Top Rated Reviews of the last 7 Days

With this "Rouge 540 Extrait" I learned that a name that would fit very well a model of any Ferrari car, and with the load that the title "Extrait" gives to the perfume, it can be regarded as a sweet fragrance, half intimate, half mild, half animalic, very sensual and almost edible. The evoked scents pass through almond candy, Alicante clod, milk caramels and pineapple barbecue, such is the richness of the aromas aroused.
The fragrance behavior is similar to a hurricane. It begins and evolves in a simple and almost ashamed way with a greedy almond and a saffron hesitant between showing some sweetness or revealing a more earthy and leathery mood. Starts as a simple suggestion but that makes us appreciate the aroma that our skin emanates over and over again. He or she who passes by us allways looks back, but looking through us as if only to search for the origin of this almost divine emanation. And then it grows, and grows, supported by lighter notes of jasmine and cedar, but above all, by a sumptuous surrounding ambergris that sticks to the skin and merges with it.
It is a unique perfume and bearing in mind its pungency, it is distinct even from the "regular" 540 EDP. Its longevity and sillage are above average, lasting close to ten hours with more than eight feet sillage, and almost three hours projection, with three sprays on the back of my hand.
In my closet, this bottle will be parked among those 9 or 10 bottles that I do not let anyone try, just look at.

Can it be considered a masterpiece? YES.
It is simply the best amber, saffron and ambergris I have ever experienced.

How does it handle with maths?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Scent Opening:........10,0
Scent Drydown:........9.5
Longevity:..................9.0
Sillage:........................9.0
Uniqueness:.............10.0
Wearability:...............8.5 (Spring + Winter days + Fall + Summer nights)
Versatility:.................9.0 (almost everywhere except gym)
Compliments:...........9.5 (my doughter does not like it)
Quality:......................9.5 (quality ingredients; excellent packaging and bottle sprayer)
Presentation:............9.0 (High standard but not the best)
Price:..........................4.0 (£300 a $425 por 70ml)
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Overall rating: 8.82/10.0
between 7 and 8 =above average;
between 8 and 9 = recommended;
bigger than 9 = don't miss it;
Opinion:
Perfection at a price.
Recomemended?
No! Do try it before you buy it, if you want to risk paying such an high amount.

Music: Bob Dylan - "Hurricane"

"L'Heure Bleue" - The Blue Hour ... Neither time nor a scent can be blue.
However, this perfume has neither time nor haste. It is a timeless fragrance to enjoy from the first spray to the exhaust of the extraodinary aroma.
I've never been in love with carnations. Neither the flower nor its scent. And yet, without the strong note of carnation, this Hour ran the risk of not being so Blue. The fresh, aniseed start soon gives way to the magnificent floral feminine heart. The spicy scent of carnation - similar to Indian cloves - is refreshed and sweetened with the soft neroli with orange facets.
I believe a bit masculinity and sweetness is needed. This is achieved first with a powdery iris, some violet and tonka, and then further enhancing the sweetness with an oriental, slightly resinous and balsamic vanilla.
It is the scent of a calm and deep love, the love of a life.
I love to visit the "L'Heure Bleue" from time to time. And on each visit, I promise to return.
What is the concentration? Eau de Parfum, of course!

A very feminine, delicate and innocent perfume. Violets and raspberry are the notes my nose catches the most.
The violets are very present and feel natural. However, I do get the impression of a thin veil of cosmetic powder together with the sweet tartness of a ripe, soft and juicy raspberry.
Perhaps, paired together with the violet leaves they make this perfume feel airy and fresh, not nose-cloying or super sweet as it's often the case in certain powdery type perfumes.
In fact, it seems to me that sometimes a slight bitterness similar to (but much weaker) the one of Rose Splendide peeks through the previous notes after wearing it for a while on my wrist.

A girly, fresh perfume that is not loud, that rather charms with it's delicate and delicious notes.

I think many of Goutal's perfumes convey a similar feeling or image.
Something that I perceive as ethereal, innocent and dreamlike mixed with a little mystery, which makes you want to find out more about the perfume and this is no less. So very lovely!

Based on the juice in the classic bottle.

It's a shame this one is no longer as widely available as some of the other offerings from Rasasi, because it's one of those fragrance clones that just blows my mind.

