Fragrance Review: New Haarlem Revew (Bond No. 9)

via [ Drexel University  ]

 

 The only Bond No.9 worth paying full price for. There are other good ones like China Town and Brooklyn...but just good...not lavish.

Group: Sweet Oriental

Smells like: The pleasure one's mouth receives upon eating a sweet Turkish delight or Baklava, while immediately emulsifying the dessert with a coffee with light cream and sugar.

Rating: 9/10

This stuff is amazing. Forget about the deliciousness and the mouth watering aspect of this fragrance. There is so much complexity to this fragrance despite only having about 5 to 6 notes.

Only my man Maurice can do something like this. What Roucel has done here is take a simple note, Coffee, and turned it into a fragrance that evolves into the various stages of a wonderful time in New York City history: old school Harlem!

In the era the fragrance tries to depict...Harlem was a "New" Haarlem (that's how it was spelled back then with two a's)..and that's what the fragrance is portrays...the evolution of a wonderful part of Manhattan that was slowly becoming inspired by speakeasies that play Miles and Coltrane in the background...jazz clubs with a smokey airiness of coffee is it clashes with the sweet perfumes of the waitresses mingling with the woody colognes worn by cats in fedoras and suits and canes and tie bars...who, after a long night of snapping fingers and dancing and playing cards, would step out, woman in hand, letting all the aromas inside their beloved joint to succumb to what's left of the nature in Manhattan.

Coffee with Lavender is hard to picture...but throw in the sweet earthiness of Pathchouli and a light cedar base..and Roucel not only created the perfect combination of Coffee and florals, but so well blended that anyone who embarks on this trip is sure to be pleased.

New Haarlem is very sweet, but EXTREMELY tolerable...and ready?...waitt for it...YES..tolerable EVEN in the SUMMER (long as you go light on the trigger). Most will tell you that this is a cold weather scent...true, but I don't think it's exclusive to cooler moments. The reason is, New Haarlem is this phenomenal airiness to it..overtime the coffee mellows out, and the patchouli/lavendar/vanilla begins to rise - the gorgeous thing about this evolution is, in the cooler periods..one will say "Wow, this is perfect for the winter..what a cozy and warming scent but sweet enough to distract my senses."..During warmer moments, catching whiffs of this gorgeous scent one will think "wow...what a crisp, sweet, coffee'ish, airy scent."

Very versatile.

Longevity: 9+ hours (12+ on clothing)

Sillage: Mesmerizing scent trail. "I want to eat you alive.." type compliments to "what...is...that...fragrance...I can't stop sniffing you!" ...thank god I got all day ;-) I wore this in Miami once, yes, Miami...two sprays, one on each forearm, and catching whiffs of this was such a delight while walking along Ocean Drive, letting the breeze from the Atlantic carry this composition around me.

Projection: Not a MONSTER in the sense of Godzilla...but let's call it Bigfoot...will get the job done should one stumble upon it.

9/10

Will always be a part of my collection. Always.

Fragrance Review: L'eau D'Hiver by Jean Claude Ellena for Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle

(via Southbayview.blogspot)

This fragrance to me is art...not something I would wear as a signature or as part of my daily rotation. I wear this when I want to remind myself of how a scent can truly reflect the world and all its oddities. I wear this when I am in the mood to reflect.

With that said, for many this may not be such a great reference..but just try your best to picture it...because this fragrance took quite a while for me to fathom...when I finally did come to some conclusion, I realized the genius that is M. Ellena: 

In an unshaken snow globe, picture Central Park covered in snow.. In the center lies a patch of flowers..heliotrope and iris...untouched by snow...but brushed only by a gentle, cool, tranquil breeze. The light winds capture the floral essence and carry it with them. Drizzle honey around the patch. Vaporize a handful of almonds and unleash this air into this kingdom of serenity. Shake the globe, as best you can and watch all the notes fall onto this patch.

The genius here is how the notes not only give rise to varying temperatures but those same notes have a warming effect later. The Heliotrope and Iris truly do bring about this cool yet melancholy sensation..very introspective. The honey warms the concoction extremely well. The almond adds to the sweetness but also gives an airiness to the fragrance. Magical yet realistic. Strange but inviting. Complex yet comprehensible. Cozy.

