons to perk you up. The cypress in the middle notes is whats most evident from there onwards - the base of musk and moss lends a pleasing citrus-herbal accord to GFT. The top notes of citrus never go away - rather, the herbal middle and basenotes just add to the overall structure. The fragrance progresses like this: lemons, lemons+cypress, lemons+cypress+moss.

GFT lacks the startling quality of Neroli Sauvages top notes, and the complexity of the herbal-citrus mix of Royal Water. On its own, though, it is a nice lemony fragrance with good longevity. I just feel that Royal Water has it completely beat.

Notes: Chilled Sudachi, Ginger Pepper Cocktail, Raindrop Accord, Cedar Leaves, Black Basil, Sage, Brazilian Redwood, Patchouli, Suede Note, Amber.

With Euphoria Men, Calvin Klein continues its slide deeper into the trenches of fragrance house has-beens. While not a "bad" fragrance, its nothing special and smells like a thousand other generic fragrances out there.

The opening is citrusy and fresh - the Chilled Sudachi, despite having a fancy unheard of name, is a citrus fruit common in Japan. Its the raindrop accord which piqued my interest - apparently it creates a slight watery smell. Eitherways, the fancy use of sudachi and the rain drop accord dont differentiate the all too typical fresh opening from the other generic citrus scents out there one bit. Basil and sage afford a herbal accord to the fragrance, while the all-too-typical basenotes of patchoulli and amber complete the "been there done that experience".

So there you have it. Another unoriginal CK fragrance. It could easily have been a special edition of Truth or the horrid Crave. Its not bad, but theres not an iota of uniqueness in its composition. Its just a safe, generic, casual offering. And in todays hypercompetitive fragrance industry, that not good enough.

Many aquatic and marine fragrances differ in the type of ocean or sea water that they are trying to emulate. Erolfa emulates oceans which are briny and a bit salty. And it does it extremely well.

A blast of tangerine freshness opens Erolfa. Refreshing, like just stepping out of an SUV and into the open area by the sea. Erolfa contains an "ozonic" note which is the secret to its conjuring that alluring briny sea smell - to me, its arguably the best recreation of the sea smell around. This forms the heart of Erolfa and stays on till the end (6 hours later).

I prefer Erolfa's slighty briny interpretation of the ocean smell to various other offerings out there like Amouage Arcus or Bulgaris Aqua (whose posidonia note disturbs me). Also, Erolfa smells nothing like Millesime Imperial - the only thing they share is an ambergris base. If you are looking for a marine fragrance, Erolfa might be the one to remind you of all the happy and not-so-happy-Jaws-related memories.

Bold, brash and manly. And little talked about. BdG hits you with exquisite notes of Juniper Berry and Cinnamon leaves almost immediately.

This twin combo creates a raw, sophisticated and (perhaps) a formal accord when you put it on. The cinnamon provides just the right amount of spiciness to balance the juniper berries, and the base consists of light musk with a hint of vetiver. Longevity is around 5 hours on me - not too bad, but could be better. Projection is good.

BdG is a Creed standout. Its about two exquisitely presented notes - Cinnamon leaves and Juniper berries. If you dont like those two notes, you probably wont warm up to BdG during the cold winters when it would be very appropriate. BdG is at the very least worth sampling, no matter what your fragrance preferences are.

I tried to find the notes pyramid for Curzon, but the only description that I could find was this official company line: "a light chypre note with slightly spicy overtones "

Curzon has a floral-citrus opening. It smells slightly sweet - perhaps its jasmine blending with bergamot or orange blossum. From there, very quickly, Curzon reveals its chypre side - I can smell some herbal mossy action going on in there. Perhaps its the use of juniper berries with oakmoss. Or maybe its cinnamon leaves. Whatever the composition is, it does smell quite manly. However, it doesnt scream out loud - rather, Curzon stays close to skin. Longevity was average - about 3 hours.

Curzon is a nice "manly" cologne with a floral-citrus top and a herbal chypre base. Its definitely not amazing, or even intriguing. What it is, though, is a nice formal mens cologne with that reliable Trumper quality.

I was suprised by this offering from Armani; Black Code for men was pretty disappointing, but Armani Code for women is a fragrance worth investigating.

The excellent top notes of Orange and Jasmine are probably the highlight - not overly floral, yet just the right amount of floral aura surrounds the beginning. The solitary middle note of orange blossom is an excellent design decision - with the orange being the highlight of the top note, the orange blossom in the heart notes carefully transitions the fragrance flow to the basenotes. The note reminds me of the rich orange blossom note in Original Santal and it smells equally great here. The base of vanilla and honey, sweet but never cloying, give warmth and longevity to the composition.

Armani Code for women is what Black Code should have been - it can be easily be worn by men, and is an excellent orange blossom and honey fragrance which works in all situations.

Noa Fleur could easily be classified as unisex. Its not as "soft and feminine" as other florals for women.

I like the top notes here. A great combination of black currants and coriander. The coriander brings about a certain spicy rawness to the opening. The nutmeg in the middle notes continues this woody spicy feel to the fragrance, and the bulgarian rose provides a delicate floral backdrop to the composition. The benzoin in the base melds well with the floral spicy combination of the earlier phases.

As can be observed from the notes structure, Noa Fleur isnt a typical "heavy on the flower' florals. Its a spicy woody fragrances contructed around the bulgarian rose note with hints of hibiscus and peony. The benzoin, nutmeg and coriander certainly push it into the unisex category. Guys should give it a try as well !

Happy for women is a better structured fragrance than Happy for men. It opens with a burst of citrus notes - grapefruit is the most noticeable, and some bergamot can be detected too. The opening is bright, fresh, and quite enjoyable. The heart and basenotes are basically well blended flower notes. Theres no musk or sandalwood to be found here - this is an all out fruity-floral to put you in a good mood. Neither the fruits nor the flowers dominate the proceedings - the notes are well balanced.

Happy for women is a decent fruity floral which is quite appropriate for all seasons and occasions - its not terribly complex, and lacks the wow factor of something like Spring Flower, but it will put you in a good mood and perhaps even make you smile!

"Amazing Grace fragrance for women is an uniquely feminine blend of soft, floral blossoms accented by a hint of light musk."

I am not sure what to make of this - I couldnt find the official notes listing, but it smells like a decent blend of floral notes with a base of musk. An its very very light, as if its trying to be a graceful polite woman. Its even lighter than the Gendarmes. It smells like Gendarme for men with a floral note. However, unlike the Gendarmes, longevity is lacking, and so is the sillage.

Amazing Grace is a soft musky floral with low projection and longevity - its a nice unobstrusive smell, but it needs a bit of pizzaz and a longevity molecule. As it is, it would be more appropriate as a body lotion or soap.

A well balanced composition with varied notes and evolution, Lacoste pour homme was quite a surprise.

The top notes are bright - the tangy sourness of grapefruit and the sweetness of plum create a lively opening. Slowly the fragrance transitions to the spicy heart notes. Juniper, cinnamon and cardamom provide a refreshing spicy vibe and feel. The rum note in the basenotes is excellent - it makes an all too common base of vanilla and musk more interesting.

Pour homme is a well constructed fragrance. I was expecting a linear poorly thought out scent but was pleased to discover a varied wearable fragrance. Longevity is below average (~3 hours), but for the price, this is good value.

Happy for men opens with bright and fresh citrus notes - its mainly orange with a hint of lime. The citrus notes arent overbearing, nor the most authentic, but they are quite pleasant. Maybe the name Happy fits well. The middle notes consist of "green notes" - the exact composition isnt know, but it might contain some violet leaves and herbs; its does smell a bit "green". I smell cedar mostly in the drydown. The longevity was lacking.

Happy for men is a nice non-offensive citrus green scent - probably not the most original fragrance out there, but for its price, you could do worse.

Notes: mandarin, lemon, bergamot, mint, sweet pea.

Upon first glance, the notes of Selection Verte (SV) had me salivating. Perhaps I had found my holy grail for intense summers. May be I have.

