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Isfarkand and Geir

post #1 of 18
8/19/07 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 
At the moment, I'm pretty content with my current wardrobe. It's been quite difficult limiting it to 15 scents but, at the same time, I'm very proud that it's a wardrobe that's pretty focused. However, there's only one scent that I've been thinking of ejecting for quite a while.

When I first purchased Geir, my wardrobe was very different and (in comparison to the designer frags I once owned) was a unique addition. However, after a year of many reshuffles, I've now found myself entertaining the prospect of replacing Geir with something else (i.e. summery with great longevity). If it wasn't for my recent purchase of Gris Clair, I probably wouldn't be starting this thread.

Out of all the possible candidates, Isfarkand is the only one that appeals and differs to the other summery scents that I currently own. I already own a floral (Gris Clair), a citrus (Oyedo) and a green (VE) - I love the peppery woodiness of Isfarkand and feel that this would be a welcome contrast. Would Isfarkand be a superior replacement to Geir? How do the two compare in terms of sillage and longevity?

I'm practically 50/50 about making this change, so any input would be appreciated.
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post #2 of 18
8/19/07 at 7:17am
Your wardrobe is quite heavy on the "heavy" fragrances (B.o, Pi, the Lutens honey pots, etc.). Isfarkand is more complex and less sweet than Geir (I like the peppery vetivery lime accord) and longevity is decent although its not as longlasting as Geir. While I think there are better citruses than Isfarkand, it easily displaces Geir.
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post #3 of 18
8/19/07 at 8:22am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, with regards to heavy scents, I've been trying to balance things out but my skin chemistry prefers such frags. If you overlook the Lutens scents, it looks more blanced than it might actually seem.

As for Geir, another reason why I have doubts about keeping it in my wardrobe is because of the odd designer release that verges very close to smelling similar to Geir (Fahrenheit 32 being the most obvious culprit).
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post #4 of 18
8/19/07 at 9:00am
Some other light scents that might be as good as Isfarkand for your drobe and are definitely in the same direction are: Live Jazz YSL, Sel d' Vetiver by Different Co., Signoricci by Nina Ricci, and Rochas pour Homme. Most of these scents have slightly more vetiver than Isfarkand, but they also have other similar fresh notes too.

I was tempted to purchase Isfarkand the other day after trying the sample, good stuff - but realized it smelled very similar to Live Jazz and that I actually thought the Live Jazz was a little more interesting. I have also been quite impressed with Sel d' Vetiver - a light grapefruit vetiver with a light wood finish.
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post #5 of 18
8/19/07 at 7:34pm
Funny-I've been trying to get rid of Geir for a while, but haven't found a suitable replacement for it. It used to be by far my favorite scent, and it is still certainly the favorite of others when I wear it, but it just doesn't excite me anymore. I still think that it's a very nice scent with lots of good qualities, I guess that I just wore it out. I've decided to keep it, at least for the meantime, so if you'd like you can be my "reluctantly keeping Geir" buddy. I figure it's still useful for overly social activities such as clubbing in which I won't even be able to pay much notice to my own scent. Who knows, I might even fall in love with it again.
I can definately see how Gris Clair could be a replacement for Geir-they're both sweet with some floral and mountainous elements. Isfarkand, from my brief testings, doesn't stand up to Geir in sillage and definately not in longevity. I don't see Isfarkand and Live Jazz as being all that similar, other than that they both have some citrus and some cedar elements to them.
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post #6 of 18
8/19/07 at 11:49pm
I'd classify Gris Clair as an oriental, and Vetiver Extraordinaire as a woods rather than a green. I'd keep the Geir. I rarely wear it, and while it's definitely not a palette cleanser, it has some unique accords that can provide a useful contrast, a quasi-reference point of sorts.
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post #7 of 18
8/20/07 at 2:24am
Thread Starter 
The_Giraffe and pluran, many thanks for your views - they've proven to be most helpful with some very good points. It's funny but, yesterday, there were two posts (in different threads) that highlighted Isfarkand's disappointing longevity. I have to admit that I experienced this with my sample but wasn't sure if it was a case of the sample not doing the fragrance any justice. As for Geir, I still love wearing it but had some doubts as to whether it could hold its own against the rest of my collection.

