fresco by ilum deam (an aventus clone?) - Page 5

Just got a 3.3oz bottle in the mail 5 minutes ago.

NOT an exact clone.

60% aventus
20% Dunhill Custom
10 % Oscar for men
10% bitter awful "SD-alcohol 40-b" smell.

The 40-b bitter smell is what makes people equate it to cheap drugstore scents. No Birch, Juniper, and def no natural patchouli. The smokiness is a dated smokey note used in late 80's & 90's perfumes....a very "cuminy smoke", like Oscar for men.

The green apple and isobutavan are identical to aventus and stronger. the rubbery heart florals and evernyl (synthetic oakmoss molecule) are there but weaker. Black currant and bergamot are lacking.


Not bad for those that like the apple/pineapple/vanilla aspects of aventus. But TOTALLY not an exact clone, and discerning noses will be underwhelmed, and not fully satisfied despite th eobvious huge savings.

more later as it dries down further.

Anyone that hates rubbing alcohol 40-b and that cheap "dry smokey cumin" note used in so many cheap scents will not be able to get past those aspects of FRESCO.

Can you explain this a bit more, Dullah? "SD-alcohol 40-b"

Just got my bottle (no leaks) and my first impression is this is "Aventus Light" as someone mentioned before. Aventus is a deeper richer scent. I find the opening blast the most similar to Aventus. I just asked my wife what she thought and her first reaction was that it smelled "familiar" (she doesn't really pay attention to my wardrobe). I told her it was a knockoff of one I own. I then asked her if she got more pineapple or lemon and she said pineapple. I get a little lemon vibe that I don't from Aventus so I was happy to hear that from her. I need to wait for the drydown to comment more. Definitely a decent scent for $30 unless there are longevity and projection problems.

Interesting review DULLAH...
If this is only 60% Aventus.... hmmm IDK....

Can someone tell me the shipping price for a sample to Europe?

Cheap rubbing alcohol with a bitter element added, used to discourage drinking by homeless alcoholics. 40-b isn't really used in fine fragrance anymore. 80's and 90's some lower end designers still used it.

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The theme and effect is similar in the heart....smokey florals, but weaker, and the smoky/earthy notes used are different and less to my liking. I hate this cheap stale cumin woody note....SO DATED>

The increased perceptional presence of isobutavan's powdery aspect tries to make this scent seem like aventus, but what surrounds the florals and iso and evernyl is dated trash. I want to get past this stage and analize the musk structure to see what they used there.

Just got the bottle. No leakage as other reported. Initial thoughts - Opens like Aventus, smells light, more fruity than smokey. I can smell the lemon (hate it) and alcohol. Will report later about longevity, projection.

THIS WILL NOT REPLACE MY AVENTUS

Wow, so almost everyone who bought a sample received a full bottle? I'll probably receive my order on Thursday.




2844

Just received a non-leaking bottle of Fresco today. As compared to my Aventus, I find the pineapple note is not quite as sparkling as in the Aventus, but as this dries down it begins to smell more and more like a lighter Aventus.There is not much difference at all to my nose after these 3 or 4 hours. For those who complain of olfactory fatigue with Aventus, I think that will be much less a problem with Fresco. Overall while there are slight differences they are not significant enough to make a difference to me. Aventus costs roughly 8 times as much as Fresco, and the faint differences do not justify the much greater cost of the Creed. I personally will not purchase the Creed again if Fresco remains available.

Thanks Dullah!

I'm still waiting to see what I get. The app I use for tracking says the package is out for delivery, but my building gets its mail so darn late every day.

I received the sample I ordered today, no free full bottle. I've never smelled Aventus, but this definitely has a sweeter, pineapple-floral vibe that is not in my typical zone. To be honest, I wouldn't be suprised to smell this on a high school girl.

If this is Aventus or Aventus light, maybe I'll keep spending my money on booze.

The pineapple is definitely a bit sweeter than aventus.

Longevity after 4 hours so far is great

God, I love this thread so much!!!

Any info on batch numbers?

How's longevity for those that have bottles? I get about 5 to 6 hours before it becomes a light skin scent or disappears altogether.

