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Big sample haul coming in tomorrow.

post #1 of 29
1/29/12 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys! This is the biggest sample haul I have ever done. There have been some fragrances that I have been dying to try. Tomorrow I am going to be receiving \t1697 (2011)
Frapin
\t\t
\t\tAmber Absolute (2007)
Tom Ford
\t\t\t
\t\tAmbre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire
\t\t
\t\tAPOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
\t\t
\t\tChêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido
\t\t
\t\tCoromandel (2007)
Chanel
\t\t
\t\tCuir Ottoman (2006)
Parfum d'Empire
\t\t
\t\tLumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
\t\t
\t\tLyric Man (2008)
Amouage
\t\t
\t\tStraight to Heaven (2007)
By Kilian
\t\t
\t\tSycomore (new) (2008)
Chanel
\t\t
\tand I wanted to know which of these are going to be FBW? Of course taste is subjective and I guess that is why I am asking. I am hoping to get a little insight as to what to expect. As always I really do appreciate your input. I am really looking forward to five of these fragrances more than the rest, Amber Absolute, MFK APOM por homme, MFK Lumiere Noire, 1697 by Frapin and Amouage Lyric man. I know that the MFK's get a lot of love here on the forums but I was really hoping to get your take on the rest more so than those. As always, Thanks!
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post #2 of 29
1/29/12 at 7:45pm
For me, FBW I'd say:

Ambre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire

APOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Chêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Coromandel (2007)
Chanel

Cuir Ottoman (2006)
Parfum d'Empire

Lumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Straight to Heaven (2007)
By Kilian

Sycomore (new) (2008)
Chanel
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post #3 of 29
1/29/12 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

For me, FBW I'd say:

Ambre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire

APOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Chêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Coromandel (2007)
Chanel

Cuir Ottoman (2006)
Parfum d'Empire

Lumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Straight to Heaven (2007)
By Kilian

Sycomore (new) (2008)
Chanel

No love for Amber Absolute? I love Amber and I love Incense so I was figuring that this would be a no brainer.
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post #4 of 29
1/29/12 at 7:56pm
For me all are FBW except for APOM and Straight to Heaven. I love the house of MFK....the thing with APOM, to me, it's a bit generic.
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post #5 of 29
1/29/12 at 7:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM_77 View Post

No love for Amber Absolute? I love Amber and I love Incense so I was figuring that this would be a no brainer.

you're correct that taste is subjective. it's also personal . . . . it's why you dropped $ for all those samples
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post #6 of 29
1/29/12 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoGent View Post

you're correct that taste is subjective. it's also personal . . . . it's why you dropped $ for all those samples

No, definitely. I just though there would be more love for this is all.
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post #7 of 29
1/29/12 at 8:06pm
Sounds like fun! I'm working through a bunch of new samples myself, 2 of which are on your list: sycomore and coromandal. Jury's still out on sycomore, and haven't gotten to the coromandel yet.
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post #8 of 29
1/29/12 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by srmd22 View Post

Sounds like fun! I'm working through a bunch of new samples myself, 2 of which are on your list: sycomore and coromandal. Jury's still out on sycomore, and haven't gotten to the coromandel yet.

How is the longevity and projection on Sycomore?
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post #9 of 29
1/29/12 at 8:47pm
For a moment I thought you were going to be receiving 1697 samples! haha
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post #10 of 29
1/29/12 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Amber Absolute (2007)
Tom Ford

Ambre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire

If you like amber, you'll probably pick up one of these. Unless you are blindly enamored by one of these, you owe it to yourself to try Versilia Vintage - Ambra Mediterrenea by Profumi del Forte.

I picked up Versilia Vintage myself.

Quote:
APOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Lumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Coromandel (2007)
Chanel

No Absolue pour le Soir? APOM is a very nice orange blossom. I am not particularly fond of OB so I skipped APOM but picked up LNpH. I really like roses, spice and patchouli. So enveloping.

