A second round of blind testing...

[LiveJazz]

8

Green modern soapy-sweet fougere. A decent effort, but there's a synthy-sweet tone to this one that I find a bit cloying on the fougere structure. This note reminds me of perhaps a berry flavored bubblegum. Otherwise, it is a fairly typical aromatic, woody, green fougere. Modern and bright, even aside from the mystery sweet. I think the dominant notes might be lavender and some sort of evergreen...and I am not sure what might be responsible for the sweet tone. Possibly a sugary floral. There is a little earthy mulchiness to it, and it seems to get a little earthier heading into the base, though it reminds fairly soapy and streamlined in general.

Due to the berry-sweet note, I'm reminded of 2 things: Rogue's Mousse Illuminee, and Imanginary Authors Cape Heartache. However, both of those are much more based on a woody structure, with the Rogue ending up very mossy and earthy. This has a similar sweetness to the opening profile, but it's overlaid on more of a soapy modern fougere structure. It's interesting, but if we're going to experiment with synthy-sweet openings over a traditional type of base, I prefer Rogue's approach, with more internal contrast between the experimental sweetness and the intense mossy-woody base.

I think this is relatively modern, and probably niche or semi-niche. Edit: could also see something like this coming out of the 90s.

[Ifti]

8:
Formal opening lavender citrus and soap.
Geranium + something gives that lathery soap impression?
Damp rolling tobacco...
Initial thoughts were Quorum & R&G Open.
A flanker perhaps?
I noted that I noticed that , d-something-ol note that is present on DN. Sorta brightened it up, and added a smooth fullness to what feels like quite a dry comp.

[Monsieur Montana]

Number 8

Vintage Stuff not an EdC. There are a lot of very similar perfumes. I have the Impression that i have smelled it before, maybe even own it, but i havent tracked it down yet.
Classical opening with Citrus and Lavender. Later on soapy/floral evolution. In the drydown maybe Cedar, Patchouli, Moss, Musk.

All together not a bad perfume but very common (it reminds me a bunch of perfumes made in the seventies and eighties). It would make a fine office scent because the projection is very light and it's well mannered.

My note 5-6/10

[Bavard]

Sample 8 was a typical men's aftershave smell to me, or electric pre-shave. Even the texture of the liquid felt like it had skin conditioners. Within a context of feeling mass market and generic, sample 8 was pretty good. It had a bit of a classic gentleman vibe and a bit of a sporty, trendy vibe. I could imagine it being used for a deodorant stick and being marketed as sporty.

[cacio]

No 8: modern fougere-ish, quite synthetic smelling. Very fresh top, then gets sweeter. The drydown feels like some modern woody amber. As others were saying, this seems the most modern one in style.

[david]

Number 8

Vintage Stuff not an EdC. There are a lot of very similar perfumes. I have the Impression that i have smelled it before, maybe even own it, but i havent tracked it down yet.
Classical opening with Citrus and Lavender. Later on soapy/floral evolution. In the drydown maybe Cedar, Patchouli, Moss, Musk.

All together not a bad perfume but very common (it reminds me a bunch of perfumes made in the seventies and eighties). It would make a fine office scent because the projection is very light and it's well mannered.

My note 5-6/10

Monsieur Montana was spot on when he said it was vintage...

[LiveJazz]

Monsieur Montana was spot on when he said it was vintage...

Interesting. Top smelled very modern to me; maybe it was ahead of its time. The base heads more into classic/vintage fougere territory.

[david]

Sample no8 is John Player Special, (JPS).
The first release, (1984) Black packaging with gold letters JPS on the front.
I can't find notes listed for this fragrance.

To my nose it has the same old-school soapy vibe as Lanvin for Men and (to a lesser degree) Versace L'Homme.

Interestingly, there is a sticker on the base of the boxes reading "Guerlain".
Maybe JPS comissioned them to create/produce the fragrance (?)...or act as distrubutor (?).

To my nose it is a high quality fragrance and I can't relate to the synthetic note that many are mentioning.

[Descartes]

Sample no8 is John Player Special, (JPS).
The first release, (1984) Black packaging with gold letters JPS on the front.
I can't find notes listed for this fragrance.

To my nose, it has the same old-school soapy vibe as Lanvin for Men and (to a lesser degree) Versace L'Homme.

Interestingly, there is a sticker on the base of the boxes reading "Guerlain".
Maybe JPS commissioned them to create/produce the fragrance (?)...or act as a distributor (?).

To my nose, it is a high-quality fragrance and I can't relate to the synthetic note that many are mentioning.

Completely unexpected! I wish I could have sprayed a go-go and experience the scent with more detail. Nevertheless,the notes listed on the other brother's website are Aromatic Spices, Musk, Woody Notes, and patchouli. I did not get the vintage vibe. The aroma-chemicals and flavor industry keep in secret what they do, with who they do and the ingredients, you mentioned it might be a Guerlain creation and you might be right. I remember back in my school days smoking the odd time a JPS, great flavor and luxurious packing. Also, I don't know how many tobacco companies were commercially releasing perfumes besides Davidoff and Camel eau de toilette pour Homme but it could make a good theme collecting tobacco brands perfume.

[david]

Perfume sample no9...

[incense+heliotrope]

I would have expected more oakmoss in the base of No/8 for a vintage feel, but to my nose it was overwhelmingly patchouli.
Also would have expected more topnotes and florals/spices in the mid, but I just got mostly a bright lavender, with some violet leaf, and geranium.
Quite pleasant, no faffing around, straight to the point fougere.

ETA : no 9 was not in the UK sample box.

[cacio]

NO 9: some flowers at the beginning perhaps, but mostly incensy woody. On paper, there's also a mossy component.

