Fresco by Ilum Dean
After my last thread became by far the most discussed of all 250 of my threads, this review thread of it has to be a logical consequence.
So apparently there is this new fashion house in New York City called Ilum Dean and it released its debut fragrance Fresco. Well, now we know it's just some guy who made these in his apartment (but it seemed convincing). When some people said it was similar to Aventus, but a much cheaper version, it gained a lot of hype on the internet.
Is Fresco really everything it was hyped out to be? Let's find out.
Scent: 3/5
There is the predominant pineapple note, with lemon replacing the apple in Aventus. There is no birch, but there is an oakmoss note that tries to act like birch. There is an excellent patchouli note in here. There is some rose and other masculine floral notes. This actually has a grassy feel (similar to Bleecker Street). And ironically, I've compared Bleecker Street to Aventus before.
While they add to the fragrance, it isn't the most masterful composition of floral notes I've seen. This does not have the depth of a Creed though. Creed's Ambergris drydown really makes it solid, but this fragrance tries to match it with some woody notes and musk. I like how the musk was done in here, but it just seems two-dimensional next to Creed.
The lack of vanilla is a big problem for me. Even though vanilla played only a small role in Aventus, it contributed heavily to the overall scent.
This scent lacks the potency of Aventus. One spray of Aventus is equal to three or four sprays of Fresco. The richness and potency are part of what made Aventus so captivating. Yes, Fresco is lighter and safer, but it just lacks that overall appeal.
How similar is this to Aventus. I'd say it's 50% Aventus and maybe 25% Bleecker Street. This certainly has similarities to Aventus, but it's not a clone. It doesn't come close. I think Cool Water is a much closer clone to GIT than Fresco is to Aventus. O easily think Cool Water blows Fresco out of the water.
Originality: 1/5
This is not original at all. Not only is it a blatant copy of a popular fragrance that is already out, but even the copy smells more like a generic clone than it does the unique fragrance they tried to copy. However, I know the selling point of this is that it's not original but just an attempted modification of something we already have.
Versatility: 4/5
I think this is largely versatile and can be worn anywhere. It's lack of projection makes it not so good
for the winter, but this would be excellent in the summer and spring. It's very safe and there is a smaller
risk of offending people than there is with Aventus. Not the most versatile, but very versatile though.
Projection: 2.5/5
This lacks projection. Even if you spray a lot of it on your skin, you can only smell it if you are really
close to the skin.
Longevity: 3/5
Longevity is very weak as well. I get 4 hours of longevity (and then 3 more where its there ever so faintly). This won't scrub off though. It's resilient.
Value: 3.5/5
Since it is priced at $50, you could do a whole lot better. But you can definitely do much worse.
The fact that you have to spray a lot of it due to poor projection/longevity certainly eats into it's value, as does the lack of originality.
Does the lower price make it a substitute for Aventus? Absolutely not. If you own Aventus, no need to buy this. And for the same money you spend on Fresco, you could just buy a 30ml split of Aventus. Due to better performance, 30ml will go a lot farther for you.
Overall: 2.5/5
(designer scale ; not an average)
Sorry, this is just not Aventus. It's LIKE Aventus. But it's not a clone. I would give this a 1/5 if this were on a niche scale. On a designer scale (which I place it in due to the lower price), I'd say this is middle of the road. If you walk into Macy's, this is probably better than 1/3 to 1/2 of the fragrances in there.
Decent for a designer, but even if you put Fresco on a lower standard than Aventus, it still doesn't do as well compared to designers as Aventus does for niche. If this had a bigger budget and performed better, maybe it could have been a full-on clone. If you take it for what it is, a designer fragrance in its own right, it's not exceptional, but it's not terrible either.
It's good for what it is: a DIY making a fragrance in his basement. It's nice to smell the opening, but I don't really think it's bottle worthy. I think the hype on this got too carried away. People WANTED to believe that there was a cheaper alternative to Aventus, and they were more lienient on it. They wanted to believe they were the pioneers of a big movement. I think now we will see people being a lot more critical on this.
Verdict: Unless you have non-discriminate tastes, I wouldn't recommend trying this.