Ordered the sample today. Hopefully the price doesn't rise before I can get my nose on it.

My sample finally arrived. I bought a 2ml sample, but the confirmation email said they'd sent a 3.3fl oz. A 2ml sample is in fact what arrived, and I must say, I'm not disappointed they didn't actually send me 3.3 oz of this stuff.

I suspect the hype for Fresco will fade as people realize this isn't Aventus for $30. Fresco is definitely an attempt at cloning Aventus, but I can't help thinking they'd have been better off if they'd tried to make a great scent rather than trying to copy the work of others. There's a richness to Aventus that Fresco is missing. And the pineapple isn't exactly pineapple anymore.

Anyone else getting a bubblegum scent here?

No.

Nope

I think it's the extra sweetness in the citrus/fruit note of Fresco that take it into bubblegum territory for me. Even the smoke here... the combination reminds me of when I was a kid, opening the gum packages that had a cartoon printed on the inside of the wrapper. There was always a powdery sugar dust inside the wrapper (and the cartoon was never funny, but that's beside the point). I'm not saying Fresco is dusty, by the way. I'm specifically talking about the smell I remember from childhood... the smell of the gum and the inside of the wrapper. The longer I wear Freso, the more it reminds me of that smell.

Fresco is sweeter than Aventus. Or maybe the lack of richness calls more attention to the sweetness? I'm only about an hour into it. It'll be interesting to see where it goes and how it changes.

I think this thread is going to turn into an "I prefer/have Aventus, so I'll talk this down or try hard to point out infidelities" and "I don't want to pay $300 for Aventus, this sh^t is awesome!"

Just an observation. I'll probably just look around for a 1oz decant of the Aventus pineapple batch.

I had it on for about 8 hours and I was still getting whiffs of pineapple before I took a shower.

Got my bottle of Fresco today. I have the smokey Aventus so the Fresco is kinda different to what I'm used to, but I would say it's similar to Aventus. Jury's still out on projection, but on first wearing I'm thinking it's below average longevity, but it does linger as a skin scent for awhile though.

Bazooka Joe!!! Ok....now I smell it, but it's like in the first 2 to 5 seconds. In that time it's almost a sweet nothing type of smell and after 10 seconds or so is when it all comes together to smell like Aventus. I guess it could still be there, but your nose is probably more sensitive to that Bazooka Joe note than mine. Good call!

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Yeah, it's more of an alternative than a replacement. I love Aventus, but like I said earlier it's hard to wear in my climate so this makes for a fantastic alternative. Plus, some people don't have the means to buy a bottle of Aventus and this is such a price difference it's ridiculous.

Can you comment on why you think it's not good for your climate? It's always come off to me as a warmer/mild weather scent.

That's great longevity. I think my skin sucks it up more, but I'm also wearing it in 75 degree weather.

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I've put on 1 spray and I've got several complaints when I've tried to wear it. Once was at work (health care), which was a big no no and the other complaint was from a family member at a dinner which was outside in 80 degree Florida humidity. I don't see why it's classified as a summer fragrance. Outside of the fruityness it's smokey and dark, did I mention it's strong as hell.

This evening I received the 3.3oz Fresco bottle that I ordered last week (no leaks). Though I have very little experience breaking down and evaluating fragrance notes/stages like more experienced board members can, I feel fairly confident that Fresco might serve as an Aventus-Lite. I'm basing this on my z01 batch of Aventus, which I really like, but rarely wear.

I'm interested to see how longevity/projection plays out when I give it a full wear. I've found that my ability to detect Aventus will "disappear" after a few hours due to the anosmia issue of which some members speak. I am curious to see if Fresco might do the same (similar ingredients?)*. I have received random compliments from strangers when wearing Aventus hours after I thought the smell had faded away and could no longer be detected. Always an interesting, yet awkward moment for myself.

*What is/is there a specific ingredient in Aventus that has sometimes been referenced as/credited for being the a trigger of anosmia in this particular fragrance?

Though Fresco is not quite the same quality and strength as Aventus, it will very likely serve as a great version of AventusOffice. In fact, it'll be my SOTD to the office tomorrow.