SV opens with exquisite top notes of lemon and mint - it really smell cool and fresh. You can feel a cool blast on your skin when you first put it on. Must be one high quality mint ingredient in there. The base introduces an unusual note of pea, which transforms SV to a bit of a herbal-fresh concoction, lending further depth to the composition. It isnt extremely long lasting, but I do get around 5-6 hours out of this, which is pretty good for fragrances of this type.

SV is arguably the best citrus fragrance that I have experienced. It is a must try if you like citrus-mint fragrances.

"Chasing butterflies....A heavenly fragrance,
playing hide and seek amongst orange,
and lime trees in blossom"

Notes: Tuberose, Linden Blossom, Jasmine and Orange Blossom

La Chasse Aux Papillons (CAP) intends to evoke the image of chasing butterflies in a garden full of flower beds. It opens with a fairly nice smelling accord; its not terribly arresting, and smells like a mix of flowers and orange. Tuberose seems the dominant flower note; however, the tuberose smells a bit stale or muddy. Probably not the highest quality tuberose was used here. Neither the orange/lime or the tuberose note overpower each other - the result is a somewhat pleasant flowery fresh smell. I dont detect jasmine.

Theres very little development in CAP, if any, and the longevity is terrible. CAP is as week as a butterfly, and flies away from my skin within 30 minutes max. If applied on hair, it *might* last for an hour. Very poor. Sillage is nearly non-existent.

With its combination of a fairly average smell, a poor tuberose note, extremely poor longevity, CAP cannot win. It might do well as an airfreshener or a candle, but there are simply too many other more complex and expertly crafted florals out there which blow this away. This is a butterfly, nay a featherweight, amongst the heavyweights of florals. And it gets knocked out very badly.

This was the first fragrance that I invested in after joining Basenotes, and after having experienced 100s of new fragrances since then, I wanted to come back and re-evaluate FCUK HIM.

Compared to offerings like Curve, the various Cool Water variations, etc., this one holds fairly well. The opening notes offer a slightly herbal and fresh quality, with very little if any lavendar. They disappear fast; its a no brainer that FCUK contains no essential oils. However the middle notes are the strongest part of this fragrance: a nice mix of tea leaves, herbs and peppercorns which creates a minty-herbal accord which is kind of unique. The longevity is below average and the bottle design looks like a ANIGAV.

Overall, FCUK him gets derided for its name, but its not a bad fragrance. Its not terribly original and wont make you part from your Carons or Serge Lutens, but as a casual scent for daily use, it might suffice.

Notes:
Top: Lavender, sage, bergamot
Middle: iris, cocoa, amber
Base: vetiver, patchouli, leather

Dior Homme opens with a good blast of lavender and sage, resulting in an invigorating fresh and herbal accord. Within 20 seconds, you can detect some sweetness; Dior Hommes transition to a gourmand fragrance from this deceptive opening has started. A little gourmand flash, brought in by the cocoa and amber combination..not bad. I am down with gourmands.

A great iris note makes a very brief appearance during the middle notes;I liked those 30 seconds. From there though, a strange accord starts appearing. It almost smells like...ladies makeup. Or lipstick. It is interesting, but I would never want to smell like this. Its like I had rubbed revlon makeup on my wrists and neck. Sadly, while this accord tones down a bit during the drydown, it never goes away. Add to this very poor longevity (1 hour max on my skin), and I am left staring at the excellent bottle thinking what could have been.

If you like gourmands, give Dior Homme a try; to me, it cant compare to stuff like A*Men or New Haarlem in that area. Looking for an Iris based fragrance? You wont be able to smell much in this one; go for the excellent Iris Bleu Gris or Iris Silver Mist.

If you want to smell of make-up, Dior Homme is your man..or woman. Women might warm up to this...but my guess is too many men will find it a little too feminine. Men, stick to Fahrenheit.

Notes: cedar, sandalwood resin, candied mandarin peel, dried figs, dates, nutmeg, cumin, clove, Bayleaf, balsamic resins, Siamese benzoin

As can be seen from the notes list, this is a rather complex concoction of fruits and spices. And it smells quite rich too. A very well made, high quality fragrance, which is perhaps a little too rich for its own good.

Arabie is a powerful make up of fruits and spices. You can clearly smell the spices (the cumin stands out), and the sweet nature of the notes; the combination of candied mandarin peel, figs and dates conjures images of some arabian desserts that I used to enjoy. However, just like those desserts, Arabie is a little too heavy to stomach in doses larger than a spray or two. This is indeed some powerful stuff. Longevity and sillage are very high.

Arabie would be more suitable as a candle or a room spray. I find that Acier Aluminium does the whole dried fruit and spices thing far more elegantly, is less loud, and more wearable. If you do indeed want to go ahead with Arabie instead, just go easy on the applicator.

Let me start by saying that contrary to other claims, Curve smells nothing like Green Irish Tweed. So dont let that stop you from trying the Creed classic. Now onto the review...

Curve is contained in a bottle which looks like it was designed by Krusty the Clown. Not a good sign. The top notes are pleasant enough - citrus and green. They fade pretty fast, and the middle notes bring out a herbal accord. The base is barely perceptible. Curve is nowhere near as rich as the notes pyramid makes it to be. It also has a persistent very perfumey quality to it. Longevity is very poor and sillage even more so.

From the disaster of a bottle to the very generic composition and poor longevity, Curve is best left on the store shelves. There are many better fragrances that can be had for a similar or slightly higher price (ex: Caron Pour Un Homme, Acqua Di Gio, YSL Body Kouros, The Dreamer, Iceberg Twice, amongst others).

Notes: Damascan roses, Aoud, Gurgum.

Aoud Damascus is a rich, coherent rose fragrance, and one of the better Montales that I have tried.

Unlike Aoud Lime, the aoud never overpowers the other ingredients here. Damascus contains a fantastic rose note which forms the heart of the fragrance - the aoud (mostly) stays in the background and gives the fragrance depth. The base introduces gurgum a.k.a safflower, which adds a minty herbal quality. The gurgum prevents the relatively heavy notes of rose and aoud from becoming too cloying, and provides an uplofting feel to this excellent rose composition. Longevity however, is below average (3 hours max. on my skin).

Aoud Damascus ranks as one of the best rose fragrances that I have tried. It never gets too heavy or cloying; the only negative is that its not as long lasting as one would like.

I was not able to find the notes pyramid for this fragrance, but I will try to describe this the best as I can, especially since that I consider this to be Jean Pascals' best release yet.

Upon initial application, a sharp, lemony, bright, slightly minty citrus accord is experienced - it is quite uplifting, and sets the stage for the good things to come. The middle notes (10 minutes later) introduce a spicy and slightly herbal mix to the proceedings - at this point, Jean Pascal is a fresh, uplifting spicy concotion of a fragrance, recalling a walk in park on a cool springs day with slight whiffs of the spice market nearby. The drydown brings about a musky almost animalic component which stays mostly in the background, but rounds off a great performance by a very well-balanced fragrance. Longevity is good, and sillage is decent.

Jean Pascal isnt a groundbreaking offering - but what it does, it does very well. While Quimbaya goes slightly overboard with the spices, Jean Pascal contains a smorgasboard of great notes with no note overpowering the other, resulting in a slickly produced fragrance.

Notes: root of wild vetiver, mahogany, Indian spices.

Vetiver Des Sables is a minty spicy, easy to wear Vetiver interpretation by Montale. It starts off smelling quite fresh, citrusy and slightly spicy - an inviting opening for sure. A few minutes later, the vetiver note creeps in, melding well with the top notes, and a dash of woodiness is brought in by the mahogany. If the evolution had stopped here, it would have been perfect - but instead, Des Sables ends with a spicy base which feels overdone and nearly overpowers the excellent vetiver note. It reminds me of Quimbaya hommes drydown. Longevity and sillage are good.

Des Sables, alongside Creeds excellent Original Vetiver, is one of the easiest vetivers to wear. It might lack the pizzaz of Original Vetiver, but if a spicy easy to wear vetiver is what you are looking for, theres no better option than Vetiver Des Sables.

After months of wearing Gucci Envy, I thought that the time was right to revisit it and see how it stood the test of time. And its still as good as it ever was. This is by far the best of Gucci.

