Fragrance Reviews by Stockholm

Dsquared is a fab design concept that ever so often manages to add something little extra to ceonventional garments. However, when it comes to the much-longed-for scent, I can't hide my disappointment. The presentation is nice and fairly cleaver. The scent has a fresh tone with its watery accord and violet notes. But different to another violet classic Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene, it does not stand out, and is according to me to blend and bleak, both compared to their garment designs and to my own fragrance preference. The cedarwood gives the scent some backbone, but not enough to get it to stand up straight!

Strictly business kind of fragrance! Potent, oaky and masculin! Lacks some of that multi layer notion, since the oak is so direct and overwhelming. Nothing for me personally, but maybe for someone around his 60's, with a nice boat deck and a taste for oaked chardonnays...

Today I noticed the eagerly awaited new fragrance for men by Jean Paul Gaultier… Wow this bottle looks even cooler in white opaline, than the regular Le male-bottle…but there are no other similarities! Les Fleur du Male is as the name implies, all about flowers… It is intended to be a fragrance for men, but without common male notes, such as leather, amber, musk and the classic woods - instead replaced by delicate floral notes. The floral notes are delicate and well balanced in a potpourri, so authentic that you could easily believe that you are in the middle of a garden in full blossom.
So far I am very positive towards this fragrance, but since I personally am a man of Santos de Cartier and Yatagan-style scents, these notes are too delicate for me. As a fragrance regarded, I have quite strong doubts regarding the manliness of this fragrance, since I find the floras to be far too “on their own” and far too delicate to suit at least my personality.
By all means check it out and make your own judgement, but would not recommend a blind buy at Ebay.

First impression: Just received the bottle from Ebay, and sprayed some on a piece of paper.
The scent is not as sharp as Yatagan, that I bought in the same batch and also somewhat more powdery, but yet quite likeable and distinctive. I detect in this phase a pleasant top note of lavender also a mid range of rosemary and fern, all on a quite distinctive back drop of primarily vanilla, but also amber and tonka. Other ingredients in the pyramid are not distinguishable to me at this point. At this stage my closest earlier encounter of a reminiscent fragrance would be Must Pour Homme by Cartier, but yet quite different.
Second impression: sprayed some on the back of my hand. Different to Yatagan, this scent does not bring me a lot further and does not strike as many accords. It is by all means quite nice, but not extravagant in a manner that I would like.
Third and final impression: This does not bring me to places in my mind and hence blocks me from contemplating it further. As my first impression, I find it to be slightly similar to one of Cartier’s scents, which have never been any particular favourite, and I don’t believe this one will either. By all means a nice fragrance, but next to Yatagan it is a pale beauty!

First impression: Just received the bottle from Ebay and sprayed some on a piece of paper. The scent is very masculine, somewhat sharp, but pleasant and distinctive. When following the quite sharp trail I detect the wormwood, pine needles and vetiver on a leathery backdrop.
Second impression: Just sprayed some on the back of my hand. A curious thought runs through my mind – is this what people smelt like in 1976? By no means! This must have been quite avantguard at the time and has all hallmarks of a distinctive classic. Even though the name Yatagan in my ears have an exotic ring, this scent brings me to the south of France, when the fragrant winds bring in its notes from the surrounding fields and woods of St: Paul-de-Vence, where you could have seen Maurice Chevalier and Roger Moore sharing a nice game of Boule.
Third and final impression: Is lost in this absolutely magnificent and distinctive scent! This fragrance contains a wide range of notes, of which I can only distinguish a few, but the accords this fragrance strikes on an emotional scale is everything from melancholy to euphoria and basically amplifies the current mood. –Just fantabulous and if you have not tried this one yet, this is a must for any frag fan!

