Perfume Reviews by epapsiou

Le Lion de Chanel by Chanel

Le Lion is a beautiful perfume that captures the essence of Chanel’s refined elegance. However, it bears a striking resemblance to classic creation by Guerlain - Shalimar.
Tis a masterful blend, marrying vintage Guerlain charm with Chanel’s signature sophistication.
If you can, seek out vintage bottle of Shalimar—it is the original, after all. But if that proves elusive, Chanel’s offering is a worthy alternatives. Just remember: Guerlain was here first, blazing trails a century before Chanel.

Comète by Chanel

Last month, I had the pleasure of trying Comète by Chanel, the latest addition to their prestigious Les Exclusifs line. This fragrance follows the release of Le Lion in 2020, another standout in the same collection. Like Le Lion, Comète is a beautiful perfume that captures the essence of Chanel’s refined elegance. However, both fragrances bear a striking resemblance to classic creations by Guerlain, leading me to ponder the direction Chanel is taking.
Comete is a modern "interpretation" of Guerlain’s L'Heure Bleue just like Le Lion was Shalimar's.
Beautiful creation - just unoriginal.

Poivre Noir by Serge Lutens

I do like a pepper fragrance. This one is good. Simple pepper with rose and some spices. Nutmeg is what the notes say but I get some clove and cardamom too. It lasts long and has a good sillage.
A very good office scent.

Bugatti (original) by Ettore Bugatti

First of all let me say - Ettore Bugatti is one of the best perfumes ever made. Andre gave it 9.5/10 and I think I agree with him. Maybe 9 :)

I will not do a detailed note review here cause it has been done already by old timers like @Darvant , @Colin Maillard , @drseid

The main question is how is EDC different than EDT.:

EDC is more like current day EDT and EDT is like EDP/Parfum. EDT wears closer to the skin after initial blast
EDC is brighter - more aldehydes and lemon that saturate the air.
EDT has better development. The mids are missing in EDC.
Base is amber+castoreum+Mysore. Base is much more powerful and long lasting in EDT. It survived a 15min hot shower.
They both have the plasticy accord in the beginning that you notice after the aldehydes. An accord I found only in the sticker vintage Antaeus.. I am assuming it is the particular castoreum they used
EDT feels a bit unfinished. The blend is not perfect. EDC is much better constructed I feel
Bottom Line - EDC is a much better blended fragrance but EDT's base and its longevity makes it a winner in my book

Pancaldi by Hanorah

Stardate 20210917:
Vintage version:
Most fragrance houses are shameless. They follow (or more accurately copy) the trend.
Guerlain with Coty, everyone else with No5.
And more recently Cool Water.
But in 80s it was Drakkar Noir. A lot of fragrances from 80s were "inspired" by Drakkar Noir. Some thought it was perfect so they did not change anything in their version.
Pancaldi, though, believed it can better DN and added herbal elements to it.
I think they did a good job and their homage to Drakkar Noir is, to my nose, better than the original.

Meander by Amouage

Stardate 20210618:

It is a run of the mill faux sandalwood fragrance. Kinda CdG Wonderwood or the Atelier one.

The Top is SW, minty and fig-gy. There is some green. In heart there is some iris (carrot kind) and then the drydown is same faux-SW.
Pretty linear and nothing great.

Enclave by Amouage

Stardate 20210610:

The top is beautiful. The juxtaposition of mint with spice is done beautifully.
But then as the top fades, all you are left with mediocre raspy woody AC and cardamom.
A shame really.

Tuberose & Moss by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200830:
The opening is tuberose solifloral. Really nice and simple but I like the way it goes on to be a sweet laundry-musky vanilla at the end.
I enjoy it more than his other tuberose - Champs Lunaires

Jasmin Antique by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200815:

I am always wary of Jasmine florals cause they almost always get the balance wrong. Either too indolic or too bland. I went in expecting this to be an indolic powerhouse. Boy was I wrong. This is one of the best Jasmine solifloral I have tried. Smells like a blooming jasmine garden after rain.
Thumbs up

Champs Lunaires by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200820:

A decent white floral. Nothing new here but well executed. A tuberose solifloral with just the right amount of indole.
Neutral to thumbs up.

Mousse Illuminée by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200817:

Old school mossy barbershop masculine. Floral notes cancel the hairy chest vibe and makes it unisex.
I have a bottle and I recommend it.

Fougère L'Aube by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200815:

Opens up as bitter-green and sweet floral. I don't smell any lavender here.
Moves to sweet musk and rose.
A very floral masculine. Givenchy did that successfully with Insense. This one may be better
FBW and thumbs up

Ishtar by Rogue Perfumery

Stardate 20200812:

Starts with sweet piney incense and cardamom. Within a few minutes it veers towards the Fille en Aiguilles territory. Ambery incensy forest smell.
The drydown is more pungent and reminds me of One Man Show sans Galbanum.
I like the way it develops and I would give it neutral to thumbs up.

