Perfume Reviews by H_West

English Pear & Freesia by Jo Malone London

I got recommended to try this one on the hunt for a light patchouli in the base. It was worth a shot but it fell on other aspects for me. It starts very floral, the freesia I presume, and therefore gives me an association of femininity. The pear note seems interesting but it is rather hard to pick up and I only do it from time to time.

I like it better in the dry down, the patchouli and woods starts to come out and makes it rather pleasant. That phase might feel a bit short as many of the Jo Malone's I've tried is on the light side. I think my wife would wear this better than me :)

Le Dandy by D'Orsay

I don't know the story on this one, supposedly released 1925. I does not smell like that, at least not to my experience.

I get a rather modern scent, something in the veins of Hugo Boss - Hugo. Sweet and fruity, with a heavier and darker base, but without the artificial feel. It smells well composed and natural. Like a niche take on a wearable masculine scent for the masses with a slight twist.

I enjoyed this while my decant lasted!

Bois du Portugal by Creed

This is almost a great fragrance. If I would have rated it after my first wearings it would have been a thumbs down but now I think I've got to know it.

It does have a nice lavender, a creamy sandalwood and some nice citruses to balance it up. Then comes the clove, and that kills it for me. I can see how people are liking this one, and it would be interesting to try it without cloves, but I have come to the conclusion that this is not for me. Unfortunately.

I wore five ml's and then sold it. If I want this but more colorful and "younger" I look at Xerjoff - Renaissance. If one are looking for an even more mature take on this, and for me a harder wear, then New York Intense might be it.

Elysium pour Homme Cologne by Roja Dove

Just to be clear: this smells good! Thumbs up, positive review then.

There is some things that seem to complicate it for people trying it however...

The main thing might be the fact that it is an exclusive Roja Dove scent. With that comes a price, and an enormous one too. It is a Parfum Cologne. What is that? I have not tried the original parfum so I don't know how far off this one is from that.

Aventus is often brought up when discussing this. Are they close? No, I don't think so. But they are in the same ball park. So, paying a lot of money, getting high expectations from a perfumer like Roja Dove, and you end up with a crowd pleaser smelling like a relative to Aventus. I do get the mixed feelings this causes. I don't think I will buy a bottle but I definitely enjoyed wearing up a decant. It has a really nice base that can be enjoyed the morning after a SOTE application.

Take it for what it is, I think it smells great.

Shooting Stars : Allende by Xerjoff

This is a thick, creamy and sweet gourmand. Something like a bar of chocolate, maybe with some coconut in it. I have only done one wearing so take what you can from my impression. Nothing wrong with the performance either.

Honey Oud by Floris

Honey Oud - a modern release from the house of Floris. And a very nice smelling one!

The honey in this one provides with sweetness, which I like, but I think I'm having a harder time picking out the oud. Not that it matters, I get the idea of the fragrance. It's like a warm, sweet and ambery fragrance. But it also smells clean somehow. That makes it more versatile considering day or night time wearings. It's smooth enough to wear it at evenings but since it's more clean than stinky oud smelling it can be used in daytime as well. In fact, I even wore to the office today.

The performance is not above average. That might help with the versatility. You can wear it discretely and that is how I like it. Put on a couple of sprays more and I guess it will project. I have been wearing it from a sample which might make it harder to rate in terms of performance.

Maybe my favorite from Floris!

Pacific Rock Moss by Goldfield & Banks

This one is so boring that it almost upsets me. :)

The name and the hype on this one made me look forward to try it. I tried not to get my hopes up but when I first smelled it it disappointed me. I did not pick up anything in particular. Just a dull generic smell. To me, nothing stood out and I was indifferent to the scent around me.

My wife gets home, and she is not the most easy to please with fragrances. She kisses me and she tells me I smell very good. What?! How could she? It was not just to be nice, she really liked it on me.

I tried the sample some times more but it never did it for me. It was only good to wear to be nice to my wife. It didn't smell bad but it did never boost me in any way.

Jacomo de Jacomo Original by Jacomo

I read great things about Jacomo de Jacomo and since it was very cheap I almost bought a bottle blind. Luckily I found a sample. Man, would that have been a blind buy I would've regret.

