Fragrance Reviews by darien

Oh dear. Guerlain has fallen so far from greatness with this 'new' scent. To my nose it smells incredibly bland, generic, safe - totally opposite to their classic fragrances which even today smell so alive, distinctive and complex.

I guess they have just bowed to commercial pressure and gone for a safe option that your average/typical department store shopper might stumble on and think was 'nice'. A shame since a house like Hermes could come out with a brand new fragrance (Terre de Hermes) that was so radical, exciting and different to anything else out there yet retain that special, unique Hermes note of quality.

Go for the classic Guerlains. This one's a dud.

Don't believe the hype. It will NOT turn you into a super-sexy all conquering love-god. It will make you smell like an ordinary, well-groomed, pleasant smelling member of the male masses. The people who say it garners compliments when wearing it will receive them from people who become aware of it, because it has quite strong sillage, and smells very 'fragrancey'. It is NOT unpleasant, but neither is it intriguing, different, characterful or individual. It smells extremely generic - a very typically male fragrance that you feel you have smelt somewhere before. It reminds me of the kind of fragrance you smell in a locker room applied by some typical stock broker type guy after a hard game of squash. A safe bet fragrance for men with little imagination. I'd even go as far as saying that it smells like a pleasantly fragranced deodourant. Disasterous when you think of how expensive it is! Now don't get me wrong. Though I'm not impressed by GIT, I am a BIG fan of other Creed scents. In fact, scents like SMW and Himalaya are the OPPOSITE of GIT. They are majestic in their high quality smell. They have an exclusive smell that really does seem fit for royalty. Others will bow to your superiority when you smell like a Prince. Wear GIT and they will slap you on the back as 'one of the guys.'

Mouchoir de monsieur is the most intriguing, mysterious, hypnotic and seductive fragrance i have experienced. The first time I sprayed the liquid from that elegant bottle in an upmarket department store, I was a little horrified by the animalic quality (civet) that affronts your nasal passages. 'Something refined, highly regarded and expensive wouldn't smell like this?' I thought. And it seemed so 'alien' in its vast difference to any of today's bland, unisex fragrances.

But as the time passed, and the fragrance settled, it's seduction truly took effect. It wraps you in a soft, 'velvety' olfactory glow that carries you off to another time, another world, where incredible style and sophistication exist for those who desire it. With SO much character, today's world of mass-produced, bland unisex fragrances seem insignificant next to this aristocrat of the scent world.

Yes, it's expensive. (Though a bargain compared to Creed scents!) Yes, it's rare. But it will set you apart. It is not a man's scent. It is a gentleman's scent. For a prince among men.