Commando (2009)
by Smell Bent

A nasty synthetic mess. It opens with a hint of honey/urine which may be due to Phenylacetic Acid (or even Butyric acid) which could be intentional or a result of the poor quality of the ingredients. It quickly develops into a stodgy sweet chemical mix of musks and coumarin. I wanted a dirty, animalic musk (like MKK), and didn't get it.

This has taught me to NEVER blind buy.

Note: This review is on the perfume oil. Commando is also available in EDT spray.

This scent is rather spare in terms of notes -- musk and tonka -- but definitely does what it says it's going to do, and does it with simplicity and intelligence. "Going commando" titillates with the unseen, but implied; Commando implies plenty, without being explicit.

The opening is a pretty feral musk, definitely on the synthetic side (which I don't use in the pejorative sense). A sharper, cleaner, soapy musk follows right behind, marrying the barnyard with the barbershop. The tonka in the base both grounds and sweetens the musks, ultimately providing wearability and a finished feel.

The perfume oil stays close to the skin and projects little. However, I do notice that I catch comforting whiffs here and there for about four hours or so.

Has a bit of skank, but it's a chemical fecal smell. Not something I would ever wear and after smelling it once that was all I needed. Might appeal to those that enjoy daring and odd smelling fragrances. Otherwise, it'll be a scrubber for most.

l get a momentary whiff of aldehyde in the opening, followed by a leathery, dirty musk with just a touch of sweetness. Over the first half-hour, l get an impression of something cool & minty, before the tonka bean note comes to the fore. ln the drydown it becomes a warm, sweet, animalic skin scent with a powdery base. The projection is low-moderate, & it lasts around six hours before fading.
Apparently this smells "like crotch" to some folks, but l didn't find it all offensive, just "direct, animalic & sweet", as freddie put it. ln fact, l would love it more if it projected more!

Hi. I JUST got a bottle of COMMANDO in the mail. Upon first spray, it was attractive enough to me but it is so complex that I didn't know what to make of it. I don't wait for the drydown or for the heart notes to relieve the top ones; if I don't like it initially I am not keeping it. This fragrance, however, broke ALL my rules...

It quickly transforms itself, and like the changing colors of a moodring, it evokes seriouness yet sexiness. I am very impressed and totally shocked.

Basenoters: If you see a bottle of this you must at least give it a try. For $15 I got a diamond in the rough...