Club de Nuit Sillage
Armaf (2020)

Listen this smells great for what it is. I got it off of amazon for like what, $30?

Enough has been said about this history of this sector and Creeds current place in the market

If you want a sub $50 Silver Mountain Water profile great news this is awesome

If you're like me and you think Silver mountain water is just fine then you'll probably feel the same about this, noting that is has a bitter/stale/sourness that prevents it from being smooth

Unfortunately if you love Silver Mountain Water I can't imagine this satisfying you anymore than that nature valley bar that just disappointed me

Yes, it looks like Creed's SMW but it's not at that level. It is more synthetic, less green, less cold and more acrid and even the note of you is not like in the original SMW. That said, for what it costs, it's a great perfume, really. It remains pleasant, slightly sweeter in drying, projection present but not excessive and long lasting. It is also very reminiscent (obviously) of Casamorati's Mefisto which, like this Armaf, turns from the heart to much more floral, "noble" and delicate notes (unlike the Creed SMW which remains greener and not floral). Definitely preferable in summer or spring, perhaps during the day. Unisex tending towards masculine and very very versatile. Would I buy it? probably not, I'd go for SMW if you want something greener or Mephisto if you want something more floral. Would I recommend it to anyone who wants something really nice and low cost? absolutely yes.

Quite surprising how few reviews there are of Armaf Club de Nuit Sillage, since it is almost universally considered to be the best clone of Creed SMW. I have tried SMW, and like all Creeds was turned off by the poor performance and high price. The scent was lovely (but still somewhat synthetic) but I don't like to re-spray.

This is somewhat unusual in that it is somewhat fresh but does not emphasize citrus or oceanics. I get the black currant, a melon/cucumber kind of scent with a floral sweetness from the jasmine, violet leaf and iris. The heart doesn't change much, though some ambroxan and whiff of woods show themselves, along with a slightly mineralic bite/bitterness when smelled on the skin. Perhaps that is the inky-ness that some have commented on.

While this seems like an office-safe bet, the two times I have worn it my staff said they could smell it from the next room (2 -3 sprays 2 hours earlier), and one said it gave her some respiratory distress (she has never said that with another frag). I guess I will keep this for nights and weekends, for less than formal occasions but year 'round. Very enjoyable, though not of the type that I could see this becoming a signature or even a top 5. Top 25%, most likely. Whether you think it smells like SMW, it is a nice frag in its own right.

WARNING- This NOT is a blind purchase !!

SMW has been in my rotation for years. I love it.

After reading the reviews about Armaf shameless new clone, it was a no brainer for me, I immediately purchased a bottle blind. (Creed current prices and reformulations are equally shameless IMO).

The opening was unmistakably SMW, however, clearly lacking the quality of Creed, that’s saying something considering Creeds legendary poor quality control.

Anyways back to Sillage, for the first 2 hours or so I was a happy camper, Armaf had done it again, delivering a beautiful perfume without the outrageous price tag, but then things started falling apart.

SMW white floral drydown was replaced by a pungent citric blast, as the hours passed Sillage became a putrid, citric, spicy mess, it gave me a headache and I had to wash it off completely.

I can’t remember the last time I had to literally wash off a perfume.

And this is my cautionary experience with Sillage, I’m curious if the other reviewers actually were able to wear this for a whole day?
Maybe I got a bad batch ?

