Reviews by odysseusm

    odysseusm's avatar
    odysseusm
    Canada Canada

    Showing 391 to 420 of 1239.
    rating


    Askett Essential by Askett & English

    The citrus notes start in a nice lemony way. The scent develops a soapy character, at times it seems round and at other times a bit muddled. It took me a few wearings to recognize the herbal notes but now that I do, I appreciate them. The dry-down is a very light mossy sort. I don't get any particular wood or vetiver notes.

    This and its companion (Absolute) are good scents. There is nothing problematic in them, other than a slight metallic note at times in each, which lurks as a very minor echo in the background. They are not sweet or heavy, so they are something a man could wear. The elements are pleasant and I don't find any loud or tiresome synthetic notes. I can wear each with appreciation. Longevity is short, but that is to be expected with citrus-centered scents. My slight reservation -- and this is an issue of my personal taste -- is that these scents don't offer anything particularly distinctive. They are nice and enjoyable, and I assume that is the goal. I urge people to sample them. They are subtle and low-key and worth trying.

    03 December, 2011

    rating


    Askett Absolute by Askett & English

    Definitely orange rather than lemon is in view here. The cold tea note pops and is a nice element. The herbs are merely hinted, not stated. Sometimes the spices are there, sometimes not. I am a bit disappointed in the floral heart. Orange blossom should be a gorgeous cloud (don't find that here). On some wearings, I get a faint rose; other times I simply cannot find it. So the floral note is somewhat generic in my opinion -- pleasant but not remarkable. The drydown is soft, gentle and comforting.

    This and its companion (Essential) are good scents. There is nothing problematic in them, other than a slight metallic note at times in each, which lurks as a very minor echo in the background. They are not sweet or heavy, so they are something a man could wear. The elements are pleasant and I don't find any loud or tiresome synthetic notes. I can wear each with appreciation. Longevity is short, but that is to be expected with citrus-centered scents. My slight reservation -- and this is an issue of my personal taste -- is that these scents don't offer anything particularly distinctive. They are nice and enjoyable, and I assume that is the goal. I urge people to sample them. They are subtle and low-key and worth trying.

    03 December, 2011

    rating


    Jardin Clos by Diptyque

    This is a lovely white floral. I will respectfully disagree that it is more green than Eau de Lierre, I can't imagine anything more green than the crunchy leaves of Lierre! I find this to be a white floral, perhaps with a hint of green at the edges. The flowers are quite pretty and a bit sweet, though not heavy or cloying. The wood and moss give a bit of depth to this otherwise innocent young scent. I think a guy could wear it, if it appealed to him.

    30th November, 2011

    rating


    L'Eau de L'Eau by Diptyque

    This is intended to be a fresher, lighter version of L'Eau; and it succeeds. It is a pleasant combination of citrus and spice. In comparison to L'Eau, the citrus notes are brighter and more prominent. The spices are more a compliment rather than a dominant feature. The combination of citrus and spice works well together -- the scent is still somewhat old-school (reminiscent of a pot-pourri) but it is not as heavy and certainly not as clove-y as L'Eau. The ginger adds a nice note, not so noticeable in L'Eau.

    30th November, 2011

    rating


    Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford

    This is an excellent vetiver. Vetiver is a favorite note for me, and I really enjoy this version. It starts with good citrus and herbal notes. The sage is not overdone: it adds a pleasant dusky-green note without suggesting turkey stuffing. The spices are very well blended. They add a sophisticated and modern touch of warmth without the usual retro barbershop vibe. The vetiver comes in as grassy and lemony: bright, airy and very enjoyable to wear. A very close comparison can be drawn to Givenchy Vetyver, the latter being a little more citrusy but likewise light and cheerful.

    30th November, 2011

    rating


    L'Ame d'un Héros by Guerlain

    This is a nice, dusky-green scent. It is a reformulated version of Corolian. Its notes are smoother and not as distinct as Corolian's. Lemony, bright, hints of dusky notes and juniper. Dry, wears well, more subtle than Corolian. The dry-down is very similar. A lovely green chypre, wears well. In my opinion Corolian is superior and still available with some searching (also cheaper).

    25 November, 2011 (Last Edited: 26 June, 2014)

    rating


    Gin Fizz by Lubin

    Totally revised review.
    Scent was created in 1955 as a tribute to a then-popular cocktail of the same name and also to the beauty and glamour of Grace Kelly.
    The re-issue starts with lovely white floral notes. The scent is fresh, spring-like, with a hint of green. Not sweet, not heavy. Wears very well. Arguably feminine in style but a guy can easily wear it. Chic.
    My only complaint is that for a scent named "Gin" the juniper element is quite muted. A little more coniferous zing would make this outstanding rather than safe. Perhaps the original had more swaggering panache.

