Latest Perfume Reviews

Private Collection - L'Ombre Fauve by Parfumerie Generale

This is a gorgeous combination of (as many have already noted) amber, patchouli, and musk. The furrily animalic portion of this which is evident in the scent's early stages smells incredibly sensual. To others it may smell like wet laundry left too long in the machine, to me it smells like all things warm and sharply mammalian. Unfortunately, I get less enthused about L'Ombre Fauve as time goes on and amber stands up and takes center stage. This is a matter of personal taste because I am an amber-phobe, but for those who are not and who love to smell like sexy, sweet, and slightly musty powder, you are in for a treat.

Onda Parfum Extrait by Vero Profumo

If Chanel's Cuir de Russie is the horse you rode in on, Onda is the musky undergrowth you had to stomp through beforehand and the tack room you end up in afterwards. Dirt, wild and dank vegetation, and redolent leather all combine to form one of the most unusual and daring scents I own. Onda is not only dark and loamy and vetiver-laden, but it is complex and strange, and includes notes I'm fairly sure I've never smelled before in perfume, e.g., mace. Most folks are going to find Onda a bit too 'ugly' or scary since it's even darker and more animalic than vintage Magie Noire. In fact, it does smell like something a druid might cook up in a clearing in the forest on All Hallow's Eve, or what I imagine the tannis root from Rosemary's Baby smelled like. And because I am a complete animal and pagan, I love it!

Viking by Creed

After spraying, I get a whiff of a medicinal, iodine-ish smell that fortunately doesn't last long. The opening settles down into a nice pepper and clove note that has a little too much peppermint along with it for my taste. Dries down to a pleasant spicy wood, but not distinctive enough to warrant a bottle purchase.

Crêpe de Chine by Long Lost Perfume

The original version in parfum concentration is heaven in a bottle. This is the silkiest of flowery green chypres with a decidedly vintage air. My bottle is ancient and to newer perfumistas, it probably smells that way too. I, however love its old-fashioned temperament. It is perhaps, the softest chypre I've ever smelled: green and creamy with an incredible base of patchouli and musk that goes on and on. It is the most round and dreamy and evenly balanced fragrance I own, but I can only wear it occasionally, since my own temperament is somewhat bent and spiky and with this on, I feel almost in disguise.

Bracken Woman by Amouage

I have to quit trying scents that contain narcissus and expecting to love them. There is just something about this note that overpowers every other in each perfume I've tried. And since I do not love narcissus, I do not enjoy Bracken. I think many others will love it though, and I might possibly, too, if the chamomile and leather and smoke played more of a role here. The sweetness of the berry note is also bothersome. Amouage scents rarely smell like something a young twenty-something should wear, but this one does.

New Sibet by Slumberhouse

One of the stranger scents I've had the pleasure of wearing. In a way, it reminds me quite a bit of Cuir Cannage. There are definite connections between the two and their overall texture seem similar, although New Sibet is even more odd and striking in its fuzzy ashiness. It fairly buzzes with a leathery iris and slightly animalic spices. Everything hums and practically radiates off the skin. It is slightly metallic, but not in a way that annoys or is cold. Instead it is a scent that feels heated and dusty, as if a soldering iron had been taken to it. Fascinating!

Égoïste Cologne Concentrée by Chanel

Stardate 20170925:

Good stuff. Sandalwood, spice and everything nice.
As the name suggests - more oomph than the plain ol' Egoiste.
Unfortunately, too pricey and not worth the premium over Egoiste.

21 Bonaparte by Vicky Tiel

A run-of-the-mill floriental. It's fairly tame. Quite, even. The current is mild. Vanilla, gardenia, and tuberose do not really stand out. The patchouli and jasmine seem muffled. I'd call this a workplace scent.

Olène by Diptyque

This is floral galore. Opening with a jasmin as the core component throughout, I get an interesting set of additional floral undertones. At times a crisper and nigh steely-bitter intensive indolic aroma, intermixed with notes narcissus and at times even touches of tuberose with hyacinth. Otherwise this is a fairly linear composition.

The performance is excellent, with moderate sillage, very good projection and a magnificent thirteen hours of longevity on my skin.

A nice floral for the jasmine-lover, never cloying or too sweet, with great performance. 3.25/5.

The Party in Manhattan by The Party

If this one lasted longer, say more than an hour and a half, I would buy it in a heartbeat. This is Mitsouko + cumin and/or Jubilation with some of the frankincense dialed down. It is a gorgeous rendering of a classic fruity chypre and I adore its opening stages and its animalic underbelly. Unfortunately, it is one of the most fleeting scents I've ever had the pleasure of not being able to smell, and this makes me very sad because it is VERY lovely. It is so vintage-y and funky and ephemeral that I find it fascinating and frustrating in equal measure.

Sballo by Bruno Acampora

This is another gorgeous and dense fragrance from the Acampora line, and by dense, I means DENSE. The hay and tobacco here are rich and thick and massively resinous, and I would love to smell it on someone else standing a few feet away. This dark chypre smells wondrously vintage, like something a glamorous brunette from the '30s or '40s would wear, and I would love to wear it myself if it didn't wear me. It goes on forever and its woodsy oak moss is stunning. It's simply too redolent and potent for me to wear without being overly conscious of it every second. If you love vintage scents that smell like you're standing in the middle of a hay field while wearing a deeply warm chypre with massive projection and duration, this is your baby.

Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden

I've been wearing this since the late 70's, early 80's. Has it changed? Yes. Do I care? No. It is still one of my "go to" aldehydic perfumes. It comes on strong, for the top and middle notes. The base is sweet and mellow.

I like the lavender and lily, on top. The spices, carnation, and rose fill the middle. The base of Tonka, musk, benzoin, and cedar, are just right.

I am taken back in time, to more innocent times of my youth when I wear this. I'm old now -- I can get away with wearing this.

Apparition by Ungaro

Big blast of raspberry and sweet pepper. Followed by tons of rose. Ends with gentle patchouli, amber, and vanilla. Mimics an aldehydic perfume IMO. Long-lasting. Moderate sillage. Interesting bottle.

Puro by Nejma

Sweet. Woody. Green-spicy. Aromatic. Boozy. Rum, mint, and lime on top segue right into notes of cinnamon, vetiver, mahogany, and tobacco. Overall it smells like an aged, cask of spirits, on an autumn day.

The Hedonist by Cult of Scent

If Bulgari Black, Tuscan Leather and Dzing! had a threeway...
Birch tar and a coarse, dirty leather at the top, castoreum and jasmine in the heart, vanilla and sandalwood base.

Mango-Infused Pumpkin Chai Latte by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

A full-on opening blast hits me with an intensive onslaught of chai latte with a lovely cappuccino undertone, combined with an underlying pumpkin note with hints of ripe mango - gorgeous! Later on whiffs of saffron and coconut come and go, but the initial impression remains dominant throughout.

The performance is sensational, with very strong sillage, superb projection and an amazing fourteen hours of longevity on my skin.

This sillage bomb is admittedly not showing a lot of development after the wonderful opening, but the top quality of the natural ingredients more than compensates for that. A pick-me-up for Halloween. 3.5/5.

Halloween in Brooklyn by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

This composition starts with m a herbal opening with dogwood being prominent; soon this merges with a fruity note, mainly ripe sweet cherry, and forms a gorgeous initial impression.

Alas, after the first thirty minutes, it collapses on my skin in spite of my lavish and generous application, but never fear: it re-emerges less fruity, with a nutty nutmeg note, combines with pine wood and a with flowery background, mainly a pleasant camelia.

And eventually it bursts open with a gorgeous balsamic eucalyptus, enough to transport any Koala perfumista into spheres of utter delight.

All this blends in beautifully, and the eventual performance is much better than the initial instability let me expect: moderate sillage, adequate projection and eight hours of total longevity. All move to Brooklyn please! 3.75/5

Eau Fraîche by Monsillage

Eau Fraiche by Monsillage is a very conventional citrus fragrance dominated by lemon-verbena, and on a vetiver base with a hint of sheer musk. There is only a bare hint of herbs that renders only the slightest abstraction. I detect absolutely zero lavender in this. In the first minute there is a disconcerting synthetic element that soon settles down and brings to fore the citrus. Thereafter it is nice but unremarkable, and fades away in about four to five hours (which is fair for a citrus). Sillage is initially lively, but soon close to skin.

While Eau Fraiche is nothing bad, it is too simplistic, too bare-bone and lacks the balance and abstraction of other traditional citrus such as Eau Sauvage, Blenheim Bouquet or Concentre d'Orange Verte. Too trivial and too forgettable. The negative rating is influenced by the initial jarring element, especially considering the price and the market segment it is aimed at.

2/5

Halloween in Los Angeles by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Burning grass with sage

The opening combines a herbal grassy note with a well-executed overarching burning expression. The smoky burning note is beautifully done.

Overtime the herbal side moves gradually into the foreground, mainly sage with hints of basil.

The sillage is moderate, the projection good and the longevity is seven hours on my skin.

Very nice and quite unique; maybe al allusion to wildfires? 3.5/5

Halloween in San Francisco by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Salt and rain-soaked leaves

A fresh herbal notes combining celery and grass impression with a salty undertone, but without any clear citrus component: still a fresh opening.

Later on the salty parts recedes, and the whole becomes smoother with woodsy noted in the background.

I get moderate sillage, limited projection and five hours of longevity 3/5

Cedrat Boise by Mancera

A quite fruity (kind of apparently berrish and surely lemony) sophisticated creamy sandalwood. There is a quite present lemony/grassy aura (the cedrat vibe) which is musky and floral (definitely classic in effect - some old school or classically appointed sandalwood/jasmine-implementations from Estee Lauder or Mark Buxton jump vaguely on mind). The "sandalwood/jasmine/black currant connection" is surely central. I detect the "Cedrat Boise-effect" but the note of sandalwood (a floral sophisticated musky sandalwood) is equally dominant. Feminine.

