Perfume Reviews by rbaker

Heavenly Gingerlily by Molton Brown

The opening is a floral wave, and in it a gingerlily indeed, but aside form the lily I can detect marigold and a bit of ginger indeed, but the later is more in the background. A bright, sweetish floral delight.

The drydown continues the initial notes, but it add touches of tuberose and jasmine. Both are on the light side, and the tuberose is the bright and optimistic version; I don't get much of an indolic or waxy undertone here. In the base we get back to the dominant lily, but some additional white musks are evident towards the end.

I get moderate sillage, good projection, and four hours of longevity on my skin.

A bright gingerlily-dominant fragrance that is a bit linear at times, but with sufficient development to amuse.

3.25/5

Index Calendula by Fresh

After the initial blast of herbs, suede leather and then green grass, in the early drydown the floral side opens up, and after a few minutes the Calendula is in full bloom.

This lovely part lasts for about two hours, petering out slowly.

I got moderate sillage, adequate projection, and two hours of longevity on my skin.

A nice one, after the initial blast quite a solifore, with weak performance. Just made it by a whisker into the positive realm.

3/5

Tuscan Creations : Convivio by Salvatore Ferragamo

The opening is a fresh citrus, mainly bergamot with some grapefruit, which is followed in the drydown by a herbal undertone, with carrot seeds and whiffs of carrot leaves added in.

A pleasant jasmine comes along and later in the base, where a blend of woody notes add also a bit of ambroxan. Overall, however, the fresh citrus/herbal side is always in the foreground on me.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and four hours of longevity on my skin.

3/5

Isfarkand by Ormonde Jayne

A citrus-oriental: this would be the nutshell summary of this scent; its name betrays the oriental side - it sounds like a merger of the two famous cities Isfahan and Samarkand.
The citrus - I mainly get bergamot - opens the top notes, but soon a white pepper appears; further down he track they merge very nice in a well-balanced fashion.
In the base a woodsy undertone appears, which is soon having a cedar-like component, and there is a slightly green touch that arises towards the end.

I ge moderate sillage, good projection, and 4 hours of longevity on my skin. Overall not very complex or exciting, a bit linear but crafted solidly. Just - barely - a thumbs up. 3/5

Côte d'Azur by Oribe

This one starts iff with a pleasant bergamot blast, followed by raspberries and the smell of fresh toast in the background. The heart notes add a bright jasmine impression that is quite a good rendering of this berry. This is followed by a tuberose that adds a richer fabric and is quite bright; this tuberose is neither waxy nor particularly indolic on me.

The base is characterised by the addition of a fairly synthetic vetiver, with is quite standard in character but adds and agreeable detail to the whole.

I get good sillage, good projection, and 3 hours of longevity on my skin.

Quite a pleasant bright and summery scent that is my preferred Oribe creation. Released 2014. 3.25/5

Desertland by Oribe

The opening characterised by a woodsy lavender impression, which has sweetish berry-like undertone to it. The the middle of its development O het mainly a nonspecific mix of white florals, which is rather mundane.

Lavender wood in the top notes heart notes

In the base a generic wood note seems to take over, and finishes it off quickly in quite an unimpressive manner. Not sure where the desert comes in.

I get moderate sillage, medium level projection, and 2 hours of ‘longevity’ on my skin.

A basic scent. 2.5/5.

Valley of Flowers by Oribe

The top notes combine a standard bergamot impression with a note of a honeyed violet crumble, which adds considerable sweetness.
In the heart notes a somewhat jasmine starts to dominate, with white florals in the background adding a bit of more substance.

The base adds an ambery impression, with a woodsy component on the sidelines that is combines with a generic white musk. Nothing too special.

I het moderate sillage, good projection, adn 4 hours if longevity my skin. Released
2021. Overall 2.75/5

Un Jardin à Cythère by Hermès

This was just released in London when I tried it at John Lewis in Oxford Street.