The hype for Club de Nuit Sillage by Armaf (2020) was real once the YouTuber known as The Perfumer's Apprentice did his movie-length epic video about it and the subsequent "fall" of Creed at the hands of their own hubris; and while I tend to agree with the latter part at least within the confines of the online fragrance community, Creed is a long way from truly falling in the eyes of the (usually blind) buying public that the brand targets. If it's not clear by now, Club de Nuit SIllage by Armaf is a clone of Creed Silver Mountain Water (1995), in the same way Club De Nuit Milestone by Armaf (2017) is a clone of Creed Millésime Impérial (1995), hearkening back to the tradition began with Club de Nuit Intense by Armaf (2015) being a clone of Creed Aventus (2010). Prior to this, Armaf tried to compete in the designer space with their releases; some of these were more or less inspired by genre rather than specific fragrances, offering resplendant packaging with a solid feel and perceived quality, with super-powered juices that sold for about half the competition. You would see Armaf loaded up in mall kiosks or independent perfume stores like other brands from the Middle East such as Rasasi, Lataffa, Reyanne Tradition, and Al Haramain; all of them were typically offered as an upsell from discounted designers like Nautica or Perry Ellis that also litter those stores (and discounters like Ross), sitting between them and bigger designers or niche brands. Many different eye-catching bottles of gaudy splendor a la vintage Avon await the potential Armaf customer, and all feel good in the hand, even if some smell more experimental than like finished fragrances in my opinion.

With Club de Nuit Sillage, Armaf once again asserts why they are kings of the clone wars, offering the best quality per dollar spent I have ever seen from clones. You can spend more per ounce on Dua or Pineapple Vintage brand releases, but not get better value. Like with Intense and Milestone, Armaf seems to be targeting early batches for their cloning; as Sillage smells like the brighter, fuller, stronger, and less-inky earlier batches of Silver Mountain Water; which themselves were based on Pierre Bourdon's original unused formula submitted to Issey Miyake (but rejected) for his bid on the brief to make L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme by Issey Miyake (1994). As a capture of this earlier period in Silver Mountain Water's market life, Club de Nuit SIllage shows a better balance between the citrus and florals, with the "inky" blackcurrant bud note kept in check by ample rose, bergamot, lime, hedione high-cis, and ionones. The only real downside to this is if you came into SIlver Mountain Water after it had grown significantly more "inky" from formula drift, you may not like Club de Nuit Sillage. Also, the base of Club de Nuit SIllage is amped up to hilarious levels like other Armaf scents, adding a brash potency that I've mentioned reminds me of Jacques Bogart more than once. The ambroxan and woody aromachemicals here can be a bit scratchy like a designer for this reason, but it isn't a deal breaker for me. Wear time is over 12 hours and projection is too strong to be worth commenting on at all, and Club de Nuit Sillage is perfectly unisex just like SIlver Mountain Water. I think Club de Nuit SIllage also proves to be a year-rounder like SIlver Mountain Water as well, perhaps even better of one thanks to performance.

I also think the Club de Nuit Sillage take on the Silver Moutain Water DNA thankfully resembles Calvin Klein cK One (1994) less than modern batches of the Creed do; and this is since it relies less on white musks than the Creed does, even if it is less smooth as a result of this omission. As is usual for Creed, Olivier Creed had the formula of Silver Mountain Water tinkered with to -increase- cost of materials; and to add variances year to year so Creed could sell customers on how natural their fragrances were, creating "vintages" like with wine that drives rich collectors crazy. This element of discovering the "best batch" is completely removed from the equation with Club de Nuit Sillage even if Armaf hilariously lists batch codes on bottles; so unless Armaf goes down the path with it they did with Club de Nuit Intense, producing different editions or concentrations, you're safe. What you see here is what you get, and since Club de Nuit Sillage is produced with designer-budget materials, it may actually offer you a glimple of what the formula to Creed Silver Mountain Water could have been if it had become L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme instead. Is Armaf unintentionally shining a black mirror on the works of Pierre Bourdon pinched by Olivier Creed, and showing us what they would have been if he had won all those briefs decades ago? Maybe. I just know that the added finesse afforded to the genuine Creeds Club de Nuit SIllage and other Armafs riff off of isn't worth the upcharge anymore, and hasn't been for years, so giving a quality and accessible alternative to something that always felt like it belonged in the mass market to begin with is a huge boon in my book. Thumbs up

I got on a SMW kick this summer, but it doesn't last well on me. Decided to try SILLAGE after seeing a lot of good reviews.

Yup, it's very good. It lacks some of the edgy qualities of SMW in the open, but wears very similar with frankly much better longevity.

Probably not as long lasting as XERJOFF MEFISTO, but still a very nice SMW substitute at a really reasonable price.