Fragrance Reviews from January 2013

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    bnusr's avatar



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    Diorissimo by Christian Dior

    I find Diorissimo extremely severe. If i were to wear it on a cold day I'd feel very bleak. It's like certain authors whose wit is penetrating, ascerbic and merciless. Agatha Christie comes to mind rather than Bret Easton-Ellis though, because Diorissimo is decorous. So I wear it to formal daytime things of an official nature where vigilance and steeliness are desirable, and only in spring. That doesn't sound very complimentary does it; actually this perfume is in my very soul, irrevocably, and its place there is deeply cherished. It's just that I could never be an elegant early 1960s twinset dominatrix, which is what Diorissimo evokes for me.

    01st January, 2013

    Jinglebob's avatar



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    Aspen for Men by Coty

    I had Aspen setting around for years until rately when I got back into fragrances from bring effected with what I thought was a anti PC movement. I rubbed a little on my wrist for a test. I also have a large bottle of Stetson, don't laugh, also setting around and I applied some on the other wrist. After several hours I had my favorite girl, Granddaughter, five years old give me her report. She liked Aspen by far. I agree, it's coming up on twenty-two hours and I still get a weak but nice sent from it. It's about ten hours for the Stetson. Stetson is just too sweet and heavy whereas Aspen is crist, light woodsy, fresh and has found a place in my heart once again. I need to find it and buy up several bottles or try and build a copy myself. Now about Polo and Canoe that my college roommate used....but that's a different story.

    01st January, 2013

    Valkyriespacegirl's avatar

    United States United States

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    Jasmin Noir by Bulgari

    Big Gardenia and jasmine opening. The dry down smells so much like my own natural scent, in the best way possible. It's a fresh natural musk under those beautiful flowers. There is a touch of lady like powder as well that makes this a crowd pleaser.

    01st January, 2013

    Tony T's avatar

    United States United States

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    Pure Vetiver by Azzaro

    great sillage and longevity. a very clean and natural smelling vetiver. nice light pepper in the middle and then a vetiver finish with a hint of tea. not grounbreaking but exactly what veiver should be. almost as ood as guerlain's..

    01st January, 2013

    Melanch's avatar



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    Ibiza by Playboy

    This fragrance can be rather cloying and heady when too much is applied. Overall, the smell is clean, reminiscent of salt water. Nothing to write home about. As a generic cologne, it seems like it would work well for daily wear during the summer. Not a staple fragrance by any means.

    01st January, 2013

    colormechris's avatar

    United States United States

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    Blu pour Homme by Bulgari

    An unsung classic I think. Bulgari Blu is the perfect extraction of powder into a masculine scent. I think if you wanted to hold up an example of a "powdery" scent, as in that little cloud they brush on the back of your neck with a badger brush at the barber shop...you could certainly hold up Bulgari Blu Pour Homme. But it's also highly sophisticated as well. A baby powder for grown-ups. Ooh la la.

    01st January, 2013

    Preston H's avatar

    United States United States

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    Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford

    This is absolutely stunning. The tobacco flower and the vanilla infuse to make a dark, honey accord. In fact, when I wear it I get a beautiful cloud of honey and cocoa and its so gorgeous. During the dry down I get a smokey tobacco leaf and a chocolatey fruit smell. Absolutely unisex, the kind of scent u want your gf/wife to wear. When I wear this to the strip club, the dancers get a lil closer, and the dances last a lil longer ;)

    01st January, 2013

    dudelove's avatar

    Singapore Singapore

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    New Haarlem by Bond No. 9

    Has anyone been to Taiwan, or Singapore? Or one the asian countries that sells bubble tea or boba, known in the west? There's this thing called pearls that you chew when you suck up the straw. When you go to a bubble tea shop you can smell them cooking the pearls, which are basically black balls of tapioca. The way they are cooked, I might be wrong, they are slow cooked in brown sugar syrup. This smells EXACTLY like the top notes of New Haarlem, and it made me smile because of how similar it is to queuing up for a cup of bubble tea.

    I must say, it is sickly sweet, and I can understand why it's been said to smell like maple syrup and pancakes (believe me it smells more like pearls being cooked).