    25 November, 2011 (Last Edited: 03 June, 2014)

    rating


    Gendarme Green by Gendarme

    Well, if there is a "green" scent sooner or later I will find it and try it.
    I'm disappointed in this. I didn't have high expectations but still was underwhelmed. It is not oppressively sweet (thank goodness) and it does have herbal-basil notes in the opening. It quickly developed what (to my nose) was a cheap, synthetic, detergenty character.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    03 Century by Odin New York

    I was tremendously disappointed in this. Birch - cypress - mint seemed very promising to me, and vetiver and myrrh likewise held great promise. I found a very sweet and somewhat dense vanilla-amber scent, and that's all. No thanks. Not green or woody enough to be a chypre, in my opinion.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Bois d'Arménie by Guerlain

    I've smelled Armenian paper and appreciate that smell. The notes of incense and spice in this scent looked promising. I found the scent to be very sweet, rich and heavy. The emphasis on benzoin may be appropriate but it is not something I would seek out.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    10 Corso Como by 10 Corso Como

    Here are the notes I saw listed: sandalwood, frankincense, musk, rose, geranium, vetiver, Malay oud.
    This is a very subtle, close to the skin scent. The incense is very smooth, and the sandalwood is creamy. There are mere hints of green-coniferous frankincense and rose; and even a fainter hint of tangy oud. Overall the scent is beautiful, perhaps just a bit too smooth and restrained to really attract my attention. However, I cannot fault it and I am sure that many will find it very nice.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Alliage by Estée Lauder

    I've heard about this and was glad to sample it. It is a big scent. Marketed to women but it is so powerful and moderately dry that a man could wear it. The peachy fruit up top gives it a round, plump opening. It quickly settles into a 70's herbal-mossy-leathery brew. It is a sibling to Dior's Jules. Nice enough, some might find it a bit dated in today's market.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Kolnisch Juchten by Parfums Regence

    Well, I need to admit that I am not a fan of leather scents. However, this is such a legendary, almost mythic scent that I had to try it. I just sniffed it on paper. It is a huge smokey-leather scent. I have heard it described as suggesting spicy and fatty sausages grilling and slightly burnt on an outdoor wood fire. Very high-calorie and animalic! Well, that is exactly what I encountered. I'm glad to have encountered it -- it definitely is one of the most unique scents I have smelled. By the way, Parfums Regence makes a whole slew of scents, not just this one. I sampled their Lavender and Vert scents at Jaquelines as well... nothing special in either of those. Lavender was a reasonable lavender, Vert was a soapy-green scent, a bit heavy.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Jules by Christian Dior

    I used to wear this "in the day" (when it was launched). Recently I had the chance to sniff it. It is a big ol' powerhouse of the 80's, but is quite attractive and well made. I can still appreciate the intensely green opening (courtesy of the galbanum). It quickly settles into a leathery-spicy brown brew. If applied lightly it probably would be good. I've moved out of the leather-scent camp, so I can appreciate it but wouldn't buy it.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Sartorial by Penhaligon's

    What an interesting scent! It is both extremely old-school and amazingly modern in style. It opens as a very historic fougere, with lavender, moss and hay-like vanilla notes. Then I find a very contemporary, even industrial, note of paper, steam and freshly-ironed shirts... perhaps the crackle of ozonic electricity. This adds a very clean and bracing quality to the fougere richness. Venerable wood and old leather notes work in counterpoint with an edgy metallic note to create a charming chord. This certainly suggests a location, the tailor shop but also an old library. My one reservation is a slightly more developed vanilla note than I like -- but this is a minor point. High approval for this. Very well conceived and executed.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    L'Eau by Diptyque

    This is a good scent, but I feel it could be better. It definitely is a spicy potpourri, with particular emphasis on cinnamon and cloves. There is a woody tone underneath the spices, and sometimes a deep rose note tentatively appears. Initially the spices overwhelm the floral notes, and unless you really love cloves you might find this problematic. Eventually the scent settles down and it finishes with a lovely light spice chord. If I could redesign this, I'd lessen the spices at the top and augment the rose note. A deep and sustained rose, framed by spices, would be marvelous.

    25 November, 2011

    rating


    Olène by Diptyque

    This is a gentle, lovely floral scent. I think if I met a lovely woman wearing it I would fall head-over-heels in love!
    It is a fairly sweet, spring-like floral with some green notes. The jasmine is accurately conveyed, along with heady wisteria and a spring-bulb note of narcissus. The scent has a youthful vibe.
    The dry-down is so gorgeous that it really makes my heat skip a beat. I don't think I'd ever wear it but I'd happily encounter it!