Hmmm, had so high hopes for this one… Kind of liked it when trying it out in the scent room at my local department store here in Stockholm… Did not buy it immediately, but kept on thinking about it. My girlfriend’s Chanel Mademoiselle was running on empty and she wanted to re-stack, but I felt kind of tired of it. I thought this would be a classy, qualitative but yet quite young scent to replace it with and gladly bought a bottle of EdP for her name’s day… But now I notice, the longevity is so so and you can just feel the difference in terms quality between Chanel’s Mademoiselle and Dior’s Petite Cherie. The latter is much more childish in its presence and has not as clear a signature as do Chanel. I also find Dior to be less of a novelty… The feeling I get is very much “been there done that”, which is not so good when it comes to your future spouse’s scent…

Dear Ladies & Gentlemen,
My reason to open this review in such high-flown manner, is that NO scent ever has ever caused me to react as much as the Anarchist! This scent puts all your senses on alert in a way that is almost incomprehensible. I recently bought a large bottle at Ebay after reading the reviews, and I do agree with many of the scentiments (thank you kindly Marian Bendeth for giving me an addition to my crude vocabulary in English), but was NOT prepared for this!
Yes the notes are all there, the menthol, the orange blossom and some peculiar notion of metal and on their own they sound quite harmless (see the pyramid) - but not this brew!
The first notions are close to gasoline or some kind of slightly hazardous chemical compound, and next it is the menthol that hits you.
I was so hit by the top notes that I grinned. Somewhere deeper in the register are some flickering orange blossoms, but hid behind the menthol and the metal presence that by now starts to make its omnipresence. After this stage it does not change a lot in character, and stays on till it fades off some 2-3 hours later.
! I don’t know how it is possible, but this do smell like blood (probably the metallic agent) and creates notions close to what can be associated with;: e.g. the dying dandy bleeding to death scented in Hermes Orange Verte and taking his last breathe and a gash of menthol sips out of his recently cleaned teeth… The very chemical top note is also reminiscent to an un-named illicit drug that also creates much the same alertness when whiffing it.
Honestly, if someone dares to test this fragrance after my review, or if you are intrigued and want to try it out, you are welcome to trade in my bottle.
The presentation including the box, is gorgeous, but the only connection the scent has with the name Anarchist, is that in my mind it creates chaos! Another and very suitable name for it, would be Antichrist, since it smells like the antechamber of hell!
Three thumbs down for the scent and one thumb up for the originality and the fact that some weirdo actually managed to get this scent in production!

In 1985 I was devoured by the designer Gianni Versace. This was at a time when the name Versace stood for creativity, exclusivity and glamour. When I came in contact with this fragrance, it so epitomized his genius as a designer and I was enchanted by it all…! But after the sad turn of events, Vampirella Versace showed up, and what once was something extraordinary, is now the staple goods of the Balkan markets and a mere sign of poor nouveau riche-taste. But when I revisit the fragrance once again, I still maintain that this is a truly masculine, woody, desert dry and handsome fragrance. The mix of spices is brilliantly balanced, the sillage and longevity incredible. But would I wear this fragrance again? –To be 20 years, standing on the Spanish stairs in Rome, head over heels in love, is what this fragrance brings back…passed times are passed times, and so are passed fragrances…but so nice to revisit on occasion.

This is by all means a quite pleasant fragrance…! But after been sniffing it three days in a row now, I come to the conclusion that it is exactly what to be expected by it, if associating stripes with the stripes on a shirt - an office scent! It is nothing more, but on the other hand nothing less. The longevity is descent and it is over all a non intrusive fragrance, even after you’ve just put it on, which might come in handy when you have a board meeting after that really delicious kabanoss and sourkraot-lunch and want to freshen up. In any case, Stripes is OK but lacks those Stars that make the composition complete.

Indeed a very peculiar fragrance...! Very hard to say if it is interesting peculiar, or just odd peculiar... In any case, I don't find it as bad as some have put it... Maybe not a first choice, or something that you would buy for full price, but nevertheless a quite bizarre scent for that Halloween party, or just an intellctual experiment trying to follow what good old Paco was thinking when he approved of this blend. Definitely quite mysterious and black in its presence and maybe something for that personality that always wants to go against the stream...?!

Very much liked the Gucci pour Homme, so my expectations were on top... But as often happens when you await too much from something - you get disappointed! Nice flacon and all, but we have seen it before, but the scent is very light and has to my nose no orientation towards GPH at all. Detectable notes are bergamot, tea and musk, but for the rest of the notes this blend is just too weak to detect them. Quite disappointing I must say, and not even a little surprising like the Fahrenheit 32 that I tried out at the same occasion...