JdJ might be well blended and have decent performance. But I will boil it down to two questions for me that makes it clear on this one. Does it smell good? Is it easy to wear? No and no. I did most of my wearings when alone in the house because this did not smell pleasant. Dated, sure, but more bad smelling. It has a big clove note which I think is hard to pull off in a fragrance that is not supposed to smell like old times. It do has something that reminds me of smoke which together with the spiciness is embracing some sort of 70's mossy men's fragrance.

When my wife came home from a travel I had just visited some older relatives. She told me she could smell it on my clothes that I've been there. It turned out I tried JdJ in the morning so it was the perfume that smelled like it does in an old house for her.

This is a pass for me.

New York Intense by Nicolaï

It is not often, but from time to time I bump into fragrances that I cannot stand. This is one of them. And I got my hopes up high before tying it.

This one is very harsh and old school smelling. I think it is the clove that makes me think of some old relative female and really old and strong perfume. When I wore it I was worried that someone would catch a whiff of my scent and notice how bad I smelled. I don't know if my associations can affect me or if I just think that it stinks.

It has been compared to Bois du Portugal, which is pretty similar. BDP is old school as well but my hopes were that NYI should be a refined and modern BDP. It was not. Way worse. I asked my wife but she felt the same way of the smell. If you are sensitive to more old fashioned scents or cloves you should try before you buy. Rating: 1/5

Back to Black, aphrodisiac by Kilian

Honey and tobacco with a pleasant touch of raspberry. Yum! I think this was one of my first loves with niche fragrances and it was so intriguing. The performance was good as well.

This is something for us that likes sweet fragrances. I would wear this mostly in the colder nights. Perfectly suitable for special occasions.

Obsessed Intense for Men by Calvin Klein

I like this one!

It is warm and cozy and somehow manages to smell clean to me. Since it is a oriental style fragrance it wears lighter than I expected. That makes it easier to wear than the beasts they can be.

I don't think I will purchase a full bottle but the sample I finished I enjoyed the whole way.

David Beckham Respect by Beckham

I got a sample of this one for free and out of some snobbery I was thinking of giving/throwing it away before even trying it. It did not interest me, but then I decided I would give this one a few wearings.

Today I am wearing it for work. The opening water melon note is very clear, and it annoys me a bit. From there it dries down to a common tart and woody base. The tartness might come from grape or some other citrus. It is not bad. And it is very safe. My wife said it smelled fresh and nice.

For someone who does not care about fragrances this might suit well. A business friendly scent with a fresh touch. This will never be a Basenotes darling though. I gave this a fair shot but it does not catch my interest.

I am reviewing this at lunch time and unfortunately I'm having trouble smelling it. I applied this morning (from a sample) two sprays behind each ear and one or two to the chest. I have to rub the application spots to feel something now. That gives a rather poor performance. It does not smell bad, but it lasts and projects bad. A neutral rating is pretty generous in this case.

Casamorati Italica by Xerjoff

I have only worn this once, but since no other reviews are up I hope I can help someone out.

Italica is a yummy gourmand with a milky, creamy toffee with vanilla. I put an additional spray to my hand so I could follow it's development and I kept sniffing my hand throughout the evening. I would wear this one on evenings and special occasions, preferably in the colder months. Could easily suit both genders.

This seems to be exclusively sold at one shop, so it might not be the easiest to lay one's hands on. The price is quite high as well.

Performance was great, it projected and lasted well!

Bois de Vétiver by Lagerfeld

The name on this is pretty accurate: woods and vetiver, in that order. I think there is some citrus going on to round it off too. Fresh and pleasing.

I am not a fan of vetiver, I have to make that clear. In this the vetiver is a bit toned down in comparison to Guerlain's, Tom Ford's or Hermes Terre flanker. This is pretty wearable and office friendly. For me, the risk with that is that it can be boring. Add a note that I don't care for and this will not be to much use for me.

For those who are fine with vetiver and want a fresh and pleasing take on it, this might be something. It will hardly bother someone. Average on both projection and longevity. I am moving on and I am neutral to this one.

Shawn Mendes Signature by Shawn Mendes

If I was going to recommend this one and make generalizations I would say this is suitable for younger females. It is a unisex fragrance, which I usually enjoy, but I find it hard to wear for a man.

