D0ntpan1ck
Reviews
Filter & sort
D0ntpan1ck
Polarizing, ashy leather scent
First! BR Icon are great fragrances so I had to add my thoughts to the ones without reviews.
I can see people hating this one. The opening is very intense, and it "stings the nostrils"... But remember these are Eau de Parfums so we're facing less alcohol here, so it could just be a very intense opening. Maybe it's the hit of the sharp cypress, cedar, and suede. The opening does have those noticeable citruses. Paired against the very sharp, ashy, pungent leather, it does give a nice variation to the opening. The opening is just so intense, that it can make you just say "NO" immediately... give this one some time. You can tell the cedar is making its presence there a bit, but the leather/suede is super prominent and has that gasoline/sharp leather smell too it. Maybe not the gasoline that Fahrenheit has (they do it perfect), but the leather accord here is sharp, maybe even ashy. It's not the smoothest leather, its a rougher kind of smell that can be polarizing.
This one feels sweeter (in a citrusey way) and brighter than Fahrenheit. Ferrari Uomo is also a sweeter version of this scent, but may be a bit closer to its profile. 83 Leather Reserve has an intense, gasoline, ashy, even somewhat smoky (like tobacco smoke) accord to it, that can DEFINITELY be too pungent and off-putting for others. GF hated this immediately. I am all about the pungent, intense leather accords. This one is also very unique. Not a typical designer DNA, or really one I've encountered anywhere else really.
ONE bad thing about this, longevity. Doesn't last like most BR frags, but this is one of the better ones in the series, IMO, in terms of originality. Only pick up if you like leather and a more pungent smell. Can be layered with something like Vetiver Guerlain to smooth it out a bit. Check this one out for sure just to check it out.
I can see people hating this one. The opening is very intense, and it "stings the nostrils"... But remember these are Eau de Parfums so we're facing less alcohol here, so it could just be a very intense opening. Maybe it's the hit of the sharp cypress, cedar, and suede. The opening does have those noticeable citruses. Paired against the very sharp, ashy, pungent leather, it does give a nice variation to the opening. The opening is just so intense, that it can make you just say "NO" immediately... give this one some time. You can tell the cedar is making its presence there a bit, but the leather/suede is super prominent and has that gasoline/sharp leather smell too it. Maybe not the gasoline that Fahrenheit has (they do it perfect), but the leather accord here is sharp, maybe even ashy. It's not the smoothest leather, its a rougher kind of smell that can be polarizing.
This one feels sweeter (in a citrusey way) and brighter than Fahrenheit. Ferrari Uomo is also a sweeter version of this scent, but may be a bit closer to its profile. 83 Leather Reserve has an intense, gasoline, ashy, even somewhat smoky (like tobacco smoke) accord to it, that can DEFINITELY be too pungent and off-putting for others. GF hated this immediately. I am all about the pungent, intense leather accords. This one is also very unique. Not a typical designer DNA, or really one I've encountered anywhere else really.
ONE bad thing about this, longevity. Doesn't last like most BR frags, but this is one of the better ones in the series, IMO, in terms of originality. Only pick up if you like leather and a more pungent smell. Can be layered with something like Vetiver Guerlain to smooth it out a bit. Check this one out for sure just to check it out.
A no from me
I do not like this but this is a very high quality and "niche" inspired frag, as rose/oud is a highly regarded combo. To get a rose/oud frag this high quality from a mall brand, is pretty impressive. Banana Republic really kinda nailed it with these.
Anyway, to me, extremely jammy and almost cloying in terms of sweetness with the plum and rose. I do not like rose as a note so when I pick it up, it stands out to me. Also, that plum must be adding to the rose's jamminess and I just don't like it. The rose and oud to me doesn't smell poopy or anything really, it just doesn't smell nice to me. If anything its almost astringent? It is an extremely different scent profile for a mall brand. I feel most people who shop at BR don't know what oud is. I didn't know what it was until a few years ago. So really interesting for them to go with this kinda scent.
