Fragrance Reviews by rodent

Fantastically-blended, very subtle frag with slight oriental and ozonic leanings but never ends up firmly in any one camp. Fresh enough to be a warm-weather scent, and spicy enough to be a cold-weather scent -- yet adroitly avoids being a total spice bomb. As for the purported tea note -- I find it difficult to determine whether what we're smelling is truly tea, or a combination of spices that evokes tea through clever olfactory manipulation. Despite going fairly heavy on the cinammon -- an ingredient that is quite difficult to weave in without going overboard -- it never completely becomes an oriental because whatever vanilla that there is just whispers at you, and there's an interesting saltiness (probably caused by the pimento) to the mix that offsets the sweetness nicely. In fact, the entire experience is a chorus of whispers, and that's what makes it so different.

I don't get how people can dismiss this as just another mainstream frag - I can't think of anything that smells quite like this. And for the record, it is TOTALLY different from GPH 1 -- which is an admirable scent in its own right, but a bit of a one-trick pencil-shavings pony and in no way comparable to its little brother.

Having said all this, the opening is a tad bright, dry and strident -- much like Sander Man, which has a different makeup but a similar dry brightness, this juice can sizzle your nose-hairs and fry some nerve cells if you inhale too deeply. The upside is that sillage is outrageous, if that's what you are after.

BTW, you know what would make this one absolutely perfect -- a tiny dollop of meow-mix (civet). Rrrrrrrr.

What HDS1963 said. CPH is a depressingly two-dimensional frag -- it's all about lavender and vanilla. Unlike every other lavender frag I've tried, though, this isn't a blended lavender -- it's a "jus de lavande" concentrate that comes out of the bottle with a roar, completely and unapologetically unadulterated. The lavender smells startlingly natural - if you've ever broken lavender buds fresh off the bush, this is exactly what it smells like. Sadly, this natural purity is also its downfall -- it doesn't feel like a polished EDT, like Jicky, but some kind of simplistic brew that your great-great-grandma would store in a little clear unlabelled bottle with a stopper in her Victorian boudoir. The nauseatingly heavy vanilla soon takes over, leaving you with a crude, somewhat confused juice that can't decide if it wants to be a bracing, heavy floral or a baking additive. Wear this if you're a little old lady living in a time capsule in the Provence, or spray on your clothes (again, only if you're female) -- but hard to see any man in the 21st century really wearing this. Bizarre that this is still in production, but can't argue with the facts.

This is one ingredient list that actually looks accurate; the opening notes are almost all citrus, pear and basil. The combination of the latter two is astonishingly inventive -- it's very slightly sweet without being sweet in a gourmand sense, and pungent without being spicy in the conventional sense -- and really works. The scent goes through a fairly synthetic-smelling fresh phase before it winds down into its somewhat musky drydown -- which, incidentally, isn't terribly complex or exciting. But having said all this -- Higher really works. It comes across as a modern, fresh scent that fits squarely into the aquatic / fresh paradigm of the late 90s -- yet manages to smell quite different from anything else out there due to the pear and basil combo. Sillage is really excellent as it's quite a sharp juice. Great one for a 35 and under crowd -- a bit frisky for everyone else, but wearable.

More annoying artificial-smelling crispness overloaded with sharp musk from Alberto Morillas (see Oxygene from the same house and creator.) Terribly ho-hum and dull, with a mishmash of notes that have been processed into oblivion into a vaguely pleasant, inoffensive, but ultimately dull mixture. Buy it if you want a functional, crisp, musky scent, but not if you want to inspire or be inspired. I really struggle to find a reason to wear this when there are so many other pleasant, office-ready scents with a bit more individuality and inventiveness (e.g., Paul Smith Story, Bulgari PH.)

Don't be fooled by the name -- this isn't a particularly aquatic or clean scent. Instead, as several other reviewers have pointed out, it is quite green and synthetically spicy. And like far too many of Mr. Morillas' creations, it contains a sharp, annoying musk attack that whacks you over the head right from the initial blast and refuses to let go. Not only is this unpleasant, but it also screams cheap and comes across as something from a decade (at least) ago. You could do worse -- but when one has so many options, why settle for this?