The opening is a green and grassy burst, which is a touch sweet due to some Meyer lemons being thrown in, and is not of the particularly refreshing variety. In the drydown a wood note develops, which blends in very nicely with the green grassy component. From then on it is quite linear ans changes little over time. Occasional whiffs in an earthy pistachio come ans ho, but they are quite anaemic on me.

I her moderate sillage, quite good projection, and six hours of longevity in my skin.

A nice scent fir warm summer evenings, but with limited development and a bit predictable. 3/5

Tigress Musk by Fabergé

A review of the Vintage Cologne.

Amber and musk are the dominant note in the opening phase. A deep, rich, and saturated amber. The musk is dark and a touch spicy, but is is softer than many other dark musks, and never harsh or faecaloid on me.

Cinnamon and clove are emanating in the central phase, and again in a similar way the discreet spiciness of the clove is more than compensate for by a lovely cinnamon impression.

The base is centered around a sandalwood note that is rich and quite deep, with a pleasant nigh honey-like sweetness underlying the wood aroma. At this time e whole mix is enriched by a restrained vanilla, that is applied more as a flavour-enhancing condiment than as a main contributor that takes over the show.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and six hours of longevity on my skin.

This scent for autumnal evening out is well-composed of ingredient of a very high quality. It is blended exceedingly well, smooth, rich, but overall a bit linear. The longevity is all right for a Cologne. Alas, discontinued. 4/5

Vanilla Vibes by Juliette Has a Gun

The opening is an interesting vanilla blast; quite an intense but elegantly restrained vanilla compare to the more intense and fatter vanillas found in some other olfactory creations. After a subtle floral tone is evident, mainly orchids with brief whiffs of muguet, but it hardly make s a significant impact on the vanilla dominance. Then a slightly salty undertone develops, but compared to the vanilla it is, again, quite in the background.

Towards the base a gradual development of a benzoin component is evident; it is rather sublime and blends in well with the rest, something that often cannot be said of benzoin, which is sometimes a harsher and more intrusive ingredient. Touches of a fine sandalwood, maybe Australian in origin, along with touches of musks,, were also catching one's attention towards the end. Throughout all this, the vanilla, in various permutations, continues to reign supreme.

I got moderate (initially strong) sillage, very good projection, and eight hours of longevity on my skin.


This vanilla-centric composition for warmer autumn days lives by the good quality of its vanilla and most of the other ingredients; the vanilla is less of a sweet gourmand style as one might expect, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The fleur de sel is underwhelming though, ad the salty notion does never develop convincingly on me. Should one conceptualise this scent as a beachy suntan lotion scent, Bond No.9's Fire Ireland is a bit more creative. It is a bit too linear to truly impress. Overall 2.75/5 - good especially for those who like vanilla fragrances.

H24 by Hermès

A bright opening blast, characterised by a herbal tone - clary sage and whiffs of rosemary. This herbal-green start soon develops a metallic and steely character, with a slightly marine undertone - the sclarene probably. Fresh laundry impressions come and go.

Later on floral moments are evident - mainly narcissus with whiffs of hyacinth on me, but after while a chemical laboratory sweetness becomes dominant that is a bit on the dull side.

Towards the end a woodsy component develops, which maintains the metal note and is meant to be a rosewood, but it is more nonspecific on me, and feels a bit sharp.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

The first phases of this summery creation are quite original in their successive development of herbal, metallic and floral notes. Until now a good product. Then it turns increasingly petrochemical in a way that is very deja-vu and reproduced hundredS of times. The epitome of this deterioration is the woodsy impression with its sharp feel that is eerily similar to the many fake laboratory ouds that are pullulating on the shelves of the perfume sections in supermarkets at the moment. White quite all right as a scent initially, overall this results in a neutral score. 2.75/5

Arty Positano : Vanille Fleur d'Oranger by La Maison de la Vanille

A citrus opening, a mix of bergamot and whiffs of tangerines, greet me- a touch of acidic bitterness is of note.

In the drydown floral and herbal notes appear. The floral side is an orange blossom, and the herbal components are a rosemary with whiffs of hay in the background.