Moustache Eau de Parfum by Rochas

Stardate 20200205:

I have the original moustache and the concentree version.
So I got this cause it was cheap, BN folks were not unhappy with it and to complete the collection.
It is a typical Middle Eastern houses (Arabian Oud, Rasasi) doing European creation but blended better - Cardamon, iris,rose, norlimbanol, vanilla and musk.
A modern oriental ;)

It smells dense and rich. For the price it is going for $35/125ml I would recommend it - office safe, date safe.
The bottle alone (hefty piece of art) makes it worth it.

Eau Capitale by Diptyque

Stardate 20200203:

A modern rose "chypre". They tried to do a Coriandre, a Diva. And while they came up short, I will recommend it cause I am a sucker for rose chypre and they did try to do right by the genre.
It is worth a try for rose fan and I think FBW if you don't want to go hunt for vintages.

Azzaro pour Homme Intense (new) by Azzaro

Stardate 20191227:

I am a big fan of Azzaro PH. I like it in all formulations. So when I saw this I assumed it would be a more concentrated version of APH.
But it is not exactly that. There is a a modern twist to it - Cinnamon and that kills it for me. Now I must say that they have used cinnamon very well, light and deft while maintaining the original APH character. Unfortunately, the Cinnamon note is a killer for me , both in fragrances and in desserts.
Pass for me but if cinnamon is not your kryptonite give it a try.

Sud Est by Romeo Gigli

Stardate 20191211:

As others have said, this is very similar to New West. Herbal Calone.
Not a fan of this style.

Gianfranco Ferré for Man by Gianfranco Ferré

Stardate 20191119:

I don't think I can add anything to what has already been said. It is a great fragrance and a great bargain. Delivers Patou Pour Homme punch at Azzaro PH price.
Italian craft at its best. For some reason folks prefer French houses to Italian in fragrances. I could never fathom why. Oh well buy it while still cheap.

Sahara Noir by Tom Ford

Stardate 20191118:

Starts great with incense and resins. Not unctuous like other famous incenses.
But within an hour a sour lactonic accord shows up spoiling the party for me.
All in all a good incense fragrance but Avignon remains the gold standard of incense for me.

Teatro Alla Scala by Krizia

Stardate 20191101:

The epitome of perfumery (Italian or otherwise). Perhaps the best floral ever made. The only other that is close is the vintage First by VCA (Elena's one and only masterpiece).
The aldehydes are not in your face here but support the whole structure. The rose, jasmine, honey and civet make up the core of this with aldehydes and musk providing support. The development and complexity is where the Italian perfumery is at its best and Krizia delivers.
I have tried both EDP and EDT. Both are amazing and FBW++ . But they are similar enough that you don't need both. I like EDT much better - brighter, more development and less aldehyde.

For some reason Krizia is not talked about a lot here and elsewhere on the interwebs.
Go get this one while still at $1/ml.
Don't think, just do it

Seaward by Herbalife

Stardate 20190822:

A fougere with peppery incense. I thought Ormondo Jayne started this trend but I guess they just copied Seaward's style.
It was love at first smell, perhaps the only time I bought a fragrance on the spot as soon as I smelled it.

Fougère Royale by Houbigant

Stardate 20190821:

I don't think I can add any thing new here. This is where "masculine" perfumery started.
Unfortunately I am not sure how the current one compares to the original.
Don't get me wrong. The current one is amazing. It is one fragrance everyone should have in their wardrobe. No excuses. Note that there are two versions out there - EDP and Extrait. Both are FBW. I find the EDP better (and more versatile) than extrait. Both can be had for under $1/ml.

But I wonder how the original one might have been. I have a bottle from 70s or so. It is called Houbigant Royal Fern cologne. But it is more of a EDC than a fougere. Nothing like (and,surprisingly, inferior to) what is out now.

Panama 1924 : Millésimé by Boellis

Stardate 20190820:

This is so much better than Declaration. A sophisticated and refined version. The musk, Ambrette and coriander add a good deal of skank to it. The beauty is the balance. The spices and jasmine tea counterbalances the skank and you get a smooth, almost dandy, fragrance.
Jasmine, tea and vetiver play same role as they do in Palais Jamais - which is another great fragrance.

A hidden gem.

Pentecost by PK Perfumes

Stardate 20190816:

Cheap floral. Rose used in this reminds me of a floor cleaner. Pass