Ungaro I is undoubtedly a fine fragrance, but I have no difficulty seeing why it failed; it is simply too severe and foreboding a scent to have enjoyed anything remotely resembling commercial success. The wormwood's dark, dry and bitter severity recalls Caron's Yatagan -- hardly another juice for the masses -- while the potent combination of patchouli and sandlewood -- perhaps the friendlier part of the juice -- recalls Boss No. 1 (probably to a greater degree than most would admit). Personally, I find this simply too bone-dry and uncompromisingly dark a fragrance to be really enjoyable -- give me the rounded, velvety and civety lavender exuberance of Ungaro II any day. Further, it was completely out of time when it was launched -- and arguably would have been out of time even in the 80s. Only Tom Ford in a really bad mood might have come up with this and found a way to make it work. Nonetheless -- respect.

This is Boss's only really great scent, in my view. There was a time in the late 80s when this was _the_ defining scent in airport duty-free stores -- it is extremely powerful, and there is absolutely no mistaking it for anything else. Yes, it smells ever so slightly urinous, but I put that down to the warm honey note more than anything else; as lagloriacubana so aptly points out, it's the sandlewood and patchouli that really dominates, and it's the latter that makes this so potently "masculine". But unlike something like, say, Givenchy Gentleman, where the patchouli just grabs you by the balls and breathes down your back, here it is wonderfully woven into a cooling, slightly incensy, and ultimately quite unique texture. This won't win any prizes for subtlety, but it has bags of personality, is utterly unmistakeable for anything else, and actually smells really good if you're willing to keep an open mind (i.e., do a brain-wipe of 1) the aquatic olfactory conditioning we've all received over the past decade and 2) the notion that all Boss product sucks). Others must think so as well since it's been continuously in production since its launch.

For what it's worth, I actually think of this as being more 70s than 80s in spirit.

Smells startlingly like a lighter, slightly fresher version of Body Kouros -- and nothing like the regular Reaction. In itself a pleasant scent, but why not buy the original, which is already available at deeply discounted prices, and just spray a bit less?

GPH Blue Label is essentially a less charismatic, more mainstream and more synthetic-smelling take on Issey's marvellous Eau Bleue Fraiche, with mildly annoying fruity notes lurking in the background. But as always, the devil's in the details, and the startling crystalline clarity and quality of the Issey juice's notes that make it so distinctive is missing here, making this essentially another fairly uninspired modern aquatic. To be enthusiastically avoided if you own the Issey, and to be approached with caution if you own any decent aquatic and aren't a rabid fan of the genre.

Very strong and sharp 80s powerhouse. The opening is interesting and shares a certain Kouros vibe, as well as a sulphurous sharpness that seems to plague many other American budget juices -- it's a note I can easily recognize, but I don't know what it is. Because -- like Kouros -- the opening is so rich, it's fairly timeless. Unfortunately, the drydown is very 80s -- the stale cigarettes smell almost evokes images of a cheap, seedy bar with a stripper past her prime pulling down her red thong in front of me and a bunch of 40-something grizzly dudes in smelly leather jackets -- and is pretty much attributable to the combination of very powerful oakmoss and tobacco notes. The oakmoss alone ends up dating the juice. I like it, apart from the opening sharp "burnt" note, but it's too dated for regular wear. Nice for the occasional rainy day.

A fascinating, multi-faceted masterwork, Boucheron PH is a puzzling beast, and watching the reactions it elicits and trying to deconstruct them is fascinating. Is it really a "formal" scent for "over-40" people? Why?

Like many great scents, BPH is timeless. Its concentrated citrus blast is heavily reminiscent of other 60s and 70s citrus screamers like Monsieur Balmain and YSL Pour Home -- both in its philosophy and its execution, although the Boucheron's soapy verbana-laced tones distinguish it from its citrusy brethren. Its aromatic and woody progression is simply wonderful - a cool, velvety journey that just smells great. And it is VERY powerful. The EDP that I own requires only a couple of split-second sprays to make a difference -- and one that lasts the whole day. In spirit (and uncompromising quality level), BPH is almost more Chanel than recent Chanel scents.

I strongly suspect that it is BPH's classic construction, and its elegant, stodgy and almost architectural packaging, that cause most people to think of this as an older person's scent for formal occasions. But you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you pass this one by for those reasons. That said -- if you do like relentlessly modern fruity and gourmandy scents, move along, as this one is the antithesis of that category.