Give this a try because every interpretation is unique and requires one's own experiences. Again to me this is not something I would wear often. It can be worn in any season, so extremely versatile. To me it is the perfect compliment to a cool spring day or any moment in the winter. I wear this for myself, and could care less if others notice. (note: no one will notice because projection and longevity are not good at all..at least on my skin and clothes..even with lotion)!

As an art piece: 10/10
As a fragrance for mundane use: 5/10

Fragrance Review: Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme Review

via [Pinterest]

The one that started it all for me. The first fragrance I ever sniffed because it was the first time I ever bought cologne. I forget how old I was, but I was definitely in high school. Now this is no scent for a high schooler..hell no. But I bought it for my father because I remember him sniffing it at Lord & Taylor and he loved it. So I got for him for Christmas. Now I remember thinking, damn, this stuff is good. Not great, but good. That was my response to the opening. Then after a while, the mid notes and dry down decided to knock on my door. That's when I was like holy shit. That final sweet tobacco intertwined with sandalwood, tonka, and cedar...to die for. Luxury and class in a bottle.

Oh then came the era of reformulations...and holy fuck what the hell did the d-bags over at D&G do to my precious sticker bottle formulation?!?! Now, this new version of the fragrance is abysmal to say the least. Far less longevity, terrible sillage, and something reminiscent of cat piss in the mid notes. I hate the new stuff. The problem with buying the classic "sticker bottle" formulation...is age...those bottles are probably old as hell and definitely some changes to the juice as age really does do damage on the molecules. So, I definitely do NOT recommend getting the new bottles which look like this:  

If you will buy a bottle.. aim to get, at the least, the original formula..the bottles which have a simple sticker on it that looks like this:

 On to the Review: (This is based on the bottle directly above...not the new cat piss formula..I'm not the only one who agrees with the cat piss...the sales associate at the D&G in Bal Harbour Miami said the same shit).

Opening:  Splendid burst of lemon and bergamot and some leafiness (probably from the tarragon or sage or some shit I forgot). I use tarragon in some of my chicken marinades..adds an amazing touch along with rosemary. I digress..so you have this luxurious citrusy burst initially...behind it all you feel some woods evolve...cedar and sandalwood. This gives a great base for the first notes to play around on...

Mid-Dry Down: Oh sweet tobacco...sweet motherf*ckin tobacco...starts to holds hands with a mellowed out bergamot and they both lay down on a soft bed made of plush sandalwood, creamy tonka, and Cedarwood. The end is a mist of luxury, sexiness, and extreme comfort. If this drydown was sold in a bottle, I would make it my signature scent. No joke. I think that's why I love Sweet Redemption so much...the scent from start to finish has moments that remind of D&G PH's drydown phase.

Versatility: Very versatile. Work or play, this baby gets the job done year round.

Sillage/Longevity/Projection: Excellent. Lasts forever, projects forever, and leaves a scent trail that is just mesmerizing. For a fragrance that came out in 92 I think, this is just beautiful. In it's drydown phase, the sillage it leaves behind is truly breathtaking.

Compliments: As a senior in high schooler (definitely NOT the age range for this cologne) somehow I pulled this shit off..I am not special..I just think it was different from what everyone else was wearing (Curve, Acqua Di Gio, Curve, Magnetism, Curve, Obsession, Fucking Curve again, etc)...girls loved this shit...my friends would ask me what it is, and I'd threaten to kick their asses if they even sampled it at Sephora. I'd tell them to buy this new thing called...Curve. I continued it throughout my sophomore year of college when I realized that D&G PH was a part of most people's family fucking trees. It was played out and I wanted to be unique. Plus, around that time a couple of felines decided to piss in the formulation and D&G decided to release it....perfect time to say "night night" to this classic and reopen the casting call for a new signature scent. But compliments this baby gets, and they are memorable ones. Sigh.