    Unfortunately, for people like me interested in New Haarlem for the coffee note, look somewhere else. The coffee here is so subtle and if coffee wasn't listed as a note, I wouldn't be able to tell at all.

    Definitely a compliment getter, but I would never wear this where I live. Just too hot no matter what time of the year, or day.

    01st January, 2013

    dudelove's avatar

    Singapore Singapore

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    Dior Homme Sport (original) by Christian Dior

    DHS 2012 opens with a very natural burst of lemon, nothing too sharp, nothing like dishwashing liquid. Very natural and pleasing. Ginger is definitely there but it is dominated by the lemons.

    Later DHS starts getting sweet. Those worried the iris might make it powdery, I didn't get any powdery vibes. Instead the Iris made it sweeter, and with a hint of woods coming in, this fragrance smelled absolutely classy. So classy it was the first fragrance I grabbed when I wore a suit.

    Don't be fooled by the name and the rep other sport fragrances have. DHS lasts and lasts and lasts. Longevity is beyond excellent. I sprayed it on my wrist (nothing lasts on my wrist for some reason) And it was still there after 10+hrs. DHS projects very politely, and will become a strong skin scent (if that makes any sense) after 4-5 hours depending on the temperature. That is excellent by my books.

    The only downside, it isn't very unique smelling, and it's one of those I wouldn't wear daily, in case I get bored of it. But aren't all safe fragrances like that? ;)

    A must try fragrance guys. To sum it up in a few words: Natural, classy, safe, long lasting.

    An easy 9/10 for me.

    Oh and the atomizer on this thing, is really weird! But a great one nonetheless. Those of you who own the bottle will understand. The amount that comes out really depends on the way you press the sprayer. Lightly and the juice will come out in squirts. You have to press it quick and all the way for it to be a mist.

    01st January, 2013

    dudelove's avatar

    Singapore Singapore

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    Fahrenheit by Christian Dior



    This is one of the fragrances you can trust what people say in reviews about. I realize many people say this fragrance smells exactly like this or that, and I find that almost all of the time it's not very accurate.

    However for Fahrenheit, you can take everyone's word that after 30secs of the first spray, it smells like gasoline. Many people like that particular smell. But for me, I just can't get past that. I was just scratching my head wondering how people would like the smell of this. Even a friend of mine was very put off by it and demanded I throw away the sample. I do smell the violet leaves creeping in after a while and I adore that note in fragrances and does give Fahrenheit a strange but fresh vibe. But the gasoline note is still the main focus of this fragrance.

    Now I didn't want to throw it away because I wanted to give it a chance and see if it dries down to something beautiful. But she's right, what's the point if it did dry down to something that smells brilliant? When the top and middle notes are enough to make me feel horrible about myself.

    Sorry Dior, but Fahrenheit is just not for me.

    01st January, 2013

    dudelove's avatar

    Singapore Singapore

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    Eau de New York by Bond No. 9

    Please try this one before buying. It didn't work for me unfortunately.

    The opening smells like starfruit. Very very fresh and bright. Made an excellent first impression on me. It later transformed into something funky and it didn't work for me at all. I can't even describe what I smelled.

    In my opinion, for a neroli based fragrance, Tom Ford's Neroli Portifono is better.

    01st January, 2013

    Preston H's avatar

    United States United States

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    Green Valley by Creed

    Since this fragrance is vaulted, i dont wear this a lot. Kinda smells like Fahrenheit at first spray, once it opens up you get a fresh citrus with subtle spicy notes. Closest fragrance to green Irish tweed I've ever smelled, not as good tho

    01st January, 2013

    gmstrack's avatar

    United States United States

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    Fleur de Rocaille by Caron

    Before writing this review, I mistook Fleur de Rocaille (1993) for FleurS de Rocaille (1933) by Caron. After some research, I realized that I’ve yet to sniff the 1933 fragrance and based on the note descriptions, the two fragrances differ quite a bit. Here are is my impression of Fleur de Rocaille:

    The opening is loaded with sweet floral and a touch of aldehydes. For flowers, I’m picking up lilac and maybe jasmine, but the effect is simultaneously muted and abrasive; this is a jagged, airbrushed bouquet found on greeting cards from the 1990s. The aldehydes are not very pronounced, but there is something off-putting lurking in the composition that reminds me of hairspray. Development on the skin is linear, so in this case, time isn’t a problem solver. In spite of my disappointment, I still want to try FleurS de Rocaille; hopefully, I will not mistake that one for hair product.

