Deefit

As much as I love Norne and Jeke, I simply cannot stand Kiste. It's reminiscent of Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant and even Armani Privé Ambre Eccentrico, and both have a similar cloying and to me sickening sweetness to them as well.

There is peach here, but it's not the bright and fresh smell that I know from the fresh fruit itself. It's dark, like it has ripened for far too long and is close to going bad. There's something that reminds me of cloves, which is probably the thing that bothers me the most in this composition.

A funny anecdote. After sniffing this on my arm and then putting my nose on the atomiser of my bottle of Jeke, it seems as though Jeke is a lot more fresh than it used to be before. It's interesting how certain scents or accords can change your reference and make other scents suddenly seem completely different.

Upon application, I immediately smell something bloody and I am reminded of my bad experience with Secretions Magnifiques. Ever since I tried that, most of the ELDO creations are ruined for me, as they share a common accord. Now, combine that association with the artwork that comes along with this perfume and it's no surprise where we can link the blood smell to, for both the virgins as well as the bullfighters. ;-)

I think most ELDO perfumes should be considered as an olfactory experience or art if you will, and not so much as wearable perfume. Yes, I know that eventually it's a matter of taste, but I think it's fairly safe to say that there are few who would actually enjoy wearing this.

After the sharpness of the opening settles down a little, I do get the leather. But it's so strong and animalic, it's as if I can smell the bull while it is still alive. That is why the association with blood makes me feel uncomfortable. The projected cloud was much lighter than when I smelled it up close to the skin, so perhaps this could work when applied lightly and from a distance, making it less concentrated in one spot on the skin.

After about 10 minutes, I washed this off. Even if the heart would have been gorgeous, the opening of this perfume is something I could never get past. Better yet, an opening I would never want to get past. To be fair, I think ELDO is very good in creating these olfactory experiences. I remember smelling Secretions Magnifiques, and the scent itself wasn't even really disgusting. But the scent evokes such strong associations that most people feel disgusted.

This is really similar to DK Black Cashmere, but it's a lot less expensive, it lasts longer and it's actually a bit less dry than Black Cashmere. It's also somewhat similar to Piotr Czarnecki Sensei, but that one opens a lot more boozy and feels more "wet", almost like the traditional British Christmas pudding, whereas Sale Perfume 01 is more dry and spicy and lacks this boozy note. I love both but at this pricepoint and looking at performance, Sale Perfume 01 is clearly a winner! If money were not an issue, I'd prefer Sensei though, but they are different scents at the bottomline. ;-)

The opening is very spicy, warm cloves and pepper greet you right from the first second on. After the top settles down a bit, I am left with a hint of spicy tea. I don't really get saffron or rose though. But I do find the labdanum and woods from the base to have a strong presence. Perhaps overshadowing the tea note a little, but it feels quite balanced all together. This has a certain smokiness to it. Even feels a little resinous, but only slightly. All in all, Micha? Szulc did a very good job with this one.

The whole scent does get a little linear after about 30 minutes, but that is not a big problem for me. I usually prefer linear scents over everchanging dynamic ones.

It's reminiscent of the original Spicebomb to me, but I'm not sure I would have called it Extreme. It seems more deep and dark than the original. Quite spicy, that's for sure. Spicebomb Noir would have been more fitting I think. ;-)

It reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. My initial impression of the heart was that this could have been the lovechild of Spicebomb and A*Men Pure Havane. It starts out somewhat fresh spicy, but still it's more intense than the original Spicebomb.

I will do a side by side comparison with the original soon, to get a fair idea of performance on this one. To me it seems a little subdued compared to the original, but that's no surprise considering this is an eau de parfum concentration. They usually tend to be more dense and warm.

As for the bottle, I know many people find the grenade a bit tacky but I'm not bothered by it. But the colorscheme of thise one is definitely an improvement over the original!

Would I get a bottle based on this first impression? Well actually, yes, I think I would.

This is the second time I am testing the much loved and acclaimed Versace Man. And again, I'm not impressed. It's less harsh and off-putting than it was the first time, but Im still not swayed. Perhaps it's because of my skin, which is somewhat dry and acidic. But this just doesn't work for me.

It's indeed heavy on saffron, especially throughout the heart. And while I normally don't mind saffron when combined with leather or oud, it doesn't work too well with the tobacco for me. It smells very synthetic, or artificial.

I feel like something is missing, to give this a more characteristic feel. It's not generic, but it's also far from something different than what I've smelled before. Maybe my expectations were too high, because of the raving reviews I've read before.