Overall: 8.5/10. A classic..'nuff said. Long live the initial formulation and I hope they find the asshole who decided to put kitty piss in it and call it Pour Homme. More like Pour Whiskers. The new formulation, 4/10. It only gets a 4 because I am in a good mood and it has SOME hints of the elegant drydown, but it's missing that sweet tobacco sensation and the complimenting sweet blend of  cedar/sandal/tonka. That mixture is just NOT present in the new formulation.

Song of the Moment...Beautiful (Remix) by Mos Def and Talib

Yo...all this fragrance talk led me to spray on some L'Instant de Guerlain Extreme. In addition, I am two weeks away from making it back to NYC...right now I am doing an Emergency Medicine rotation in bumblefuck Pennsylvania...can't wait to get home. Since I can't wait, here's a song that takes me back to Brooklyn on days when I was craving some DiFara's Pizza. BK's Finest. Mary J Sing that songgggg.....

Fragrance Review: Terre D'Hermes (EDT) Review

via [Painting Here]
 

Refreshing. Uplifting. Rugged. Free Spirited. Energizing. The descriptive list goes on reaching the very depths this very land we live on does. From that sparkling blast of citrus to the trembling, ground shattering earthiness that overwhelms the initial zest, this fragrance does what niche fragrances are known to do: Evolve and intrigue.  Let me rephrase..Terre D'Hermes does exactly what M. Ellena is known to do with his fragrances: Evolve and Intrigue. Ellena is known for his transparent style - literally "see through" fragrances. Give my man a dirty old window and he'll shoot pellets of art right through it in a pattern that's apparent...but when looking through the holes, an entirely new world unfolds right there in front of you. 

Opening: Again, a display of citrus laden fireworks composed of oranges and grapefruit....now when fireworks come to an end in the sky, they leave a nice sparkly trail of ...well...sparks - as the light diminishes. The pink pepper in Terre D'Hermes is just that...the sparkle that lights up this zesty display! Such an energizing beginning! Think opening a bottle of orangeade bubbly on New Years Eve with grapefruit scented sparklers going off all around...that's TdH.

Mid-Dry Down:  Like tectonic plates during earthquakes, the entire fragrance begins to shift. The initial rattling of an opening is followed by an aftermath of pure ruggedness. From the Middle to Dry Down...the citrus blend mellows out...the pepper begins to soften....the cedar and vetiver combination ground this fragrance like roots..while a light cloud formed by the wet dirt and dry sand falls slowly onto this  barren yet refreshing land.

Projection/Sillage/Longevity: This stuff projects very well! I remember spraying one shot to my neck...4 hours later I walked into a Starbucks...soon as I approached the clerk the first thing she says is "ooh you smell damn good!' It definitely projects throughout it's entire evolution. It lasts 12+ hours on my clothing and about 9 hours on skin. Very impressive quality.

Versatility: Extremely versatile! Perfect for all occasions and all seasons. One of the most versatile fragrances I have encountered! It does an amazing job of maintaining an earthy warmth during the cold...during the heat, the citruses act as an energizing blend!

Compliments: Too many to count.

Overall: 8.5/10.  This is a marvelous creation. Jean Claude Ellena done did it with this one yo. His style is evident, yet he takes it to another level...he has managed to mix a note so simple (citrus) with a base that is literally natural - Earth! I mean, who thinks of this shit? If you answer "many"..then fine..but who actually gets it done? Look at JCE's other creations...the man uses Heliotrope and Honey to mimic another one of Mother Nature's children..WINTER in L'eau D'Hiver for EDP Frederic Malle. I mean though a hommage to Apres L'Ondee (which is gorgeous by the way, I was able to sample this stuff at MiN and wow the striking resemblance to L'eau D'Hiver)...JCE is a man who speaks complex words with simple hand gestures and miracles occur. TdH is no exception to the rule. Cop a sample of this shit ASAP.