Vanilla Flash by Tauerville

Vanilla Flash is centred around a linear accord of vanilla and spices, laced with a touch of rose and patchouli. It's dry, non-sweet and even an abstract vanilla, as the spices dominate. In fact, vanilla is rather in the background of this accord, and doesn't stand out. The fragrance approximates the smell of root beer in the first hour or so, before the vanilla becoming just a bit more prominent and softening the spicy edge. Nonetheless, there is not much contrast and hardly any interplay of notes.

Vanilla Flash possesses moderate longevity but sits close on the skin, emanating a very soft sillage. While it isn't below par, Vanilla Flash is insubstantial and lacks any sort of depth or complexity. One would suggest Eau des Baux, Volutes and Eau Duelle as more compelling alternatives.

2.5/5

Eau de Lierre by Diptyque

Green, green, green - that is the core of the the top notes here. The ivy leaves blend with a - somewhat less impressive- geranium, but it is the cyclamen that really puts its defining stamp on this mixture. Crisp, a touch fresh, like sitting is an ivy-clad garden in early spring. Very well made.

Unfortunately, like so often, after a commercially advisable attention-grabbing initial phase that is meant to prompt the sampling customer in the shop towards an impulse-purchase of the product, from the drydown onwards it is much less impressive. Whilst the touch of mild green pepper in the heart notes is not bad, the base with its ordinary woodsy white musks is rather unoriginal and dull.

I get moderate sillage, adequate projection and seven hours on longevity on my skin.

This spring creation deserves a lot of credit for the lovely top notes, with the rest developing from acceptable to boring and completely generic towards the end. Overall in the positive realm, but by a narrow margin only. 3.25/5.

Black Gold by Ormonde Jayne

I was captivated when smelling the opening notes of this fragrance; it seemed sophisticated, unusual and obviously constructed with the very best materials. In fact, I was utterly fascinated by Black Gold's top notes which smell of exotic wood, oudy lacquer, nutmeg(?), and some type of fruit, combined with juniper and sage and sparkling hints of citrus. This beginning was so enticing that I shocked to discover that the dry down--while apparently filled with amber and genuine sandalwood--was decidedly less fascinating. In fact, if I'm honest, I'd say it was horrifying. There is something in this scent's latter progression that reminds me of the woody dryness of a CdG scent combined with a dreaded note so sharp and piercing and (I'm sorry!) synthetic smelling that I was forced to take a bath after 2 hours of wearing this. There is elegance and real artistry at Black Gold's onset, but the latter stage (which goes on forever) reminds me of certain strident and highly artificial 'masculine' scents from the '90s. I'd give this a thumbs up for the opening and a thumbs down for the dry down.

Sugi by Comme des Garçons

Recalls a newly refurbished penthouse apartment with plenty of fine quality timber. The true to life pine note is excellent, a critic might say "turpentine" but that would be too unkind, this is very wearable. Fits in well with C de G creations in the incense series, which are all great fragrances for those who love the aroma of natural wood. I would guess it may owe something to sunstruck pine resin, a material developed by Givaudan at one time, but that is just conjecture. Definitely one I will purchase.

Fat Electrician by Etat Libre d'Orange

the name is an oxymoron to the actual scent.
quite delicate and very well blended.
it is really sweet, and the vetiver and smoke are very subtle. sweetened myrrh is more what it feels like.
imo projection and performance are perfect.
i feel comfortabe wearing it, but although unisex, i believe it leans towards the feminine side of the spectrum and could be excellent feminine wear.

Ottoman Empire by Areej le Doré

It opens with spicy peppers, skanky and furry oud, lush florals. Though smooth and juicy rose is detectable, honeyed and indolic jasmine is prominent among the florals to my nose. Indolic side of jasmine seems to amplify the skankiness of oud. Drydown reminds me of chypres of the past with it's inky, bitter, textured oakmoss and smoky resins. I also appreciate the shapeshifting and kaleidoscopic nature of Ottoman Empire. Everytime I brought my arm to my nose it's shown slight differences. All in all Ottoman Empire is a superb chypre with oriental elements. Solid thumps up from me.

Vetiver Extreme by Guerlain

Vetiver extreme G. it's similar to vetiver with incense and without tobacco. I like it,remember me old Vetiver 90's .But to much expensive .

Prada Amber pour Homme by Prada

I felt pressured when I originally bought it and wasn't a big fan. Now, 6 years later, my taste has changed and I love it. Prada seems to always give Guerlain a run for its money when it comes to masculine powder scents.

As many others have mentioned, this one is packed full of soap and powder. It really smells like a bar of soap found in a hotel.

Longevity is great and the scent is completely linear. If you like it after the first spray, you'll be satisfied 8 hours later as well.

Monsoon by Dame Perfumery

Dame Perfumery's latest release in Monsoon is fresh and interesting, a mix primarily of the lily of the valley, iris, and cedar.

It's easy to wear but admittedly slightly feminine--as a man, I'd gravitate toward Citrus Man or New Musk Man alternatively as a warm-weather option.

Iris is simply a difficult note to keep light to my nose, and its presence either makes it feminine or weighs it down. Generally speaking, though, this is overall a unisex a fragrance.

It's decent-performing, relatively soft on the skin but pretty long-lasting.

Definitely a good approximation of what I might like as a neutral, unisex warm-weather scent but it's not quite for me.

6 out of 10