If you like rose/oud, get this. It's a steal at any price. I've smelled Santal Royal and Oud Satin Mood, both with the rose/oud combo, and although they are much much higher quality, the rose/oud in here reminded me of the rose/ouds I've smelled in those other frags. It's not a lame attempt at all. This is a great release, just not for me
Anyway, to me, extremely jammy and almost cloying in terms of sweetness with the plum and rose. I do not like rose as a note so when I pick it up, it stands out to me. Also, that plum must be adding to the rose's jamminess and I just don't like it. The rose and oud to me doesn't smell poopy or anything really, it just doesn't smell nice to me. If anything its almost astringent? It is an extremely different scent profile for a mall brand. I feel most people who shop at BR don't know what oud is. I didn't know what it was until a few years ago. So really interesting for them to go with this kinda scent.
If you like rose/oud, get this. It's a steal at any price. I've smelled Santal Royal and Oud Satin Mood, both with the rose/oud combo, and although they are much much higher quality, the rose/oud in here reminded me of the rose/ouds I've smelled in those other frags. It's not a lame attempt at all. This is a great release, just not for me
Very difficult scent to put into words
I'm a big fan of the Banana Republic Icon line because they are affordable, high quality scents with fairly unique scent DNAs from a brand you would never expect. I just discovered this website, and noticed there were no reviews for some of these fragrances, so I figured I would be the first I guess.
This one, to start off, oddly reminds me of a toned down version of Greenwich Village by Bond No 9 for some reason. Greenwich Village is very loud, and similar to BR540, but not a clone of it. Black Platinum has the sweet floral vibe to it that I smell in Greenwich Village, but much softer and more powdery. So Black Platinum smells like its inspired by Greenwich Village, which smells like it was inspired by BR540. Black Platinum does NOT smell like BR540, but it gives off a similar vibe with the animalic tinge to it.
This is a soft scent, but it projects fairly well and lasts a good amount of time (this collection isn't known for its longevity though). It's powdery, leathery, ambery, white floraly... kinda hard to describe. It's a unique scent and for the price you can't go wrong. I draw the comparison to Greenwich Village, but only for that sweet/floral component. It has a lot going on, and the cactus note is new for me.
This is definitely the strangest and most unique scent in the collection. Oud Mosaic I do dislike, but the rose/oud is a beloved accord, so its not as off the wall. With Black Platinum, I find it extremely hard to describe and put my finger on as to what to describe this fragrance with. There's no "one" note that just pulls it all together.
It is sometimes referred to as being animalic and I definitely get that, in an odd sense.. maybe the amber/leather and the powdery notes... there's just the lightest bit of funk in there, but it doesnt smell bad. It's not animalic like you'd think, it's more like ambroxan kind of animalic.
Gonna smell weird to some, and strangely alluring to others. Very different.
This one, to start off, oddly reminds me of a toned down version of Greenwich Village by Bond No 9 for some reason. Greenwich Village is very loud, and similar to BR540, but not a clone of it. Black Platinum has the sweet floral vibe to it that I smell in Greenwich Village, but much softer and more powdery. So Black Platinum smells like its inspired by Greenwich Village, which smells like it was inspired by BR540. Black Platinum does NOT smell like BR540, but it gives off a similar vibe with the animalic tinge to it.
This is a soft scent, but it projects fairly well and lasts a good amount of time (this collection isn't known for its longevity though). It's powdery, leathery, ambery, white floraly... kinda hard to describe. It's a unique scent and for the price you can't go wrong. I draw the comparison to Greenwich Village, but only for that sweet/floral component. It has a lot going on, and the cactus note is new for me.
This is definitely the strangest and most unique scent in the collection. Oud Mosaic I do dislike, but the rose/oud is a beloved accord, so its not as off the wall. With Black Platinum, I find it extremely hard to describe and put my finger on as to what to describe this fragrance with. There's no "one" note that just pulls it all together.
It is sometimes referred to as being animalic and I definitely get that, in an odd sense.. maybe the amber/leather and the powdery notes... there's just the lightest bit of funk in there, but it doesnt smell bad. It's not animalic like you'd think, it's more like ambroxan kind of animalic.
Gonna smell weird to some, and strangely alluring to others. Very different.