As for no 8, I would have also thought perhaps a touch more recent. The synthetic modern aspect is not in the sense of the modern woody ambery stuff, but like a touch of things like Cool water or so. Perhaps these molecules were used in small amounts in the early 80s, before other perfumes started to overdose them.

[LiveJazz]

I’m going to fall a bit behind again: travel. Don’t wait for me, I will catch up Monday.

[Descartes]

David, No 9 was not included in my samplers

[Monsieur Montana]

I also haven’t received Nr. 9

[Ifti]

Wow - John Playaaaa
Can see(smell) the tobacco influence.

9. wasn't in UK pack.

Best wishes !

[grayspoole]

Sample 9

This did not hold my interest very much so I did not not take careful notes. As I recall, it opened with some citrus and then quickly turned into an ambroxan-y amber.

A generic masculine or niche?

[david]

Sample no9 only went out to american basenoters, so we just need reviews from Bavard and Jazz Live. So for the time being we can move on to no10 and I will reveal no9 after the reviews are completed.

Let's move on to no.10 ???

[Descartes]

Sampler No10-

Heliotrope, Bourbon vanilla, coconut, Tiare flower, lactonic, banana, geranium, star anise, cinnamon, patchouli, musk, sandalwood, some white florals, some resins perhaps like benzoin, moderately sweet and fresh. I found it very gourmand like bakery pastry-yeast. I thought the heliotrope was the most dominant note. I like it very much. Profumi del Forte?. It seems a modern creation to me.

[incense+heliotrope]

No.10 : well, that was quite an opening !
Topnotes : cherry, almond, boozy; some citrus to keep it sharp/bright
Mid : heliotrope, powder, iris, rose, cinnamon, spices
Base : cedar ? patchouli, cocoa-ish, vanilla
On skin there was leather in the drydown that seemed like the leather in Bel Ami (niiice !)

This seemed 'modern' - not 'deep vintage' at least.
Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon came to mind, though this is less wild.

[cacio]

No 10: incense and woods to me.

Which has me quite puzzled-as I don't get anything that the previous reviewers do. (unless they are talking about the extrait vial...). Of course it is well possible that I mixed up the samples, or wrote down my notes incorrectly.

cacio

[Monsieur Montana]

Number 10

It starts with a blast of bergamot and Patchouli.
Patchouli is the main ingredient and I detect it in all the phases.
In the evolution it becomes sweeter possibly due vanilla accords.
The dry down is very nice and I detect a combination of patchouli, sandalwood and amber.
Interesting composition with high quality ingredients.
Its probably something modern but remains faithful to old “recipes”.
Its not the best patchouli I have ever tested but it’s a very good one and I have enjoyed wearing it.

My note 7-8/10

[grayspoole]

On to Sample 10, which DID hold my interest.

On me, it felt like a heavy, langorous floral. Creamy makeup powder aldehydes, orris, violet, and heliotrope.
The base consisted of what seemed to be warm nitromusks and sweet vanillin. It had a long and satisfying drydown.


I think this is a feminine scent and could be a vintage one. It smelled almost identical to vintage Coty L’Aimant to me.
This was oily on the skin (parfum? bath essence?) and smelled completely different on paper.

[david]

No 10: incense and woods to me.

Which has me quite puzzled-as I don't get anything that the previous reviewers do. (unless they are talking about the extrait vial...). Of course it is well possible that I mixed up the samples, or wrote down my notes incorrectly.

cacio

Thanks cacio, I don't think anyone means the extrait vial....but no10, (in the 2 ml screw top vial).

Hoping to hear from Bavard and the others soon about no10.

[LiveJazz]

9

A whispy green floral start. Watery, watercolored, pastel green hue. Maybe some mint an something reedy and cool, and florals I couldn't identify, as the opening was gone in a flash. It lands on something that I think is supposed to be a bare-bones cool sandalwood, maybe? Whatever it is, it's a chilly sort of note, sappy, mineralic, somewhat futuristic and plasticy. It's sort of interesting, but so thin. Seems like something CdG could have done in the Odeur and/or Synthetic Series era.

10

Modern powdery woods and patchouli. Very warm, almost gourmand opening, maybe with a dusty cocoa note. That leaves the scene fairly quickly and then's more of a peppery-woodsy-soft accord, maybe with some florals in there to keep it bright. Nice cool/warm and dark/light effect...contrasts. Impressive perfumery.

A cool woody-green sort of patchouli comes in strong through the base and lends a nice earthy tone to what otherwise would be a standard sweet woody-oriental profile, vanilla and woods. I like this, and may know what it is. Or if it isn't what I think it is (a fairly recent masculine Guerlain), it's similar in many ways.

[Bavard]

Sample 9 - Similar to Narciso for Women / Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely, but maybe more rose-centered than those. A feminine white-musk floral.

Sample 10 - This reminded me a bit of Shalimar and a bit of a modern amber, where it's so focused on amber that they put it in the name. It has a bit of a cola note up close, and it's powdery from a distance.

It smells a little harsh up close for the first half hour, but nice after an hour.

[Ifti]

Ah bum, refreshed and deleted my note!

I got these notes on me wall for #10:

Old powerhouse or the style of - brutes that walk between genderring!
Leather
Musty
Resin
A floral leather
Tabu and Etro Gomma came to mind.
Powdery
Labdanum? Oily, chewy, green brown, dense

[david]

Thanks everyone for your reviews of no10.
Time to reveal...

It's called Patchouli no.4 (from Revarome).

I also have Rose no.9 from them and highly recommend it.
It's available online where prices vary from €10 - €25.

[david]

The unlabled, (small thin vial) with dark liquid (?) Your views please ???

[LiveJazz]

I think the reviews of no 9 are complete as well. What was that one?