Envy is a fantastic oriental woody scent with excellent longevity and sillage. It has a sweet slightly spicy smell which many find quite alluring. The incense, cardamom, amber and patchouli provide a sweet base, which is then linked to the woody spicy notes of nutmeg, ginger and cedarwood by the anise note. It comes into its own during the cooler months, but its quite wearable during the summers too (just go easy on the applicator - this stuff is quite potent)

It all works extremely well, and a bottle can be yours without breaking the bank (so that you dont have to envy your friends bottle - no pun intended).

Notes: citrus fruits from Italy, grapefruit, kumquat, white flowers, white musk, Mediterranean spices.

Soliel De Capri starts off nice enough - with fresh, bright citrus notes. 10 minutes later, the fragrance takes a strange turn. I smell some strangely sweet rotting citrus fruits. A few more minutes into this experience, and the overly citrus sweet starts to smell a lot like citrus candy or as another reviewer mentioned, juicy fruit gum. It must be the kumquat fruit note (the skin of which tastes and smells quite sweet).

On paper, the notes sound great. However, I find that juicy fruit gum smell quite cloying. For a citrus dominant fragrance, this doesnt work very well in hot weather. Theres not much spice or grapefruit in here - else they would have helped control this juicy gum smell.

In spirit, this offering by Montale is like Creeds Neroli Sauvage and Zeste Mandarine. However, it lacks the amazing citrus top notes of Neroli Sauvage, and its white flower base isnt as refined as Zeste Mandarines'. If you like super sweet citrus, this might be for you. Everyone else, steer clear.

Notes: tangerine, blackcurrant, pear, mango, magnolia, jasmine, mimosa, violet.

Compared to the excellent citrusy-spicy Quimbaya homme, Quimbaya femme comes off as a bit uninspired and lacking in depth.

Quimbaya opens with decent notes of tangerine and blackcurrants - however, they are very shortlived. Soon, the middle notes show up. Mango and pear dominate...especially the mango. The mango note is the heart of this fragrance, and it smells nice. A flowery base is a nice change of pace from the usual sandalwood/vetiver/musk combo, and further solidifies this as a fruity floral offering. Longevity is lacking though.

Quimbaya femme is a fruity floral offering which comes off as a poor womans' Spring Flower. Athough its a pleasant fragrance, it lacks the excellence of its mens counterpart.

One Man Show (OMS) has an interesting name (sort of like Carons the Third Man), and is an interesting 80s creation which still holds up well today.

OMS opens with excellent top notes - the fusion of citrus, herbs and floral components create an inviting accord. The heart notes are a bit more serious, spicy and woody - the nutmeg and incense clearly dominate. Although the rose and jasmine notes arent very noticeable, they do their part in making sure that the nutmeg and incense dont over do things. The drydown is quite woody, leathery, and smooth.

OMS is a fragrance which is more suited to colder weather. Also, it helps if you go easy on the trigger when using it in the summer - the heat tends to make the woody/spicy accords stand out more. However, if applied in moderate amounts, OMS creates great sillage. Its also very long lasting. Great value for money too!

This one man show is not a one trick pony.

Iceberg Twice opens with a top accord of sweet mint - which is a bit unusual. The sweetness never gets cloying, probably because of the mint note. I am wary of overly sweet fragrances, but Iceberg Twice works in the harshest of summers. From there, it transitions to a slightly herbal accord, before settling into a base of sandalwood and lime. The use of lime in the basenotes is excellent - infact, it is this combination which keeps the original accord of "sweet mint" stable throughout all the note phases. While it is a light fragrance, longevity is excellent.

Iceberg Twice smells like a sweeter version of Live Jazz - if Live Jazz was a bit too much for you to handle because of the coriander note, give Iceberg Twice a try. While it isnt an overly impressive fragrance, and would probably only qualify for a neutal rating based on its composition, when combined with its excellent longevity and bang-for-the-buck, it lands in the thumbs up category for me.

"Inspired by suede so fine, so soft, so barely perceptible to the touch, like skin on skin, an aura and sensation that intertwine to become one and the same." - Serge Lutens promo for Daim Blond

So barely perceptible to the nose. To become one and the same. Serge Lutens has succeeded on all accounts.

Daim Blond has a funky name ("Damn, Blonde!"). It smells a bit funky too. Opening with a blast of uber sweet ripe apricots with the slightest hint of leather, I felt I was smacked in the face with a sock full of rotting melted candies. The apricot dominates all the notes - theres the slightest hint of leather (which sadly dies as the scent progresses), iris and hawthorn, but its hard to make out the notes because of the strong apricot note. This is strong sweet stuff, and if worn during intense summers, can make you thirsty. Longevity is poor too.

As a leather fragrance, Daim Blond fails miserably. You can barely smell any leather here. If you want a buttery leather, look no further than the majest Royal English Leather by Creed. As a general fragrance, it is mildly interesting (if you like super sweet fragrances, that is). However, as part of the more expensive and exlusive serge lutens line, I really cant recommend this. Its too simplistic with no evolution, doesnt achieve what it aspires too, and Daim Expensive.

L'Anarchiste. The anarchist. All hell will break loose the moment you put this on.

Well, I am not trying to scare you, but the opening definitely is a shock. Unique, but shocking. Shocking in a good way. It screams metal. Copper to be exact. Who the heck would create something like this ? Caron, thats who. The opening is a strange mix of oranges, spices, and clove. A blend which surprisingly smells a lot like metal. Gun metal.

After the initial shock, the clove note becomes more apparent; its fantastic here, the clove note. Smells great with the cedar note. L'Anarchiste then transitions to a smooth musky drydown. Quite an experience. The sillage and longevity are near perfect.

L'Anarchiste is a fragrance which you would expect from the Big Three (Creed, Serge Lutens, L'Artisan). It just goes to prove that the house of Caron is still at the top of its game. Maybe the power group should be renamed the Gang of Four, instead of just the Big Three.

Notes: citrus notes, rosemary, thyme, violet, clove, lavender, musk

Quimbaya is the latest mens fragrance by Colombia based perfumer Jean Pascal. The intent of this creation was to evoke the smells of fresh fruits, plants and flowers that are found in Latin America. I would say that not only has Jean Pascal succeeded, but that this is a generally excellent fragrance.

Quimbaya opens with bright citrus notes with a slight hint of sourness. The fragrance then introduces a slightly spicy tangy note - this mix of citrus and spice is very well done. The blending of the notes is superb. The official notes dont list any spice - maybe its the thyme note. The violet and clove notes are very subdued. This combination of citrus and spice stays till the very end, with very little, if any, lavender coming into play....by the drydown, the spice notes exhibit a bit of earthiness.

Quimbaya does what it sets out to do - and along the way, succeeds as a classy mens fragrance also, with good longevity. I find it to be a bit similar to MPGs Racine in the general smell and note structure (although the vetiver note is more pronounced in Racine). For the price, Quimbaya might be the way to go.

"Bathed in forest scents...
With Hazelnut at its core."

Notes: cedar, liquorice, hazelnut, honey

Mechant Loup. The "Big Bad Wolf". I played with a decent sized decant of this one for over a month, and let me tell you, this is no "big bad wolf".

Mechant Loup opens with a slight burnt almost gourmand foody smell. You can faintly smell the much talked about hazelnut note, and a bit of sweetness emerges in the form of a honey note. A few minutes later, the cedar note makes an abrupt appearance. It disappears as quickly, probably eaten up by a wolf. 30 minutes later, the hazelnut note takes over - and Mechant Loup transforms into a heavy hazelnut fragrance, with a sizeable amount of honey sweetness as well.

Make no mistake, its all about the 'nut here. I detect no spice. I would like to know what forest smells of honey and nuts. Perhaps the forest where Hansel and Gretel reside? Some of the reviewers observed that the scent reminded them of animal fur - I somewhat agree with that. The heavy blend of a raw hazelnut and honey does smell a bit like animal fur.

Like many of the L'Artisans, this one is extremely watery, with poor sillage and even poorer longevity. It is a mildly intriguing smell, but wont qualify as a good fragrance for me. After I had my way with the "big bad wolf", it whimpered away with its tail between its legs.