I added Coromandel to this list because it fits in with LNpH. I also have Coromandel since I do not see any overlap with LnpH.
Coromandel is a fragrant, dusty, aromatic patchouli. There is no rose in it.

Quote:
Chêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Oak wood and whiskey. You'll either love it or not care for it. Luckily I was able to buy this in 50ml export bottle as it was a temporary global release.

Quote:

Cuir Ottoman (2006)
Parfum d'Empire


Straight to Heaven (2007)
By Kilian

Sycomore (new) (2008)
Chanel

What I like about Cuir Ottoman is the use of suede or the illusion of it at least. Where a lot of leather perfumes are astringent this is supple.



They are all excellent.
I foresee you spending approx ~$750 in the next 2 months.
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post #11 of 29
1/29/12 at 10:06pm
Amber Absolute for me...love it.
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post #12 of 29
1/30/12 at 1:39am
Chiming in here with my own samples incoming. Really looking forward to some comments on them. Some I've already tried here and there, most of them are brand new to me.

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud

Xerjoff - Sample:Tobacco Oroville

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man

By Kilian - Sample:Ba ck to Black

Czech and Speake - Sample:Cuba

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or

Montale - Sample:Red Vetyver

Montale - Sampleark Aoud

Bois 1920 - Sample:1920 Extreme

Etat Libre d'Orange - Sample:Tom of Finland

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Sample:Tea for Two

Lets just say my visit to Oslo_Fjord left me wanting to sample ALOT of stuff both he had, talked about and suggested. Hehe. Also scents I've been reading about here on the forum.
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post #13 of 29
1/30/12 at 4:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hreple View Post

Chiming in here with my own samples incoming. Really looking forward to some comments on them. Some I've already tried here and there, most of them are brand new to me.

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud

Xerjoff - Sample:Tobacco Oroville

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man

By Kilian - Sample:Ba ck to Black

Czech and Speake - Sample:Cuba

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or

Montale - Sample:Red Vetyver

Montale - Sampleark Aoud

Bois 1920 - Sample:1920 Extreme

Etat Libre d'Orange - Sample:Tom of Finland

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Sample:Tea for Two

Lets just say my visit to Oslo_Fjord left me wanting to sample ALOT of stuff both he had, talked about and suggested. Hehe. Also scents I've been reading about here on the forum.

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud A beautiful concoction that uses real Oud and exudes quality. Probably does not appeal as much to Oud purists as a couple others due to MdO blending the Oud with other notes to create a more wearable whole, IMO. FBW.

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men An extremely dark, natural rose scent that dominates and is amazing smelling, but tough for many men to pull off, IMO. I actually prefer smelling this on a woman, but it is a top quality scent that is also FBW if you can pull it off.

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man Been a while since I smelled this, but I remember liking it quite a bit, and found it to have a lot of pepper and spice. Another winner from Amouage.

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man I liked this one a lot, and own a very large decant. That said, while it has a tremendous pink pepper note that permeates the scent throughout, it smells just a bit too close to Epic (which I find to be the slightly better scent). Excellent, but somewhat superfluous, IMO.

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man Loved the top notes, then this one went south real quickly on my skin. A horrendous burnt tire rubber accord that overpowered all the other notes stayed for the duration. Scrubber for me.

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man It has been a while since I smelled this one, but I think I remember an almost brine-like urine accord. It actually was not as bad as it sounds... I would even say it was above average, but unlikely to be worn often, and oh so pricey for that kind of scent. Not a big fan...

By Kilian - Sample:Back to Black One of the best releases from By Kilian, IMO. Honey and tobacco dominate this excellent release. I did not buy a bottle due to the cost, but certainly like the scent and think it is FBW. I personally prefer it to TV...

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or This is a tough one to like, IMO. The worst by far of the Les Nombres d'Or series. It is less like leather, and more like cigar ash and smoke, IMO. Not a bad scent, but extremely difficult to wear and not worth the price, IMO.

