Brands that get better and better ↑

I might have agreed with you on Prada, until I sampled the new Fleur d'Oranger. IMO, it is a big step DOWN.

The same goes for Tauer. Vetiver Dance is one of the worst fragrances I have sampled in recent times. I could not wait to scrub it off.

Resounding agreement here from the Danish contingent.

I hated Jade! It was truly one of the nastiest fragrances I have ever smelled. Like steaming asphalt, where someone crushed grass and tea leaves into it with the soles of their shoes. Gross!

This actually makes me want to try it.

-Slim

TBH, I knew that description would peek some people's interest. I'm just warning you, it sounds weird, because it smells weird.

IMO Jade actually smells great (something which I made clear in this review).

Another house on the rise IMO... By Kilian. Im always keen to see what they will release next.

I think you and I are on different planes when it comes to perfume.

Durbano Black Tourmaline is wonderful but the others have been forgettable to me. Although Jade hasn't been given a full wear yet. On strip and wrist it isn't exciting me.

Tauer-And I know I am in the minority here. Both incense scents, Rose' and Extreme, are great. Vetiver Dance, Lonestar Memories, and L'Air du Desert Marocain, not so much.

Tom Ford---I would have agreed on the Private Blends until the recent double whammy of Champaca Absolute and Italian Cypress which both underwhelmed me. Couple this with a very weak mainstream White Patchouli and I feel Tom Ford is on a bit of a downward trend to my nose.

Prada----the last good thing they did was Infusion d'Iris. Infusion D'Homme stripped everything I liked out of Infusion D'Iris and oversimplified the scent. The latest Infusion de Fleur D'Oranger smells like Kool-Aid on the strip and is not making me long to put it on my skin. Another House on a downward trend for me.


For me the Houses on an upward trend are:

Le Labo- As Gaiac 10 and Poivre 23 were excellently made scents. I can't defend the price tag but the juice is spectacular to my nose. Oud 27 is on the way to me and I am looking forward to it.

Parfumerie Generale---L'Eau Guerriere is the only one of the most recent scents I've tried but it is spectacular on me. The rest of the line is pretty good as I have only sniffed about half of it but have yet to run into one that makes me go so what. Querelle's use of caraway is one of the best discoveries I've made in the last few months.

Divine--L'Etre Aime Homme was great and that goes with their previous L'Homme sage and L'Homme de Coeur.

Amouage--Starting with Jubilation XXV through Homage and Lyric Men to the rereleased Ubar also a House on a winning streak. Although as with Le Labo the price is the main reason I have for not being more bullish on them.

I think you and I are reliable anti-critics for each other as it looks like our tastes don't overlap much.
But then again that's what makes these discussions fun.

I think Tauer is an one hit wonder with Le Maroc pour Elle and L'Air du Desert Marocain. Alright, those are two hits. Vetiver Dance is vile, and I wasn't impressed by Une Rose Chyprée.

I adore Tom Ford, but I think his private blend line is like carpet bombing: just throw a huge amount of expensive smelling bombs out of the plane, and it's bound to hit *something* ! Japon Noir is the best oriental I know. It's not special or quirky by any means, but it just hit and fit me. Just like my future wife should be.

I'm with you. I simply don't understand them coming out with a scent like this, after Amber. Luckily as I can see lots of bnoters love it

I'm not sure about brands on the rise; a few of the ones I've tried recently and liked are fairly new, such as Enzo's creations (Bois 1920/Odori). Out of the mainstream designer houses... I get the impression most are comfortable with maintaining the status quo, meaning, nobody is looking to take the next big leap and be creative, everything is derivative of something else.

One house I personally haven't liked over the last few years is L'Artisan--ever since Timbuktu, I've pretty much lost interest.

I agree on Parfumerie Generale Querelle and Divine´s L´Etre.

I only have owned Durbano´s Rock Crystal and it didn´t impress me at all.CdG´s incenses are way more interesting.

I totally loved Tom Fords Italian Cypress, it´s so much better than I thought it would be.
Very 70´s masculine a Rive Gauche homme, without the barbershop notes.

Le Labo Aoud is a weird one. It smelled so incredibly bitter ,awfull, skanky , uriney to me, that I totally can´t imagine me wearing this. On the other hand , it intrigues me though. I love most of their previous releases though, especially Rose and Vetiver.

To each his own.

Ayala Moriel... I've sampled a bunch of her offerings, and the things she's made in the past few years are much better, more complex and more well made than some of her earlier work. Something like Gigi or Immortelle L'Amour can stand up well against similar scents in their genre.

The only one of the four brands lcdp initially metioned that I know well is Tauer. Of those Tauer frags I've sampled, L'Air and Lonestar Memories are superb; Incense Rosé is very, very good; Reverie au Jardin is extremely nice (and probably his most underrated frag, IMO, though far from his best); and Vetiver Dance has a nice dry down but top notes that I find discordant and off-putting. In short, that's a pretty good track record. I look forward to trying Incense Extreme, Rose Chypré, and Le Maroc PE!

Parfum d'Empire has a very solid line-up; their scents both show craftsmanship and "smell good" (nothing weird or disagreeable). They launched in 2003 and the newer scents have also been great.

I second by Kilian. He will issue a new perfume in October/November.

I liked the concept for the Chanel Exclusifs. Although I have some favorites and some that I would not buy. I think it is very exciting to have Polge and Sheldrake working together.

I honestly can't think of a single house right now that I would describe as "getting better and better." I agree that Olivier Durbano and Parfums d'Empire are two great new, up and coming, houses, but I'm also not a big fan of Durbano's most recent one, Jade. (I LOVE Black Tourmaline, though.) I don't think anybody thinks that PdE's two most recent releases (Yuzu Fou and Azyade) are his best. So, "better and better"? I can't think of any.

I would add Montale. Some of the early stuff was just bad... lately, they've been getting much more innovative and well blended.

Piguet--for the recent reformulations of their masterful classics. Maybe it is more like getting back on track, though!

I would agree with this, although there has been an innovative relapse in their last few releases.

If Vanitas is anything to go by, maybe Profumum could be another one (but I'll reserve any judgement until their next 2-3 releases).