When I was 13, I had a friend whose elder brother was an ardent user of Grey Flannel. I wasnt much of a fragrance enthusiast then, but I couldnt help notice the simple, suave and formal design of the bottle, and the fancy women that my friends brother used to hang out with. Fast forward a decade or so, and I finally have my own bottle. Being more mature and aware of fragrances, I can finally see what it was all about.

Grey Flannel is one of finest green- mossy fragrances ever crafted. The fragrance is constructed around the note of Violet - to my nose, the opening notes are outstanding. A floating violet note, tempered by citrus notes. You cannot detect the lemon or orange notes individually, but they help in toning down the earthy sweetness of the violent. The blending of the notes is superb. The fragrance then smoothly shifts to the basenotes phase. Oakmoss comes into the mix, and provides a slight fresh earthy accord. The violet note never goes away. Rather, it passes through the three note phases, visiting and mixing in with the structure notes. The longevity is great. If you dont like violet, you probably wont care for Grey Flannel. But its still worth sampling. Who knows, maybe you could find a new found appreciation for the violet note. Also, I couldnt believe the low prices for which Grey Flannel can be found online and in various stores.

Grey Flannel smells extremely natural, smooth, and chic. I can understand why it was the FIFI award winner in 1976.

Royal Scottish Lavender (RSL) is a lavender-based fragrance of a very high quality. The top notes introduce one of the most natural smelling lavender that I have had the pleasure of experiencing. The lavender note is clean, slightly earthy and smooth at the same time. I detect a hint of citrus in the top notes too. The middle notes introduce a blend of spice and moss, before RSL ends the experience with a base of either vanilla or sandalwood (I wasnt able to find the official notes listing anywhere).

Just like the classic Caron Pour Un homme, lavender is the star of RSL. However, compared to Caron homme, the lavender note is far more complex and natural smelling in RSL. RSL is also a comparatively more complex fragrance. Overall, with decent longevity and a fantastic lavender note which makes its presence felt till the very end, RSL is an excellent fragrance worth seeking out.

Top Notes - Geranium, Lavender
Middle Notes - Oakmoss, Woody, Clover
Base Notes - Patchouli, Sandalwood

English Fern is one of the classiest fougeres around. The opening is fresh and slightly soapy, anchored by a nice lavender note. From there, the fragrance transitions to an earthy woody scent - the oakmoss is extremely well blended with the clove. Clove, a note which was overdone in LP No.9, is masterfully put to work here. The balance between the oakmoss earthiness and the clove notes' spicy freshness is just right. A sandalwood base provides a smooth richness to the overall composition.

English Fern is a classic, understated, all-purpose fragrance (especially for formal and office wear). With excellent longevity, this is a must try, especially for fans of the fougere genre of fragrances.

All the rumors about the California millionaire are true; from the official Caron site:
"In 1941, CARON created ROYAL BAIN exclusively to satisfy the whims of a Californian millionaire who wanted to replace his extravagant champagne baths"

Ok, now that we know that the hype is true, lets dissect the fragrance.

Notes: rose, lilac, incense, benzoin, opoponax, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, musk.

Royal Bain opens with a sweet trail reminiscent of chargonnay champagne...its slightly fruity, and the notes responsible for this aura are the mix of lilac, violet, benzoin and incese. Infact, if sprayed on a bit heavy, it might remind some people of rat poison. Not a good thing. Although unusual, the opening can be a hit or miss with people. From there, the champagne/rat poison smell lingers for a while, before blending into a powdery musky base. The top notes are uniqye - the base, not so. You will like this fragrance if you like fragrances with champage/wine notes.

Overall, this is a simple slightly unique composition with average longevity. Although it has a fair bit of history and lots of fans, I will penalise it for smelling a bit like rat poison, but give it props for being unique.

The notes are: Patchouli leaves, Aoud, Sandalwood, Ambre, Iris, Saffron

The Aoud (agarwood) series of Montale fragrances are created around the agarwood note. My first encounter with agarwood was M7 - a finely crafted YSL fragrance. Motales Aoud line intrigued me - I was curious to see how diverse could Montale make its various aoud offerings. And Aoud Lime was my first target.

Aoud Lime, as the name suggests (and the notes dont) does start off with a sharp lime and agarwood notes. The lime is a bit sharp, and in my opinion, sharps contrastly with the smooth agarwood (which, with time, grows stronger and more prominent). For some reason, the way Montale has conjured this, these two dominant notes never flow along smoothly. After 1-2 hours, the lime note has nearly all but disappeared, and what you are left with is an excellent but boring base of aoud and sandalwood.

The longevity is excellent, but Aoud Lime doesnt do much except for provide a slight variation on the agarwood note. If you are a big agarwood note fan, you will ike this. I will pass.

Notes: honey, musk, leather, incense, tobacco leaf, hay sugar, amber, iris, rose, sandalwood.

Chergui is a fantastic and unusual oriental, and in my opinion, one of the best fragrances from the house of Serge Lutens.

As can be seen from the note listing above, Chergui contains a wide range of interesting and sometimes contrasting notes. However, everything is so well blended, that the prominent impression is of a sweet, slightly smoky and herbal concoction. And thats what it smells like too. The hay note is prominent, and along with the tobacco, brings about that smoky herbal smell, which is very well balanced by the honey, amber and musk notes. If used in slightly more than moderate amounts, I have observed a slight bug-spray or petrol note effect to it, but thats just a small knock against this excellent creation. Longevity is great too.

Fans of Dzing! and Bulgari Black will love this - I understand that theres a segment of fragrance fans who dont care for this particular type of fragrance, but it still warrants a sample at the very least. Great stuff !

Top Notes: Myrtle, taragon;
Middle Notes: Coffee beans, incense, ylang ylang, labdanum;
Base Notes: Patchouli, vetiver, galbanum

Eau Des Iles promises to take you to "perfume islands in which coffee fragrances intermingle with stately rare woods and smooth exotic flowers that have a strange beauty of their own". Eau Des Iles does have a strange beauty .. it is an intriguing fragrance, but unfortunately its a bit too exotic to wear.

Eau des Iles greets you with opening notes of medicinal/herbal quality, and with a lot of smoke smell. The medicinal smell is the result of two strong herbs (taragon and myrtle) mixing to create a powerful and at times disconcerting opening...this is one of the very few fragrances I have tried which lacks a citrus or lavender note in its opening composition. From there, things get more dark and bitter - bitter from the coffee beans, and dark from the smoky smell which appears and stays with the composition till the very end. This is one of the smokiest fragrances ever! The ylang ylang controls things a bit by attaching a small floral component to the equation, but overtime, I notice that the smokiness dominates. The drydown is smooth with a hint of vetiver coming into play, and the bitter smokiness relegated to the background, but still very much a part of the fragrance.

Eau Des Iles smells interesting - its got a lot of cool stuff going on, but I think thats where it ends. I wouldnt want to wear this as a perfume. If you like strong bitter smoky fragrances, this one might be for you.

Bigarade Concentree is the more concentrated version of Cologne Bigarade. I guess that "concentree" refers to the increased bitterness of the orange note because interms of longevity, its about as fleeting as the cologne version.

Compared to my favorite all-citrus fragrance, Creeds Citrus Bigarrade, Concentree opens with a much more bitter orange note. I like Creeds opening better...it smells more natural and well rounded. Soon after this burst of orange, Concentree moves into a woody phase consisting of cedar and hay notes. I would have liked the orange notes to stay around longer - this is an ORANGE/CITRUS fragrance after all. Ellena seems to be in a habit of trying to make every fragrance smell earthy/mineral no matter what the type of fragrance (Terre D'Hermes, Angelique Sous, etc). By comparison, Creeds orange/citrus stay dominant for a longer period of time.

While Bigarade Concentree is a good fragrance, I prefer Creeds Citrus Bigarrade because of its longer lasting and smoother citrus notes. However both fragrances are expensive, with below average longevity - and I wont be investing in either of them anytime soon.

One of Creeds' oldest florals, Fantasia De Fleurs still smells very contemporary. Seeing that it was commissioned in 1862 for Empress Elizabeth of Austria, one could be forgiven to assume that to be a rich, heady floral fragrance apt for those times. Instead, its a pleasant surprise to find this to be a fresh rose scent.