    17 October, 2011

    rating


    L'Essence de Déclaration by Cartier

    Here are the notes listed on the sample vial card: cedar and birchwood; amber, ciste and immortal [flower].
    It is dry and quite woody, with an airy character.
    Some spice like cumin certainly is here, and gives a tangy, old-sweat note.
    The labdanum gives a vanilla/amber note.
    I should like this but I don't. At times, the wood note (with the cumin) veers into a territory like wet cardboard or old, dry cheddar cheese.

    11th October, 2011

    rating


    Forest Rain by Kiehl's

    I give a neutral rating but really, it is not bad. It is a soft, slightly dusky-sweet musk scent. As others have noted, this is not a crisp forest but rather the soft green undergrowth in a tropical forest after an early morning rain. The vetiver gives a grassy, stalk-like aspect. I find some mild green notes throughout. A little too soft and pretty for me to wear, but it is a nice sort or scent. I do see similarities in house style to Pour Homme Essence and Kiehl's Musk. I wouldn't call this a "masculine" scent at all.

    10th October, 2011

    rating


    Balenciaga Paris L'Essence by Balenciaga

    I really have high expectations for scents which claim to be green.
    I found this to have nothing that I would call green. No "forest", no moss, no vetiver, no grass, no leaves. The violet leaves are of a particularly dense and metallic-sweet kind. The scent overall is very heavy, to my taste very sweet and closed-in.
    It lands like a clump on my skin and won't go away.
    I searched for some redeeming features... for my taste I couldn't find any.
    I really feel that this presented itself as a very loud and problematic scent. I didn't find it attractive at all. I did note a bit of leather-esque chord at the end. Ultimately, I had to wash it off after 15 minutes. Perhaps my skin just doesn't suit this. But green fans... don't expect too much from it.
    Where's my Ho Hang?...

    26 September, 2011

    rating


    Baiser Volé by Cartier

    This scent is meant to convey an portrait of the various parts of a lily: pistils, petals, and green leaves. It succeeds in that goal, and quite well. This is a lovely floral. It is somewhat sweet, but it is not heavy and it retains a fresh quality. At times it has soapy or dewy notes, suggesting youth and Springtime. The phrase "pretty in pink" comes to mind. The lily theme is well done -- it really smells like that flower. It has the saffron-like pistils, the heady sweetness of the petals, and the perky crunch of green leaves. Not at all my style but I can appreciate it.

    24 September, 2011

    rating


    Alien by Thierry Mugler

    This is strictly an impressionistic note. I haven't tried this on, but I smelled it during conversation with a very attractive woman. It suited her so well, and it was a lovely scent. It seemed warm, deep but not cloying or heavy, and worked well on a warm summer night. Excellent sillage, particularly since this was an outdoor event.

    25 August, 2011

    rating


    Revelation by CB I Hate Perfume

    On the paper strip, it had moderately appealing green grass and fig notes. On my skin, it had an awful, unattractive note. It was sweet, totally un-fig-like, a somewhat rancid and sour soapy note. Bleh.

    24 August, 2011

    rating


    Earthtones #1 - Dark Earth by Neil Morris Fragrances

    This scent is meant to suggest the transition from winter to spring, and the potential of fresh soil to yield life. I find that it does indeed exactly convey an impression of freshly-cut, rich, loamy soil. And I mean EXACTLY. Now, is that necessarily a good thing? Debatable. Demeter and CB I Hate Perfume do the same thing, presenting rather straightforward renditions of a single concept or moment in time. Do I like the smell of rich soil? Yes. Do I want to smell like that all day? No.
    Aside from the quirky and distinctive earth smell, I also get somewhat odd and fleeting notes of sweet dark chocolate. There is some sort of green note, as promised. The scent starts somewhat sweet and quickly gets quite sweet. It also gets heavy, powerful, musky, and tiresome for anyone who doesn’t dote on sweetie-pie scents. Eventually I had to wash it off.

    12 August, 2011

    rating


    Cathedral by Neil Morris Fragrances

    “You are walking alone through a grand cathedral. It is dark and intimate with the residue of a thousand incense burnings. A single shaft of light penetrates the darkness.” So NM.

    Well, I think a better description would be, “You settle into your richly-oiled leather chair at the gentleman’s club. You catch the sweet and strong scent of women’s powder make-up. Must speak to Jeeves; deuced laxity in allowing women into the club…”

    Two questions: where is the incense? Where is the smoke?
    On me, this is a very sweet leather-oriented scent. I’d call it a floral leather. What this has to do with a cathedral I can’t imagine. At times, the flowers and leather give a honeyed note or something like clover. People who like sweet scents might appreciate this one. I found the sweetness became so irritating that I had to wash it off.

