Review by drseid
Cologne Grand Siecle opens with a dead-on accurate super-natural blast of lemon. The lemon is sweetened just a hair to the point of reminding me a bit of the lemon drop candy I used to love when I was a kid. There are just the faintest hints of mild herbs and orange to back up the lemon, but make no mistake, this scent is all about the lemon and the rest of the notes barely are detectable. The citrus fades away within 30 minutes, and then unfortunately the scent is all but gone. The base is herbal and woody, but you barely can tell it is there it is so subtle. Projection and longevity are poor. This scent has not gotten a lot of love here, and when I first tried my sample on, I was completely perplexed as to why. Its opening is so beautiful I find it hard to believe anyone could be put off by it, and it is so refreshing and invigorating that this makes the perfect cologne for use right after a good shave similar to Extract of West Indian Limes by Trumper. That is its biggest strength, and therein lies its weakness as well. It is absolutely incredible smelling like the Trumper scent, but also like the Trumper it disappears within a half hour of application making it worthless as a complete daily wear scent. It is that extreme lack of longevity that most likely is responsible for it not getting more support. I definitely understand that rationale, but if you can get past the longevity and projection issues and look at this as a quick pick-me-up, it really is an excellent smelling scent. 4 stars out of 5 and highly recommended if bought for what it really is -- a superb-smelling aftershave.