The base starts with a slightly sharp amber impression. Touches of vanilla add sweetness, but it never is a cloying or intrusive sweetness - never cloying sickly sweet.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection, and ten and impressive ten hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant, but not very creative, summery start, with the drydown's orange blossom being nice but a bit bland. Overall a bit too generic. 2.75/5

Thé Vert / Green Tea (original) by L'Occitane

It opens with a good rendering of Japanese green tea; not very intense but done nicely. An undertone of citrus - orange and tangelo with an undertone of orange zest - adds a touch of freshness.

Later on I get a green, bright and soft jasmine. This jasmine is without a significant wood components, ad merges with the teal very well, and becomes more dominant with time. Herbal undertones, some thyme with whiffs of a grassy aroma appear transiently.

Towards the end a woodsy phase emerges; mainly cedar, but whiffs of a weak oak wood are evident too on me. There is still some jasmine in tin even closer to the end phase.

I get moderate sillage, good projection, and 5 hours of longevity on my skin.

A good green t scent for cooler summer days, made of good quality ingredients, but a bit weaker and a tad more generic in the last phase. Overall 3.25/5

Mon Guerlain by Guerlain

In the opening citrus impressions, mainly mandarin, touches of rope grapefruit, combine with a lavender, with the latter being quite synthetic and without a powdery component on me.

Th drydown keeps the lavender for a while, and adds on a pleasant green and bright jasmine, which lacks depth a bit as well as and any wood component. White florals come and go - I detect a whiff of muguet transiently - that are given some additional depth by some coumarin. The latter remains in the background given the floral dominance at this stage.

The florals play a role well into the base, with the jasmine giving way to an iris notes that has a green touch but no powderiness of note in its character. Towards the ends, woodsy notes - sandal (apparently from Down Under) are present at times, but mostly they are quite nonspecific. Lashings of vanilla with hints of white musks round off this product's development.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

At times this spring scent is quite pleasant, but most of their ingredients are rather synthetic. Not bad, but nothing special. 2.75/5

Mandala by Masque

A blast of a strong and sharp frankincense greets be in the first seconds - with touches of nutmeg added soon. A brighter glimpse is brought in soon, courtesy and an angelica-artemisia impression then blends in well.

The drydown rings in a darker phase, in which the sharp edge smoothens somewhat, and assumes a nigh oily-spicy character that is derived from a rich and dominant olibanum not. Some galbanum with a smidgen of a herbal undertones joins the olfactory party now, as does a more restrained labdanum, with a crisper note injected again by a cistus that is also quite fresh. The incense is still there, softer that then it was at the beginning. Whiffs of dried fruits appear transiently.

The base mellows the incense fumes a bit further, and a collection of woods emerges. Initially hints of sandal, cedar and quote a bit of myrrh is shining through, but then it becomes sharper by the addition of an oak moss component. Later on the whole starts reminding one of the very artificial pseudo-ouds that are commonly used in perfumery these days. A slightly salty touch of ambergris is hovering in the background; this ambergris is restrained but quite authentic, and also much, much less synthetic that many of the other ingredients.

I get strong sillage, excellent projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

A vivid incense bomb for wintery days that takes on a long journey along the spice trial, one ends up in some less enchanted woodlands that are rather generic for some of the time. The large amount of ingredients makes it a bit crowded, preventing some elements to develop their full potential, whilst other ingredients or overly synthetic in a manner that is not particularly original. Some ingredient are of a higher quality though, and an ardent incense lover might find some contentment here. Overall 2.75/5

Jasmin Angélique by Atelier Cologne

A bright combination of lemon and pepper open up the olfactory stage, but in good balanced with each other; the pepper is not very strong on me. Some angelica is evident but weaker.

On a wave of Iso-E Super one is carried to the heart notes, where a jasmine is dominant. It is a bright jasmine that lacks any woodsiness of powderiness on me. hist of dates, galbanum - very week the latter - and whiffs of dried dates comes and go. a slightly ambery aroma starts to be added in the background, a development that continues into the base.