Fantasia De Fleurs opens with notes of well mixed rose and perhaps osmanthus - while the rose is clearly noticeable, it is never heady or cloying. Infact, the top notes are quite fresh and uplifting...it must be the osmanthus. After 15 minutes, the iris note enters the fray, and the end result is an extremely well blended lush, dewy and zesty floral concoction. It is constructed in a similar style to Tuberose Indiana in that both are "uplifting and fresh" florals. The base is a pleasant musky ambergris composition.

Fantasia De Fleurs is a great ebullient floral fragrance with excellent longevity and sillage. Its suitable for women of all ages, and is atleast worth a decant!

Arcus is a recent release from the overpriced middle-eastern inspired Amouage line. The Arcus promotional write-up at the Amouage site says: "The dramatic leading edge of a severe thunderstorm, full of jet-black clouds, thunder and lightning, one of nature's most awe-inspiring phenomena, full of overwhelming power, speed and passion." So in a way, Arcus is not directly trying to recreate the sea-side or beach smell.

The fragrance starts off with bright citrus notes - the lemon zest stands out the most, slightly tempered by the sweet fig leaves. The middle notes introduce the star note of Arcus - the marine-like salty geranium. I dont detect any of the listed supporting notes likes basil or lavender. The arcus marine note smells sharp, fizzy and a bit sour - its quite different than the saltry-slightly brine like ozonic accord of Erolfy. But then unlike Erolfa, Arcus isnt trying to recreate the sea air, but that thunderstorm effect instead. I cant say how accurate this recreation is, but it does smell interesting.

Arcus has average sillage and longevity, which might be a problem since its one pricey fragrance. However, I find it to be more wearable and interesting than Bulgari Aqua (which annoys me with its soiled-diaper posidinia note). While I prefer Erolfa, Arcus is worth sampling for its interesting marine accord.

JF is definitely no Green Irish Tweed (GIT) clone. There is a slight fleeting resemblance, but its definitely its own fragrance.

JF opens with lots of bright citrus notes - the lemon is especially prominent. An entirely different opening than GIT. The transition to the middle notes introduce a sour element to the fragrance - armoise, a herb, which brings about a sour (but pleasing) citrusy accord. By comparison, GIT has an earthy middle note smell brought upon by the use of violet leaves. JF lacks the distinctive ambergris drydown of GIT too.

I dont think JF deserves to be compared to GIT since its not a GIT clone. What it is, is a sour citrusy fragrance with decent sillage and longevity. Although more complex offerings abound, JF is a decent if unspectacular fragrance which may be worth your time if you havent already been spoiled by GIT or Imperial.

Tried a sample of this. The opening is sharp and fresh (the lime dominates), with a slight marine accord. The drydown is a weak musky base. Pretty average really.

Tam Dao is one of the most lauded fragrances from Diptyque line, and while it is a very well made fragrance, there are a few issues which keep it from attaining total glory.

Tam Dao introduces itself with a burst of piney and green note of cypress. This sharp note combines with cedarwood to give a woody smell, which then leads in to the main heart of sandalwood. Thats where the evolution of this fragrance stops, and you get to experience a rich (albeit) dry interpretation of a sandalwood note. It does it quite well, that "treasure chest" smell. Unlike MPGs "sweeter" Santal Noble, this is a "dry" sandalwood. The longevity is great, and sillage is fantastic.

Unfortunately, after a couple of hours with no evolution, Tam Dao can get boring and feel "unfinished". I prefer something like Creeds hard-to-find Bois De Santal, which takes the sandalwood note itself through various transformations. If you are looking for a fragrance with a solo performance by the sandalwood note, Tam Dao should be at the top of your list. If you want a fragrance with a sandalwood heart with a supporting act, try Bois De Santal or some of the other offerings.

I tried this after reading what a "brilliant" creation this is. Or was. Maybe for 1934. But it smells a bit dated compared to some of the other fragrances out there.

Caron Pour Un Homme starts off with dominating notes of lavender - the lavender isnt as sharp as in Carons 3rd Man, but it is there and noticeable. The notes pyramid indicates a fragrance with a lot of variety and transitions about the various note levels - however, it seems as if the middle note phase is missing. As the top notes of lavender fade away, in steps vanilla...big time. This fragrance is all about sweet sweet vanilla. Infact, lavender and the vanilla are the two dominating notes. The sweet sillage that the vanilla creates can be cloying at times (and yes, it does last too).

While the mix of lavender and vanilla is well blended here, many will find this fragrance to be dated and just too sweet for men. I know that women like Caron Pour Un homme. But to me, this is just too two-dimensional and sweet to wear on a regular basis. Carons 3rd Man is where its at.

(C)love Potion No.9 starts off in a promising manner with smooth citrus notes. However these are fairly short lived and what you experience next is what this fragrance is all about - clove, clove, clove, which I dont love, love, love, at all. The notes pyramid is quite varied and on paper/webpage sounds dynamic. However in actuality, this is a clove-based fragrance, with a bit of cinnamon thrown in. Heavy, slightly cool, clove. All other middle and basenotes are hardly perceptible to the nose.

If you like clove, you will love this; if you dont, well then this will be too much of a one-note fragrance for you to handle since it has monster longevity and sillage. Depending on your love of clove, this is either a 5-star or a 1-star fragrance. I know which camp I am in.

Caron fragrances for men are usually unique, unusual and excellent, so its no surprise that the 3rd man continues that tradition. 3rd man exhibits one of the most fluent transitions from top, middle and basenotes that I have witnessed. A sharp lavender note dominates the top notes, with the anise bringing about a slight spiciness to the proceedings. A few minutes later, the floral middle notes make an appearance - I find that this phase doesnt last long. The sweet, slightly earthy (must be the oakmoss) base finishes off the presentation but the interesting thing is that you can still smell a bit of lavender in there. Infact, as the fragrance goes from top to basenotes, the lavender slightly diminishes in presence from one level to another - and by the time the basenotes come into play, it stays in the background like a "third man" or helper.

It may not be as amazing as some of the other reviews make it out to be, but with great longevity, sillage and composition, its a darn good fragrance and a worthy addition to anyones collection.

With notes of leather, sandalwood, silver birch (a rare essence of Birch tree found in Russia by the Black Sea), styrax, bergamot, ambergris, lemon and neroli, this Creed classic stands shoulder to shoulder with Royal English Leather (REL - another outstanding Creed) as a powerhouse leather fragrance. Cuir De Russie (CDR) is the darker, smokier but no less impressive brother of REL. With a spicy-citrusy opening, CDR provides an inviting intro before revealing a polished, deep, smoky and incredibly authentic leather note. This note dominates the proceedings there onwards, and the sandalwood provides a soft smooth base. It doesnt last as long as REL, but longevity is still decent.

I consider CdR to be appropriate for leather afficianados, while REL caters more to the casual fragrance fan. Both are outstanding!

Smells fresh, inoffensive, with the slightest hint of some marine notes.

Cool Water and Acqua Di Gio have nothing to worry about.

Got a sample of it. Decided to review it. Smells pretty generic with absolutely no distinguishing character. Longevity is almost non-existent. This makes my Michael Jordan Cologne look niche.

uh, sorry no. This smells too herbal, and has that weird synthetic smell. Just tried it on recently at a friends house. Better to stick with the original Old Spice.

"Refreshing like rain after the heat,
soft yet tenacious and strong too...
Unusually evocative.."

Voleur De Roses, or "Thief of Roses", is a fragrance whose intention is to evoke the smell of earth and rainfall mixed with the fragrance of fresh roses. It does start off smelling pretty good - upon initial application, you can smell a rich, wet rose and earthy patchouli in equal doses. After a few minutes, the composition becomes more earthy, and slightly sweeter...perhaps its that plum note. As time goes on, you can smell the rose fade further and further into obscurity, and smell the patchouli take over...I think L'Artisan are referring to the patchouli note as the "Thief of Roses", because that note makes away with the rose note pretty fast. While you are robbed of your rose note smelling pleasure, the earthiness which was so enchanting just a few minutes ago is also slowly drifting away. About an hour later, what you are left with is a heavy dose of patchouli. 3 hours later, you can barely smell this on your skin. "Voleur de wallet", more like it.

