Perfume Reviews by Jay-Lux'eau

MYSLF by Yves Saint Laurent

I first heard of it because of Mehdi scent on youtube calling this a bad scent. Some time later they had test stands of it in my local mall and yeah... it actually is quite a bad scent! Which surprises me, I mean how can you be such a big name like YSL and put out this?

It's a very generic woody, synthetic orangey/appley/aldehydic concoction but the worst part is: what I think is iso-E or something similar in here, dries down to a pungent smell of skin/nursing home/feet (take your pick). And I'm not against iso-E I quite like it in for example Joop Jump but like I said might some other aromachemical or a mix of a few causing that off smell in MYSLF's drydown.

Gentleman Society by Givenchy

It's so forgettable that I don't really remember what it smelled like when I sprayed it in the perfume store. Just a pleasant, mildly soapy kind of weak run of the mill scent.

Gentleman Eau de Parfum Reserve Privée by Givenchy

Way overhyped.

You'll get it when you first spray it. I was expecting a boozy, manly beast but it just isn't. Kinda plain. I wouldn't rate it 5/10 even, it's below average for me.

I mean compare this to a Dark Rebel, Pure Havane or even a Stronger With You Absolutely at the more gourmand end of things and it just cannot compete with them.

L'Homme Idéal Extrême by Guerlain

Bland and forgettable. No real tobacco vibe going on here either. Just a peppery cinnamon/ tonka /woods combo.

To sum it up in a nutshell it's the above plus an orangy almond top, maybe some amber/anise/licorice too but still kind of non-modern. Less so than Habit Rouge but still...

Le Mâle Elixir by Jean Paul Gaultier

Having been quite the fan of Le Male and almost all of its flankers this one's a bit of a disappointment.

I heard some youtubers claim honey and tobacco in it giving it a Mugler Amen Pure Havane vibe but this is not true at all, not by a long shot.

There is some resins and (mainly) amber which you could say resemble honey with some imagination but there is little to zero tobacco. Just tonka and woods to me.

In fact, Le Male Elixir simply joins the bandwagon of sweet woody genericness like for example 1 Million Elixir, Parfum and Royale, Montblanc Legend Night, some of the Azzaro Wanteds... and probably many more I'm forgetting or haven't smelled.

That said, in that genre I do have to say it's the best of the bunch. With the Montblanc being the worst because it's the most screechy and synthetic and let's say the Azzaro's and Paco's are tied at the number 2 spot for me. But I'm not a fan of any of 'em.

For other Le Male and flankers lovers: the OG Le Male DNA is just plain absent in this except for a very faint lavender and the tonka.

Bleu de Chanel Parfum by Chanel

Slightly better than the EDP? I don't get that much "offness" because of the frankincense like I do from the EDP. But this one is less blue in general to me and a bit more dark/black to my nose.

I'll end it the same way I did my EDP review: There's like a hundred much better (and maybe cheaper) blue scents out there: AdG Profondo, Ralph Lauren Polo Blue, Invictus/Hawas, ...

Bleu de Chanel Eau de Parfum by Chanel

Not great. In fact the frankincense gives the whole an "off"-vibe to me. You know like some people find cumin to be kinda BO-like.

But in this case the whole concoction reminds me too much of the smell of some type of blue/aquatic toilet cakes.

Is it just the incense or do Chanel sneak some civet into this as well maybe? That might be my mind playing tricks on me though.

There's like a hundred much better blue scents out there: AdG Profondo, Ralph Lauren Polo Blue, Invictus/Hawas, ...

Bad Boy Le Parfum by Carolina Herrera

Nothing special. Pleasant, semi-sweet, inoffensive.

Mainly suede (so a soft, fuzzy leather), cardamom, amber/maltol. Soft spices. No explicit cannabis. Maybe some greens 'n resins though ressembling when you get your nose into it way down there.

Bit of a darker version of CH Men VIP if you ask me. That's going off of a clone of the latter.

I like CH Men VIP better because I think the DNA lends itself more to becoming fresher rather than darker in the end.

1 Million Elixir by Paco Rabanne

My carded sample says: "licorice rose, smoky cedarwood, vanilla absolute"

And in the opening it is really that simple. Even minus the woods. Kind of disappointingly simple. Very sweet too. And seems to be all about the vanilla only at first.