Eventhough Fahrenheit is an almost legendary fragrance, I have come to think of it as a been-there-done-that kind of scent... But yesterday, a little intrigued by the opaline white Fahrenheit 32 bottle I tried the latest version out... It is light, and my first impression was definitely not WOW...the very delicate orange blossoms almost flies away and not like in many other orange scents such as Hermes Orange Verte knocks you off your feet, and then fades away...this scent sort of regains its strength by developing a very subtle and harmonized and skin close scent... I don't detect much of the vetiver, but the vanilla is intimate without being cloying. This smells much like something to be worn after beach as a refresher or a late afternoon fragrance in a very hot climate. The closest comparison to this scent that I have tried before would be Jill Sander's Sun Men, but in the latter case without Fahrenheit 32 orange tone. Overall a quite pleasant experience, but not entirely swept of my feet...

Cute, cute, cute! –A wonderfully composed scent for a young Miss with lot’s of class and adolescent awareness. Were I still 17, this would be my dates fragrance of choice for sure. This scent is hard to find, but another fragrance that might fit the bill, would be Gian Franco Ferre's "Ferre" - a superdeal just waiting to be bought at Ebay.

Ebay provides an excellent opportunity to try out many fragrances, that one would probably not buy otherwise, J. Varvatos is one of these! I have not found Varvatos on sale here in Europe, but got interested after reading about it here, and finally I have my own 4.2 bottle to smell from. Personally I have come to the conclusion that this is not the fragrance for me… It is not that I don’t like it, it actually smells pretty nice…but it is just something about it that I don’t like and I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it is the somewhat too soothing vanilla note or maybe the concoction of exotic notes that together with leather notes, makes J. Varvatos smell a little strange and intrusive according to me. My girlfriend adores this scent, so I guess it can’t be all that bad! But if I would choose a fragrance for going on a date with myself, this is not the fragrance I would wear to make a first impression. Grading this is hard, even if my girlfriend likes it, I still think that I stick to my own impression…

Quite novis to this page, but since long a devote fan of fragrances, my descovery have now come to Lanvin's Arpege... First of all I would say that I kind of like this scent, eventhough I am far from sure that I would ever find an occasion to wear it... It is far too sweet for being a suit/office fragrance, and even doubtfully a party scent, since it don't exactly get me in the club mood either... So what is it? A fragrance for home on one of these autumn days when you feel in between sensuous and slightly melancholic at the same time...? However, it is not all bad...quite good even, just can't identify the mood that goes toghether with it. The first impression is that it is not very far from Balenciaga's Cristobal but slightly more toned down... Someone mentioned that after the dry down it is somewhat ressembling Gucci Envy...and I agree! At the end of the day, I have to say that I adore the bottle and box more than the scent...so maybe some thing for my new bathroom, but not for me...!

I can't see the reason to buy this when there is an original that beats this one any day of the week... Generally detest light versions existing fragrances, eventhough this is according to me, not exactly a version of the original...but yet another tonic altogether...

Absolutely incomprehensible, why they stop making many of the best fragrances ever... Othher examples are Cerruti Pour Homme and Giorgio di Beverly Hills (both the regular and VIP), that are all master pieces in the their own right, but hélas...no more! If you ever stumble across this fragrance, stop and give it 30 minutes to put its spell on you...fore this is how a real man's sport fragrance should smell. A power smell both on the court, in the locker room and with the ladies in the sports bar... Game, set and match!

Oooh is this a weird scent or what...? First of all, why is called "Blue"...? I get no blue vibes here and I have tried many blue scents before. Maybe rather leaning towards green, since the wood notes are so dominant in this fragrance. The only scent that I can come to think of with this much wooded notes is one from Hugo Boss. I also read that some find this to be a unisex scent... I can't really see that, unless you are the boyfiend of a wood chucker... I can see how all this does not seem too positive when it comes to grading these fumes, but I can't help, it is appealing in some sort of weird manner, noting I would wear, but maybe something that I would sniff from time to time... Another notion comes to mind, how is this scent working in Japan...hmmm...can see how the original IM is brilliant on this level, but this is more suitable for a Canadian lumber jack or like myself a Norse Viking...where the need for a mosquito repellent is imminent...or can come in handy when you need to leave a scent trail for a search party in the great woods...

Surprisingly many seem to be very positive towards this fragrance... Had a smell on it today when passing by the local department store... My opinion is hence; that's the perfect place for it, since it is not a sophisticated, surprising and convincing tonic to use when you are in the mood to make a statement, but rather a quite bleek blend that you should wear when you expect the neighbours wife to say "oh that smells nice...". Personally I have higher demands, other target groups and seek a higher level of sophistication when chosing my fragrance for the day or evening, or to express my current mood.