Fragrance Review: Musc Ravageur by Maurice Roucel for Editions de Parums Frederic Malle

DON'T PANIC! This IS NOT a Polo Black review...it is a review for Musc Ravageur! So you might ask then,  what is the guy from the Polo Black ads doing in a Musc Ravageur review? Well...what I like to do (and I will do this for women's fragrances when I start reviewing them) is to put a picture of the type of person that, to me, the fragrance represents. I may even put pictures of scenes or moments that a fragrance reminds me of. When I see Nacho Figeuroa (the man in the photo - a polo or rugby player from Spain I think), I think of Musc Ravageur. This guy fits the bill, no lie.

Musc Ravageur, though complex in every way possible in evolution, can be described very simply: "Sexual Tension in a Bottle."  'Nuff Said.

This stuff is sexy as all hell. Imagine the sexual frustration of a 14 year old boy in his first Rated R movie which just so happens to be...I don't know...Eyes Wide Shut. Apply that to an adult who is refined and cautious with the ability to let his or her self-control go...put those traits in a bottle...and you have this raunchy yet exalted scent created by the legend himself, M. Roucel.

Now, the only caveat here is the opening which I will get to later.

Major Notes: Again, I won't write all the notes, and I will focus on what dominates and what I get. So...Cinnamon, Cloves, Bergamot (VERY fleeting though), vanilla, guiaic wood, musk, sandalwood.

Opening: I don't get much lavender, I do get the bergamot but it is very fleeting. I used to wear Dolce & Gabbana pour home and if there is a fragrance that will make certain your nose knows what bergamot is, its D&G PH. So I get the bergamot. Imagine taking a boat load of cinnamon, half the amount of cloves (you have to know what cloves smell like...it is abundant in indian curries and marinades so I know this stuff far too well).. flood all that with vanilla, and sprinkle some musk powder all around it, and that's what you get. A cinnamon/musk that really reminds many of "old men." That's what my sister calls it. She hates the opening. I love it. You just have to try it out to experience it - no other way around it. Hit or Miss.

Mid-Dry: Okay..here we go. the middle notes basically make the entire concoction sweeter. Fine. Then comes the dry down. God have mercy y'all. In Eyes Wide Shut...you guys want to know what Stanley Kubrick sprayed in that orgy room to get everyone going? He doused the room in Musc Ravageur 7 hours before everyone arrived. Once they smelled the dry down...all hell broke loose. The end of this fragrance is a milky..extra CREAMY extra FROTHY vanilla-bean, with cinnamon drizzled on top, musc  lurking in the background trying to make its way up but having a hard time...and a touch of spice. A dry-down that makes every morning-after worthwile, and the walk of shame thereafter, shameless.

Projection/Sillage/Longevity: From the opening to mid notes..this stuff projects for sure. After about 4 hours, it becomes a skin scent - and I think that was the intention behind this fragrance - meant for intimate moments (to ravage the mind and security of the one to be intimate with) and to free the wearer (to ravage one's own sense of innocence). Sillage...when it does leave a projecting scent trail, it is magnificent. Pure bliss I must say. Yet, it rarely does so (for me) and for those who wear it and walk by me. (My friends and family always..i mean ALWAYS use my fragrances so I have a good idea of the sillage and projection of most fragrances). Longevity...this is phenomenal. This stuff lasts for days..on my skin it lasts 9+ hours which is godsend because my skin sucks. On clothing, it will last until you wash it..and then some.

Versatility: Eh..not the best.  It is a nice scent and you can use it whenever you want...much better for cooler weather as it definitely gives a chilling sweetness to the colder air versus warmer days. In my opinion, it just works better in the evening and cooler days...for laymen, go ahead and use as you please..doubt you'll kill anyone AS LONG AS YOU GO VERY LIGHT...because in the end..it is just a nice smell.

Compliments: I have worn this a lot...MANY TIMES....I have gotten compliments..BUT not many and hose received were in the juice's initial projection phase...so this is attestation to the fact that people do enjoy the opening...but as far as the drydown..no one has had the pleasure of smelling that phase on me so I don't know. All I know is, if that drydown projected, the world would notice. For a fragrance deemed the "holy grail" at times, you'd think more compliments, right? No..not really! Interesting....

