Perfume Reviews by D.McDutchface

Haltane by Parfums de Marly

To me this scent opens as fresh laundry, but as time goes on it remains that bright freshness in kind of an oppressive way. This one is not for me.

Millésime Impérial by Creed

What comes to mind when wearing this scent is Lois Griffin's description of their stay in purgatory during Peter's week off: "This isn't bad. It's not that good. But... eh, it's not that bad".

On my skin Millesime Imperial has no body or character and it wears off pretty quickly as well. Once my sample is all used up that will be the end of that.

New York Intense by Fragrance Du Bois

As mentioned pretty much everywhere and anywhere else, this scent has a lot in common with Amouage's Jubilation XXV. But where Jubilation's dry down takes a hard left turn into harsh and almost unpleasant chemical territory, New York Intense stays benign and slightly woody in the end.

Bois d'Iris by Van Cleef & Arpels

This is delicate. This is fragile. But so, so delightful to wear.

From the moment I read the name I had wanted to try this, and it smells exactly how I would have wanted it to smell. A little bit of a peppery (but not in a spicy sense) iris.

It doesn't have a wide reach, nor does it last long on my skin. It fades into the background within an hour or two, where it will linger to only some times come back up as a pleasant reminder of your decision earlier that day. But boy (or girl!) is it wonderful to wear.

Colonia Intensa Oud/ Colonia Oud by Acqua di Parma

This one took a long time for me to like. It was the first oud scent I ever purchased; a blind buy based on my previous experience with AdP and on line reviews. The first couple of times I used it, the leather was just so overwhelmingly strong, animalistic and overpowering that I actually all but hated it. I was very reluctant to spray it on, especially because its longevity would make it last overnight.

It's been well over a year now and I guess that when the perfume got in contact with air, the leather mellowed down considerably, and the scent has transformed into a pleasant, well balanced leather-oud combination with a very recognizable Acqua di Parma base. Longevity is not as good as it was when the leather was as strong as it used to be, but it is in no way a poor performer.

So in the end I have actually come to like it, although I am still a little hesitant to reach for it because of my earliest experience, as if I were afraid it might have reverted back to its 'bad leather' self, but so far it has only gotten better so I will probably end up using it more.

Based on my personal experience I wouldn't recommend this to be the first oud you ever try, but if you got it and did not like it at first, give it some time. You may end up liking it. A lot.

Rose Prick by Tom Ford

This scent is pleasant and rosy-round enough, but it wears off fairly quickly, which is unfortunately not uncommon for Tom Ford. However, it is absolutely not worth the ridiculous amount of money TF wants for it.

If you're looking for the prick, you won't find it in the scent, but there's an enormous sting in the price.

Ombre Nomade by Louis Vuitton

I'm surprised about the mentions of leather and rose in Ombre Nomade's reviews. The LV website does not mention either, and I don't get these notes at all. Instead the website only mentions oud, incense, raspberry and benzoin tears. But even the raspberry is very subdued to me. The oud and the incense are the strongest.

Its kinship with Nouveau Monde is definitely apparent, but Ombre Nomade is heavier on the incense and has a less pronounced fruit note, making it just a tiny bit more aggressive.

I really like most of the recent LV scents, and between this one and the others, like L'Immensite, Nouveau Monde, Apogee and Cactus Garden, I would not be able to choose a real favorite. It usually comes down to that what I'm wearing being my current favorite. To me all these scents come off as containing high quality and pure ingredients, with an above average longevity. Ombre Nomade is no exception to that.

This is one for the permanent collection.

Escentric 01 by Escentric Molecules

Pencil sharpening shavings. Very weak. If you have fond memories of your days in kindergarten, you might want to give this a try.

Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne

This scent is everything it promises: orange, orange and more orange. In a very clean manner.

It takes hours for the orange scents to wear off, so if you are into smelling like you have spilled half a gallon of orange juice all over yourself during breakfast, then look no further.

Not for me though.

Monocle Scent One : Hinoki by Comme des Garçons

The ingredients read like a dare (turpentine, camphor combined with pine and cypress!?) and the initial hit is just as interesting as that sounds. The opening reminds me of a musty and humid wine cellar, but strangely enough there is a freshness that actually makes it work.

The longevity is abominable though. the scent is as volatile as turpentine and camphor. Most of it was gone within the hour, and what remains is a vaguely powdery woody scent that is barely noticeable.

If it weren't for the poor longevity, this would be a very interesting contender for a favorite.

Royal Oud by Creed

This is my favorite Creed thus far. I started a couple of year ago with Silver Mountain Water, but that was too flowery to me, and not at all Silvery or Mountain Watery.

I found this when trying out GIT on my one wrist and Aventus on the other, neither of which I really liked. I then managed to spray some Royal Oud on my startled boyfriend's wrist and bothered him for whiffs of it all the way back to the car, which may or may not have annoyed the heck out of him. But this turned out to be a winner for me.

To me, none of the ingredients come out stronger than the other. It has a very fresh and clear opening, and after the initial dry down the composition reminds me of a vague incense-like scent which I enjoy very much in combination with the light freshness.

This will be in the permanent collection for a good number of years.

Minotaure by Paloma Picasso

It took me a couple of weeks to realize that it's the leather in this scent that is a bit off putting to me. Once I had found that out, it became easier to wear, but I will probably not buy this one again.

Bois de Cèdre by Lagerfeld

This was an instant success for me. Back in the 80s the original Lagerfeld was my go to cologne. I also loved KL, which I hope will come back at some point. But I digress.

I had to order Bois de Cèdre via Karl Lagerfeld directly since it was so new that I couldn't find it anywhere in the US yet, except for places like Ebay, which I tend to avoid. It smells wonderfully rounded to me and I can't get enough of it. None of the ingredients really stick out or overpower the others, not even the ambergris (which is the type of scent that I easily find too pronounced in other scents). In this composition everything seems to be in perfect balance.

This one and Bois de Vétiver were excellent blind buys for me. I can't wait what Lagerfeld will come up with next.

Apogée by Louis Vuitton

My boyfriend brought a sample of this back from a trip to Paris in 2017, along with several other samples of the scents LV had released in 2016. This one was by far our favorite. To me the Lily of the Valley note, which I absolutely love, is most pronounced, closely followed by rose. I just had to gift a personalized bottle of this to myself for my birthday.

Between Apogee and Cactus Garden (2019) I can't decide which one is my favorite, so I'm going with "the one I am wearing this very moment".

Sillage is strong but not in-your-face, and this one lasts a full day. I can actually still smell distinct remnants on my wrist the following morning.