Fragrance Reviews by Vasily

I would echo Caltha's comment and add to it: "a hot sunny day in a cedarwood forest with wild roses growing in it and a fleeting deja vu to Catholic mass" ... and you're eating a big juicy orange while you're walking through that forest. I don't like most rose notes, they don't sit well on my skin, but this is a very subtle rose note.

The most satisfying Tauer for me next to L'air du Desert ... and I do consider it bottleworthy. I don't get YSL Opium out of it, or anything potpourri-like (maybe that's the rose?): it's ocmplex, satisfying, has great sillage & longevity as Trebor points out and (most importantly) it makes me smile when I put it on.

It starts woody and earthy on me, and in the finish it's the powdery violets of orris with a touch of leather. Certainly not unpleasant ... no more so than (say) Guerlain Vetiver, another earthy and rooty favorite of mine. Thumbs up - way up.

Although I'm not a fan of the fresh calone-based perfumes that have been so popular for the past decade, this is probably the best take on the beach that I've encountered. Good enough that I purchased; a bottle recently for summer wear. There's a dry greenness there, plus a tiny bit of unpleasantness that recalls machine oil for me, like a whiff of boat funkiness from the docks mixed with shells & seagrass & the smell of skin warmed by the sun then plunged into shadow. It's an unpretentious take on the beach, which for me always has some funky smells mixed in with the pleasant. It makes me smile, and sometimes thats enough to make a frag bottleworthy for me.

Subtle and dry tropical fruits & spicy woods with a real freshness over it all, like a warm clean tropical breeze blowing through a distant fruit stand. Very refreshing and summery, Bahiana lasts well but the sillage isn't particularly impressive. This is definitely one I'm considering as a purchase...

A dry and lemony green fig that morphs in the midnotes to something peppery and woody and very warm. More of a warm weather fragrance and very unisex. This is one that I will buy again.

Fresh, light, and unremarkable, this could be any one of a hundred frags you encounter at your local department store. Ho Hum.

Reminiscent of Creed Orange Spice with honey mixed in. Very pleasant, a nice winter holiday frag but would work in warm weather too ... unfortunately it doesn't last very long on me.

My main problem with Reverie is the ultra-sweet top note .... very fruity/floral ... the lavender gets lost in there. The frag becomes much more interesting in the midnotes and basenotes, where the green/herbal notes come into play more with lavender peeping out every once in a while. But I can't get beyond the candylike notes. If you like sweet, you may very well like this one, but it's just not my cup of tea. Longevity is decent, sillage not so great.

This is a wonderfully done fragrance ... however, florals and I don't get along very well. It's just not for me. I gave my sample to a young friend and find myself appreciating it more and more when he wears it ... but I enjoy it more on others than on myself.

I was hoping for something a bit smoky, with dried leaves and spices and some autumn fruit thrown into the mix. Instead, I'd call it a gourmand fragrance and it smells a bit odd on me, something like a caramel apple with a bit of spice. I like eating caramel apples, but I don't particularly enjoy wearing one. Not my favorite by this designer but if you're a big fan of gourmand fragrances you might like this one. It lasts well on me.

Maybe it was the sample, maybe it was my skin chemistry ... but I found no incense, woods, or smoke in this one. My trial notes say "clean, soapy, not particularly compelling". Last OK, but it's not in the same league as her Midnight Violet, Cafe Noir, Fig Wood, Feu de Bois or Kretek (all of which I highly recommend).

A very mellow and sweet fig tempered with woods and spices, which rescue it from smelling like something that belongs in a fruit salad. I prefer it to her Fig perfume (though I haven't tried Fig Leaf yet). Decent longevity but on me it stays pretty close to the skin. This one will be pleasant, I think, on a hot summer day.

A bonfire in pine woods on a chilly autumn evening. You'll like this if you like woodsmoke and evergreens. Not particularly complex and rather linear, but as the other reviewer noted, great longevity & sillage.

Starts out with a heavy hit of dark, dark coffee, mellows out very nicely in the drydown to a spicy, somewhat woody accord. I only wish it lasted longer on me. This is very nice layered with MPG Santal Noble, by the way.

A wonderful lime & cedar fragrance that (as others have said) is not very long lasting. It reminds me of a fragrance from my younger days: something from the late 1960s or early 1970s that I would splash on in my parents' bathroom before going out for a night with friends. If this lasted longer on me, I'd give it a big thumbs up. A nice summer fragrance for those who can affort to splash it on.

I'm not a great fan of MPG, but this is of my all time favorites for winter. I suspect the chocolate note emerges from the interplay between the sandalwood and the vanilla. The coconut note reminds me (oddly enough) of celery seed at times. Mellow and dry and earthy, it gets me compliments when I wear it and it makes me feel classy. It is, indeed, the "nectar of the gods."

I wasn't sure whether I liked this perfume at first, but found my appreciation growing after a few samplings. Starts out fresh, outdoorsy and somewhat grassy on me, perhaps a suggestion of exotic Asian spice; morphs in the midnotes into a fruity, herbal, honeyed mixture - sort of like a rich and fruity herbal tea sweetened with a dark, deep wildflower honey. The basenotes are deep and somewhat animalic, musk mixed with sweet tobacco and a rummy richness. A fragrance that evokes strange associations and dreams for me. Imagine hiking home through a damp forest after a meal of Indian food, and finishing the night with a mug of tea sweetened with Barbancourt Haitian rum and a pipe of plummy sweet English pipe tobacco with your beloved hunting dog drying at your feet before a roaring fire.

I'm not a big fan of leather, so Lonestar Memories isn't my cup of tea, but I'm giving this one a big thumbs up. Leather and the smell of the desert, sitting around a smokey sagebrush campfire. Great sillage, great longevity. Andy does great desert fragrances; he's a real poet. Suggested this one to a friend and he loves it, and frankly, I think it smells better on him than on me.

"Everyone knew when he walked into a room. Perhaps it was the damp, used blackcurrant tea bags he wore under his arms." Maybe this is a generational thing: as an older gentleman, I want to smell sophisticated, interesting, and complex - not like something that should go from the teacup to the garbage. I don't get the SMW excitement ... but then again, I don't get the fuss folks make over GIT, either.

This one's like a walk through dry hills above the Mediterranean on a hot summer day, the smell of tart juniper cut through by a sudden sweetness as you brush against the leaves of a spicy bush. After a while, you can smell the sea in the distance. A poetic and complex fragrance. Unfortunately, this one lasts maybe an hour on me.

One of my favorite scents for summer. Citrus topnotes, which are mellowed out with musk in the midnotes, and a hint of colonial spices comes out in the drydown. I don't get vetiver out of this one, either. Unfortunately, this one has poor longevity but it's inexpensive so you can refresh when you need to.

I have no idea why this is listed as a women's scent, it works I think better for men. Definitely has some sweet notes in there, but not at all cloying. There's a delightful smokiness in the midnotes and in the drydown, I sometimes think I can smell a dry stoniness, like the night wind blowing in off the desert. Have gotten frequent compliments, from "something smells nice" to "are you wearing Old Spice" (it's as spicy as that low-end classic, but much dryer & more complex). After spending all summer looking for the perfect summer fragrance, I've found it.