Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Maxims Pour homme
Maxims Pour homme: have you ever heard an SA say "this scent has a BURST of freshness?"… All the time eh...but never convinced with what you sniffed?? Enter, Maxims Ph.
Powdery sweet accords of intense green notes with an equally intense accord of "refreshing" white florals, which by the way is not really able to shake that color green out of my head...all with a cool breeze of sandalwood. The powderiness, needless to say, stays thruout the entire progression of this scent. One aspect, which really grabbed my attention was this persistent accord of steel to this whole equation..it was Like smellin this accord thru a sterilized, perforated space age steel tube... this feel gives this scent a somewhat unique, fresh in a very shiny, sophisticated kinda way.
The base notes is lush, mossy, powdery with hints of patchouli but mostly mossy, woody with hints of leather. Did I say it stays fresh throughout? They don’t make scents like this one anymore.
Balenciaga Pour Homme
Balenciaga - Ho Hang Club
This one is for people who admire scents like Cartier Santos, Trussardi Uomo & Van Cleef & Arpels ph. not to be missed at any cost. 80's at its best!!
extremely hard to find*
Jaques Bogart Furyo
Jaques Bogart Furyo: Yes, it;s the very same bogart..we identify this company by a release called One Man Show. With Furyo, Bogart created a landmark of sorts..so they did with One Man Show. but unfortunately, what we get today is a reformulated juice with just thelabel of One man show, it;s still good, but not the way the orignal used to smell. One needs to experience the kind of quality Bogart put in early on. Furyo is one eg. on that. it a long discontinued release by Bogart and almost "impossible" to find. it shows up on ebay sometimes and it gets snatched for some $500+. This has to do with the rarity aspect and also, the scent that Furyo is. Furyo contains very high concentration of Fig Tree Leaf Oil and Juniper berry oil making it a scent with high concentration of natural elements. It's quite clearly, the niche scent of 80's. If i have to make a reference, then Costes by Hotel Costes was clearly inspired by Furyo. Maybe coz of its use of Laurel, but that where the similarity stops... Furyo opens with a very "sharp", "arid" accord of laurel, bayleaf and note like rose sherbet...think costes like opening notes, only this one is sharp in approach and has that red feel to it...after an hour or so, this turns up the woody accords with a strong hand of civet. Civet as in, Kouros. Only thing, it doesnt smell anything like kouros apart from the civet reference...Civet in it gives this one the trademark powdery touch. Scent stays sweet, powdery, animalic &pretty linear from here on settling into soft notes of musk (primarily)
Notes listed behind the bottle are: Fig tree leaf absolute, juniper berry oil, Laurel, Vetyver, Tabac, Patchouly, castoreum, Amber and musk. Isn’t it surprising to see essential oils of Fig Tree Leaf and Juniper Berry in its composition?
This is for someone who admires scents like costes(for red spices, laurel and bay leaf), Kouros(for civet), although, this smells radically different as a scent. extremely hard to find scent*
Roberto Capucci - R de Capucci
Roberto Capucci’s R de Capucci: R de Capucci was probably the coolest dude back then. It has this powdery, fresh out of the barbershop with a nice after shave cologne kinda feel to it. It undoubtedly comes across as a green scent…not gritty, but intense, more like holding a bunch of freshly sprouted leaves against nose...doing so, the leaves would give off a slightly bitter, almost citrusy feel…my point is, the citrus doesn’t take ones attention away from the lovely green accord, it's anything but restrained and classy and it wants to make an impression as an well mannered, remarkably fresh and green scent without smelling dated or lemony. Surprisingly, after 15 minutes of application, it gets a bit powdery and the green notes gets a bit more intense, here it reminds me of the structure of the Chanel classic, Pour Monsieur. If anything, this could've easily become Pour Monsieur Concentrate...would have been very apt. Notes of lemon gleams now with a glow to it, giving this gem a breath of freshness and zest and making it more versatile. Floral accords adds to the charm and gives it the signature accord of an era it represented…basenote are pretty soft, mildy powdery, sweet, mossy with lots of fresh vetiver, vanilla like sweetness (and powderiness) with trademark hint of patchouli..