It is sugary sweet, like the girls smelled when I grew up. And they smelled nice, but I could not wear it for myself. I know some Escada perfumes and this could easily be sold in a bottle with that brand. Maybe the beach is a good place for this one.

Eau Fraîche Homme by Eisenberg

I got a free sample of this from Notino and since it was not reviewed yet I might just give it a go. It was a dumb sample with about one spray in it so it will not be 100% accurate.

The scent reminds me of Still Life from Olfactive Studios. It is a bright citrus. It might even stretch towards Dunhill Icon. Light and fresh. It is hard to tell if the performance is good with that small amount of juice. It feels very light though.

I give it a neutral rating since there is other fragrances that does the same thing better. But the smell is allright!

Acqua di Giò Absolu by Giorgio Armani

I find this one quite redundant in the ADG range. Some might get disappointed as well. It's as if the original was mixed up with the trending scents of today like Le Male Eau Fraiche or Invictus Aqua. It does not smell bad, but the original and profumo is enough for me.

For someone without the experience of the other ADG:s - go ahead, it's nice. I did not get the best performance though but it is enjoyable.

Sauvage Eau de Parfum by Christian Dior

This is a more balanced version of the EdT. I guess this is what the original was supposed to be. The overall similarities are big and I did not detect any larger differences in the performance. I would not need both versions so this could easily replace the original. Thumbs up - why not?

Valentino Uomo Acqua by Valentino

Green, yellow or red. I am going to translate them to buy, try or pass to know if I should stick with green or yellow. For me it is not a buy, but it is at least a try.

Notes mentioned from the producer is citruses, leather and iris. The impact from the word "Acqua" is not making it a citrusy scent. More like a watered down original. To soften it up. The iris and the structure is still there.

It can be compared to others with the homme/intense/aqua flankers. In the case Invictus Aqua, the Aqua improved a too intense base. I don't think this is the case with Valentino. For me it feels watered down, and therefore I prefer it not watered down and would go with the original Valentino Uomo.

I have to mention the performance. I am usually not that sensitive in these discussions. Some are stronger, some are weaker. This is surprisingly weak. I have increased my number of sprays and it is still not that projecting or long lasting. So for those looking for "beasts", this will not be for you guys.

Molécule No. 8 : Wooden Chips by Zarko Perfume

I'm going to start this thumbs up review with this strange assertion: "This is fabric softener for me". Is that a good thing? For me it can be, it all depends on how you want to use it. This one is soft, clean and comforting. It is like making the bed with newly washed bed clothing, jump on it and just let you nose take in the clean smell. Don't you want a fragrance like that, then this one might not do the trick. For some it might require a collection to make this one fit. I can tell that this one won't bother someone at least.

At a fragrance shop I was told that this one is the male counterpart of Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules. Since both are shared I can tell that this guy has no clue. They do have similarities though. Maybe they kept them differently in male and female sections since they didn't have a shared section. Suitable for everyone and is somewhat of a safe scent. Worth a try.

Sartorial by Penhaligon's

This one I cannot stand. I might not be the biggest fan of the fougeres but I can totally respect and see the beauty in old classics. I can't agree on any quality on this. I get metal, lavender and oakmoss from this sharp scent. I felt off the whole day I wore it and kept hoping no one would smell me.

I was open minded when I got a sample since it has been so praised, but for me - a scrubber.

Pour Un Homme Sport by Caron

I have not yet tried the original so I can't tell the impact of the "Sport" in this version. I don't find it particularly sporty though. The initial phase did not impress me. Then came the drydown - that's the good part! Some say the lavender from the original is there but I found it accompanied by a sweet and creamy sort of mint. Almost like an edible minty ice cream.

I have been wearing it a few times but my sample is now done unfortunately. If a full bottle was available at a descent price I might have bought it. Try not to think of it as a bad flanker of a classic, since I don't have a history with Caron I'm just enjoying this scent. Hopefully you will too!

Gin & Tonic by Demeter Fragrance Library

I have been searching for a gin & tonic fragrance for quite some time so when I got the oppurtunity to try this one out I couldn't resist. Unfortunately I was disappointed. It did not make me think of the drink and as I waited for the drydown to make it better it vanished. An odd smell and a very poor longevity. Pass.