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or My favorite of the Les Nombres d'Or line. Tremendous vetiver and natural cedar combo. Easy to wear, and an absolute brilliant combination that is easily FBW. In my top 5, enough said.
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post #14 of 29
1/30/12 at 4:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM_77 View Post

I wanted to know which of these are going to be FBW? Of course taste is subjective and I guess that is why I am asking. I am hoping to get a little insight as to what to expect. As always I really do appreciate your input. I am really looking forward to five of these fragrances more than the rest, Amber Absolute, MFK APOM por homme, MFK Lumiere Noire, 1697 by Frapin and Amouage Lyric man. I know that the MFK's get a lot of love here on the forums but I was really hoping to get your take on the rest more so than those. As always, Thanks!

Out of the ones I smelled, Lumiere Noir and Lyric Man are FBW, IMO. I hated APOM and was only slightly positive on Straight to Heaven.
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post #15 of 29
1/30/12 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM_77 View Post

Hey guys! This is the biggest sample haul I have ever done...and I wanted to know which of these are going to be FBW? Of course taste is subjective...

For me, Lumiere Noire & Sycomore. I rather like Chene too. Happy sampling.
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post #16 of 29
1/30/12 at 5:15am
Ambre Russe is totally full bottle worthy.
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post #17 of 29
1/30/12 at 6:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM_77 View Post

Ambre Russe (2005)
Chêne (2004)
Cuir Ottoman (2006)
Sycomore (new) (2008)

IMO, These are the only full bottle worthy.
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post #18 of 29
1/30/12 at 6:31am
@Herple...here are my takes on those I tried...

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud (sophisticated osmanthus/oud combo, very good if you don't expect a straight forward oud)

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men (Stereotyped transparent-rose, not much of a big fan)

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man (Great gasoline opening, warm resinous/oud drydown)

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man (nice, peppery and casual but doesn't worth the price)

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man (Green and incensey/woody fougere. Mysterious, discreet, easy to wear)

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man (complex yet not very distinctive)

By Kilian - Sample:Ba ck to Black (Overly sweet honey/tobacco. Not my type, sorry)

Czech and Speake - Sample:Cuba (Minty bay-rum. Original and dinstinctive)

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or (smoky smoky smoky, barbecue-like, type of leather)

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or (pure sophistication, simply amazing)

Montale - Sample:Red Vetyver (get Terre D'Hermes)

Montale - Sampleark Aoud (Dry, nutty and stark. One of the best deliveries by Montale)

Bois 1920 - Sample:1920 Extreme (Very nice woody/herbal type of fragrances. Balanced, well crafted...pricey)

Etat Libre d'Orange - Sample:Tom of Finland (Powdery lemony-saffron. Extremely satisfying)

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Sample:Tea for Two (smoky and spicy tea/tobacco. Very nice)

hope it helps...
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post #19 of 29
1/30/12 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alfarom View Post

@Herple...here are my takes on those I tried...

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud (sophisticated osmanthus/oud combo, very good if you don't expect a straight forward oud)

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men (Stereotyped transparent-rose, not much of a big fan)

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man (Great gasoline opening, warm resinous/oud drydown)

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man (nice, peppery and casual but doesn't worth the price)

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man (Green and incensey/woody fougere. Mysterious, discreet, easy to wear)

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man (complex yet not very distinctive)

By Kilian - Sample:Ba ck to Black (Overly sweet honey/tobacco. Not my type, sorry)

Czech and Speake - Sample:Cuba (Minty bay-rum. Original and dinstinctive)

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or (smoky smoky smoky, barbecue-like, type of leather)

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or (pure sophistication, simply amazing)

Montale - Sample:Red Vetyver (get Terre D'Hermes)

Montale - Sampleark Aoud (Dry, nutty and stark. One of the best deliveries by Montale)

Bois 1920 - Sample:1920 Extreme (Very nice woody/herbal type of fragrances. Balanced, well crafted...pricey)

Etat Libre d'Orange - Sample:Tom of Finland (Powdery lemony-saffron. Extremely satisfying)

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Sample:Tea for Two (smoky and spicy tea/tobacco. Very nice)

hope it helps...