    11th August, 2011

    rating


    Earthtones #3 - North Woods by Neil Morris Fragrances

    Sadly, I have to report my disappointment with this scent. I love coniferous, woody, and herbal scents. Looking at the notes list, I had every reason to hope that North Woods would be that sort of scent. I find that it is not very green, not at all coniferous, and really not woody. To me, it suggests a sunny meadow of sweet grass. That is not a bad image to convey, and the scent is not unpleasant. But in my opinion there is little of any woodland in it.

    The scent starts in a promising manner, with lovely green notes hinting at galbanum or clary sage. The scent is soft but fresh. Fig leaf and cut grass are accurately rendered and give a slight herbal chord. Alas, this is a very brief phase. Next to appear is the heather – an outdoorsy floral, a bit hay-like or somewhat like broom. Soapy myrrh appears, and the scent becomes somewhat sweet. The hay-like note increases, at times becoming powdery and at other times suggesting tobacco leaf. Sometimes I detect a cool, tinny-metallic note which reminds me of some patchoulis I’ve encountered. At times, there is an earthy note like soil, and I am reminded of Czech and Speake’s Cuba with the tobacco-earth combination.

    To reiterate: this is a pleasant scent, somewhat low-key but in many ways attractive. But I don’t find it substantially green and certainly (for me) there is nothing of the forest about it, either in terms of coniferous or wood notes.

    09 August, 2011

    rating


    Royal Scottish Lavender by Creed

    It starts with a very good lavender note: airy, herbal, suggesting both flowers and leaves. The scent quickly becomes very much in the Creed style, namely round and smooth, even somewhat luxurious. The vanilla is restrained, thankfully. There are hints of spices (cloves, nutmeg) to give a masculine vibe. The scent is subtle and sits close to the skin.
    I like a lavender scent to be more lively and sharp than this -- however, many will like it and it is very well done.

    08 August, 2011

    rating


    Number Six by Caswell-Massey

    This is a nice scent, I like it.
    It starts with very notes of orange zest and blossom, and lemon zest. These are very pleasant and lively. They are quickly joined by aromatic and herbal notes: slightly soapy anise, herbal-minty rosemary, warmly spicy clove and nutmeg. The scent is old-school and masculine in style, but it is restrained and classy (not a powerhouse). There is an interesting note which I can't quite identify. It is creamy, toasted-nutty, slightly sweet -- perhaps it is almond blossom. The dry-down is genteel and wears well.

    08 August, 2011

    rating


    Vétiver by Carven

    I was fortunate to get the original Carven Vetiver.
    Briefly, it has been through several versions.
    * 1957 - pictured above. A rectangular bottle with rounded edges and a green plastic cap. Green box.
    * 1990's reissues. Early bottles had a wooden cap, later ones had a silver metal cap. Revamped green box with a white chevron on it. Allegedly weaker in style.
    * 2006 reformulation. White box, square bottle. Different list of notes
    * 2009 alternate version? Called "Le Vetiver".

    By all accounts the original is the best, and without trying the later versions I find it to be very good. The opening is full of lemony goodness. It quickly takes on an earthy, dry and slightly spice character that is old-school and full of charm. Wood notes work well with the vetiver. The vetiver is very green in style: it is invigorating and at times has a soapy-fresh, coniferous aspect. The dry-down develops lovely creamy sandalwood and green moss notes. The scent is never sweet or heavy, and it wears very well. I'd say that if you are a vetiver fan and can find the *original* it is worth checking out.

    05 August, 2011

    rating


    Eau Duelle by Diptyque

    Notes according to the Diptyque site: cold spices, black frankincense, vanilla.
    I give this a "neutral" and that is a huge concession -- since I can't stand vanilla. Here, I say that this is a very woody vanilla, and for me the wood almost redeems the scent. The vanilla is somewhat on the dry side (as dry as vanilla can ever be, which is not entirely so). At times a coniferous note (the juniper) brightens the scent slightly, perhaps also the frankincense adds another green note. I will grudgingly concede that this is a sophisticated oriental -- it is not ponderous, thick, or treacly-sweet. It has verve and a translucent aspect. At times in the dry-down, I think I get the ghostly echo of smokey incense. Subtract the vanilla and I'd be interested. Keep the vanilla and I say -- vanilla fans will enjoy this.

    03 August, 2011

    Showing 391 to 420 of 1239.