My girlfriend bought NU EdP the other day and since I am the perfume enthusiast in our relation, I looked in on the sight to se what is being said about it… And to my great surprise, there is a discussion going on wether this is a unisex fragrance or not… I know that many Americans find us Europeans a little queer and that is alright, but we definitely need to draw the line somewhere here… NU meaning “naked” in French is an almost overly feminine scent, which is so archetypical to female floral evening fragrances, that would I ever meet a man in a narrow alley wearing this, one has to wonder if you did not take a wrong turn somewhere. In a time of breaking the classical gender boundaries, sure you might find someone wearing this, but I definitely think that would be an anomaly, even in France (in spite of what can be said about the French men in general).
The EdP NU from YSL epitomizes what is so unique about the French women – their incredible skill of bringing out their femininity, elegance and sophistication. This is not something to be worn in the office, nor in a crowded place if you do not want to cause people nausea – but instead in an ambient soiree where you want to accompany some outstandingly elegant threads with the right fragrance and definitely with some skin showing... Unmistakably feminine, elegant and wonderful!

I absolutely adore this fragrance, not only for the memories of encounters in the past, but also for its wonderful composition of very light and delicate florals. I quite suitable scent for a classy young woman, far away from many of today's bublegum fragrances. Very innocent, a little flirty and definitely a lot of class!

Bulgari Extreme...! What an extremely modern and manly fragrance, without any chest heaving overtones...just pure and clean, but with layers of sophistication... This is no:3 on my list over men's classics...after Cartier Santos Concentree and Nino Cerruti...

Interesting how people can come to so different conclusions... This fragrance was bought to give as X-mas by the company where I work...and surely I tried it before it was delivered... It is to most horrific, cheap, agressive floral scent that has ever been caught by my receptors... When finding out about this, I directly bought new perfume for the ladies at the office...and I am glad...since otherwise we would have been without staff by now... :) I tried to give the left overs to my Polish cleaning lady, but she said that she didn't even want to use it as a room scent... So for me it is double thumbs down...unless used for chemical warefare...

What an interesting fragrance...! It was at the time of launch a favourite among the gay comunity, due to the very muscular and archetypical men in the advertisements...but more intresting, it is a quite unusal fragrance with a very distinctive smell a clear signature... It does not smell as dated as many other 80's fragrances, but I am not sure if I would wear it again...but clearly something for the collection.

What a high class fragrance...! It totally embodies the name "Mademoiselle", since it really smells of upper class youg miss in a typical French manner. It lasts forever and is just sooo well blended and so balanced. The follower Chance is just a very boring and sad fragrance next to this one.

After trying the original Bijan for men (thumbs down), I got a cross a bottle of this fragrance. I was truly excited to see what a company with such an exclusive profile might do for women...but sorry to say...I did not like it, nor did my girlfriend... It is somewhat orchid like in its middle notes, and with wiff of trendy rose...but accoring to my nose, not a good blend of notes over all. The bottle started to flake afer a couple of weeks in the bathroom...yet another evidence of a poorly executed product.

Bought a bottle at Ebay to try it out after watching a TV-program on Mr Bijan's exclusive Rodeo Dr. store... I was excited to say the least and opened the quite interestingly folded box, watched the bottle and thought...hmmm...a doughnut and a golfball...hmmm...why not!? When trying the fragrance it stood clear just after one wiff, definately an 80's type of smell, very pungent and somewhat old fashioned... The actual blend of notes makes me think of middle eastern gentlemen, with lots of pomade and a blend of spices picked up at the last visit to the local bazaar. Nothing for me at this point in life...but maybe later when the smell receptors starts to wear out...

Simply a classic among others...but different in the aspect that even though it is the far most 80's scent, it is still a modern fragrance... Love it for its subtle tones, but still lasting enough for a day out or at the office... The best Armani scent ever and it came out in a time when Armani was still an interesting designer brand.

Not as strong as many of the scents today - more like a cologne! Super fresh with a typical citrusy topnote, but with some refined undertones... Definitely nice, but a little to weak to last me the entire day... Used it for some time as a before bedtime fragrance...