Overall: 8/10.  Very nice scent, extremely complex, and changes each time you wear it. Problem is, it is VERY close to the skin for those of you who enjoy fragrances that need to be noticed. This is intended to be a skin scent, and quite honestly, I've tried every Frederic Malle, and though unisex, only a few (and to me those few are ALL feminine ie Noir Epices, Lipstick Rose, etc) are projection and sillage giants.

I hate using the word Panty Dropper...because honestly, it is one's charisma and wit that truly captivates the object of seduction...a fragrance only amplifies this suave aura. Gun to my head and crotch...if I had to use this vile term to describe one scent..it would be Musc F'n Ravageur..no doubt.

It is  potent, but only initially. However, should some lucky soul happen to stumble into your arms during the dry-down phase of this scent...then consider your body the pole and he or she Flick's tongue in that memorable scene from A Christmas Story.

Fragrance Review: L'instant De Guerlain Extreme Review

via (Larisa Lovely)

Classy Cocoa.

L'instant de Guerlain Extreme (LdGE) is a fragrance for the sharp man.

This is a fragrance for a man who knows his way to his destination without hesitation.

This is a fragrance for a man who is sheltered by class....

and exudes elegance.

See the man above in the suit? He sprayed some LdGE. As a woman stands by the door waiting for the doorman to get her a cab, she acquires a whiff of his fragrance...she sees him climb down the stairs...halt in front of the door...put on a pair of shades...fix his pocket square...and walk through the doors..making his entrance into the world.  she will remember that fragrance. As the sillage vanishes from her nose and climbs into her memory...she notices the man crossing the street...but wait...he's dressed differently...holy shit..he's really wearing this....

via pinterest

Not that that's a bad outfit...but it's certainly not a sharp Paul Smith suit....

That's what L'instant does ;-)

This is a mirage of a fragrance. It becomes you. It changes you.

This is for the man who does not need to say much...his eyes and demeanor speak for him.

This fragrance only carries him to new heights.

Major Notes:  Cocoa, Citrus, Anise, Hibiscus, Jasmine, Cedar, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Neroli

Opening: A classy cocoa. Period. Cocoa - Dark and brooding, mysterious, yet elegant.  Cocoa that has been refined by citrus accords with a tea like ambience set forth by the hibiscus, and a floral element produced by the Neroli and Jasmine. A gorgeous opening that is sure to be noticed.

Mid to Dry Down: As with all Guerlains, the end marks the beginning of the genius of this house. If this were a drink...the cocoa now becomes the background..digging into taste buds that are all around your mouth..everywhere except your tongue. On your tongue, though, is a sweet orange tea like note. Put all this together with a splash of vanilla, gulp it down, and feel your senses roar...

Sillage/Projection/Longevity: Gorgeous sillage.. This will garner compliments like "whew..you smell TOO good." Beautiful scent trail that will turn heads. This stuff projects purty damn good. Longevity is great...I can smell this on my skin at the end of the day. On clothing, I will catch whiffs of this stuff when I wake up. Definitely smells better, IMO, on clothing! Something about my skin makes it a bitter cocoa versus cloth which tends to keep the sweetness there.

Compliments: Through the roof. I don't see how any one can not like this fragrance. I have received compliments from EVERYONE..women..young to old. EVEN dudes would come to me and say "hey man where'd you get that shit from dude  it smells good..no homo." 

Versatility: One of the most versatile fragrances out. For such a classy fragrance, it does the job EVERYWHERE. No need to wait for special occasions...spray this on as you please, anytime of the year...this fragrance is halfway between the lightness of the original and the heaviness of a fragrance such as Dior Homme Intense. It is just perfect. Even hot summer days, one or two sprays on your arms and you'll give off this pleasing aroma that will surely give a gentle airy touch to the humidity. The perfect signature scent!

Overall: 8.5/10  Beautiful fragrance. Versatile - this is a elegant scent that gives off the illusion that you are a mysterious "man in black" yet has a very light playfulness built into it (blueprints from the original) that will welcome all those around you. MUST TRY fragrance!  (I hate promoting blind buys..but I will say this...if asked 'should I blind buy this'  I would hesitate and say....'I'll get back to you.') That's how good it is!