In short, it's an utterly fantastic copy of Terre d'Hermes Parfum - the best one I've smelled yet - that boasts better projection and longevity than the original. Really, the only criticisms I have are the cheap plastic bottle (box and atomizer are really good) and the fact that you can only get it in 50 mL. The opening is a bit chemically as well; but after it settles down, it goes straight into a strong, linear, orangey grapefruit-vetiver with a dash of spice in the mix.

And just like in TdH, the characteristic pepper-flintstone combination is definitely there, to give it a nice 'dirty' touch that vaguely resembles cumin on my skin. When blended properly with cedar, as it is in this one, the spiciness combines with the natural skin oils to produce that irrisistible iso-e super vibe that drives people wild.

In fact, if someone were to offer me a full bottle of TdH Parfum or a full bottle of Fattan, I'd easily take the Hermes bottle, sell it, and buy 3 or 4 bottles of this stuff with the proceeds. It's just that good. Better than the original even - given the price/performance ratio.

Unfortunately, with the rather poor availability nowadays, the price has begun to steadily inflate. So if you're looking to pick it up, better do it quick. At most, you should be looking at 1/4 to 1/3 the price of TdH Parfum, but honestly, even at 1/2 I'd still be tempted. There just aren't that many clones out there that outshine their original counterparts. IMO, Fattan just happens to be one of them.

The dark figure makes it's way along the quiet forest path flanked on either side by the tall deep evergreen trees, their sharp tips pointing up like pen nibs scratching their way through the grey water-colour clouds. The road opens out to an old building. Inside, the walls are covered with wood panels, an old printing press occupies the floor-space. Stacks of paper, vats of rich black ink. Through a square window a garden, beyond the long grass a great cedar spreads out it's large long-reaching branches as if to confirm it's dominance and with it an unmistakable soft woody sweetness.

Well, apart from that abstract paragraph what can I add that hasn't already been said by others here? Well, for a long time I was very skeptical about this fragrance and whether I should blind buy it. Would it be another disappointing discovery from a list of fragrances for which I believed the hype? Well, happily for me my first contact with Encre Noire was a very pleasant one, and subsequent meetings (and wearings) only improved by bond with this scent! I do understand why it can be divisive and if I'm honest, beyond the name and presentation I'm surprised this is seemingly so popular as it certainly doesn't smell like a typical crowd-pleasing fragrance, far from it.

Natalie Lorson's now famous creation is most certainly an acquired taste but then in my opinion many of her other fragrances are too, for example Bentley Intense for Men, of which I'm really not a fan but there is no denying as with Encre Noire, it's high quality, artistry and unique blending. I'm yet to try the two flankers 'Sport' and 'A l'Extreme' but I'm eager to do so and frankly, given the high quality of this Lalique fragrance and value for money it provides (from certain online discount sites) I'm not too worried about being disappointed.

For people who like strong vetiver and cypress in their fragrances (or think they might) this one is definitely a must try, I personally don't find it 'too dark' or hard to wear but actually quite elegant. I do however think it suits rainy or overcast days, or when one is in the mood to do a bit of soul searching, it can be a little melancholic but in a good way.

Not a typical hype beast but a surefire modern classic.

Pierre Bourdon’s Green Irish Tweed (GIT) is my second favourite fragrance from the house of Creed and probably one of the most iconic smells in the history of commercial perfumery, thanks to the popularity of his legendary successor - Cool Water. To the average nose, the two are extremely similar; but to a long-time fragrance enthusiast, there are significant differences that set them apart, both in quality and genre of scent.

But perhaps the biggest oversight that I’ve encountered to date is the lack of appreciation for the elegant simplicity of GIT that gives it an air of sophisticated refinement. In essence, it’s a violet leaf fragrance – a perfectly balanced one at that – with prominent supporting notes of lemon verbena, sandalwood and ambergris. It’s green, it’s bright, and it’s smooth. But most importantly, it’s SIMPLE. Every other note is essentially a frivolous accoutrement pandering to the sensitivity of the detail-oriented.

So you may ask yourself, how can a designer aquatic perfume like Cool Water (CW), with so many other notes - barely two of which are shared with GIT - smell exactly like its predecessor? Well that’s just it. It doesn’t. In fact, to date, I’ve smelled more than 5 different fragrances that attempt to emulate Pierre Bourdon’s original creation, with only varying levels of success. The reason all of them fall short is simple – they do TOO MUCH.