But then in the drydown they have some chemical magic going on. Because only in the drydown will you pick up on for example a woodsy accord that's popular with many brands right now. There's also tonka and some sort of accord that to me smells like a duo of tolu balm and apple. Actually I see apricot now in the notes pyramid here, yeah it's like an ethereal apple/apricot.

And after that drydown starts fading, the opening notes actually come back in from time to time, go figure.

I do feel however it's a dishonor to the OG scent, which is a much better concoction. It also does not have the likeable aspect of e.g. 1M Lucky. It doesn't stand out. But in the current market that as a lot of that sweet wood accord going on (e.g. Mont Blanc Legend Night and some of the Azzaro Wanted line I believe), it is one of the better alternatives. Still don't like it though.

It has an above average performance.

Vanilla Darling by Ulric de Varens

Nice enough scent, I saw Ifi(shares) recommending it on youtube.

He says it's 1:1 Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille. I can't confirm that because I haven't smelled it but going off of Fragrantica's "this perfume reminds me of" it seems there are links between all of these:

- UdV Vanilla Darling
- Mercedes Club Black
- Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
- Le Couvent des Minimes - Eau des Missions
- Michael Kors - Shimmer

UdV Vanilla Darling is a very nice, non-cheapie, non-ethylvannilin bomb, vanilla.

It has a sweet and resinous side. Accents of rose and (non hedione?) jasmine suit it well. I can't really tell if it's resinousness is benzoin, or the caramel mixed with tonka and the rest or what but it works. And I would also say this is a UNISEX scent. There's no real feminine emphasis. Paid around 5.50€ shipped for the 30ml. so it's around 18€ for 100ml.

Cuba City New York for Men by Cuba Paris

Decent clone of Ralph Lauren Polo Blue, found out on the Fragrantica page where it says "this perfume reminds me of".

In the open, with the first couple sprays, it had more of the cavaillon melon than the original which was nice. This faded so maybe it wasn't mixed properly? It is slightly less refined and a bit harsher than the OG. It also lacks the musk my Polo Blue decant seems to have from time to time.

But for the money, I'm okay with that, close enough for me.

Azzaro pour Homme Wild Mint by Azzaro

Smells like what you'd expect the overly green juice will smell like (unfortunately). Very synthetic mint with a non-flattering loudness.

There's really nothing about this that deserves a good word.

Clubman Classic Vanilla by Pinaud

Basically a spicier but also more watery 4711 (Kölnisch Wasser).

Smells very dated. Suited only to those who like that old school or should I say ancient vibe.

More importantly: no vanilla to be detected which kind of defeats the purpose of buying something labeled 'vanilla'. This is mainly lemon-cloves-geranium-musk, watered down.

African Leather by Memo

Harsh opening, wow. What a medicinal bomb of a scent. I'm not the biggest cumin fan, for example I don't like Tauer's LADDM, but the cumin in here has its place.

That said though, where's the leather? This is just an ethereal spicy, earthy, medicinal woody scent to me. You have to dig really deep which isn't a given with a scent like this since you have to go past so much harsh notes.

Definitely not a crowd pleaser and even though looking at the reviews on here it seems to be quite the "niche pleaser", I'll have to chime in a negative rating here even if it was just for the sake of counterbalance. First negative rating this gets? Really? I can imagine of all the niche crowd out there that the majority will just not put up with this scent.

In order of magnitude I get: cumin, patchouli, geranium, musk, vetiver and more of an impression of oud than leather deep down.

Fougère Royale by Houbigant

Well done classic and classy scent, not modern at all though so it's not for me.

Airy, herbal, cologne like, not very soapy nor florar. Of the heart notes, geranium is the main one.

Nice touch of musk, not much oakmoss but that's IFRA's doing I guess.

Good scent for an older gentleman. Signature scent worthy.

Ibiza #cafedelmar by Ramon Monegal

I guess this is really what most guys in Ibiza smell like? It's a bit of Eros, a bit of Axe Phoenix, but also has a slight Sel Marin by Heeley thing going on.

I'd say this is maybe even more versatile than some claim Bleu de Chanel to be.

Very nice ambergris touch that I am estimating to be a mix of ambroxan and ambergris or whatever the synthethic is for it. Slightly animalic, very subtle.

