CigiScent
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CigiScent
My favorite designer and the reason I got into niche.
I have been wearing Terre D'Hermes for quite some time. I can't remember when I bought my first bottle. What I do remember is that at one time, I bought a new bottle of it and it had changed. I did know nothing about perfumes at the time, about niche, about batch variations, about reformulations...
But I noticed that Terre was not the same. It lost complexity, power, it was less exciting, more 2 dimensional. It was for this reason I started to look elsewhere, to niche fragrances. I started doing research. Was it possible that the fragrance had changed? Then I fell into the rabbit hole and got to know niche, and reformulations, IFRA, batch variations...
I still have a 2018 batch of Terre. You know what it is if you read all the other reviews, you get the orange, vetiver, woodsy, earthy... It is so elegant, masculine, classy... It still is my favorite designer scent. A far cry from all the ambroxan bombs that'll blow your head of, or extremely sweet nuanceless fragrances. I guess if I could keep one designer fragrance for life, Terre would still be a good contestant.
Nowadays I'm getting to know vintage fragrances, and I understand more what happened. Fragrances are reformulated, a lot of beautiful raw materials have gotten restricted, or too expensive. Capitalism is also deciding that fragrances should get big companies more money and I think it shows.
I would really like to smell an older batch of Terre, to verify if I'm not going crazy, or becoming an old nostalgic, but I'm quite sure it's not just me.
At the end of the day, Terre is still a beautiful fragrance I would recommend to anyone above 25 that likes classic, masculine, original, timeless French class. I like the bottle, it has the same timeless elegance and class. The performance is still quite good but beware of olfactory fatigue. If you spray anywhere near your nose, you'll lose the scent pretty quickly. I do one spray on each wrist and one on the back of my neck and I get a pleasant scent bubble for at least a working day long.
But I noticed that Terre was not the same. It lost complexity, power, it was less exciting, more 2 dimensional. It was for this reason I started to look elsewhere, to niche fragrances. I started doing research. Was it possible that the fragrance had changed? Then I fell into the rabbit hole and got to know niche, and reformulations, IFRA, batch variations...
I still have a 2018 batch of Terre. You know what it is if you read all the other reviews, you get the orange, vetiver, woodsy, earthy... It is so elegant, masculine, classy... It still is my favorite designer scent. A far cry from all the ambroxan bombs that'll blow your head of, or extremely sweet nuanceless fragrances. I guess if I could keep one designer fragrance for life, Terre would still be a good contestant.
Nowadays I'm getting to know vintage fragrances, and I understand more what happened. Fragrances are reformulated, a lot of beautiful raw materials have gotten restricted, or too expensive. Capitalism is also deciding that fragrances should get big companies more money and I think it shows.
I would really like to smell an older batch of Terre, to verify if I'm not going crazy, or becoming an old nostalgic, but I'm quite sure it's not just me.
At the end of the day, Terre is still a beautiful fragrance I would recommend to anyone above 25 that likes classic, masculine, original, timeless French class. I like the bottle, it has the same timeless elegance and class. The performance is still quite good but beware of olfactory fatigue. If you spray anywhere near your nose, you'll lose the scent pretty quickly. I do one spray on each wrist and one on the back of my neck and I get a pleasant scent bubble for at least a working day long.
Fresh cut grass, leaves and green fresh figs...
This is really nice. I got it at a discounter for half retail price and it smells really good. It is kind of generic maybe, but it is so nice, fresh, green. I could ask for nothing more considering the price.
I get fresh citrus at the top and after that greenness: grass, leaves, figs. Not milky like some other fig fragrances. This is so pleasant. When I smell the bottle there is a bit of a synthetic vibe, but this disappears on skin.
It does not stay long, but it is OK, especially in hotter weather. I would recommend this for lovers of green fragrances.
I get fresh citrus at the top and after that greenness: grass, leaves, figs. Not milky like some other fig fragrances. This is so pleasant. When I smell the bottle there is a bit of a synthetic vibe, but this disappears on skin.
It does not stay long, but it is OK, especially in hotter weather. I would recommend this for lovers of green fragrances.
Aventus on a budget, that's just what it is...
I have a 2018 batch, don't know about the current version, but to me, this smells like a poor man's aventus. It is in no way as complex and does not evolve in any way.
The opening is really fresh and fruity, but even in a way that is too fruity. My 8-year-old son, who has an insanely accurate nose, said: "You smell like Fanta", when I sprayed it on. Ever since I can't help myself from smelling Fanta in the opening.
If you are on a really tight budget, you could go for this, but it really is created to smell nice when you spray it in the shop and it implodes like a bad souffle after like 20 minutes, the mid and dry down are so dull and uninspired. Got nothing to do with Aventus or anything else decent.
There are far better clones than this, so I would advise spending a little more and get CDNIM, Rasasi Zebra pour Lui or Al Haramain L'Aventure.
The opening is really fresh and fruity, but even in a way that is too fruity. My 8-year-old son, who has an insanely accurate nose, said: "You smell like Fanta", when I sprayed it on. Ever since I can't help myself from smelling Fanta in the opening.
If you are on a really tight budget, you could go for this, but it really is created to smell nice when you spray it in the shop and it implodes like a bad souffle after like 20 minutes, the mid and dry down are so dull and uninspired. Got nothing to do with Aventus or anything else decent.
There are far better clones than this, so I would advise spending a little more and get CDNIM, Rasasi Zebra pour Lui or Al Haramain L'Aventure.
A Green Irish Tweed lover on a budget's dream
This is really close to GIT. Ok GIT is more complex and nuanced in the beginning. There is more to it, you get a lot of beautiful elements in the beginning, and the wonderful ambergris drydown is lacking a bit in this one. But it is so nicely fresh, green, slightly powdery violety and you get a very nice ambergris like achord in the end. I paid 15 euros for this, it's a no brainer to me if you like the GIT scent profile.
The bottle is really cheap and even ugly to my taste, but with this juice and for this price, you can't go wrong.
The bottle is really cheap and even ugly to my taste, but with this juice and for this price, you can't go wrong.
Good, but a bit synthetic
Another hyped fragrance. This one got a lot of attention and it is quite good. Incensy, vanilla, spicey, woody, a bit dark. The longevity is good and the sillage is not extreme.
As a lot of Issey Miyake fragrances it is quite synthetic to my nose and a bit harsh in the beginning. It's nice, but I don't think I'll keep it. Life's too short for mediocre fragrances. :) But if you are on a budget, this is a good one for fall and winter.
As a lot of Issey Miyake fragrances it is quite synthetic to my nose and a bit harsh in the beginning. It's nice, but I don't think I'll keep it. Life's too short for mediocre fragrances. :) But if you are on a budget, this is a good one for fall and winter.