    2/5

    01st January, 2013

    gmstrack's avatar

    United States United States

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    Fracas by Robert Piguet

    I finally tried Fracas, and although it isn’t the type of fragrance that I typically wear, it was everything I hoped it would be: intense and visceral. There are already several fantastic reviews describing Fracas, so I really do not have anything to add, except I can only imagine what it was like to sniff this in 1948. It must have been mind blowing, like hearing the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” for the first time in 1969, although Fracas doesn’t evoke same sense of self-loathing. Today, contemporary music uses new technology unavailable to Brian Eno during the 1960s and 70s. In perfumery, we have Carnal Flower, an excellent tuberose update; however, the 2005 iteration can only aspire to evoke the same magic (cultural relevance) created by the initial composition.

    5/5 Hard-hitting: three chords and the truth.

    01st January, 2013

    FragOut's avatar



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    212 Men by Carolina Herrera

    What this is:
    - nice, pleasant, fresh garden scent; dominated by cut grass and floral tones in equal measure
    - safe choice (non-offensive)
    - all year round scent; won't become suffercating in hot temperatures and not too fresh to be contained to summer
    - suitable for most occasions - although a bit underwhelming for date /club setting
    - long lasting
    - good potential first signature scent

    What this isnt:
    - complex
    - high quality (uses synthetic tones)
    - masculine (perhaps too floral for real men!)

    Although this has a lot going for it and is popular with the ladies (probably due to its fresh, floral nature) the scent itself is quite basic and underwhelming. Also compared to the likes of Prada and Chanel this smells cheap and synthetic, lacking elegance and sophistication. Don't get me wrong, this is a pleasant smell but isn't the most adventurous or classy scent on the market by any means. A reasonable blind buy but don't expect to be blown away.

    01st January, 2013

    FragOut's avatar



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    Prada Amber pour Homme by Prada

    This oozes style, sophistication and class. The perfectly blended tones create a fresh, clean elegant scent, reminiscent of $1000 a night hotel soap. The mix of notes is sturdy, yet never overpowering and has a real understated elegance. The hint of sweetness has an addictive quality that entices you in time and time again but doesn't dominate it. All the ingredients smell expensive and natural, which just adds to the sophistication.

    Longevity is not beast-like but holds it own. In terms of versatility this can be used for most occasions, whether it is work, date, club or just walking round the shops. It is also perfect for wearing with a suit.

    Ultimately, Prada Amber stands out from the crowd, by not being the loudest but for being understated and elegant. A real classy scent.

    01st January, 2013

    rbaker's avatar



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    Emporio Armani White He by Giorgio Armani

    This is one of Armani's less boring scents. A citrus opening with herbal undertones is gradually dominated by a synthetic light white musk base note that overall makes a pleasant albeit not particularly exciting scent. It reminded a person close to me of Issey Miyake pour homme, but the added musk note clearly sets it apart, although it lacks the creativity of, for instance, Tom Ford's White Musk series, but then it lacked the latter's extraordinary high prices too while it was still available. Overall pleasant for summer, discrete with poor silage and projection and limited longevity. Between neutral and thumbs up, but the originally decent value barely tilts it upwards.

    01st January, 2013

    drseid's avatar

    United States United States

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    English Fern by Penhaligon's

    English Fern opens with a balmy wintergreen geranium accord that meshes with a fern undertone that at this stage is rather muted with the geranium dominating the scent. As the scent transitions to its early heart the green fern takes the fore, but the wintergreen geranium from the open remains in the background in support with patchouli rising from the base giving the balmy green scent a rugged earthy nature. English Fern pretty much remains linear through its dry-down, with what you smell during the early heart phase being what you smell through the end. Projection is excellent and longevity is average.