This is for someone who admires Chanel Pour Monsieur type scents
Roberto Capucci - Punjab
Lancome Sagamore (1985, Vintage edition)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Gucci Nobile
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Tom Ford Private Blends
So, i finally got to sample four offerings from the Tom Ford Private blends today. Each scent had the quality and theme to go with. However, some scents strongly reminded me of other scents, so in that perspective, i didnt smell something entirely new, but then, i found the quality of TF offerings excellent. Tom Ford Private blends sells for around $180 for a 50 ml and $500 for the 250 ml(pictured below are the 250 ml jugs)
Tuscan Leather: if there is any scent..and i mean any scent, which can compete with Knize 10, it's Tom Fords Tuscan Leather. straight out of spritzer, it has leather written all over it. With Knize ten, i always had this image of spanking new leather product, polished, toned and finished to perfection, at the same time, i used to get this vibe which is very green. With Tuscan Leather, i dont get any green notes. if i had to set a color to represent tuscan leather, it has to be deep brown. i get the smell of a newly tanned leather sheet. it's supple and soft, ready to be moulded into a wallet or a jacket... i tried hard to find other accords in this scent...but, all i could smell was leather, leather and "only" leather. made me wonder, is this one note frgrance..? coz if it is, then this has to be one of the best scents around which is linear. But, when i say linear, it doesnt mean it doesnt have any other tricks in it's bag. it probably has to do with the quality if ingredients that went into it... This one has a mesmerising sillage..and i mean "mesmerising". close to skin, one could smell the finest leather accord you could possibly sniff and away from skin, this scent swirls up in the air exuding different shades of brown and yes, a comforting warm halo of leather. by mids to base..a shiny tanner..almost tar like note appears and lingers on till the end. amazin scent to be worn in winters and or as one may please. a definite must have for anyone who is looking for a good quality, genuine leather based scent.
Noir de Noir: by now, everyone knows Noir de noir is a story abour Rose, saffron and Oudh...the recipe atypical of Montale offerings. i approached this scent with the same expectation, only to find it doesnt have the oudh bite of montale at all. i mean, there is oudh, but not the way Montale does it. I could draw parallels to Amouage's Lyric in terms of the beatiful accord of rose used in this. it also reminds me of L'Artisan's seminal offering Voleur du Roses. in other words, this one has a very enchanting take on rose. it's extremely pleasant yet has that dark bite of Oudh in it. There is a eerie chilly nature to this scent which makes one wonder whether this has frankincense in it's composition. what one gets in the end is a rose prominent scent sufficiently backed up by saffron and spices with the breath of Oudh and incense. im inclined to say Amoauges offering Lyric is far more suprior to this in many aspects and so are many of the Montale's offerings. yet, this is for someone, who isnt necessarily looking for a oudh promninent scent like montale and is ok to overlook the divine accord of rose in Lyric and settle for noir de noir only because this ones cheaper than the amouage. bottomline, it's not a must have, maybe a decant..im more of the Montale types and i love Voleur du roses as well...i wish i cud add Amouage Lyric to this list, but it is simply out of my budget. btw, this one stays pretty close to skin..disappears after couple of hours.
pictured above: 2 ml Samples coffret of the entire Tom Ford offering (2ml each). Rate: $180.
