Name the fragrance you tried/smelled today for the first time.

[Danny Mitchell]

I don't care for grapefruit in overwhelming quantities.

I wouldn't have thought so but this one is decent. Nothing memorable though. A little boring.

[speckmann0706]

Polo Red EDP. Smells good but pretty boring. It does remind me of MB Explorer just not as good.

Ralph Lauren needs a new CEO, no more boring generic low performing fragrances!

[Danny Mitchell]

Ralph Lauren needs a new CEO, no more boring generic low performing fragrances!

Yes. They've been pretty irrelevant, fragrance wise, all this century.

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Sampling Bortnikoff Mysterious Oud

[The Colognnoisseur]

Commodity Vetiver — only tested this one on paper so far, but so far, so good. I’ll be giving this a full wearing tomorrow as my SOTD.

[The Colognnoisseur]

Commodity Bergamot — only tested this one on paper so far, but so far, so good. I will be giving this a full wearing in the days to come.

[Danny Mitchell]

Mont Blanc Legend EDP. Decent scent but nothing memorable. I wasn't really expecting anything here and that's what they delivered.

[Sloth]

Mont Blanc Legend EDP. Decent scent but nothing memorable. I wasn't really expecting anything here and that's what they delivered.

Interesting, I've seen this and the bottle looks great.
Could you perhaps elaborate on what it smells like, how it performs and why it disappointed you?

[pirop]

Ralph Lauren needs a new CEO, no more boring generic low performing fragrances!

From your lips to God's ears!

[Danny Mitchell]

Interesting, I've seen this and the bottle looks great.
Could you perhaps elaborate on what it smells like, how it performs and why it disappointed you?

I didn't spend much time with it. Sprayed my wrist at Macy's as well as a few others. It reminds me of MB Explorer quite a bit. Maybe a bit sweeter, more citrus with the grapefruit and I think cranberry, and the woods note going on in the background. It's not disappointing, as I expected very little from this release.
Edit: sorry, I thought you asked about Polo Red EDP. The Legend EDP was sprayed on a card and was very faint so I asked her to apply a few more sprays. It was faint but smelled good. Much less harsh than the EDT but I didn't spend enough time with it to pick up any specific notes.

[hednic]

Triad - didn't care for it.

[PrinceRF]

Edit: sorry, I thought you asked about Polo Red EDP. The Legend EDP was sprayed on a card and was very faint so I asked her to apply a few more sprays. It was faint but smelled good. Much less harsh than the EDT but I didn't spend enough time with it to pick up any specific notes.

These were my thought on Legend EDP when I tried it on paper as well. Seemed to be a smoother, richer version of the original.

[noodles66]

Terre d'Hermes.

This goes to the top of my list. Still new to frags, but just, wow. This is nice.

[Hothamwater]

Creation-E parfum cologne. Pretty good stuff. I was hesitant to try it, because it seemed like it'd be a significantly diluted version of the EDP. Not so.

[The Colognnoisseur]

Terre d'Hermes.

This goes to the top of my list. Still new to frags, but just, wow. This is nice.

TDH is indeed nice!

[ILikePeeps]

Ermenegildo Zegna - Indonesian Oud EdT (discontinued version). Wow, I wasn't expecting this based on smelling the atomizer! Before I sprayed it, the atomizer smell smelled very familiar - like Oud Ispahan or something. But it's a different story on skin. Seems to be more oud prominent or something, with a nice bit of skank!

[gucciguccigoo]

Bvlgari Man in Black Essence-really loving this. There's a lot going on but it feels very exotic and boozy with a perfect pinch of sweetness.

[Danny Mitchell]

Gentleman Eau de Parfum Boisée. I didn't think this would be anything wer worthwhile but I find myself still thinking about it a few days later. Very anxious to head back out and try it again.

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Veronique Gabal - Eau de la Nuit

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Terre d'Hermes.

This goes to the top of my list. Still new to frags, but just, wow. This is nice.

That's a good one for a starting point. Glad you're enjoying it.

[hednic]

Moss Cologne - didn't care for it.

[PrinceRF]

Terre d'Hermes.

This goes to the top of my list. Still new to frags, but just, wow. This is nice.

That's a great one to start out with when building a wardrobe.

[The Bark]

All these were from samples.

Chanel Bleu parfum. It's a deeper shade of blue.

Profumum Arso. Thought I might like this. On the fence. Smokey pine. I just don't know if I want to smell like I've been sitting next to the fireplace all day. Make a nice candle.

Tam Dao edp. Had the edt years ago. I get more cedar at first. Don't know if it's better/worse/deeper/longer laster since it's been forever since I smelled the edt.

Bond No. 9 Dubai Amber. Probably the most interesting of the lot. I know there's a raspberry note up top, but the combination of notes makes it smell kind of grape-ish. Interesting progression, though. Hmmm... will have to test more.

[RedRaider430]

Xerjoff Golden Dallah: I was totally surprised by this and not in a good way. I thought I had a good idea of what this would smell like by looking at the notes, but I really wasn't close.

