Perfume Reviews by Karesz

Triumphant by Captain Fawcett Limited

This is an excellent barbershop fragrance. The opening reminds me of Penhaligon's Castile, witht the sweet citruses. Then it transforms into spicy lime. During the drydown the florals take lead and the fragrance ends up being something similar to Tabac Original but dryer , greener and less sweet.
This is an exceptional quality amongst today's offerings. Exceptional projection and longevity. The fragrance stays strongly present on me for the whole day.
Fresh, green, floral barbershop scent. Packaging is also very high quality, perfect decoration items for barbers and enthusiasts.
This is when a brand puts effort in making and selling a product. I appreciate it a lot in today's world. 10/10 fragrance.

Vanille Havane by Les Indémodables

The opening is exactly what I wanted it to be. Like sniffing a glass of aged rum that was left out for overnight and therefore lost it's potency. This part lasts only for about 3-5 minutes. The fragrance then slowly transforms into again, exactly what is says on the tin. Vanilla, tobacco leaves, cocoa.
The vanilla here is dry, masculine, slightly earthy. The tobacco is present, like the smell of damp, fresh tobacco leaves. The cocoa dances with all of these notes, comes and goes but too weak to take the lead.
The overall experience is nice, gourmand. The boozyness quickly fades away. The main notes stay present and linear. Masculine, toasted vanilla with appearing cocoa and tobacco notes. The scent cloud is powdery, dry, semi sweet. Imagine taking out the floral and fruity notes from Guerlain's Shalimar edp. This is what you get. A deep dive into the basics. If you found Tobacco Vanille or Tabac Rouge too sweet and cloying then try this fragrance. Very good option for a masculine vanilla.

Booze and Baccy by Captain Fawcett Limited

Well, this is unfortunately a big disappointment for my taste, might be pleasing for others. Nice little fragrance but far from what I expected looking at the notes and the marketing elements. I can't detect the zesty orange, nor the tobacco or the rum notes. Instead this is a medicinal, slightly sweet fragrance. The opening is almost eucalyptus like and herby. From there it fades into the smell of an old fashioned pharmacy. It stays like that and within half an hour the fragrance is nothing more or less than persistent carnation, cinnamon, clove, later some dry thyme supported by some vanilla sweetness.
No sign of the tobacco at all, nor the boozy notes. Not a heavy, punchy fragrance at all. Dry, herbal, floral, sweet but nothing ground breaking. After the 6 hour mark it dries down to a budget cola smell. Beautiful website, packaging, marketing and then the fragrance itself is a big letdown. I'm just sitting here quietly waiting for the big surprise which isn't coming.

Aventus by Creed

Dear Reader!

In a nutshell. This fragrance just like many others has been ruined for money or for health and safety reasons. This was the political part of the issue.
The technical part. Lomani AB Spirit Silver and Afnan Supremacy Silver are performing better than the latest Aventus batches! I bought my first and last bottle of Aventus recently but I'm actually toying with the idea of selling it on soon.
I used to have samples and decants from 2012-2013. Beautiful they were. I loved them, big thumbs up. They worth the money till the last drop.
What I get now from Aventus is weak performance, unrecognizeable character etc. The opening note is clearly a pink grapefruit scent instead of pineapple. I can't detect any sweet blackcurrant or any depth at all. The drydown is short and simple. Nothing like it used to be! I miss the elegant, mossy vanilla drydown. Smokiness has gone completely.
Is it normal that even the Aventus fans play Dexter at home and mix birch tar oil etc to a niche perfume??????? It's like buying a luxury car but after taking it home you change the engine in it because you don't like the performance.
Once again. Afnan and Lomani are doing better since they can provide a constant quality ( not a gamble ) and draw in just as much compliments as Aventus used to do.
Maybe Creed could be a house who could afford going against the flow and not changing the ingredients from time to time, also ruining their reputation.
So. The recent batches are perfect for the fruit fans. Why can't we get at least a special edition with the old ingredients and big yellow warning labels saying that this is dangerous, hazardous, bla-bla-bla to your skin and your health. Than let the consumer choose!!! I might be a black sheep but no more Aventus for me, unless they bring the quality back to this product.
P.S. I ordered my bottle straight from france and in their webshop the description says "Aventus eau de toilette." Well, the performance perfectly matches the description.
Recent reviews here show that I'm not the only one with this bitter experience. Sad really.

AB Spirit Silver by Lomani

I'll try to be short and helpful towards those who can't make a decision.
Yes, with several years of experience in the world of fragrances I dare to say that this is a perfectly enjoyable replica of Aventus. Good value for money, good longevity, average projection. It's not at all a complicated fragrance with different stages and hours of changing drydown. This fragrance gives you a perfect, fruity opening and a semi sweet smoky-patchouli-oak moss drydown. Within a couple of hours it simply turns from one to the other. It's that simple! And you get the two most enjoyable stages of Aventus.
The similarity to my nose- and to most people- is almost identical. The drydown lacks some complexity but it's not even worth to mention.
Before any judgement is made let me tell you that I'm fussy like most of you when it comes to fragrances. I appreciate and enjoy luxury products. I respect traditions, quality ingredients, I'm a gentleman.
Lomani AB Spirit Silver gives me the same pleasing experience what Aventus does.
No, I'm not easy to please. This fragrance is that good.
I also would like to draw your attention to one thing. For the majority of people in most countries Creed stays only a dream hence the pricetag. You guys who own Aventus can't imagine that some fellow basenoters earn less than half of the price of a Creed fragrance in a month. Lomani AB Spirit Silver is their Aventus. And probably it would become yours too if Creed fragrances were taken out of trade.