Oh yeah, PS...most entertaining thread in a long time. Keep it up! I'd love to hear what more people think about Fresco.

OK! In case you're curious, here's my review:

It's now 12:50 am and I'm going to bed. I've worn Fresco and Aventus, side by side, for seven and a half hours. Here are my thoughts:

Bazooka Joe! God, I haven't seen that stuff in years, but that's the sort of smell I'm getting from Fresco. It's not all I'm getting, but at five hours in, as Fresco was fading away, the bubblegum was still definitely there. I'm not saying that as a way to judge whether Fresco is 'good' or 'bad' but the bubblegum note isn't something I enjoy. I should also note that by the six hour mark, Fresco was gone, whereas seven-plus hours in, Aventus is still going strong.

On a positive note, I'm rethinking my statements about a lack of richness. I expected Fresco to be like Love & Luck, but with pineapple - in other words, I expected fruit water. That's not it at all. Fresco has richness, though it differs from the richness of Aventus. I need to learn more fragrance terminology because I'm struggling to explain the difference, but if we were talking about sound, Aventus would have more bass whereas Fresco has more treble, if that makes sense. There's a whiteness to the smoke in Fresco - if indeed that is smoke. It's different than the darker, perhaps thicker, smoke of Aventus, but it's no less there.

I can see how some will find this an adequate substitute for Aventus. That's why I bought a sample. Initially, my thinking was, if this truly is a substitute, I'd sell my nearly full 4oz Aventus and buy a bottle of this, ending up with a great scent plus at least $100 in my pocket. Cha-CHING! I don't care about brands or labels. I care about smells. I'll pay top dollar if a scent is worth it to me, but I love a bargain too (for example, I'm a fan of Corduroy by Zirh, which can be had for as little as $10). But now that I've had a chance to compare and contrast Fresco with Aventus, I certainly won't be selling my Aventus to buy this, even if I could pocket over $100 in the process.

I think Ilum Dean could have had an out of the ballpark home run if they would have taken Fresco in a slightly different direction. Give it a bit of spice and change the not-quite-pineapple to something that leans more toward the other side of the tropical. In other words, capitalize on what this scent does well rather than trying to copy Creed. Let's be honest: if you try to copy that pineapple note but miss, you end up with something really cheap. By trying to copy Aventus, in my opinion, they ended up with a scent that is the perfume version of the being the brother of a famous actor. "Hey, guess what?! I met Stallone!" Sylvester? "No. Frank." Wah-waaaah. (To be fair, Frank Stallone is a very accomplished musician.)

For someone who loves the smell of Aventus, I'd recommend Aventus - not because it's a Creed, but because it IS that smell.

For someone in the crowd that MUST HAVE AVENTUS FOR PANTYDROPPER AND/OR HYPE, I'd recommend Fresco, only for the sake of saving the poor misguided dolt a lot of cash.

For someone who just wants to smell great and only has $35-ish to spend, I'd recommend something else entirely. Perry Ellis Red for an AdG vibe or Caron Le 3 for something more regal. L'essence de Cerruti perhaps or maybe even Ed Hardy's Love & Luck.

My point here is: it's wise to ask yourself "Why am I buying this?" Are you buying it for yourself? Buy what you really want. Do you want the most bang for the buck? I think there are better options. Are you wanting something to wear on a date? Again, there are better options. Do you want it for the sake of OMGINEEDZHYPETRAIN!!!!!? Obviously, buy Fresco.

Fresco isn't bad, but being not-bad isn't the same as being good. I know I'll get flak for saying that, but it's my opinion.

I only have a sample, but with the spray sample that should function the same I got about 8 hours which for me is average. I got about 10-11 with the the Aventus I had on the other arm. Even when both were going full strength you could easily tell that the Aventus was stronger (strength-wise) from start to finish.



