Top Notes: Bergamot, Rose
Middle Notes: Jasmin, Spices, Peach
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Woody notes
Okay I've taken the plunge. The citrus is pretty obvious and so is the rose (which is similar to the rose on Habit Rouge EDT but stronger). Pretty quickly the middle notes approach with a nice blending of all those notes. The peach gives the floral a slight gourmand reaction. I found it to be pretty quiet in the first couple of minutes but now it keeps drumming on in a good clip...
To date, this is the best summer-citrus fragrance I own. I have tried a lot of different lime colognes, mainly avoiding lemon because of it's "tartness", but I believe Bigelow has tamed the tart.
Price rating is a solid 10 due to how much i like the stuff.
I believe it to a be a high quality scent, it is a bigelow product after all.
It came in a manilla box, cradled inside by cardboard. This was the first fragrance I have bought that I was impressed by the box actually.
The...
Gendarme opens with an assortment of what I detect to be light florals (jasmine?) and grassy green notes (verbena?). I do not detect much in the way of citrusy notes. This progresses over 30 minutes to a light soapy smell and within an hour the fragrance is barely detectable. It's a nice fresh scent, but longevity and silage are both rather poor. I detect no leather whatsoever on dry down despite that listed as the base note.
NIO opens with a gorgeous citrus and bergamot. This may be one of the freshest parfums I have ever smelled. It stays fresh from opening to drydown. The base and drydown seem to be a light clean wood smell along with a lively vetiver. Longevity seems to be about 5-6 hours for me but this from a dab sampler. Silage is fairly close. I would like to see how this performs out of an atomizer.
This fragrance comes out very strong but the dry down is great. This is a very masculines scent that begins very aromatic & spicy then settles into it's warm amber cognac finish. I get a lot of compliments when I wear this. $65 for a 65ml bottle is a very good deal.
Santa Maria Novella Ginestra
Notes: Citrus, Ginestra flowers, Oakmoss
Very refreshing scent. It's got a nice citrus to it and mixed with sweet hay like florals and oakmoss it becomes this nice outdoorsy scent. This is perfect for anyone who likes Oakmoss but not Grey Flannel.
Ocean notes, bamboo stalk, java tea leaves, floral herbaceous notes, sweet water mint, yellow wild broom, acacia flowers, sand white lily, yellow rose, tiare, musk
Oh no it starts off with hairspray much like Brezza di Mare! :blink: Pretty quickly some different accords appear. A soft bamboo and minty florals. The hairspray is lighter in this and mimics sand/dirt so there's a little impression of flowers and dirt. This maybe too feminine to me but Lucky Scent describes it as unisex...
I Profumi di Firenze Brezza di Mare
sea salt, bergamot, lemons, limes and watermelon
Starts off with a harsh blast of hairspray before it starts calming down. There is rubbery sea salt accord that's slightly sweet. The slightly sweet part is supposed to be bergamot, lemons, limes and watermelon but it's swamped by "hairspray sea salt" to the point that it's hard to decipher. It's basically like headache inducing paper with hairspray and slightly sweet. Yuck! :cursing:
Myrtle, Cedarwood, Marine Algae
Very similar to Hyle but much stronger scent. There's a Marine accord but it's less fake smelling than most and the cedarwood definitely gives off a vibe of wood floating in water. The ingredients are good and the sillage and longevity are better the Hyle. The myrtle and cedarwood mix well together and the algae gives off an oceanic greenness. The price is exorbitant for either Hyle or Acqua di Sale. Those who love licorice will love these scents...
Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561 Hyle
Lemon, bergamot, myrtle, lavender, ginger, ozone, musk notes, juniper wood, patchouli
This is a strange acquatic. It has barely some ozone and much more noticable myrtle and lavender. It comes off a little like overchewed bubble gum. The juniper wood is more noticable and as it comes in it improves the scent, but ultimately the sillage is nonexistent and there's little longevity. For the price it's not worth it.
Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Cuba
Notes: Honey, leather, tobacco
The leather starts off a little like talcum powder (in a good way) and mixes well with the light tobacco and a good helping of honey. This is a very pleasing scent and for an EdC lasts pretty long and the sillage is very good. The price may be a bit steep but anyone who likes Creed Vintage Tabarome, Knize Ten, and Burberry London should give this one a shot. Overtime the scents meld together in a cohesive oneness...