So it's not your screechy Dylan Blue.

Sir Gallahad (new) by Isabey

It's well done, I'll give it that. Reminds me of the quality and feel of MFK (Kurkdjian).

It's a clean, musky rose to me, powdery heart(patchouli?), slight woodiness. Not too light, not too heavy. The rose is complimented by other florals such as jasmine and gardenia, making the scent indeed feel more 'purple' than red or pink. I like it when scents correspond to the colors used for the presentation. The sample also comes in a bright purple, little cardboard box so the full bottle should too I'm assuming? The juice is slightly purplish too.

A problem for me is that the rose I get here is just your average rose. Nothing wrong with that but for that reason it reminds me of many a room deodorizer. I think this is why many brands resort to Bulgarian and/or Damascus rose so that that connection is not made by the customer. In the case of Sir Gallahad there is enough going on to take your attention away from this, so the rose thing might not be a problem for you.

I don't get tobacco unfortunately which I was looking forward too. Only some faint woodiness.

Flash Back in New York by Olfactive Studio

Don't like it: amber/maltol, a soft kitchen spices heart, geraniol, coumarin. It's pretty bland, generic smelling.

And once again this Olfactive Studio feels to me like a cheapie scent you'd pick up from The Body Shop for example. At a whopping 87 EUR for 50ml (at the moment) you'd expect more. It's totally not worth that. If it was actually being sold in The Body Shop I'd say it would fit in there and have it's place, at a price of 15'ish EUR for 100ml. This also goes for Ombre Indigo and Woody Mood imo.

Woody Mood by Olfactive Studio

Balsamic woodsy scent, semi sweet, pretty generic even if it's more niche leaning. Reminds me of Comme des Garçons as a brand for some reason.

At the same time it feels like some unknown woody cheapie you can buy at many places that also sell incense, soaps and the likes.

Ombre Indigo by Olfactive Studio

Weird scent. Some sort of a niche take on an aquatic but not a successful one to me.

I get calone and some soft spices in the heart. It's a little bit anisy as well. Some menthol. In other words most of the notes in the pyramid are there in minute amounts only to create what is a niche heart. Come to think of it, I once had 'marine' scented light blue incense sticks and this somewhat resembles those, unlit.

From the carded sample it is apparent that the sample sprayers are quite low quality. I know of a clone company that uses the same ones but their juice, even if copycat, is better. Not a scent that will wow you , most likely.

Southern Bloom by Goldfield & Banks

Horrible. And not unisex, this is a women's scent. And I wouldn't like it on a woman one bit.

Smells like opening a pot of red jam and spraying a cheapie gardenia scent at the same time. I don't get jasmine at all. Had to camouflage it with a TF Ombre Leather clone I have laying around to make for some sort of an impression of Tuscan Leather.

For me this is a one strike and you're out thing with regards to Goldfield & Banks. You can't put this product out and call yourself a decent perfume brand. This is from a carded sample I'm reviewing it.

Dolce di Giorno by Bois 1920

Dolce di Giorno opens with a medicinal smelling amber/maltol that seems to have honey in it as well. Some very light touches of cumin, geranium. Woodsy base, citric top. A slight powderiness in the drydown from the patchouli and vanilla. It's just plain, dull, not modern either. Don't believe the hype.

Just heard a youtuber praise it which made me remember I still had the carded sample laying around.

This is the third and last scent I'll try from Bois 1920. The other ones being Vetiver Ambrato and Cannabis which I cfr. liked and disliked.

Cannabis by Bois 1920

Nothing special. Mixes your typical geranium-lavender Wilkison's shaving soap with some greens.

Which greens? Petitgrain, mint and that's about it. Everything just sort of rides on the geranium.

Doesn't smell like cannabis at all so why would you name it like it that?

What is it good for? Maybe for the 1 in 1 million customer that would like his Wilkinson's/classic barber shop fragrance to be a bit more green.

Narciso Rodriguez for Him by Narciso Rodriguez

I hate it. It smells like pencil shavings in a makeup pouch. Add in some wet stones and that's what this smells like (hyrax?).

So a strong cedar and some iris are in here as well I think.

Did Narciso force Kurkdjian's hand with this one? As normally he tends to deliver crowd pleasers. This one however is definitely intended to be standoff'ish.