Fragrance Reviews by Stereotomy

Rose and I don't go together, so I didn't like the opening of Noir Epices at first. However, the drydown softens and is very nice, and even though I prefer less harsh scents, I really like Noir Epices. Relatively speaking.

It's dusty-woody-medicinal spicy. When I put on Tam Dao, I envision walking up to a dusty attic with 10.000's of books stored there. While walking between the shelves, I see a beam of sunlight shining through the roof window, highlighting tiny specks of dust floating in the air.

That is Tam Dao.

Thanks to a very generous Basenoter, I obtained Floris Santal a couple of months ago.

Floris Santal is my Sandalwood of choice. I don't care if they used natural sandalwood or synthetic ones: I think natural ingrediënts are overrated and more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. I care about perception and interpretation, and I like both on Floris Santal.

I first wanted to buy Gucci Envy, but Floris Santal - while very similar in nature - is more smooth, more creamy. Less aggresive, more refined. It does smell like an old man, but it's an old man with class.

Nice one.

I'm not particulary impressed by the house of Creed. I regard them as yet another brand who do often produce stronger fragrances and/or with more expensive ambergris in the drydown, in case of the fresher scents. But not as a supernatural house with only success stories. They have their hits and misses.

Himalaya is one of these hits. What it lacks is a personality. It's fresh fougère and very wearable, and the signature Creed-ambergris in the drydown is very pleasant. But it simply doesn't convey any emotion.

Oh, and the people who are smelling snow and mountain tops must have read the packaging and have a slight cognitive dissonance with the cologne's name. No one would have even mentioned these things if the name of this fragrance was 'Creed XS'.

As far as I am concerned, Himalaya is the all-round scent by Creed, and not Green Irish Tweed.

Ouch, I'm not sure I like this one. It smells very, very generic. It smells like Cool Water no. 109240 Summer Flash Freeze You edition. Jacques Cavallier probably did this scent in his lunch break. I feel no relation whatsoever with the original Bulgari Aqua, which you may like or not, but at least it was very original with its salty, seaweed feeling.

There's supposed to be some poseidonia in Aqua Marine as well, but I can't find it. It's also not briney, like the original Aqua. All I smell is a lot of calone. It's sweet, floral and a little woody in the drydown. A very generic aquatic.

Sillage and longetivity are incredible though. I sprayed some on my gym clothing and 3 workouts later I still smell it. Time for washing, I suppose.

I wish I could give this one a thumbs up, because I do find it very original, given the fact that it also had to be related to the standard Bulgari pour Homme that preceded the Soir-version more than a decade ago. However, if I'm very honest, I can't give it more than a neutral rating.

When you spray this on, you really smell the papyrus note, lingering on a base of musk and some tea, far away. Papyrus is a light wood, and it smells luxurious. The sillage and longetivity however, are worlds apart. Longetivity is excellent. I can still smell this frag on my clothes the next day. Sillage however is another story, and this is a scent that stays very close to the skin after 5 minutes. I can imagine wearing this scent to the theatre or even on a romantic dinner out, wearing a suit or smart casual style.

Whether you like this scent or not will depend on if you like the dominant papyrus note. If you end up being neutral about it, like me, you will be neutral about this scent.

I like edible smells and gourmands in general, and L'Instant de Guerlain is one of my faves.

Once I sampled Tom Ford for Men and liked it. In a search for a cheaper alternative, I stumbled upon L'Instant. Funny enough, when I later purchased Tom Ford for Men as well, I found out that it was actually L'Instant that had the smell of Tom Ford for Men in my memories! And instead, Tom Ford smelled too fresh and calon-ey.

I don't like L'Instant's topnotes. I think the anise and bitter cacao beans are a bit weird and don't particulary smell nice. But it's very original, compared to all the citrus openings of other scents. The middle and basenotes are what I love about L'Instant. A very refined, warm, distinguished scent, suitable for a dinner, a date, a party, the theatre and well, even the office, actually.

Nice one.

I didn't 'get' this fragrance when I tested it in the store. I thought it was a simple, harsh and linear citrus scent.

However, I bought a small tester and I changed my mind completely. This fragrance is stunning. It opens with a crashing burnt sugar, caramelized smell not very unlike A*Men.

However, quickly after that, it settles into a very classy, self-confident orange/citrus-note, embedded in an aura of cedarwood. And this smell pretty much stays throughout the heart of the scent.

The basenotes remind me of a civilized Eau Sauvage from Dior. Very classy.

I like this scent.

I love this scent to bits. Not because it's earth-shattering different or bold, but because it makes me feel like I'm worth a million bucks when I'm wearing it.

It's a fresh citrus scent with layers of tea and musk. That's it. Very simple, but very effective and well executed. I agree sillage can be improved, and that didn't happen in the Extrême version that turned sour (grapefruit) on me.

I do however think that this scent is more for work than play.

After many glowing reviews of B*Men, claiming it to be a better, less extreme, less sweet version of A*Men, I had high hopes for this fragrance.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when I actually sampled B*Men. There's a lot of spice and herbs going on here, plus a note that makes me a bit nauseous, which is of course a no-no for a fragrance. Apart from some sweetness and being categorizable in the 'gourmand' corner, I also don't know how B*Men would be related to A*Men.

I like A*Men, I'll pass on B*Men.

I just tried a tester of 212 Men, and the first thing I thought of was: grass! Axe Apollo! So I surfed here and see in the left frame that both 212 Men as well as Axe Apollo are created by Ann Gottlieb.

So yeah, Axe Apollo is the poor man's 212 Men. :)