80's 80's 80's...! A typical designed business fragrance, worn at the times when business men had rolled up sleves, bleached hair and piano digit ties...

As said before; truely a trip down memory lane... This scent was so hot in the 80's and in some aspect, still is...but nothing that I would wear again. It is said that the 80's trend is on its way back...but trends never repeat themselves exactly, and hence this 80's scent will be locked in my cabinet...

Can't say that I going crazy over JPG as a designer, but this fragrance...my goodness...it is just as wonderful as it gets... It has a distinct signature, but yet intimate and intriguing... A little sad though, is that it is so main stream when it comes to market profiling...

I would definitely not compare this frag to Cartier's Santos, which is a super scent... This however reaks of aged person captured in a nostalgic trip back to the time when you would exit to Plato's Retreat clad in a scent only...

Got interested in this frag, but different to another oldie Grey Flannel, I think that time has expired for this one. A scent for geezers...

This is truly one of the best compositions ever made for men!!! Toghether with Cartier's Santos Concentree, this has been the backbone of my fragrance wardrobe since the 80's. Since then the Cerruti company have been marching on a steady path to make their fragrances more and more anonymous and blend... If you ever come a cross a fresh bottle...just indulge!!! Double thumbs up!

Is this what you would choose if you hade a billion on your bank account...? Or is this what you think that a flamboyant person like Mr. Trump would smell like...? I just hope that the base of his building empire is more solid than the base notes of this house of cards... And can you imagine that this is done in collaboration with Mr. Lauder...what were you guys thinking of...obviously not perfume...

Oooh what a wonderful fragrance...! The combination of new and old really comes together in this fragrance... What first feels like a slightly irritating neroli-cedar-old-sicilian-barbers-cologne-annodatzumal...later turns in to be a very manly, subtle but yet distinct companion for both suit days and little nocturnal play... The vanilla base note makes this somewhat formal first impression, more friendly when you reach its peak...

Hotel Costes is vibrant and truly original place in Paris...unfortunately the same can not be said about the scent, that is in spite of its spicy opening (in my nose a little reminiscent of Gucci PH), does not deliver on the next stage and after an hour the scent is too flat to have any mystery or attraction at all left. Something a little interesting to sniff on, but nothing to wear according to me...

Just bought a bottle for try... But have to agree with some of the more negative judgements on this scent... The opening is sort of interesting, but it does not go further...when on for some time, it smells like an undefined melange without any particular carachtere...also lack the de lux vibe that other scents evoke... Is now rather a part of my collection of room fragrances...

Bought a 200 ml bottle of Assoluta about two months ago, and can truly say that if you wanna feel like a spotless person, in newly ironed pinstripe shirts, this is the smell to wear. According to my liking, I would prefer an Edt to enforce the cologne, when staying out late. But for office or a as refreshment before going to bed, it is lovely... In any case my bottle is soon finished...and right now I am contemplating buying a new one or go for the original instead...

This has been my No:1 companion since 1984 and is truly the most manly, rich and sensual scent for men ever created. When wearing this scent you will never feel unconfident with the ladies...maybe vice versa...the scent make you feel overconfident, because it truly makes you feel like a million dollars...

Grey Flannel is a true original... Like someone else, I first encountered it when I was far to young to wear it. The top note of violet framed in romantic 1920's setting, neatly dressed in suit and a straw hat, I believe this to be a definite must for the fragrance enthusiast...a pity that it does not come in a contrentrated version. Other GB fragrances have miles left to reach to the same level...

Great scent with lots of elegance and a handful of adult points...nothing for dressed down days...according to me at least. Is together with Bulgari Extreme a definitive favourite when putting on a suit for a formal evening.

I love to match different fragrances against oneanother...and this time I chose Michael and Gucci PH, just because of the ressembling bottles and also due to the type of scents they are...and both came in my possession the same day. Both incredibly manly, with a distinctive signature. Michael however, after sniffing some, a slightly unpleasant smell of wet wool occurs or damp socks, mixed with its accompanying top notes. After some time the wet wool smell vaporates and a truly warm and sensual scent is left on the skin. In comparison with Gucci PH's top notes makes you smell like a very manly Christmas ginger cake... In complexity I find them to be on equal levels and I thought that I would find GPH to be more elegant in the end...but my money goes to Michael for its subtle undertones and its longlasting basenotes...