To L'Artisans credit, they actually classify this as a "precious woods" fragrance, so their intention wasn't to create a full blown rose scent. If you are looking for a varied patchouli fragrance, this will please you. You wont be pleased with this if you are seeking a complex rose fragrance. For all others, try it and see how it works; it can go either way.

Royal Water...a (comparatively) compositionally simple Creed fragrance which suprises you with its evolution and note twists and smells great. I dont get any peach notes (as mentioned by other reviewers) and the floral component is very subdued. This is indeed very unisex, and in my opinion, one of the best fragrances for summer weather, and works great all year.
Royal Water starts off with a blast of citrus notes of mandarin, bergamot and verbena. At this stage it is very arresting, and the tart citrus notes draw you in. After 20 minutes, Royal Water transforms into a slightly spicy, herbal and even animalic offering - this is probably due to the middle and basenotes of basil, cumin and juniper berry, which provide undertones of spice and herbs. Concurrently you get slight whiffs of the citrusy top notes. The herbal notes arent overbearing, but rather they provide a unique and alluring base which smells fantastic in combination with the bright top notes.

Royal Water smells like the product of the best parts of the Creed citrus duo Zesta Mandarine/Neroli Sauvage and the herbal mintiness of Chevrefueille Original ... with better sillage and longevity than any of them. Royal Water is a Creed offering which deserves more attention.

I was turned off by the provocative ad campaign for this fragrance, but the cool bottle and the general excellence of YSL tempted me enough to try the seventh mens fragrance release from YSL.
M7 starts off with a citrus and slightly sweet top notes which subside soon to reveal a sweet slightly medicinal scent. This middle phase is the main focus of M7 - the agarwood note. Agarwood is an expensive wood, which in its true form has a slightly pungent smell. Cultivated (by fungi) agarwood on the other hand smells sweet and medicinal; a whole lot like sandalwood+vetiver, infact. This note is the heart of the fragrance, and is deep, rich and very long lasting. If you dont like rich orientals or sandalwood based fragrances, you may not be partial to M7.
M7 is a very rich and long lasting fragrance extremely suitable for cold weather. It is potent, and so proper application technique is required. It also elicits lots of compliments. Along with Van Cleef pour homme, this is now one of my Fall weather staples. I cant get enough of that agarwood note !

Smells nice and earthy (and quite a bit spicier than another Ellena creation - which I wont name here - from the house of Hermes). This fragrance was "inspired by the fleeting whiff of an Angelica bouquet gathered just after a shower"...I do agree that it smells like fresh earthy soil. Infact, it reminds me more of gin and tonic; the ingredients are almost the same. The top citrus notes blend into a center of coriander, cedar and juniper berries; the scent is then later softened by a floral note (is it the angelique?). It smells nice, but the fragrance is very fleeting .. infact, my testing sessions with this make my encounters with Neroli Sauvage and Zeste Mandarine (two fragrances with great disappearing acts themselves) seem like marathon sessions. While it smells different and is a nice change of pace from the usualy citrusy/sweet fresh scents, it lacks that certain "WoW!". This, combined with its fleeting nature and sky high retail price, result in a "dont buy" recommendation. Order a decant or sample to play with it.

Joop! looks like a funky fragrance. However, it smells funky too (and not in a good way).

The top notes are sweet - its probably the cinnamon taking over. The merging of the top and middle notes introduce a very sweet and synthetic accord which transforms to a strong gasoline note within a couple of minutes - I dont know what it is, but maybe its the combination of the cinnamon and honeysuckle notes. You can even smell it during the drydown, and it is quite ghastly! There are no hints of orange blossom, sandalwood or vanilla. The longevity is excellent. However, Joop! as a fragrance is a not.

Drawn in by the hypnotic, wacky looking bottle, I decided to give this one a try. The top notes are fresh, and you can clearly smell the thyme note...for 5 seconds atleast, before it is overtake by the earthy violet leaves. Interms of evolution, it seems as if the middle notes are skipped over altogether - I get a faint whiff of jasmine, but no cinnamon whatsoever. The base is muted sweetness, accomplished by use of amber and vanilla mainly. This is definitely no gourmand fragrance. I just stepped you through the notes...sounded pretty boring right? It smells boring too. Longevity is below average. And upon second thought, the bottle design is too gaudy too. I dont know what Rahme et al were trying to accomplish with this release. Skip this poor effort.

Having been disappointed by many of the Bond no. 9 releases that I have experimented with in the past, its great to see that the two recent tries have been thumbs-up worthy...first, New Haarlem, and now Chinatown. Just like New Haarlem, Chinatown is a sweet, almost gourmandy fragrance which has enough variance in its notes so as not to become an overwhelmingly saccharine and cloying fragrance.
Upon initial application, its the peach note which is the most noticeable; Chinatown then incrementally transforms to a sweeter stage after hitting each of the succeeding note levels. The basenotes introduce a floral component but I smell a tangy orange note in the mix too. The base is quite woody and sweet thanks to a cardamom, vanilla, patchoulli and sandalwood mix...but amongst this nectareous syrupy mix, you can still detect the peach and orange notes. Longevity and sillage are great, although the bottle is a little too feminine for my taste. A great warm weather and comfort offering, Chinatown ranks as one of the best from Bond no. 9.

I am not fan of gourmand-y fragrances. To many times I have observed that such fragrances are too sugary, too heavy, too cloying and too "foody" (yes, I know the proper application technique..I do go easy on the applicator). I always wished for a (gourmand) fragrance which would be 50% gourmandy, and 50% citrusy or woody - the later 50% to provide diversity of notes so as not to overdo the "foody/chocolatey/coffee" theme.
New Haarlem is the gourmand I was looking for all this time. It strikes the perfect balance between being primarily a gourmand scent while also being diverse enough in its notes pyramid. The vanilla coffee notes are extremely blended and balanced out by the citrus and the lavendar notes; at no point will you feel suffocated by the "foodiness", yet you will still smell the rich coffee/vanilla notes on yourself in balanced moderate amounts. I cant stand A*Men..yet I went through a New Haarlem decant within a few days, and now its on my must-buy list. Great stuff.

Notes pyramid:

Top Notes: Silver Mountain Water (SMW)
Middle Notes: Erolfa
Base Notes: { standard fare }

I disagree...Hamptons isnt a copy of Silver Mountain Water....rather, its a copy of Silver Mountain Water AND Erolfa. Hamptons starts off with top notes of citrus and blackcurrant, very reminiscent of SMW...the official basenotes is misleading in that it doesnt mention the blackcurrant note. The middle notes introduce a salty marine note quite similar to that of Erolfas'...jasmine, magnolia? What is the official pyramid on about ?? Infact, it even shares some similarities with another Bond no.9, Wall Street. Hamptons is the jack of all but the king of none..it tries to emulate both Erolfa and SMW, but doesnt quite get the job done. If you want a citrus/marine fragrance, try the classic Millesime Imperiale.

Hamptons = Very disappointing.

I feel that I have to revise my opinion of this YSL classic. The intense heat over the past few months have allowed me to really experience what Live Jazz has to offer, and has allowed it to a cut above the average citrus offerings. The strong top notes of grapefruit and bitter lemon can be a bit overbearing at times, but if applied correctly, they are refreshing (especially with the iced mint). The middle notes are warm and contrast sharply with the top notes - coriander and rhubarb after experiencing bitter lemon peel and grapefruit - Wow! I dont like coriander, but somehow it works well here. Live Jazz is both cool and warm, and then cool (and then warm again)...its a unique citrus fragrance, and one of my staples.

Initially I had a lot of fun with this. I wore this for 3 days straight in the 90F+ degree heat here - before my friend asked me to lay off his bottle. So the funs over now and its time to analyze this fragrance.
Little Italy starts off with a fresh orange peel note, which then transforms into a mix of citrus + (slight) coriander within 15 minutes of application. I dont see coriander listed in the notes pyramid - is it because of the tangerine + jasmine mix in the middle notes? Eitherways, Little Italy is all about orange citrus big time - in the top notes the grapefruit/madarin combo dominates, and just when they subside, say hello to the tangerine in the middle notes (along with a bit of coriander). Longevity is ok, and the base is "sheer musk" (yea whatever, it was barely perceptible to me). If you like a grapefruit+mint+coriander fragrance, ignore this decent but overpriced fragrance and buy the excellent Live Jazz by YSL for around $30. I will pass on this safe, but unexciting $178 fragrance.

