Antico Caruso

Received an unsolicited sample of this with an order I placed at Luckyscent. Can't speak to Reflection Man, and don't remember it
reminding me of Le Male. From what I can recollect it was a very light citrusy, tangy lemony, burnt-smoky wood type scent.

Now we're talking...one of my favorites.

Well, where to start. Many reviews, including mine make a reference to Le Male. The first time I tried it, the opening blast smelled just like Le Male to me. I dismissed it and left Lucky Scent Scent Bar in a huff. One of the rookie snap judgments in my early Basenotes days.

But, for some reason, I revisited it. Made it my splurge purchase last year. I can't say enough about it. The opening notes may evoke Le Male, but a couple of minutes in, it is quite different. It has none of the lavender/vanilla notes of Le Male. It's got some citrus in the opening, but morphs into a very smooth and creamy almond/sandalwood scent. Pretty heavy on the almond.

It's called a "barbershop" scent, but that would be a European barbershop with almond soaps and creams. Being from Detroit myself MrFragReview, it does NOT evoke a Michigan barbershop.

It's very potent, and almost oily on application. Lasts a long time. Might be considered very linear by some. Be careful with the dose. It's strong. You know when you wear it, there are some pricey ingredients in this one.

The Le Male thing? Well maybe kind of sort of. While i don't have the nose of many here, i would not make such a snap judgment these days. It's a very adult scent, but I wouldn't say "mature." Well, it is mature in the sense this requires a mature attitude to wear it. It's not a "clubby" scent. I prefer wearing it when pretty well dressed, but it's not super elegant really. For me, it kind of lives in the same place as Tobacco Vanille in personality.

Quite unisex I suppose, but I tend to think it leans pretty masculine. Perhaps the almond makes it lean gourmand-ish to a degree, but other than the opening notes, it's really not very Le Male like. As one reviewer said, it smells like a very expensive almond soap. Quite European.

Have I gone on long enough? It smells great, lasts a long time, and was worth every nickel to me.

Sorry, haven't tried Reflection Man. A guess would be that Reflection will be fairly complex, and Antico Caruso is pretty simple.

What StylinLA said. Great frag. Not much like the others you mention to my nose.

You bet. I'm pretty passionate about this one. It suffers I'm sure to a degree from it's expense, and due to the fact that the initial blast can channel Le Male. Why spend that much money for a Le Male smell alike? But a full wearing will prove it is no Le Male.

Like all these frags, it's not for everybody. It may be way too simplistic to a lot of people. And pricey.

But as a fairly "mature" fellow, when a 26-year-old Latina tells me I smell great, it makes an impression. I'm just as simplistic as all the guys posting in the stickied thread much of the time.

I hope you get a large enough sample to give it at least a couple good wearings.

Also - exactly what Stylin said. Grown-up, dressy, 'city scent' to me and I enjoy it on a cool day.

I also enjoy Reflection Man, I'm not in the clubber demographic but this is one I wear in the evening in a non-stuffy cocktail party / 'gala event / film or exhibition opening' type setting when people dress but also relax.

They are both quality IMO and the sort of scents that a guy can happily have in his wardrobe for years to come.

Not sure what kind of comparison you're looking for. I think your own nose and taste has to judge which you'll make better use of.

Reflection I gather is a Woody Floral Musk. Top notes are rosemary, pimento and petit grain; middle notes are orris root, jasmine and neroli; base notes are sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver and cedar.

Caruso is citrus, almond and sandalwood.

Knowing what I do about Amouage, I'm sure Reflection is elegant, complex and expensive smelling.

Caruso smells expensive in it's way, but doubt that it's as elegant as Reflection.

I'm sure both reek of quality.

I had a few samples of Antico Caruso from Luckyscent freebies. I've grown out of liking powdery frags over the years but my take on it is ... to the more experienced noses around here, yes, there is a bit of a difference from Le Male. Especially in the drydown. To the other 99% of the general "cologne wearing public", they're not gonna be able to tell the difference between AC and Le Male.

Sorry Ziffy, I don't buy that. I've worn AC a lot. It has no vanilla and no lavender. It only smells like Le Male for about 2 minutes of opening notes.

Now, if you mean that 99% of the "general cologne wearing" public familiar with Le Male who shoot some on a card in a store, yes. Like me, a lot of them will think it smells like Le Male. But if you wear, you'll find it's very different.

Exactly

I see what you're both ^^ saying and I've only done the "back of the hand" sampling thus far. But for me, if I was to wear this type of scent, I would go for the much cheaper Le Male ... or the even cheaper Britto Man. I do own Victrix from Profumum but I think overall, their frags are just way overpriced for what you get.