Fragrance Reviews by Zachary

This is one of the most beautiful scents I've smelled - it's mesmerizing in its' simplicity. Yes, it's hazelnut and honey, but there's also musk, cedar, and a radiant tobacco note at the heart of the scent. The honey binds everything together, so that this ends up layering out into cedar and tobacco spicyness at first, hazelnut and musk second, then tobacco last... all with this background of warm honey. At the same time, this has an animal side to it - it's very male for being such a 'sweet' fragrance, the way Sauternes can be very powerful and firm even though they're noticeably sweet. Longevity is solidly good on me, but sillage is fairly modest - not that I mind... Mechant Loup isn't something to make others happy - it's a warm aura of confidence in yourself.

So I got to try my first Creed scent today - Bois du Portugal. I try to smell fragrances for notes on my wrist, as it's easier to see where they're going that way. It starts off manly, sharp and green - very resinously green, like you're chopping balsam or fir. There's a lot going on underneath that, but it takes about 15 minutes for it to come out. When it does, out comes the fascinating aromas of shellfish being cooked in crab boil - roasted peppers, shellfish stock, allspice, saffron, all sorts of cooking scents come forward as the green topnotes go away. After 2 hours, we finally get to a base of some subtle, shimmery honeyed, powdery musky notes. Absolutely amazing how this one changes. Good sillage and staying power.

I bought what must have been a tester of the original Guerlain Vetiver EDT about 10 years ago. The bottle has the rectangular green sticker on the front, and clear stickers on the sides detailing the fragrance: Vetiver, Spices, Woody. This is the first good fragrance I bought, and I've loved it, so this note is more of a sentimental one than objectively critical. It seems to be a very simple, well made fragrance - it's definitely got a huge vetiver aroma, but it's made juicy with lime and spicy with cedar. It's a warm scent, without a lot of unnecessary things to get in the way of the high quality ingredients. It has good sillage and longevity on my skin, usually lasting 6-8 hours. The interesting part about this is the drydown - a lesser fragrance would feel the need to have all sorts of powdery/sweet notes on the bottom of this, but not Vetiver - it remains spicy and green, with the lime topnote going away over half an hour to reveal beautiful vetiver and cedar. It's a great manly fragrance, one that inspires confidence whenever I wear it.

This is the last of four Profumum scents I bought online as 1/32 oz. samples. Patchouly is a odd fragrance - yes, there's Patchouli in all of its' rooty. cola, hippy goodness. It seems very sweet at first, as if there's honey or vanilla in it as well, and a shimmery note that must be the amber talking. It seems to me that this is all basenotes and nothing to really get in the way. Unlike the other three scents I've tried, this one has a massive wall of sillage: I put these on my wrist to gauge area of effect and I can't hold my arm far enough away that I can't smell the stuff. It just sits there, radiating huge sweetness and that oddly synthetic/rooty Patchouli note. Really potent, and you'd better like patchouli.

This is the third of four Profumum scents I bought online as 1/32 oz. samples. Ichnusa starts off with some beautiful green aromas - lots of fig and balsam/resinous notes on a base of warm powder and sea air. As this dries, it becomes progressively sweeter, attaining almost a candy floss/vanillin/coconut oil note that dominates the drydown. I love the green part of this scent, but not the overwhelming vanilla at the end. Like the other two Profumum scents I've noted on, the sillage is low and the longevity is moderate.

The EDT from the top of the bottle is sharp and smells of lemon furniture polish. The topnotes are rather harsh - there's definitely some lemon and waves of black peppery heat (which is probably helped along by the alcohol). It feels warm on the skin, too - I've seen pyramids on this scent that say cardamom and I woudn't be surprised. The heart of this fragrance is a massive wave of warm and spicy sandalwood and tobacco - this radiates and is only noticeable as it warms on the skin - I read once in 'The Emperor of Scent' that there's a compound called Osyrol that smells of sandalwood and was accidentally discovered by a chemist who dumped something down the sink and flushed it with hot water. There might be some flowery notes in there, but they're hidden well. As it dries, the sandalwood and tobacco persist, joined by the warmth of pepper and other spices. This has massive sillage and seems to last forever on my skin - I've gone to bed with it on and woken up the next morning with it still there. It's a warm, safe, comforting fragrance for cooler weather. It's the favorite scent that I own right now.

This is the second of four Profumum scents I bought online as 1/32 oz. samples. From the sample vial, this is sharply lime zesty - almost overpoweringly so. On the skin, at first there's a bit of struggle to see exactly what form the green aromas will take - will it be mint, cedar or lime pith? There's also a spicy aroma like ozone, or concrete, and some subtle, clean musky notes. During the drydown, the lime fades somewhat, giving way to almost a sweet white chocolate note and more flowery musk. This is subtle - there's not much sillage and the scent is rather fleeting, but up close, it's very well made and thoughtfully composed. It's almost like you're making a mojito in a forest after a rainstorm, oddly enough.

I ordered a 1/32 oz sample online and received it today. Cracking the sample open is a lesson on why you should wear a scent if you're going to evaluate it - this smelled like alcohol with flowers soaking in it. On the skin though, the amber unfolds, and it's very nice: there's a shimmery baby powdery note underneath warm honey, clove and cinnamon spicyness, and an ethereal earth and green/cedary note. Over the next fifteen minutes, the drydown reinforces the baby powdery notes, but there's a hint of something darker - almost musky. My only issue is that I wish it was a bit less powdery and more spicy. Low sillage - this is a scent that people would notice standing next to you in an elevator, or at slow dance distance.