Some random unrelated side-by-side comments after a day's contemplation:

The pineapple of Fresco seemed to miss the quality of Aventus by a hair due to lacking a bit of sparkle/acidity, with it coming off as a bit soft and muted in comparison (but no bubblegum detected by me). Both scents had a similar smoky dry-down, but the Fresco spared me from the synthetic smoke overload of Aventus that I loathe so much, leaning more towards the pineapple and that is the primary reason why I prefer it of the two on the whole (well, that and the vast price differential). Neither is my kind of scent and I still can't relate to the love either gets really, but at least Fresco is wearable.

What I get in this thread is Pay 9 times the price of Fresco because of marginal differences? Aventus owners fight back! Say what? Lol

I'm just hoping they read all these reviews and come out with another BATCH that was lacking what ever the first did..

I got about 7 hours. It started off smelling similar to Aventus minus the depth and quality. Then turned to bubble gum. Then turned to cat piss.

?

How is that a marginal difference? Its a bit like saying I won't drive the 2011 Aston Martin DBS today I'll take the three wheeled Reliant Robin from 1974. They have 'marginal' difference after all as they can both drive on roads and are technically cars (one of them barely)

When you don't have a vested interest in something its very easy to generalise.

Hmm.. a quick google search of the images for Fresco on Ilum Dean's website yields this:







So much for a promotional campaign.. seems like a mom-and-pop operation to me.

Ah well..

Got my bottle today. Smells nice. Close to Aventus, more light, airy. A nice spring / summer scent.

On the other hand, this thread is epic.

I just got the 2ml sample in the mail last night. Since I have only sniffed Creed Aventus once at a store (and even that about a year ago), I can't really comment on how close of a copy this is. But on the whole, my impression is that it starts off nicely (i.e., good top-notes), but when it dries down, the dry-down reveals an inner core of "cheapness", a sharpness to the smell that you don't find in the typical designer scents sold at Sephora's or Macy's.

Bottom-line: I won't be buying a bottle of this.

The problem with your analogy is 100% of the people will tell an Aston Martin DBS from a Reliant Robin but 95% of the population won't be able to tell the difference between Fresco and Aventus. But the important thing is you will be part of the 5% that can tell the difference which is ultimately the deciding factor. But loling at thread

That looks fishy as fuuuug

I got mine this morning.

When I first applied it, I thought of lemon cough drops in a room with a fresh coat of paint. NOT what I had hoped for. I automatically assumed this was a cheap knock-off, and was not overly disappointed because it was such a diminutive cost.

THEN the drydown. Although there is really no discernible smokiness, this is SOOOOOO Aventusish! It took a half hour before it evolved, but it definitely hit the mark.

It will not become my signature fragrance, but it is certainly in the rotation.

lmao...

Aventus



Ilum Deam

Lol, yes.

Well, picked up a bottle from ebay as well reading through the thread and just got it about an hour ago. One spray of Aventus on one wrist and Fresco on the other. The initial spray had me questioning if I had ordered the wrong bottle as it smelled nothing like Aventus and was more lemon than pineapple. The drydown as others have mentioned is somewhat similar to Aventus.

There is a definite similarity, but the difference is still pretty obvious to me. The lack of birch tar and the replacement of natural elements with synthetic ones makes it quite obvious which is which to my nose.

However, this is by no means a terrible scent and for $30-35 for a 100ml, its not a bad buy at all. Its definitely Aventus-lite, but it can be useful in the sense that I would feel comfortable using this as a casual / workplace scent where with Creed Aventus I sometimes feel silly using such an expensive fragrance on non-special occasions.

Glad I only invested $2.00, this seems like a no brainer. Just hype.

lol

Well the hype was that it smells very similar to Aventus and it does smell very similar to Aventus to many noses on here. The fact that it costs less than $30 just added to the hype considering how many people could afford it. Last time I checked Aventus was one of the most hyped or over hyped fragrances on this website. I don't know if it'll be a Cool Water vs GIT debate, but just knowing that they finally came out with something that smells this close to Aventus is good. Maybe another company with a bigger budget will make something that'll bridge the gap between this and Aventus. For people complaining that it's not better than Aventus or it's too good to be true, are you really that gullible to think it would be?