Another brilliant outing by Antoine Maisondieu for Burberry. Crisp, classic and timeless, yet with enough of an edge (the sweets and spices) to make it different. Like its twin brother London, doesn't really smell like anything else. Definitely warmer and sweeter than London though -- and while London sings to you in the velvety tones of a cello, Brit announces itself with the bright, upper-register voice of a violin. I could wear both forever. Absolutely love the bottle, too.

Somewhat faceless, fresh fruity-tobacco-y thing. I don't see any similarities to D&G PH other than the tobacco note lurking in the background. This one is far less citrusy, much sweeter, and there are many more notes fighting for attention.The bargain-basement prices for which this goes probably also reflects the budget that poor Antoine Maisondieu was likely given to compose this disappointing outing. If you're already a frag collector, you will smell the ghosts of many scents past in this -- yet no clear identity of its own. Pass.

Wow! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. London is technically an oriental flirting with gourmand, but unlike most orientals, it can work in just about any kind of weather -- it's a "cool" oriental rather than a warm one, as it avoids the cinammon and vanilla overdose that renders most orientals cold-weather-scents only. I can't think of a single other thing that smells quite like this -- it's crisp, cool, woody, and rich all at once, and both modern and timeless. This one will not date with the passage of time. Simply brilliant and one of my top 10. Antoine Maisondieu -- I salute you.

This is a really nice modern EDT that avoids the synthetic, metallic head-hurting freshness of the last decade. Sadly, it isn't terribly original -- its bergamot-heavy crispness is heavily reminiscent of Aqua di Gio, which came out a decade earlier. Its slightly heavier on the floral and fruity elements though -- ever so slightly. The bottom line, though, is that in spite of the dreaded PH brand and an equally dreadful sprayer (that requires you to practically whack it with a hammer -- whereupon it sprays the juice all over like a garden hose), this smells really, really good. There's simply no arguing with that.

this is a really nice EDT that I suspect gets unfairly bashed just because it's an Armani (i.e., negative halo effect of the Aqua di Gio syndrome). First, the various comments about its similarities to B*Men are quite true - this is a cousin of B*Men. But like (almost) every instance when people say "if you have one don't bother owning the other", there are enough dissimilarities that this doesn't hold true. First off, I find Attitude to be so marvellously blended that unlike B*Men, this is not very obviously a gourmand. There is a hint of coffee, a bit of citrus, and a nice lavender (that B*Men doesn't have) that gives this a fantastically velvety, well-rounded, and sophisticated presence, while B*Men hits you like a hot pumpkin pie with an overdose of molasses and spice. This definitely lasts less long than B*Men, but in my view it's a far more sophisticated and balanced fragrance.

this understated but unforgettable creation from Paul Smith is a winner. it's a bit of a bitter bergamot bomb in the beginning -- i almost imagine i smell like an earl grey teabag -- but it gets progressively softer and even vaguely sweet as it progresses. it's fresh, but quite different from the metallic citrus snoozers that mostly make up this category. like the clothes of its designer, it occupies the space where good taste meets edgy. while it is not a sillage monster, staying power is very good - people could smell it on me six or so hours after application. original, yet discreet -- as well as modern and versatile, eminently suitable both for the office and evenings out. works well in both warm and cold weather. highly recommended!

The most interesting thing about Happy is its branding -- it's remarkable how many people have been convinced into actually feeling happy simply from spraying on what is essentially a remarkably simple sweet citrus juice. Maybe its the fundamentally unchallenging nature of Happy that makes people happy? Or is it the fact that it basically smells like frothy orange-flavored soda? Whatever - at a minimum, Happy is a milestone in perfume branding! The unfortunate thing about the juice itself is that its user-friendly, sweet citrusiness puts it dangerously close to being a cheap drugstore perfume worn by excited teenage girls. I am flabbergasted that someone like Chandler Burr ranks this as one of his favorites.

a truly extraordinary gourmand perfume - and this is coming from someone who generally does not like gourmands. the opening is citrusy (strongly so for a gourmand), floral, tropically fruity and quite sharp -- and as it dries down it gets progressively more gourdmandy and vanillac. the fragrance is extraordinarily complex, yet never overloaded or confused since it is so beautifully blended, and so it isn't as brash as, say, A*Men or Pi. it is subtle, yet makes a strong statement due to its uniqueness, fundamentally gourmand character, and almost feminine presence. the EDT lasts very long and sillage is outrageous. i only wish i had more occasions to wear this -- it is so rich and heady a concoction that wearing it to, say, the office would just be out of place -- and making it an everyday perfume would trivialize it and eventually numb your nostrils to its special power and grace. i wonder who was the perfumer? truly a virtuoso performance. wow.