The prominent component of the base notes is a lashing with bright white musks, mined with a tonka impression that, interestingly, is less sweet on me than the musks. Undertones of a very discreet incense come and go; this incense is really quite weak and perfunctory on me.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and six hour of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant bright and light-filled start of this scent for warmer sprog and autumn days does not detract from the rather generic and bland character of the subsequent phases, especially the base. Not bad, but all synthetic support does not neutralises the lack of vividness and intensity for most of this product's olfactory development. A bit middle-of-the-road. 2.75/5

Au Coeur du Desért by Tauer

The opening blast is a feast of amber - rich, intense and with a slightly sweet hint. There is whiff of citrus traceable in the first moment, but the amber rules the roost, and continues doing so for near the whole development. There is evidently a considerable contribution of a patchouli component, adding a dark and smoky effect, although it is not extremely harsh, like, for instance, Tom Ford's Purple Patchouli. Still, it has its edginess and crispness.

Down the track some nonspecific woodsy impression comes and goes, but a times touches of a cypress shine through. A touch of a very artificial ambergris makes an appearance at times.

I get strong sillage, excellent projection, and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

As a amber scent this is very niche, including in the way the patchouli is applied. The rest is less impressive, but the performance is very good. Is displays considerable similarities with L'Air du Desert Marocain for the same House, but is a bit less nuanced than L'Air. Overall 3.25/5

Note de Yuzu by Heeley

The opening is yuzu indeed, clear, bright and quite fresh. other fruits - mainly mandarins and oranges on me - add to the summery fruit bowl. Nice.

Soon the sea salt impression arises, which carries an accords of seaweed with it., which is the hallmark of the drydown, with the yuzu retreating gradually over time. Touches of a faint vetiver are lurking in the background,

The second half is a wave of white musks that washed over me in a somewhat undistinguished manner. It is not the most impressive of white musks.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

I lovely start, then less impressive as a bit too predictive and unimaginative - as if an attenuated copy of the same House's Sel Marin is intercalated here. The rest is too generic to excite. Overall 2.75/5.

Remarkable People by Etat Libre d'Orange

The opening blast is based on a fresh-ish grapefuit. Soon a note labeled "champagne accord" is added to it, but on me this is more a chemical laboratory-created fizzy plonk that has little to do with the bubbly products that originate from the area around Reims.

The drydown reminds me of an anise cookie =, that at times smells a bit like a sweet Thai curry. Touches of labdanum, cardamom, and peppers enhance the spicy someone in the mix. Hits of jasmine and muguet are in the background.

The base is characterised by a nonspecific woodsy undertone, with hints of a dull sandalwood breaking through on occasions. Some sweetish-woodsy lorenox is noticable towards the end.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and six hours of longevity on my skin.

From the beginning some of the notes of this spring scent are quite pleasant, but the majority is quite bland, overly synthetic and generic. 2.5/5

Azzura by Azzaro

The opening phase is a fruity-floral mix. A limitedly fresh mandarin dominated the opening blast, bit the blackcurrant catches up soon. Weaker elements are some bergamot and a touch of cyclamen. The subsequent arrival of the floral is spearheaded by a pleasant muguet, which remains the prominent floral at that stage.

In the drydown, a dyad of rose and jasmine is evident a bit later on, but the rose is quite generic, and the jasmine never really takes off on my skin. A ripe yellow apricot with whiffs of peach development after some time; there remains the blackcurrant in the background for quite some time.

The base loses in intensity, and is a blend of a very restrained vanilla with a touch of sycamore. Interestingly, the vanilla is less sweet on me that the floral notes I got earlier. Then a yuzu develops that is not very strong, but it nonetheless manages to move into the foreground such as to become the main note in the last stages of the development of this fragrance, with a whiff of white musks appearing just before the end.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasant creation, this is a fairly sweet floral-fruity scent for spring days. The top notes is the best part; the rest becomes too weak and a tad too generic to convince. Overall 2.75/5

Lignum Vitae by Beaufort London

Fresh sweetish aromas of biscuits, cinnamon biscuits to be precise - I did not expect that, although it is the season for such frolics - Xmas time. This is given a slightly salty undertone as if it was a biscuit kept on the beach exposed to the salty breezes. Bondi Beach anyone?