Wall Street is a nice, well made, ozonic marine fragrance. It starts off with citrusy notes which smell a bit like antacid .. sounds strange, but they are infact intriguing. I can almost immediately smell the ozone/marine notes. During my various test sessions, I could also note a certain "vomit" note; it crops up rarely, and I wonder if its the sea kale. Unforgivable by P. Diddy is very similar to this offering - especially the top notes of antacid/citrus. The difference is that the marine/ozone notes are deeper and more pronounced in Wall Street, while the Unforgivable dwells more on the unique top notes. Wall Street lasts longer, but Unforgivable is far cheaper. For the money and the similarities, I would opt for Unforgivable.

This could easily be a deadringer for the classic Green Irish Tweed (GIT). The notes pyramid is very similar too. People talk about all the similarities between GIT and Cool Water - however, the cool fresh notes in Cool Water differentiate it from GIT. Chez Bond however, is an almost exact copy of GIT ..down to the earth middle notes that so distinguish GIT. These notes are the result of the leafy green/violet leaves combination. Perhaps the only difference between the two that I could note (after days of testing) was that in GIT, the earthy middle notes are stronger, and that Chez Bond has poorer longevity.

Overall, this smells great, but the score has to be knocked down a bit because of serious plagiarism charges and poor longevity.

To me, Amber can be cloyingly sweet if used in copiously large amounts. Ambre Precieux, however, is a near perfect unisex (read: not all sweet) fragrance based around Amber. It starts off spicy (some spices + lavendar), and then gradually transforms to a sweet base of amber, vanilla and ambergris. This does for ambre what Original Vetiver, Guerlain Vetiver, and Racine do for Vetiver - make an inviting fragrance around a note which for some reason or the other, the majority of the population may not be enamored with. Long lasting, very unisex, and ultimately satisfying, Ambre Precieux is one of the best amber fragrances around.

If you are looking for a strong, earthy Vetiver fragrance, Racine might not be for you. Racine is, however, a fantastic citrusy vetiver fragrance which has an almost perfect vetiver heart note - not overly earthy to scare away people who detest vetiver, and earthy enough to satiate the casual vetiver fan. The hesperidian spicy top notes are marvelous, and the base of patchouli amber and musk brings Racine to near perfection. Some people might draw parallels with Guerlains Vetiver (another excellent creation), but there are differences between the two. I am not a big fan of earthy vetiver, and Racine is right up my alley. Longevity is excellent too (as with nearly all MPGs). I like Guerlains Vetiver a lot, and it also retails for far less than Racine. If you want a masterfully designed vetiver-based fragrance, Racine should be at the top of your "to-try" list.

Notes pyramid:

Top Notes: Leafy green, lavender; Middle Notes: Geranium rose, jasmine, ylang
Base Notes: Musk, oakmoss.

Impressed by the MPG fragrances that I have been testing recently, one day I decided to give Jardin du Nil a try. As I tried on the fragrance, a friend stepped in from the gym and hurriedly removed his shoes, revealing his socks. At that very moment, I felt a whiff of stinky sock smell. As I complained, my friend reassured me that it wasnt his socks and that hes a regular user of Tinactin - I replenished my sample of this latest MPG, and lo and behold, the top notes hit me again ....like a bag of stinky socks. I dont know what note it is, but the top notes in du Nil smell like stinky decomposing *something*. My guess is that its the geranium, which is supposed to have a strong earthy odour. Whatever it is, its definitely not pleasant and ranks as one of the worst top notes ever! Things definitely improve after that, and the middle and basenotes are pleasant, cool and floral, if unspectacular. Longevity is very good too. Horrible top notes coupled with good but uninspired notes result in an MPG fragrance that I would rather skip.

Notes:

Top: mandarin, kiwi, mango, pineapple, kumquat, orange.
Heart: passionflower, freesia, violet root, cananga flower.
Base: Texas white cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, musk

One of the better Boss offerings, this Eau D'Parfum is a good fruity and slightly musky melange that is appropriate for summer and spring. I smell mangoes and a some peaches in the top notes - although it sounds like a dose of extreme sweetness, the notes never get cloying. The midnotes introduce a floral component, but I wouldnt say that this is a very floral composition - infact, this fragrance could very well be unisex. Solid basenotes of sandalwood and vanilla round off this good presentation by Boss. Longevity is good too, although it stays pretty close to the skin. Thumbs up for a Boss Scent (and I thought I would never be saying that)

Notes:

Top Notes: Leafy green, lemon, bergamot
Middle Notes: Iris absolute, vanilla, jasmine
Base Notes: Moss, vetiver, musk.

Let me start off by saying that if you love Iris, you will love this. And even if you dont, this great MPG offering warrants investigation. The fragrance lures the casual fragrance fan with its green, subdued lemony opening. The middle notes smell sweet for about a minute or so, before one of the most accurate renditions of the iris root reveals itself - the exquisit root then further blends with the base of vetiver, musk and a hint of leather. I think its impressive how MPG have created an iris absolute based fragrance which not only caters to iris lovers, but to any casual fragrance user as well. The longevity is decent (not at the level of Santal Noble). This is definitely one of the stars of the house of MPG !

Unforgivable is one of the better celebrity endorsed fragrances out there. Its well known that P Diddy is a fan of the classic Millesime Imperial (MI), and this fragrance (sort of) pays homage to it. However, it is not a copy of MI, as others have stated.

Unforgivable starts off with bright, sharp citrus notes - the notes remind me of the fizzy smell which emanates when you plunk an Antacid into water. Its different, interesting and nice. The middle notes introduce a "mediterranean accord"..however, it stays in the background most of the times, dominated by the fizzy citrus. The base is a mix of musk and a bit of amber, which an occasional whiff of the fizzy top notes reappearing every now and then. I would say that the main difference between MI and Unforgivable is that in MI, the fruity mediterranean accord is far stronger - and is the main characteristic. In Unforgivable, the fizzy top notes are the distinguishing notes. However, MI lasts far longer, and is a more slickly created fragrance. I will give P Diddy a thumbs up for this one - he pays homage to a personal favorite of his, and tried to create a decent fragrance at the same time.

Ah, Tea For Two. I like tea (aka Chai). Especially Kashmiri Chai (a south-east asian tea speciality). Kashmiri Chai is a spiced Indian black tea with crushed cardamom, cinnamon, orange peel, cloves, pepper and ginger, which I am guessing are the notes of Tea For Two too. According to L'Artisan Tea For Two is based on Lapsang souchong tea, a black tea from China. Upon initial application, the black tea note is dominant - after 15 minutes, that dominant note subsides and mixes in with the other notes (i am guessing honey, orange, etc) to smell like Kashmiri Chai. And thats it. It smells like nice tea. Thats the selling point. Its like as if I purchased a Demeter one-note wonder fragrance. I like Demeters' one noters - they are very accurate "smells"; just not good "fragrances". I wouldnt want to walk around smelling like the innards of a teapot. I also dont like solitary tea note fragrances - in my opinion, tea notes are only good if they complement other notes and form a component of a more complex fragrance. Longevity is decent for this house - but thats not saying much for this house. Tea for Two, you disappoint me.

Now let me go and have some GREEN tea instead...

Definitely one of the most hyped niche fragrances here on Basenotes, Dzing! is an interesting composition. It is constructed in the same vein as Bulgari Black, and to my nose, the top notes are reminiscent of the "burnt rubber" smell of Black, and like Black, Dzing! later sweetens down to a spicy sweet base (albeit accomplishing it with a different set of notes). I liked the top notes, but the base was fairly uninspired. I think that comparisons with soiled hamster cages and circus debris and waste are unfair - Dzing! is nowhere near as wacky or strange as other reviewers make it out to be. Its claim to originality and ground breaking-ness are questionable though - Bulgari came out a full year before Dzing!, and stole most of its thunder with its rubbery-topnotes/sweet-base combination (which is also emulated here). I am not implying that the two fragrances are copies of each other - just that they flow the same way.