Moss Breches: whew..what a scent. it reminded me of (wet version) of Thundra in the opening notes followed by No.88 kinda accords (of course, minus the rose)...Today i happened to dab a lot more of Moss Breches and what struck me the most is the way patchouli is done here. very wet, sloggy patch i must add. not as dry as in thundra or Ingrant patchouli. this has a very wet forest floor kind of accord. it's clearly visible upon application, almost watery quality, within 5-7 minutes it slowly takes the backstage for other accords to follow in... i have stated elsewhere that i get this vibhuti accord in No. 88, which is white ash, it is very camphory sweet and dry in smell..and exudes a white incense like accord. i could also distantly relate it to an intense version of Chanels masterpiece, Coromandel(could be the patch playing tricks with me). it's pretty spicy in it's opening...but, where SL's Ambre Sultan exudes a color which is golden.. Moss Breches exudes the color white for me. so, it's spicy, but not in the spicy amber type scent we know of. maybe there is Angelica in there that gives it this "white" feel... that said, i dont get that image of Moss from it until i reach the mids to base section. whne someone mentons Moss, the firsts scent that springs to mind is Leonard Ph...however, the mossy nature of this scent is clearly expressed and it's not the smell of wet moss on stone after rain..it's more like dry, golden hued moss over stones...lovely! Patchouli indeed holds this scent and forms the core. but theres a lot of other things going on which doesnt make it a patch exclusive scent. this is a must try for anyone who appreciates C&S's No.88, Creed Angelique Incens & Chanel's Coromandel, and also Leonard ph to an extent (i dont mean to imply all these scents smell similar to each other, it;s just a reference, that im sure we all can relate to).Along with Tuscan Leather, this one has really enchanted me.
Amber Absolute: well, for those who say Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan doesnt have amber..should smell this one for reference. in it's openign accords it reminds one of mid notes of Ambre sultan minus the extreme spicy notes. within 10 minutes it morphs into another scent we adore so much, which is Parfums d'Empire's Ambre Russe. ofcourse minus the leather and herbal accords....so, what that leaves us with is a smoldering accord of glowing amber. it's so powerful, it has the capacity to turn someone warm by merely smelling it. no wonder it's called amber "absolute". this is a straight ahead, no-nonsense, smoldering amber based scent. a definite must have for someone who admires Ambre Sultan and Ambre Russe. isit worth ahaving all these three scents in one wardrobe...? depends. i do have amber sultan..so, i dont need this one. just for our info, this has more in common with Ambre Sultan than with Ambre Russe
Friday, March 27, 2009
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz - Sandalo Inspiritu
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Ungaro I & II
This scent opens with a very warm note of lavender melting into a wax like note of rose, smoldering on patchouli oil and woody notes. By mid notes, this wax like accord gets more blunt and sorta envelopes the wearer. The interplay of woody and floral notes gets more airy on a base of earthy notes with each passing minute, all this while still retaining the core essense of the opening accord, which is it's damp earth like warmth and "polished with wax" smokiness of lavender, rose and woods. it's sheer in nature, never failing to amaze. amber holds the base with lovely notes of sandalwood well rounded off with soft notes of tonka bean..which smells like vanilla pods...it's in a way a prequel to III, or may be III was inspired by I. There is a reason why this is hailed as a classic and it's quite justified. comparing it's quality (of ingredients and composition) with Patou is only obvious.
Patou Ph & Prive, Havana, Havana Reserva, Ungaro I, II & III(yet to try the original formulation of III), Morabito OR black+more... - get these while it is still available...the quality of these scents has had me gasping for more...im sure it'll find more suitable admirers...
Ungaro II: Opens with a powdery blast of citrus with hints of rose. 10 minutes into this scent and boy! this one turns into a Stuffy, fur like, Animalic scent! smells of cat fur up close. this is a "CIVET" prominent scent with loads of lavender and musk thrown in. by mids-basenotes, this scent gets even more sexier with the addition of absolutely divine notes of sandalwood. to me, this is essentionally a civet based scent with heart of lavender on a base of musk and lovely notes of sandalwood. in short, Civet, Lavender, Rose and Sandalwood are the true stars of this gem smells very classy and complex all the way from top to bottom.. i'd almost eat myself up when wearing this one. TOP Notch scent!! i'm rushing in for a back up bottle as i'd never want to be without this one. a bold release from the house of Ungaro.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Balmain Ambre Gris
Friday, January 16, 2009
Miller Et Bertaux, Mazzolari, Creed, Serge Lutens, the different company
Mazzolari Lui: wow! this ones a cracking slap for someone looking for animalic scents with leather/patchouli/cedar(pencil shavings) combination. Lui smells like a dusty fur coat scented with aged patchouli, notes of cedar (pencil shavings) and was probably left near a campfire. extremely classy and would really shine thru during winters. the smell is something that could be distantly related to Gucci Ph(for reference...ohh but this is wayyyy mor than that). The treatment of patchouli is quite tempered, never taking the front stage so is the way the smoked cedar has been treated. the basenotes exude earthy notes of vetiver and sandalwood with hints of patch. it's smoky, dusty(in a very attic kind of way), animalic and mysterious to say the least.