Anyway, I've decided to hold onto my bottle of Geir and to forget about getting Isfarkand. There's many fragrances that I adore but will not buy because of longevity problems, and Isfarkand will have to be a new addition to that list.

Cheers.
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post #8 of 18
8/20/07 at 5:10am
  • kbe
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For me, Geir is the more quiet one in the group. Not a raving beauty, but endowed with an almost palpably soft inner fire that radiates slowly and cannot be ignored. Geir is the one I find myself often glancing at, even while I converse with others.

"Gentle on My Mind" as the old song suggests, or perhaps "Easy As Sunday Morning" is even more appropriate. There are certainly flashier, deeper, far more complex and stunning Men's fragrances out there. And yet...and yet..."something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover.."

I haven't had the 'newness' wear off, or over-use familiarity breed contempt...

Will it? Time will tell.
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post #9 of 18
8/20/07 at 6:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbe View Post

For me, Geir is the more quiet one in the group. Not a raving beauty, but endowed with an almost palpably soft inner fire that radiates slowly and cannot be ignored. Geir is the one I find myself often glancing at, even while I converse with others.

"Gentle on My Mind" as the old song suggests, or perhaps "Easy As Sunday Morning" is even more appropriate. There are certainly flashier, deeper, far more complex and stunning Men's fragrances out there. And yet...and yet..."something in the way she moves, attracts me like no other lover.."

I haven't had the 'newness' wear off, or over-use familiarity breed contempt...

Will it? Time will tell.

Thanks for that, kbe. I think you've perfectly summed up my current thoughts on Geir. I think I've recently been too harsh on my poor bottle.
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post #10 of 18
8/20/07 at 12:01pm
I have to stick up for Isfarkand longevity, after using the sample and now having the bottle, i have to say it's pretty decent. I am not saying it will last forever, but, reading the other topic post about this fragrance, it makes it sound like it's a magician doing a disapperance act. It lasts for a good five hours on me, so, I guess with this frangrance depends on the individual when longevity is being considered..

On a side note, I never really thought as Isfarkand being a citrus scent, the "woodsy" notes pretty much nullifies any citrus element for me.
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post #11 of 18
8/20/07 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by silk4ever View Post

I have to stick up for Isfarkand longevity, after using the sample and now having the bottle, i have to say it's pretty decent. I am not saying it will last forever, but, reading the other topic post about this fragrance, it makes it sound like it's a magician doing a disapperance act. It lasts for a good five hours on me, so, I guess with this frangrance depends on the individual when longevity is being considered..

On a side note, I never really thought as Isfarkand being a citrus scent, the "woodsy" notes pretty much nullifies any citrus element for me.

I think you've got some pretty valid points there. However, I think its sillage dies down quite a bit after the first hour (please correct me if I'm wrong, as it was some time ago I tried it). Another reason for this thread was due to the fact that I wasn't sure if Isfarkand was worth buying (based on the criteria I usually go by). I think that for an EDP and its retail price (which, let's be honest, is a bit pricey) many would expect better longevity and sillage.

Some of the posts, over the last couple of days, have jogged my memory of wearing Isfarkand - to which I'm thankful. However, even if Isfarkand trumped Geir, I would have obtained another sample before investing.

BTW, I find it more a woody fragrance than a citrusy one too (hence my interest in it).
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post #12 of 18
8/20/07 at 4:55pm
I LOOOOOOVE Isfarkand. I don't own it, but would be delighted to. I highly recommend that you get it.

However, I wouldn't not say that it makes a good Geir replacement. I always saw Geir as sweet rather than fresh and grassy, as many claim. More like Pi or something. Isfarkand is more akin to Terre d'Hermes, with its notes of woods and moss and pepper. Not sweet in the least. Fresh, dry and spicy is more like it.

So to conclude, I think it is a much more enjoyable and useful fragrance than Geir, but it would not "fill the same spot" in your wardrobe. At least not the way these two wear for me.
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post #13 of 18
8/20/07 at 5:21pm
Whoa! My bad here! My earlier post compared Isfarkand to Live Jazz and I went blathering on to offer up Rochas Pour Homme etc. compared to a sample that I thought was Isfarkand and now that I look closely the sample was Iskandar, not Isfarkand! My apologies for making a totally inappropriate comparison as I am not that familiar with Isfarkand at all. Sorry! Iskander was very nice though - from Parfum d' Empire. After reading all the good thoughts on Isfarkand . . . I'll have to try it.