Tabac Original by Mäurer & Wirtz

Believe me gents if this juice was sitting in an Acqua di Parma or Tom Ford bottle you all would be wearing it!
Perfect, clean manliness that always draws compliments. Some people find it outdated and on the next day they call the basenotes trapped on my shirt nice, fresh and masculine.
This fragrance has been successful for a reason.
The top notes of the edt straight after application are very similar to AdP Colonia. The cigarette infused flowers are long lasting on my skin. At the same time it's giving off a fresh, soapy, well groomed feeling throughout the day.
It's cheap enough to keep it in a real man's fragrance wardrobe and you will find that you wear it more and more and with each wearing you enjoy it more.
It never gets negative comments from ladies.
The really successful fragrances have been made anyway, and Tabac Original is one of them.
If you dislike this fragrance then do yourself a favour. Imagine that this is a new release from one of your favourite niche houses and try it again under their name. ;) Enjoy!

L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme by Guerlain

Never a fragrance wasn't so close to express my personality than this one. It would become my signature scent if there wasn't a tiny missing thing.
The opening, the first five minutes are absolutely flawless! At this stage the citruses are so balanced and comforting to my nose that I feel complemented. This sweet citrus cloud is lingering around me until the anise starts piercing through the bright layers. From that moment the fragrance is overdiven by the star anise for me, although I enjoy every moment of the ride. Beautiful cacao appears , soft woods play and put me in an elegant and sophisticated mood.
I managed to get hold of a sample of the other versions, d'un Eté and Cristaux d'Agrumes. D'un Eté instantly fell out as being too light and floral compared to the original. The „citrus cristals” version would be a good alternative for lighter weather . Here I can get the extra dose of citrus what fades away too early int he original edt. Still the more citrusy-especially grapefruit- notes faded away sooner than I expected from a citrus dominated version. The drydown was a lighter but also too anise ruled scent.
I gave a try to the parfume version too. In a nutshell it was heavy, too oily and therefore the whole experience was not enjoyable. I came to a conclusion that nothing can beat the original eau de toilette version.
This fragrance is in my top three and it will always be part of my collection. This is the only fragrance what when wearing even men asked me what it was, because it smells so nice.
Because of it's oriental nature I can only wear and enjoy this fragrance from the autumn until spring time. Also doesn't suit every occassions, it's way too sophisticated and well balanced for an every day use.
The bottle looks nice, stands out amongst the other fragrances. The price is fair for the overall experience. Thank you Guerlain!

Façonnable Eau de Toilette for Men / Façonnable by Façonnable

I decided to write my first review about the fragrance that led me into the world of parfumes.
In 1994 I started my neverending journey with this classic, masculine scent. As I was after something more than the bulk deodorant sprays and cheap after shaves I visited the newly opened drugstores in my city. Testing the fragrances wasn't easy those days around here. The fragrances were lined up behind the counter and you had to ask the staff to spray the fragrance onto the test paper for you. The same staff who were operating the till, so they were well annoyed each and every time when somebody walked up to them with such a request.
I randomly asked for samples simply by picking the prettiest bottles. One day Faconnable appeared on the shelf and I asked them to show me the fragrance. I can clearly remember that when I sniffed the test paper the experience instantly put a smile on my face. I never kept the papers, but this one was an exception. To top it all I kept going back to the shop for the same sample week after week until I was instantly refused by the annoyed staff.
Being a young student I couldn't afford expensive fragrances , but a few years later I discovered the place where I can get the designer fragrances cheaper from. As soon as the retailer had this one in store I bought it. Since that I always own a bottle an will do as long as it's available. Unfortunately my country is really good at stopping to sell popular and cheap fragrances, but Faconnable is present in Europe and well cheap.
The fragrance itself is a hidden gem in my oppinion. My father has always been wearing masculine, barbershop style fragrances, so not surprising that I have a passion for these too. I have never read the name of Faconnable in the barbershop discussions, but in my opinion this could easily be in the all time top ten.
The top notes for the first five minutes are a beautiful mixture of fresh mint and bright orange. After that the fragrance slowly turns into a bittersweet fruity, than soon herby, soapy and woody dry masculine scent. Despite of the dryness it keeps the sweet notes for a very long time. The fragrance is fresh, sophisticated, classy, the bottle and the packaging is outstanding, the price is unbeatable for the quality you get. Projection and longevity are well above average, so Faconnable could teach a lesson to today's market!
If any reformulation has happened since the first release than I believe it didn't effect the fragrance in the usual unfortunate way.
In addition to my review I would recommend Lanier's review on fragrantica.
And finally I have a tester bottle with a factory sticker on the back expalining the fragrance notes:
new freshness- spearmint - polar ozone – mandarine
woody- cedar – sandalwood
sensual-amber – musk – vanilla
PS: All the Ladies ( not girls, chicks or today's empty minded females )who came across with it found it attractive!