Later on I get a metallic touch, which mingles well with the earlier notes, as does some white smoke that is added in now. In the base this is rounded of by a nonspecific woodsy background impression. A light hint of a soft suede leather appears closer towards the end on me.

I get moderate sillage very good projection and nine hours of longevity on my skin.

This bright scent for cooler summer days uses evidently very synthetic notes that by themselves hare somewhat mundane, but in this combination they result in stretches of quite original aromas and smells that are enthusing in spite of their nigh-random arbitrariness of their recombination. Christmas cookies on the sea shore? Released 2016. Overall 3/5

Altruist - Paul DeFlorian by J.F. Schwarzlose

The opening sounds simple: lemon and bergamot, immersed in lashings of aldehydes brighten it further that the citrus does already: the result is a delightfully sunny opening stage.

After abut fifteen minutes the hitherto quite strong performance collapses, and the rest is quite close to my skin. The drydown is still bright, but adds s bowl of spices, with ginger, touches of nutmeg and pepper - more pink than the scent pyramid's black pepper on me. After a while a few florals attempt to enter the spicy fray, a restrained orange blossom, and rather bland rose, aided by whiffs of geranium, but the floral push struggles to make a dent in the realm of spicy dominance.

The base is characterised but an ambery note - Ambramone is the brand name of this synthetic molecule - in the foreground, with a very nonspecific woodsy undertone.

I get sift to moderate sillage, adequate projection and four hours of longevity on my skin.

This creation for cooler summer days starts well as a bright aldehydic creation, but with the collapse of performance cone a collapse of quality. From the drydown on the rest is rather generic and synthetic without any redeeming features; the ingredients are somewhat bland in all their brightness. From the duration point of view, there is more disappointment than excitement here. 2.75/5

Rose Gold by Ormonde Jayne

Lemon, Sicilian lime, bergamot - and opening blast that appears fresh, but the sweeter whiffs of ripe oranges are still bright, but dampen the freshness a bit. later on a herbal tome of clary sage develops in the background.

The drydown reveals a lovely dyad of water lilies and orchids, which soon is joined by a discrete but pleasant Taif rose impression and results in a floral trio of distinction indeed. backgrounds accompaniments of a green jasmine, and somewhat less impressive carnation and whiffs of muguet compliment this floral basket.

The base turns woodsy in nonspecific manner, although some faux-sandalwood is evident at times. an ambrette seed becomes stronger with times, supported by pink peppers (shinus molle) and a very laboratory-chemical labdanum added prior to the end. An unsually well mannered artificial oud is co-exiting concurrently with the other woodsy notes.

I get moderate silage, excellent projection, and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

A creation for warmer spring days that has original moments and is quite complex, but some note are too generic and too synthetic; other are more convincing. Overall - just a positive score based on the good first half particularly. 3/5

Dryad by Papillon Artisan Perfumes

A opening with a herbal, citrus - bergamot, bigarade, cedrat, ripe oranges - and some spice - this is my first impression here. The spices - mainly orris, cistus, and galbanum - prevent the citrus to be very fresh or bright, and the darker spices result in an olfactory twilight zone. The herbal influence is provided by thyme, clary dosage with whiffs of basil. An unusual and complex opening phase.

The drydown shift a bit by adding florals and fruits. Ripe apricots with whiffs of overripe yellow peaches mix with orange blossoms, narcissus and a darker and lightly powdery iris

That later stages are shifting gear again, with chypre-style components, with a mossy impression combining with a sharper benzoin and an - at times balsamic - styrax, which never takes on a medicinal or very camphoric character on me. On the other hand, a leathery undertone, without much of a smokiness on me, is noteworthy in the final stages.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection, and six hours of longevity on my skin.

This is a multilayered scent for autumn evenings, which suffers a bit from an overload of ingredients that cannot all fully develop, but they blend very well, resulting in a good and versatile development - there is hardly ever a dull moment here. The quality of some of the ingredients is indubitably high, and some are also natural. Overall a challenging and quite impressive creation. 3.75/5