Top notes: Grapefruit and cardamom;
middle notes: Tahitian vetiver, bourbon geranium and ylang-ylang;
base notes: Iris, patchouli and bourbon vetiver.
On the top the noticeable grapefruit appears and patchouli (anyone with Terre D'Hermes will understand) but a high quality vetiver accompanies it and together it's like a gourmand vetiver. With the floral cardamom it keeps it outdoorsy. It's evocative like outdoors near an ocean but it's a mile away. For an aquatic this is very...
Reviewing this cologne simply because the good news must be shared with men everywhere... regretting that men will buy it because I want to be the only one wearing this.....
J.Peterman 1903 Cologne!! **Star Wars theme song starts playing**
Really though, I am going to give an honest review of this stuff from the beginning and my initial impressions. The packaging is not what you'd expect in a cologne, you'd think the packaging held some kind of high-end luxurious watch. Being serious...
One Man Show is Jacques Bogart's 1980 release for men. I don't know how it gets classified because there really is nothing like it, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's a fougère. It employs all the right aromatics, with green spices, emaciated citrus, and bitter woods. Its heart and base capitalize on raw incense and tobacco.
What's important about OMS is that it has an extremely aggressive top, right in the same league as Kouros and Quorum - perhaps even more so. It's obvious from the...
Love in Black is an interesting fragrance. For a Creed, it has perfume level strength and longevity, comparable to the potency of other houses. I've read that this one is more unisex and wearable for men than its counterpart, Love in White, and I concur with that assessment; Love in Black is definitely unisex.
The top is an explosion of iris - my least favorite part of the scent by far. Creed seems to have some issues with its top notes for me, and Love in Black doesn't make me want to...
This means business but in a smooth powerful and dirty anamalistic way!
At first spray it says get outta my way if you can't handle me, like a bucking bronco, not in an 80's powerhouse way but in a way that says I'm understated, powerful and classy smooth. Wait for the dry down and after 5 minutes it's magic. I get vetiver, sandlewood and patchouli in a smoldering way that is brooding and sinister. It morphs into a scent that at times is indescribable and then pops its individual...
Guerlain Coriolan
Top Notes: Lemon Tree Leaves, Bergamot
Middle Notes: Juniper, Absinthe, Coriander, Nutmeg
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Patchouli, Everlasting Flower
Interesting surprise. This is similar to other fragrances but fits it's own niche. When first sprayed on the lemon and bergamot are harsh and chemical. When you put your wrist away and let it develop you get a leaves smell similar to Yatagan but more subtle and more citrusy. The juniper appears and warms it up. On the...
Burberry London
Top Notes: Bergamot, Lavender, Cinnamon leaves, Black pepper
Middle Notes: Mimosa Flower, Port wine, Leather notes
Base Notes: Guaiac wood, Oakmoss, Opoponax, Tobacco leaf
Off the top you get a little bergamot but much more mimosa fruit flower. Also leather and tobacco make their appearance quickly and last. This is not a bad department store scent and the longevity is very good. To me this is mainly a fall and especially winter scent. The tobacco leaves seem...
Ormonde Man, a most sophisticated fragrance, despite its unconventional ingredients. Complex and full of character, sultry and mystical, the fragrance exudes soft woody notes, but it is the infusion of Oudh oil, the world’s most prized essence since time immemorial, that sets it apart, elevating the scent to one of true distinction.
Top:Juniper berry, bergamot, pink pepper, cardamom and coriander seeds
Heart:Oudh and black hemlock
Base:Vetiver, cedar, sandalwood and musk
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Fruity aquatics don't do anything for me. I'm always trying to avoid them, but every time I step into a Marshalls or Walgreens, or a real brick and mortar perfume merchant, I inevitably find myself scanning shelf after shelf of blue boxes and bottles. Thank you Cool Water, for, as Off-Scenter put it on Basenotes, "spawning so many inane progeny." It makes my life easier; I can disregard an entire swath of any store's stock, and have an easier time narrowing in on...