I'll have to discuss your take on Red Vetiver. I have Terre and Red Vetiver and the more i wear them, the more I put one against the other, the more different I percieve them. Topnotes may fool you, but RV's drydown is closer to vetiver tonka. It's cheaper than VT and more or less the same price of Terre (at least the 50ml bottles), so it's down to tanyone's taste.
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post #20 of 29
1/30/12 at 7:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Postumo View Post

so it's down to tanyone's taste.

It's ALWAYS dowN to someone's taste. Those are my takes, that's it.
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post #21 of 29
1/30/12 at 7:31am
APOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Difficult not to like this one, elegant and understated. I wouldn't go as far as to call it generic, but it does seem to lack that "X" factor, which has halted me from pulling the trigger.

Coromandel (2007)
Chanel

This is up there high on my to buy list. A sophisticated and slightly medicinal powdered cocoa patchouli, with the trademark Chanel sheen.


Lumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

I have a sample of this one which I keep re-visiting. It's a nice subtle clean smelling masculine rose. It's a little toothless for my liking, but still beautiful never the less.

Lyric Man (2008)
Amouage

Pleasant and well crafted, but it doesn't seem to jive with me. Overtly feminine and reminds me of rose scented shampoo.

Sycomore (new) (2008)

Currently at the number one spot on my to by list. Wonderfully elegant, formal and refined fragrance.
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post #22 of 29
1/30/12 at 7:33am
There are many really good fragrances on that list, but the only one I plan on buying in the near-term is Cuir Ottoman.

However, I'd happily own Chene, Ambre Russe, and Amber Absolute, purchased in that order, respectively.
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post #23 of 29
1/30/12 at 7:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alfarom View Post

It's ALWAYS donw to someone's taste. Those are my takes, that's it.


Then I'd recommend: get Red Vetiver
:P

If you can, get both... I see RV better for summer than Terre.

Talking about those samples:
I didn't love too much Amouage Epic or Memoir, they're not bad, but I didn't like them so much to justify a full bottle at that pricetag.
Dark Aoud is lovely, quite austere and dark. If you're into that kind of fragrance you won't have any problem with it. Not too expensive.
Tom of Finland is great: original, distinctive, elegant. Not a sillage monster but long lasting, with a heavenly drydown.
Tea for Two: I enjoy it to some degree. I got it fairly cheap so I don't regret buying it. If you like smokey fragrances, tea, cinnamon and all that stuff you'll enjoy it. I get tired quickly of that smokey tea smell, that's why I don't reach for it often.

And the following would be FBW for me:
Amber Absolute (2007)
Tom Ford

Ambre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire

APOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Chêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Coromandel (2007)
Chanel
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post #24 of 29
1/30/12 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MJM_77 View Post


\t1697 (2011)
Frapin
\t\t
\t\tAmber Absolute (2007)
Tom Ford
\t\t\t
\t\tAmbre Russe (2005)
Parfum d'Empire
\t\t
\t\tAPOM pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
\t\t
\t\tChêne (2004)
Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido
\t\t
\t\tCoromandel (2007)
Chanel
\t\t
\t\tCuir Ottoman (2006)
Parfum d'Empire
\t\t
\t\tLumière Noire pour Homme (2009)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
\t\t
\t\tLyric Man (2008)
Amouage
\t\t
\t\tStraight to Heaven (2007)
By Kilian
\t\t
\t\tSycomore (new) (2008)
Chanel
\t\t


Out of all those, these are the one that i've sampled

1697 (2011) Frapin ----Bought a FB and it's nice, however now, i think Lubin Idole EDP is better
\t\t
Ambre Russe (2005) Parfum d'Empire ---- Love it, FB worthy
\t\t
Coromandel (2007) Chanel ---- Love it, FB worthy as well
\t\t
Cuir Ottoman (2006) Parfum d'Empire ---- not really fond of it, i like cuir venenum from PG
\t\t
Sycomore (new) (2008) Chanel ---- Absolutely hate it...too strong and too woody ( i'm more into sweet perfume kind of person )
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post #25 of 29
1/30/12 at 5:43pm
Thread Starter 
I have sampled Amber Absolute, Sycomore, Chene, APOM, Lumiere Noire pour Homme and Coromandel so far and I gotta say I am most impressed with Coromandel! It is kind of a surprise but this one blows the rest out of the water so far.
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post #26 of 29
1/30/12 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by drseid View Post

Mona di Orio - Sample:Oud A beautiful concoction that uses real Oud and exudes quality. Probably does not appeal as much to Oud purists as a couple others due to MdO blending the Oud with other notes to create a more wearable whole, IMO. FBW.