Don't have mine yet but I suspect that very shortly following its receipt, it will be tossed into the bag of dust encrusted Hollister frags soon to be en route to my GF's 14 year old son.

Couldn't care less but to me there is a distinct odour emanating from the promotion of this frag, and not one of pineapple, lemon or even Bazooka Joe.

*as the Creed top brass is heard to breathe a collective sigh of relief*

EDIT: I assumed the promotional images were a joke. Apparently they're not!!?? No beating around the bush with the intended message in the formal attire shot. LMAO!

Was hoping that they'd f*** up my order as well and end up with a full bottle when I only purchased the sample, but just ended up with the sample. Smells very similar to Aventus, yet I can't say I prefer it. For some reason, I bet it's subliminal, I just prefer Aventus. It's the legit juice, you know it does its business. This feels like an imitation, and the quality isn't there. Smells similarish, but my Aventus is better. Won't stop with the Aventus, definitely not kicked off my throne.

The hype I'm referring to is the "copy of Aventus" and the price. Aventus itself is hyped for a different reason.

I think I'd just rather find 30-40mL of Aventus instead of putting money into an attempt at a clone.

So...those shitty books bought the same stock photos as drscent did. Now we're getting to the bottom of it(?)

I hear Coach Bobby is really pissed that these books stole the Fresco images.

Indeed...CoachRob is a ghostwriter as well as a perfumer.

My girlfriend recoiled at first smell last night. Said it smelled like her Grandpa. She's sensitive to the "cheap aftershave-y" bitter&cheap upper end. As well as the "dated woody/earthy notes", one which snells like stale cumin.


The fruity notes, and base sweetness are spot on to Aventus. But there's just too much "Eau de cheap" surrounding this one to ever truly enjoy it.

Just tested this out tonight. I thinks its pretty close to Aventus on the dry down, the opening is off but a nice alternative if you dont want to spend a ton on Aventus. Overall great clone. Im happy with it.

Just got Fresco, havent tried it out yet. I do have a smoky sample of Aventus that I do not use. Guess I could just layer them with they way people are explaining Fresco.

Mine arrived here in Oz today - very quick shipping since I ordered it last Thursday.

Quick disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of Aventus; I like it, but wouldn't say I love it. Aventus is nice enough, strong as an ox and really does draw compliments like everyone on BN says, but I don't enjoy the scent anywhere near as much as I enjoy those of other fragrances in my collection.

From initial impressions (I've had it on for 40 mins) I have to say Fresco really does smell like Aventus.
I have a smoke-heavy, pineapple-light batch of Aventus, and Fresco smells very much like it, only the Fresco has more pineapple.

The lemon is also prevalent in the opening, but seems to burn off rather quickly. I can't say I really like the lemon - it gives the opening a sour, almost acrid scent, but it's gone (or at least softens down) in a few minutes so it's not a problem after that.

Another obvious thing about this juice is that it's not as strong as Aventus. Aventus is an absolute beast and projects like few other frags in my collection. Fresco still seems strong, but it's just not the nasal dominator that Creed's original is.
I don't see this as a problem, and three sprays of this juice is like one spray of Aventus, yet still projects less so you're not assaulting all and sundry with your scent of the day.

Also, Fresco has definitely got that lovely blackcurrant/oakmoss combo that I enjoy so much in the original.
Truth be told, it's my favourite part of Aventus, but I feel it's done better in GFT's Eucris. It's very good in Fresco, rest assured of that.

I'll keenly await the 'bubblegum' accord that's been reported, but up to now, I've been impressed with this as a fragrance, and very impressed with this as a clone of Aventus.

Oh dear... this already epic thread just went up a notch. Photoshop too?

Yes!!

Got my sample -- comes with a nice custom mouillette -- and splashed some on my wrist. I've only ever smelled Aventus briefly on a scent strip. The pineapple-lemon opening of Fresco certainly smells more similar to Aventus than the crude Zara Gold.

The base accord is a variation on the oakmoss-vetiver theme that's been done before: halfway between Eau de Rochas pH (though less deep and natural) and Baryshnikov Sport (though less cheap and more clean). After 6 hours it's simple clean galaxolide musk.