ah, the mythical beast - kouros the korruptor.

this is a superb and unique fragrance that has taken a lot more flak than it deserves.

yes, it is strong.
yes, it is unique. and like all of the "80s powerhouse" scents it has a distinct identity. it is utterly different from other 80s powerhouse scents like Boss, Antaeus, Quorum, Obsession, etc.
yes, it has a distinct "animalic" and somewhat erotic character. this is entirely to the strong dose of civet - aka cat gonad extract (although produced synthetically these days)
and yes, in spite of this it does actually smell fresh in a very unique way all its own. no aquatic or ozonic cliches here.
and yes... i am afraid there are distinct similarities to the dreaded urinal cake smell. but you really need to get to a particular stage in the drydown to get this smell. the initial blast is strong, spicy and fresh; it is once this subsides and the civet note comes to the fore that the ammoniacal / fecal note gives it a touch of the "UC smell". for those of you who continue to resist this theory, sniff the sprayer of your Kouros bottle. the nozzle will have accumulated a lot of the oils resident in the solution - including the civet, which lingers long after the other ingredients have faded. now tell me this doesn't have an element of the UC smell. but it is not the _same_ as the UC smell.

however:
no, it does not smell like _piss_ and certainly not like semen(guilt by association? perhaps someone will suggest next that it smells like pubic hair?) but it does have a warm, sensual, vaguely fecal / body odor quality that is more erotic than disgusting.
no, it is not an "old man" scent. i am 36 and wear it fairly often without a twinge of self-consciousness. it has aged far better than many of its contemporaries. and as with so many scents that people love to pigeonhole -- if you wear anything with confidence and bend it to your persona, it will take on YOUR character rather than the other way round.

to those of you who are petrified of walking around smelling like a piss stall or a cat in heat - chill out. this is a unique, marvellous scent, and its outrageousness is wildly exaggerated. if you don't give this one a shot and take it for what it is, without preconceptions, you're denying yourself a wonderful olfactory pleasure.

i find that kouros wears equally well in both hot and cold weather.

congrats YSL on a daring and unique scent that is thoroughly deserving of its success.

love at first sniff for me. this baby is actually quite original - anyone who says it smells like "any other fresh scent" is not paying close enough attention. the use of raspberry gives it a fruity touch that is quite unique (in the same way that pear in Dior's "Higher" was quite original), and the anise offers a very different cooling effect to the usual mint that one finds more commonly. the combination is clean, yet rich and quirky.

the light touch with the fruit notes makes this much more subtle than past Diesel male fragrances, which have either been cloyingly sweet (e.g. Green) or over-the-top gourmandy (zero plus, zero plus plus.)

so - i like it. give it a shot if you're willing to judge it on its own merits. if you're going to leap to judgements anyway because it's Diesel and therefore must be only for shallow skinny twenty-somethings, or if you thought that Dior's "higher" was a fresh scent like any other and didn't appreciate the pear - pass this one by.

this is by far the closest to the original Kouros of all the Kouros variants. so if you want to "work your way up" to the grandmaster, this is your ticket. however, what is missing -- either totally (my guess) or very substantially -- is the infamous civet note that gives the original Kouros its wonderfully vile fecal / body odor stink. for those of you who like Kouros primarily for this quality, you can pass this one on by. but since i like the actual fragrance of Kouros anyway and don't always want to progress into a body-odor bonanza, i like and wear this one.

Utterly pointless, sharp, sweet and nasty fougere-y synthetic swill. avoid.

i don't understand how people can compare this to Issey or ADG. Z is dry, a bit spicy and peppery, a bit on the synthetic side and not terribly aquatic -- certainly nothing like the elegant ambiguity of ADG or the intense, very organic citrus-floral blast of Issey. i find it - like Zegna's clothing - well put together, a bit formal, and in very good taste, but ultimately a bit uninspired; definitely appropriate for the office. i bought a bottle and am using it as my daily EDT while on business trips, but i certainly won't miss it when it's gone. staying power is so-so - slightly less than ADG and a LOT less than Issey.