Amouage - Sample:Lyric for Men An extremely dark, natural rose scent that dominates and is amazing smelling, but tough for many men to pull off, IMO. I actually prefer smelling this on a woman, but it is a top quality scent that is also FBW if you can pull it off.

Amouage - Sample:Epic Man Been a while since I smelled this, but I remember liking it quite a bit, and found it to have a lot of pepper and spice. Another winner from Amouage.

Amouage - Sample:Honour Man I liked this one a lot, and own a very large decant. That said, while it has a tremendous pink pepper note that permeates the scent throughout, it smells just a bit too close to Epic (which I find to be the slightly better scent). Excellent, but somewhat superfluous, IMO.

Amouage - Sample:Memoir Man Loved the top notes, then this one went south real quickly on my skin. A horrendous burnt tire rubber accord that overpowered all the other notes stayed for the duration. Scrubber for me.

Amouage - Sample:Ciel Man It has been a while since I smelled this one, but I think I remember an almost brine-like urine accord. It actually was not as bad as it sounds... I would even say it was above average, but unlikely to be worn often, and oh so pricey for that kind of scent. Not a big fan...

By Kilian - Sample:Back to Black One of the best releases from By Kilian, IMO. Honey and tobacco dominate this excellent release. I did not buy a bottle due to the cost, but certainly like the scent and think it is FBW. I personally prefer it to TV...

Mona di Orio - Sample:Cuir - Les Nombres d'Or This is a tough one to like, IMO. The worst by far of the Les Nombres d'Or series. It is less like leather, and more like cigar ash and smoke, IMO. Not a bad scent, but extremely difficult to wear and not worth the price, IMO.

Mona di Orio - Sample:Vetyver - Les Nombres d'Or My favorite of the Les Nombres d'Or line. Tremendous vetiver and natural cedar combo. Easy to wear, and an absolute brilliant combination that is easily FBW. In my top 5, enough said.

Thank you for the impressions. It's nice to see other's responses.
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post #27 of 29
2/1/12 at 1:09pm
@alfarom - Thanks for a great breakdown of these

I'm probably looking forward to Cuba the most, for some reason. Just something extremely appealing to me about that mix of ingredients. Obviously also looking forward to Mona. Never sampled her work before, but I hear it's excellent, and you reinforce those statements.

About Amouage, I hope they're not too rosy. I tried Black Oud by Montale, and I really couldn't get into it due to the experienced extreme rose-note.

Back to black I hope is a tobacco-scent my girlfriend can tolerate. She's horrified by Tobacco Vanille while I really like the smell of tobacco, so got my hopes up for this one. If that doesn't work out, it's always possible to get Creeds Tabarome. Not too sweet, but still brimming with tobacco (at least the one I tested) and I really REALLY liked that one. I'm still blown away by some of Creeds fragrances.

Anyways, great input! Thanks a heap. Hopefully I'll have the samples soon and can get to researching what I want. Oh my, that trip to Rome is going to leave me broke. I'll be living three minutes away from a perfume store carrying Tom Ford, Creed, By Kilian and loads of other great brands. I'm afraid
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post #28 of 29
2/1/12 at 5:38pm
Wow, I've never tried any of those, but Sycomore is on my short list to try. Good luck with them
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post #29 of 29
2/1/12 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dog127 View Post

Wow, I've never tried any of those, but Sycomore is on my short list to try. Good luck with them

Should post your wardrobe... I think it is a great vetiver scent. It actually has made up my mind on the note that there is no going back.
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