Your thoughts?
After my last thread became by far the most discussed of all 250 of my threads, this review thread of it has to be a logical consequence.
So apparently there is this new fashion house in New York City called Ilum Dean and it released its debut fragrance Fresco. Well, now we know it's just some guy who made these in his apartment (but it seemed convincing). When some people said it was similar to Aventus, but a much cheaper version, it gained a lot of hype on the internet.
Is Fresco really everything it was hyped out to be? Let's find out.
Scent: 3/5
There is the predominant pineapple note, with lemon replacing the apple in Aventus. There is no birch, but there is an oakmoss note that tries to act like birch. There is an excellent patchouli note in here. There is some rose and other masculine floral notes. This actually has a grassy feel (similar to Bleecker Street). And ironically, I've compared Bleecker Street to Aventus before.
While they add to the fragrance, it isn't the most masterful composition of floral notes I've seen. This does not have the depth of a Creed though. Creed's Ambergris drydown really makes it solid, but this fragrance tries to match it with some woody notes and musk. I like how the musk was done in here, but it just seems two-dimensional next to Creed.
The lack of vanilla is a big problem for me. Even though vanilla played only a small role in Aventus, it contributed heavily to the overall scent.
This scent lacks the potency of Aventus. One spray of Aventus is equal to three or four sprays of Fresco. The richness and potency are part of what made Aventus so captivating. Yes, Fresco is lighter and safer, but it just lacks that overall appeal.
How similar is this to Aventus. I'd say it's 50% Aventus and maybe 25% Bleecker Street. This certainly has similarities to Aventus, but it's not a clone. It doesn't come close. I think Cool Water is a much closer clone to GIT than Fresco is to Aventus. O easily think Cool Water blows Fresco out of the water.
Originality: 1/5
This is not original at all. Not only is it a blatant copy of a popular fragrance that is already out, but even the copy smells more like a generic clone than it does the unique fragrance they tried to copy. However, I know the selling point of this is that it's not original but just an attempted modification of something we already have.
Versatility: 4/5
I think this is largely versatile and can be worn anywhere. It's lack of projection makes it not so good
for the winter, but this would be excellent in the summer and spring. It's very safe and there is a smaller
risk of offending people than there is with Aventus. Not the most versatile, but very versatile though.
Projection: 2.5/5
This lacks projection. Even if you spray a lot of it on your skin, you can only smell it if you are really
close to the skin.
Longevity: 3/5
Longevity is very weak as well. I get 4 hours of longevity (and then 3 more where its there ever so faintly). This won't scrub off though. It's resilient.
Value: 3.5/5
Since it is priced at $50, you could do a whole lot better. But you can definitely do much worse.
The fact that you have to spray a lot of it due to poor projection/longevity certainly eats into it's value, as does the lack of originality.
Does the lower price make it a substitute for Aventus? Absolutely not. If you own Aventus, no need to buy this. And for the same money you spend on Fresco, you could just buy a 30ml split of Aventus. Due to better performance, 30ml will go a lot farther for you.
Overall: 2.5/5
(designer scale ; not an average)
Sorry, this is just not Aventus. It's LIKE Aventus. But it's not a clone. I would give this a 1/5 if this were on a niche scale. On a designer scale (which I place it in due to the lower price), I'd say this is middle of the road. If you walk into Macy's, this is probably better than 1/3 to 1/2 of the fragrances in there.
Decent for a designer, but even if you put Fresco on a lower standard than Aventus, it still doesn't do as well compared to designers as Aventus does for niche. If this had a bigger budget and performed better, maybe it could have been a full-on clone. If you take it for what it is, a designer fragrance in its own right, it's not exceptional, but it's not terrible either.
It's good for what it is: a DIY making a fragrance in his basement. It's nice to smell the opening, but I don't really think it's bottle worthy. I think the hype on this got too carried away. People WANTED to believe that there was a cheaper alternative to Aventus, and they were more lienient on it. They wanted to believe they were the pioneers of a big movement. I think now we will see people being a lot more critical on this.
Verdict: Unless you have non-discriminate tastes, I wouldn't recommend trying this.
Your thoughts?