Dzing! also has serious longevity issues - and its sillage is minimal. I would consider investing in it if it lasted longer, but for now I will have to pass (and will stick with the much cheaper Black). Its worth a vial/decant though, and ranks as one of L'Artisans better efforts.

The notes list from Aedes:

Top: Blackcurrant, lemon, grapefruit
Middle: Blackberry, raspberry, jasmine
Base Note: Mysore sandalwood, musk.

This stuff smells great ! As the name indicates, this is a musk dominated fragrance. Infact, it seems like the more feminine version of the much lauded Neroli Sauvage, and with better longevity. The berry, jasmine and the blackcurrant lend a dominant sweetness to it, but it never gets cloying because of the lemon and grapefruit notes. The drydown, consisting of sandalwood and musk, blends extremely well with the overall composition - despite the sweet notes, it does smell fresh, and I love the musk in this !

Bottle-worth it is !

Calchics review is spot on. Grain De Plaisir starts off great - fresh lemony top notes ! After 15 minutes, everything goes downhill. The fragrance transforms from bright and lemony to a strangely earthy and raw smelling scent. Over the course of the next hour or so, you can still smell the (faint) lemon notes, but by this time those notes are dying a slow and painful death. After an hour, you are in celery/vetivery heaven (or hell) - the lavendar, sandalwood and other assorted notes try to soften the predominantly celery/earthy notes. At times it smell like raw henna. I am guessing it will still be quite unwearable for most people.

The Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde of fragrances.

Chevrefuille is one of the more unique Creeds. On the first blast, I was instantly in love ... it was a mixture of honeysuckle and cool mint notes (lots of them), complementing each other very well. The mint notes keep the floral impact of the honeysuckle in check; infact, throughout the course of the scents duration, the honeysuckle note stays well put in the background, with the occasional whiff now and then. The drydown (after about an hour or so), consists of mainly herbal notes....it smells a bit herbal and "spicy". The mint has cooled off a bit by now (no pun intended), but you can still detect the honeysuckle every now and then; however the herbal notes clearly dominate this phase of the fragrance. I am curious about a more detailed notes pyramid for this scent; the commonly cited notes information "Citrus notes, herbs and honeysuckle" dont give information on what kind of herbs have been employed in the creation of this scent.

Overall, this is one of the more unique Creeds out there - the top notes are great, and the herbal drydown is decent. I dont think it is overly floral at all; its suitable as a unisex fragrance, with good sillage and longevity.

While the note pyramid looks interesting, this fragrance is basically a light, fresh scent. The top notes are fresh and kind of minty, while the drydown never smells as rich as the note pyramid makes it out to be. Its a decent everyday scent, but common staples like Cool Water and Aqua di Gio has this one beat...badly.

An established, light, and very wearable scent. There is a fleeting resemblance to Creed Himalaya for 10 seconds - but it would be unfair to claim that the two fragrances are similar. They do share the same characteristics in that both are light, but longlasting fragrances; however XS pour homme does have its unique characteristics. Specifically, the top notes of Coriander stands out, as does the heart of juniper berry and the floral component of wild flowers - all these notes are different (and missing) from Himalaya, and distinguish XS. I am not a big fan of coriander and Juniper Berry, and thus prefer Himalaya because it smells a bit cooler and less coriander-ish, but XS is worth trying. Appropriate for summers, will work well during winter too.

A great summer fragrance, right up there with the best of the Gendarmes! In the top notes, it does share some similarities with Creeds Original Vetiver (OV), however after those notes subside, a distinct "bamboo note" takes over, while the Creed has a bit more earthy-vetivery smell. Longevity is decent, although the Creed lasts far longer. Mugler says that the inspiration for this scent was a soap he once tried at a hotel in Morocco ... I wonder what kind of a soap has a bamboo note...I would like to try that soap too. It is a good and cheaper alternative to OV, although to my nose, they are distinct enough in their character to warrant owning both.

An update to my earlier review. I bought this during winter season, and thought it was great. I still think that the composition is well blended, but unfortunately I have noticed that during spring/summer season, on my skin, the ginger dominates big time. I like ginger...just not as a fragrance note. I guess I wont be buying this one again. If only the ginger wasnt so prominent ....

I tried this at a friends house. I didnt know that one of the worlds most prolific actors since the 70s had his own fragrance...and that it was a fairly recent release ! Unfortunately, it is a very generic muted-citrus scent which makes the offerings from celebs like Banderas, Beckham and Santana smell outstanding....I give it a thumbs down for its extreme generic-ness.
However, Amitabh is a movie legend and deserves a thumbs up for all that he has done for Bollywood. So this translates into an overall rating of neutral :)

Very appropriate for spring/summer weathers, Eau Forte is a great fruity fresh offering from Caron. It has top notes of apple, orange and black currant which are kept from being overly sweet by coriander and bergamot notes. It all comes together extremely well to create a unique well blended fragrance. Underrated, and deserves more attention.

A very poor cousin of the original. A totally different offering .. a "fresher" version, with a citrusy start, a weak drydown, and poor longevity. Try Body Kouros or the original instead.

One of Creeds most complex, outstanding and under-rated fragrances. The top notes are reminiscent of Feuille Verte - sharp, spicy and a bit lemony. They then recede to create the way for one of most sensual ambery drydowns (with a hint of ambegris) around. The sharp contrast between the top notes and the basenotes is intoxicating and are what makes this offering from Creed very special. The sillage is perfect and longevity is high. I am on my way to procuring a bottle of this masterpiece !

A very citrusy lemony scent with a very light musky drydown. I smell a lot of lemons. Average sillage and longevity. A decent fragrance for the summers, but doesnt stand out much from the other citrusy summer offerings.

To my nose, it smells like a fresher, more minty-benzoiny, less complex version of Zino...a Zino "Summer version". Its definitely not a "classic" as many others may lead you to believe...I wont be hunting down overpriced bottles of this on Ebay anytime soon, especially when considering that Zino is a better fragrance overall. Still, with good longevity and decent sillage, it would be interesting to try both Zino and Relax, and then make the decision as to which one is more suitable for you.

A citrusy start with a musky powdery base. This fragrance is stuck in no mans land - theres barely any perceptible patchouli in here to appeal to patchouli fans, while the overall composition is not exciting or unique enough to appeal to your average fragrance enthusiast. Also, the longevity is horrible and sillage nearly non existent. I can draw parallels with Creeds Original Vetiver, which is a scent designed for people wary of earthy vetiver - however, in OVs' case, there *is* a perceptible vetiver note, but it is masterfully blended with the other notes...plus, OV doubles as an excellent summer fragrance with fanstastic longevity.

Sorry, patchouli or no patchouli (no patchouli in this case), at those prices ($100+ per bottle), this one wont fly.

Big thumbs down !

I would have to give this a thumbs up because its the best of the "Polo" offerings, and it was my signature scent before I ventured on to more niche houses. The fresh piney top notes are its trademark, with the musky base rounding off things. And it lasts and lasts. While Creeds Epicea and Cypres Musc take this combination to a whole new level, Polo Green is still worth a try, if only to see how great the Polo scents where once upon a time...

Although not as good as Axe Phoenix, a cologne version of this would be interesting - I actually prefer this to Bel Ami by Hermes :D

Great stuff e - smells musky + fresh. Lacks the complexity of the mainstream fragrances like Cool Water, but if you are limited to body sprays, this is the best of the Axe line.

During my high school days, my dad was an ardent fan of Old Spice, and although i liked Old Spice, I was on the look out for a "cooler" alternative - and thats my friends and I came upon Brut. It had a far cooler bottle, and the juice smelled great too. I especially liked the splash on bottle, with its metallic chain :D

Eitherways, I think this is a classic, even though it isnt as complex or sophisticated as the Diors, Creeds, L'Artisans or Hermes's. A nice jog down the memory lane.

The best mass-market cologne around, this still smells great after all these years. I may not wear it nowadays (mainly because my fragrance collection has grown bigger and more varied) but I can appreciate the contribution that this classic has made to the fragrance one. I do use it in the form of a deodorant stick - Old Spice High Endurance 'Original' deodorant stick is the best around !