The Different Company Un Parfum des Sens et Bois: my fourth TDC, and im thinkin..wow, this house is indeed doing something very differently DSeB lands on skin with very controlled(never too loud), smooth and rich notes of florals (violets) and bergamote with ginger lurking not very far behind, the key to this scent is the way violets have been treated (think of it as a refined, super light version of Boss Selections for reference). There is indeed a watery quality to it, which makes you think wheather it's getting lighter and would disappear in 15 minutes, but, thats when this scent takes shapes and adds a soft cotton like aura of woody notes embracing the floral beauty of violets. by mid notes, pepper/ginger combo adds to the bite of the scent and gives it a dark shade of what was until now very tranparent, almost aquatic note. this accord (pepper and ginger) is quite familiar and is used in various other scents like for eg. Rochas Aquaman. the "difference" is the treatment in this one. the way it balances between clear, almost tranparent notes of woods and violets and on the other hand the spicy nature of pepper and ginger...the mids are truly enjoyable as this accords shifts to a more airy accord...as if what we sniffed until now was dream, lovely notes on (light, mild)incense creeps in and almost gives every note a airy accord. The scent changes it approach in the most seemingly smooth fashion. lovely scent to the last note. the quality is there and the scent, beautiful serene..
Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge: hey now, it's not as bad as the reviews make it sound i was totally prepared for a ultra sweet concoction, but it surprised me in that department at first. it's no way as sweet as say cedre (i enjoy my cedre btw). it's very resinous to say the least, the openin accords are muted , fruity, smoky with a vegetal accord. the honey/vanilla combo kick it up by mids with the fruity gum accord still present. i think it's this fruit gum accord which didnt stick with many. patchouli though listed is not a prominent note..if anything, just a whisper. it's definitely ambery sweet with hints honey and moss towards the base with the "frutiy accord" still whispering on...
its no ambre sultan, gris clair, daim blond or cedre, yet, it's a "fun" fragrance. and my first (fun frag) with serge lutens i must say. there is nothing serious about it. it's a beautiful concoction by every means but, i would not recommend this as one of the top 5 scents from this line to anyone.. wear it over to a barbeque, or summer outings..im sure it'll fun.
Creed Original Vetiver: opens with a controlled and refined freshness. it didnt remind me of Mugler cologne for a second but, it did remind me of Adolfo Dominiguez Vetiver Hombre. only this one being much smoother and refined. where one would hesitate to over apply Vetiver Hombre in the fear of gasping, this one serves you just right.
OV has tremendous longevity on my skin, 8-10 hours plus. The midnotes are quite controlled and has that trademark soapy note which makes Mugler cologne the scent it is, however, i would strongly prefer this over mugler for all the extra creed has packed in. something about this one is (dare is say) natural. The surprise element for me was it's drydown. the basenotes evokes smell of dry vetiver leaves (crumbling), not like the soapy fresh one i encounterd from opening to mids. it's quite intense in the base too and adds to the soapy nature of vetiver in a very unique (dry) way. this scent has a very distinct phase , right from the opening notes to mid to the base. thumbs up! summer, here i come!!!
Creed Baie de Genievere: intense note of juniper berry greets the wearer with sheer intensity. intial thoughts would be..hmm, dated? well, subsequent wearing shrugs of any such thoughts and you simply get addicted to this one. dark, broodingly intense notes of berry seemingly flows in to delicate and lovely accord of cinnamon leaves which just opens up the midnotes with hints of spices. the accord is definitely dated and has that trademark barbershop colognes smell to it, only this ones mighty potent with raw amber embracing the accords with hint of musk and loads of vetiver. lovely scent which may not impress rightaway, but will slowly work into your olfactory appetite. Bon apetite! (perfect for winters and spring)