Rasasi’s Egra is no exception. In fact, it’s far closer to CW than anything else. But whereas CW takes on the garb of mint, rosemary and aquatic notes to fill in for the classic GIT greenness, Egra jumps headfirst into a pine forest. No, it’s not all that close to Aspen (my very first perfume ever). Aspen is far sharper, emptier in the mid, with a touch of cheap amber in the base. It’s definitely far from Tres Nuit – a scent that basically takes GIT and dunks it in a vat of lavender and sugar water.

The truth is that Egra pretty much rests somewhere in that relatively muddy expanse between CW and GIT. It definitely has a strong and obvious CW presence, but lacks those patented aquatic notes in favour of a strong violet leaf, spruce and juniper. But it also shares more notes in common with GIT, albeit without the characteristic verbena.

So what is it exactly that we have here? Well, if someone were to ask, I would simply say that Egra is a greener version of Cool Water, incorporating the same piney-ness from Aspen, but with the subtle smoothness of Green Irish Tweed. In my opinion, it’s the version of Pool Water….ahhh….I mean Cool Water…that I’ve been waiting for – greener, livelier, equally versatile and did I mention just as affordable?

But as a straight-up clone of GIT, would I prefer it over Tres Nuit, Le Parfait, Lattafa, Aspen or any other popular smell-alike? Yes indeed I would. For me, the greenness is just there, the longevity is better than most and the price is right. True, the bottle may be a little difficult to hold at first (pro tip: spray on a diagonal), but the atomizer works just fine and you can even see the juice between the thin black slats.

Diagnosis: My hat goes off to Rasasi for producing another winner. And although it’s not quite as amazing as Fattan (a perfect and better performing clone of TDH Parfum), Egra is definitely no slouch. Bottom line, if you love Cool Water, you’ll love this. No question.

Watch out. It's a lulu! Zara From Paris To New York is a gorgeous eau de cologne that rotates around a few accords, the simple and immediate pleasure of citrusy freshness, a floral sensual grapefruit blossom naive and smooth as neroli but sharper, more piquant, and crisp cotton-fresh white musks infuse to create a radiant, contemporary signature. Truth be told, the odds are you will smell more than three notes here, and everyone will get something different out of it.
An enveloping track that reflects the casual appeal of a timeless white linen shirt being dried on the line on a sunny day. A simply elegant fragrance for your own pleasure, an essential luxury that dares to be radically simple.

From the get-go, it starts with an icy, fresh citrusy note, but refreshingly different compared to some other summer sports scents. The bergamot and lemon combine together and push a juicy zesty scent that is fantastic as the sun warms the skin. These top notes are nice, tart, sharp, bright, it's juicy, it smells fantastic.

The heart is sort of an olfactory Rorschach test. The picture itself is simple but open to individual interpretation. The citrus blossom isn't a burst of juice on your face, it's the whiff of a peel and petals from the next room, and gives a sweet and floral touch to the cologne. It is like a cold fresh made lemonade with a bit of sugar added to it, you smell and sip in a hot day of a cruel summer. That sweetness is balanced with brisk ginger that stays on the skin for more than a couple of hours.

The white musk develops after a couple of hours but isn’t powerful overall, however it helps to enhance the fragrance with fresh cotton like undertone. The gentle soft laundry musky base makes you feel like you’re wearing a crisp white shirt, taking a relaxing drive along the French coast.

The notes float in and out through the whole life of the fragrance. But above all, there is a feeling of freshly done laundry pervading the entire scent, and an inescapable aura of sunshine and good cheer. Everything smells "natural" and refreshing.

Projection is limited, although longevity is good, it stays on the skin very well for a cologne. It isn’t potent and won’t cause offense to fellow office workers or people on your way, never overwhelming. People who complain about the performance don't understand what a traditional 'cologne' is meant to be, ie. a very light citrus scent which can be sprayed several times a day. If it had the good performance you wouldn't be able to spray it so much because the base notes would still be present. 'Colognes' are basically just top note fragrances.
A perfect hot weather work scent, or casual outings. It's simple and cheerful but not sexual or seductive so even though it would handle body heat well in a club, I wouldn't reach for it as my first choice. Men or women can wear it. There is nothing here that would smell out of place on a woman.
Overall the cologne conjures up images of sitting on the beach, looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea, sipping a freshly poured Gin and Tonic with a generous slice of lime. The sun shining, warming the skin, helping the fragrance to release bursts of citrusy freshness.