    English Fern is very odd smelling composition. It is extremely green as you might expect, but the fern is less dominant than the balmy wintergreen geranium medicinal aspect of the scent for most of the development and it is quite unpolished and unbalanced in a very bad way. Obviously for the fragrance to survive since 1910 it must be appealing to someone, but I have to wonder if this is the same formula that Penhaligon's released earlier on, as what I am smelling is very amateurish and not the kind of scent I would expect to be a classic. Regardless of what it used to smell like, it smells pretty bad now and this 2 to 2.5 star out of 5 below average composition is not recommended.

    01st January, 2013

    0j76's avatar

    England England

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    Fleur d'Osmanthus by Roger & Gallet

    Wow! super duper. Very natural. Quite sensual. No edge, no nastiness. Slightly close to the skin. Very well constructed and smells to be of great quality. Worth the pennies. Could be someone's signature scent. Unisex but no good for men who want to smell of prehistoric man. Check Quorum or Trussardi Uomo for that.

    01st January, 2013

    0j76's avatar

    England England

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    Oscar for Men by Oscar de la Renta

    Very complex. Powerful opening and sublime dry down. The dry down is well connected to the opening, rather than being a complete shift. One of the most significant affordable men's fragrances in production IMHO. All the better for being an off beat choice. Would be a great signature, and one to keep to yourself. Never tell anyone what it is. Or better still, say it's a one off niche fragrance.

    01st January, 2013

    0j76's avatar

    England England

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    Boucheron pour Homme by Boucheron

    Simply stunningly beautiful construction, to my mind, only matched by Givenchy Insense. BPH almost renders its Dior and Chanel equivalents as boring and uneventful.

    01st January, 2013

    PerfumeCollector's avatar

    United States United States

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    Ezra Fitch by Abercrombie & Fitch

    Nothing screams "SYNTHETIC" as loudly as Ezra.
    A soapy, orangy (neroli), synthetic leather that actually may annoy you to no end.
    The "leather" note is almost pure birch without the depth and warmth of the other classical "leather" fragrances.
    And the cherry to this concoction is the price, who would want to pay the outrageous amount of currency for this dud.

    01st January, 2013

    John E Buoy's avatar

    Australia Australia

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    Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa Oud Concentrée by Acqua di Parma

    I really like this one.
    IMO it is a cross between Montale Black Aoud and Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Oud.
    If you the like the Montale, but find Black Aoud too strong, this one will suit you.
    If you like MFK's Oud, but don't like the price tag, here is a cheaper, but equally as good (maybe a bit better) option.

    01st January, 2013

    Kaelee's avatar

    United States United States

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    Hanae Mori No. 1 by Hanae Mori

    I really like this!!! I'm sad to see it's limited edition!

    It's very fruity but I can't pick out any particular fruit. I would say it smells like berry candy, with a strong overtone of LICORICE!!! That's not one of the listed notes, and it COULD just by my nose but to me (and on my skin) it smells like berry-licorice candy.

    Very youthful...not sophisticated but delicious all the same. Would wear really well in spring and summer (to me this is reminiscent of "Spring in a bottle"). Could definitely see wearing this on a fun spring/summer outing on a warm day.

    This scent is definitely linear (to me) but I don't think that's a bad thing at all (I like linear fragrances). Six hours in it smells the same as it did when I applied it.

    And the bottle design is just awesome. :)

    01st January, 2013

    Darvant's avatar

    Italy Italy

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    Onda Eau de Parfum by Vero Profumo