I thought this was awful. You would think with a name like "Coffee Break Golden Dallah," it would primarily be a nice coffee fragrance. Nope...not at all. You would think with notes like "exotic spices," coffee, amber, cacao and tonka bean that you would have a pretty good idea of what it might smell like. Wrong again. The incense and oud in this were dominant throughout and I never did smell much coffee or cacao. The incense and oud were not pleasant at all and ruined any good thing Golden Dallah might have had going for it.

My main complaint....some describe its primary smell as resinous, and very much like bad smelling cannabis. I would have to agree. This is a mixture of notes that just don't fit together and I'm surprised a company like Xerjoff could produce such a bomb of a fragrance.....especially when the name is so classy and the bottle is so beautiful. This stinks.

[ILikePeeps]

Did you smell a vintage sample? I've never found a similarities with this to New Haarlem.

Not the one I just tried, no. Probably a ~2015-2019 bottle.

Ensar Oud Wang Liao Kuo. Blind bought 2 grams. Too risk adversive, ought to have gone for 3.
Ensar Oud King Kambodi. Another blind buy but this time 3 grams. Excellent.
Ensar Oud Oud IIyas from a sample. Not the wow of the first two but a very competent and enjoyable oud. A few grams would be welcome but this one is running low and will be gone before I can purchase...
Ensar Oud Maroke Ceylon from a sample. Lots of hype on Maroke ouds, or so I thought. This co-distillation is gobsmackingly good and way above my price range even while it is on sale... Thinking of going on a purchasing hiatus until the lockdowns and pandemic end. A few grams of Maroke Ceylon would be a grand way to celebrate a return to normal.

Wow, hitting Ensar Oud hard, huh? I'd love to dive more into oud oils, but I just can't see myself blind buying them much - oud simply doesn't have enough interest as a single note for me to wear as opposed to say something like.. vetiver, which I love!

Terre d'Hermes.

This goes to the top of my list. Still new to frags, but just, wow. This is nice.

Yessir, modern masterpiece, eh?

Creation-E parfum cologne. Pretty good stuff. I was hesitant to try it, because it seemed like it'd be a significantly diluted version of the EDP. Not so.

How does it compare to the Parfum?

The Parfum Cologne is the 'new' EdP version.

[hednic]

Silence Des Calanques - Loved it.

[U2u]

Wow, hitting Ensar Oud hard, huh? I'd love to dive more into oud oils, but I just can't see myself blind buying them much - oud simply doesn't have enough interest as a single note for me to wear as opposed to say something like.. vetiver, which I love!

Got drawn further down the rabbit hole with their Black Friday specials. Ouds are anything but single note once you start into these oils but I can relate to where you are coming from. I had no idea the range available and that with my sampling being limited to about 18. My little foray has been a satisfying education so far but I do fear a blind buy misstep. Tried these out in the last day:
Chugoka Naya 400.jpgSumatora Royale 400.jpgKambodi Blanco 400.jpg

Chugoku Naya - smooth and earthy with a aura of clean barn. Relaxing, surprisingly good projection and longevity at 18 plus hours.
Sumatora Royale - an easy darker leaning wear.
Kambodi Blanco - for the first few hours this reminded me of Hugh Parsons Whitehall... nothing in the published notes to suggest a similarity but I couldn’t shake it. Nice dry down, good projection and crazy longevity. Be washing it off after 18 plus hours.

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Ralph Lauren - Monogram

[jkonick]

Tried two flankers recently in the same vein:

Declaration Essence - This reminds me a bit of TdH parfum almost, and it’s a much darker and denser take on Declaration - no added notes, but definitely some subtracted. It basically takes all the heavy woods, leather and spices and brings them to the forefront. It’s less complex than the original Declaration, but it juices up all the parts I really enjoy. I had a sample a while back but glad I bought a full bottle.

Bottega Veneta Pour Homme Extreme Like Declaration Essence, this seems to take the heavier, darker elements of the original and amplify them at the expense of a wider variety of more subtle notes. The pine is front and center in this and that seems to be the main player here. Very subtle suede note like the original, dry down is a bit more similar with a kind of soapy spicy fougere vibe. It’s no Montale but it does last a lot longer and project better than the original, which is absolutely dismal. If I ever run out of my bottle of the original, I’ll be replacing it with more of this. Recommended for coniferous fanboys who don’t mind a close-wearing scent.

[ILikePeeps]

Amouage - Interlude 53

I sniffed from atomizer yesterday, but finally sprayed just a bit ago to apply for work. Only ~2 sprays as I wasn't sure how much... and yeah, 2 sprays is probably plenty or too much for work, lol.

So far it smells pretty much the same as regular Interlude Man, except maybe less ..hmm.. rough? It's not that it has that creamy/balmy aspect that Black Iris has, no, but rather just like a more congealed/less 'scratchy' Interlude Man maybe? I love all 3 versions.

Don't go into this one thinking you may love it if you already don't enjoy Interlude Man. They're very very similar; it's the same concentrate after all. However, I would have to compare to my regular Interlude Man (25%); but I don't see myself wearing both at the same time to compare. I can just try to keep mental note or something.

Bottle is awesome too!

Note: I haven't worn my regular Interlude Man since April, so it's been a while. And I don't have the most discerning nose, - so while I may detect differences, it can be hard to put into words, and my memory of the regular needs to be refreshed!