As for Geir. I had to give away my bottle away a few years back because it just did not agree with me - so I can not comment on it at all. A little too lively in the floral and fruit notes for me I thought.
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post #14 of 18
8/21/07 at 11:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiveJazz View Post

I LOOOOOOVE Isfarkand. I don't own it, but would be delighted to. I highly recommend that you get it.

However, I wouldn't not say that it makes a good Geir replacement. I always saw Geir as sweet rather than fresh and grassy, as many claim. More like Pi or something. Isfarkand is more akin to Terre d'Hermes, with its notes of woods and moss and pepper. Not sweet in the least. Fresh, dry and spicy is more like it.

So to conclude, I think it is a much more enjoyable and useful fragrance than Geir, but it would not "fill the same spot" in your wardrobe. At least not the way these two wear for me.

An excellent comparison.

I see what your saying Trebor and I completely agree that it does settles down after the first hour, but, it doesn't completely disappear to the point where you won't notice you have it on (I know you never stated that). And I agree with the price being waaaay to high which is the reason why I will only be purchasing this fragrance once every five years or so. I am experiencing a similar situation with Divine's L'homme de coeur which just fades so quickly after enjoying the opening and the dry down. The price does not justify the longevity even though it's lasting longer on me with every use.
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post #15 of 18
8/21/07 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your thoughts, guys!

LiveJazz - I've limited myself on the number of warm weather frags I should own (especially taking into account that half of my frags can be worn all-year round). Therefore, Isfarkand was never meant to be a replacement for Geir - for a short period, I just saw Geir as a weak link and wanted something that would compliment the quality of my other warm weather frags. Although I would agree that Isfarkand is more complex and interesting than Geir.

Quote:
Originally Posted by silk4ever View Post

I see what your saying Trebor and I completely agree that it does settles down after the first hour, but, it doesn't completely disappear to the point where you won't notice you have it on (I know you never stated that). And I agree with the price being waaaay to high which is the reason why I will only be purchasing this fragrance once every five years or so. I am experiencing a similar situation with Divine's L'homme de coeur which just fades so quickly after enjoying the opening and the dry down. The price does not justify the longevity even though it's lasting longer on me with every use.

I had the same problem with L'Homme Sage - I love the stuff but find it too subtle on my skin during the drydown. I guess I'm a Basenoter who's not really into subtle frags and these two are exactly that. If I had money to burn, I'd probably own both of them by now.
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post #16 of 18
8/21/07 at 8:51pm
I am a fan of Isfarkand, I think the vetiver note is fairly strong in it, but it's well balanced by the pink pepper which adds an extra touch to it. I don't notice many of the cedar notes though.
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post #17 of 18
8/25/07 at 2:23pm
Quite aware I'm bumping this thread, thank you...

On my skin, Isfarkand is a Cedar closet. Anything with Cedar in it is immediately amped to the max on me. But thats ok because I rather enjoy cedar. Any citrus in Isfarkand is gone within 30 minutes and the cedar and vetiver reign supreme. I love Isfarkand, wore it a bit this morning, actually - but I would not consider this a citrus fragrance, not even close.

GEIR on the otherhand is an interesting scent, one I've loved and worn for about 10 years now - I think it's stunning and very unusual. Its fresh without resorting to all of the typical "fresh" conventions. To me, it is a vision of snowy fjord - wet and cool without being at all ozonic or marine. I love it. I, personally could never be without a bottle.

Although, I've never been one to limit myself, and most certainly not when it comes to my perfume collection...
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post #18 of 18
8/25/07 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
Well, after further consideration, I've now ejected Geir from my wardrobe but will still use it as a work scent. I still love it but often wish it wasn't so safe.

I actually got a compliment from one of my female work colleagues the other day but, now I've got Gris Clair, having Geir in the same wardrobe seems pretty pointless. I haven't tired of it yet but Gris Clair offers me that edge that Geir lacks.
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