    Hard to thoroughly be described in all its diverse facets, this pillar of the modern olfactory classicism, a sort of perfumed analogue of a Doris Lessing's romance, is colonialistic, decadent but surprisingly introspective, "cultured" and yes, futuristic with its hyper-advanced hesperidic/floral exotic/fruity irony spark. Onda is the scent of the excesses, of the opposites but at once is finally perfectly balanced as a puzzle that is recompounded after the initial chaos. Onda, namely a sour-hesperidic/uriney/gingery initial blast which, through a watery fruity-exotic and at once "old wardrobe" moth balls and honeyed/stuffy/animal-organic (with an infants skin kind of aftersmell) sort of interlude phase, turns finally out as a sophisticated woodsy (mostly vetiver, musk and cedarwood)/leathery floral with sparks of fleshy fruit (passion fruit) and iris/ylang-ylang, noticeable at distance. The dry down presents a tamed citron/naphthalene vibe and a dominant soapy/musky honey with floral exotic sparks and a leathery widespread faint feel swirling around as a ghost. Onda Edp is a deeper (but in my opinion less complex and multifaceted) version of the exotic Onda, probably a bit more "sulphureous" but finally equally exotic with a noble chord of barboun vetiver, ylang-ylang, iris, ginger, aromatic spices and passion fruit. There is a royal salty/sweet, citrony (fizzy effervescent digestive citrusy kind), soapy/fruity/honeyed dirtiness that is the Onda's landmark, something olfactory weird, pungent as the aromatic spices (a sort of aerial citric-kurcuma smell), uriney and almost chemical as the smell of an old laundry after a general disinfestation around. There is also a vintage bergamot/honey/patchouli backbone in order to bind the olfactory fatigue to a classic decadent structure. The outcome is a weird beast really challenging and hard to understand for many (sometimes many exclaim "oh, my God, you smell as an old grandma washroom with detergents, disinfectants and soap!" but in other occasions some learned noses assert that you smell about an english colonialistic romance over the British Empire's age, about a story full of passions, ballets, loves and diverse cultures' commixtures. That's worthy the trip).

    01st January, 2013 (Last Edited: 02nd January, 2013)

    The_Cologneist's avatar

    United States United States

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    Eau des Baux by L'Occitane

    This is really good stuff. Starts off spicy with vanilla, finishes off creamy with vanilla and tonka. If ya don't like vanilla, don't even try this one. But if you're like me and you miss vanilla dominated fragrances and are sick of cheap tonka bean dominated ones, you will love this! Smells rich and natural. Tobacco Vanille meets Spicebomb, but outdoes them both. Projects nicely, lasts a good 8 hours minimum.

    Not often do I buy back up bottles of fragrances, but with Eau Des Baux, I knew it would be a work horse in my collection, and that's what it is. Very very versatile, but more suitable for cooler days. A+!

    01st January, 2013 (Last Edited: 15th January, 2013)

    michailG's avatar



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    Ferfaen by Sigilli

    This must be my favorite citrus perfume! I tested it once and I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist for at least a few hours. I am now awating a sample and will come back with a more comprehensive report. I am happy I came accross Sigilli.

    Update (20.01.2014)
    I now own a bottle of Ferfaen. I still like it as a pick me up scent; however, 2 hours after application it does remind me of Guerlain's Vetiver (which I had) and this puts me off quite a bit. In retrospect, I think that Ferfaen is a nice fragrance but not niche, and for an eau de parfum it has quite a mediocre silage and longevity compared to Vetiver by Guerlain which was an EdT. A Dutch e-shop offered Sigilli's perfumes during Christmas sales for 40€ a bottle, and based on my experience with Ferfaen this is what I now think I should have paid. With all due respect Mr. Buccella!

    01st January, 2013 (Last Edited: 20th January, 2014)

    kabb's avatar



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    Vanilla & Cedarwood by Kiehl's

    REALLY nice! A great cheaper alternative to TF Tobacco Vanille!!

    02nd January, 2013

    Elzéard's avatar

    United Kingdom United Kingdom

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    Santal Majuscule by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

    Similar to Jeux de Peau, except that this is more versatile, and also less interesting. The combination of rose and cocoa within the first ten minutes however, is quite fun!

    02nd January, 2013

    LouLоu's avatar



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    Jungle L'Éléphant by Kenzo

    I have 3 favorites and kenzo elephant is one of them! Is is very unusual, so different from other contrmporary fragrances and its even different from other spicy perfumes, but i wouldnt say that elephant is too strong, it calms down after one hour and disapears after about 4 hours, maybe even less:(

    02nd January, 2013

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