-Elysium

I am rocking this cologne right now, I love it, so unique, so manly, so different. I was never turned away by the bad reviews, and I am glad I looked into this one. Gentlemen Only Casual Chic turns 4 years old now, it's a divine fragrance for men, and it's my second Gentlemen Only cologne together with the original one, of which is a youthful flanker, not heavy and in your face, closely akin yet featuring ginger, cardamom, and juniper.

First thing first, the glass is the same English-style flask already used by the range, crystalline with a heavy metal cap, an orange straw, and a pale azure juice within that creates bluish reflections. On the get-go, it starts with green, balsamic, and fresh spicy elements without any citrusy accord, juniper berries are the leading note, with a so bitter, cool, bright, and piny redolence. The initial spray seems to have an element of orange for the first few seconds or so before the spicy and woody aroma emerges. It has an outdoorsy vibe that is topped by the ginger and juniper notes which creates quite an interesting combination.

The heart and base are where this really shines. The balsamic and spicy aspects fade away and the woody notes come into focus. It isn't a one-note accord, rather a bunch of fresh spices like invigorating ginger and minty cardamom, greenish birch leaves that provide a soft leather accord, and mild cedarwood. Less prominent warm spicy and leather accords create fantastic depth to make you smell phenomenal, with just a little bit of mint. A minty smooth leather unconventional accord. The ginger note reminds me of Dior Homme Sport, although I would not say Casual Chic smells like Dior Homme Sport, and I find it to be quite ‘green’ and woodsy, like a walk in the forest on a late spring or summer day, but it doesn’t go full woods as compared to other scents.

Then it starts to dry down into a still fresh, woodsy scent with a seductive tiny hint of vanilla staying close to the skin, presumably coming from the ambroxan, which keeps it warm and smooth without getting overpowered by the cedar. Ambroxan is as sweet as in Dior Sauvage, unquestionably. More, the creamy, woody, clean scent from the cedar and sandalwood combo is superb.

Casual Chic is a very safe scent, classy, versatile, it can be worn to work, school, or on a day spent around town. You can wear this in the day or evening, but I think it lends itself better to daytime wear. The best season to wear this is in the spring and it can be worn in summer if you do not live someplace that's really warm. It's not groundbreaking, but it doesn't smell much like anything else in my collection. I receive a compliment nearly every time I wear this stuff. Not a date fragrance but you might impress someone at the office with this one and get a date that way, you know?

-Elysium

Having owned this for a year I had been considering selling it on as I had often found it to be a bit too sharp and cloying. Yes I had been fooled by it's light turquoise summery appearance, also some words I read had described it as a 'summer freshie.' I had also expected Edge Intense Man to be a clone of Creed's Aventus which it isn't in my opinion, although it does give off kind of a similar vibe, yet they're far from identical. If anything I find this scent gives a closer nod to Montblanc's Legend Intense but with a unique twist (and less apple), sharing the Creed's key Pineapple note of course.

SAEIM opens with an incredibly bright, sharp and invigorating blast of fresh citrus fruit (bergamot & maybe lemon which isn't listed) and ginger, if this stuff doesn't wake you up then nothing will! It is intense as the name suggests but not with the typical modern perfumery interpretation of what means 'intense', there is no leather, incense or oud note here (!!) but rather an amped up freshness which could be just too much for sensitive noses, when the key note of geranium comes into play and takes centre stage the intensity increases even further as it battles it out with the pineapple and ginger for dominance!

Don't be fooled by the deceptively coloured liquid, this is no transparently weak and/or ozonic summer freshie. Go easy on the sprays and you will be rewarded with a delicious fruity & spicy scent, the dry down of which is simply sumptuous, perhaps accentuated by the interplay of floral notes with dominant fruit & spice, later a light touch of sweetness provided by vanilla lends the scent a nice fuzzy feeling almost like the calm after the storm. A fruity beauty when used sparingly.

A staple for the spring/summer rotation. Fizzy, bright, citrus, sweet herbs, ambergris and musks (that seem to work similar in fashion to Tonic Vert, C-03, Aventus ....except this scent isn’t closely associated to either of these 3 and stands on its own.) There is an underlying astringent sweet carbonation here some say is reminiscent of cola and I can definitely see that..Fun fact: Estroverso means outgoing in Italian