DerDefcon

How good that there was an update here on parfumo.de and that the corresponding menu bar no longer speaks of "fragrance twin", but of "similar". As far as I remember, "Kobe" from the house of Xerjof was already listed as an alleged twin of "APOM" back then, when this change had not yet been made - or vice versa. Even then I frowned, smirked a little and didn't quite want to believe it, because APOM - unfortunately it was discontinued - is a gem of minimalist fragrance art. Orange blossom, amber and cedarwood ... that's about it. And "Kobe"? Well: bergamot, labdanum, orange, neroli, orange blossom, petitgrain, oud, benzoin and so on and so forth. In short, it's not a fragrance twin by any means. Similarities are definitely there, though. Let's just compare.

If the "Kobe" begins with an extremely sharp, for many noses certainly even unpleasant citric, which could briefly compete in its bitter-tart character with many a chypre, the opening of the Kurkdjian masterpiece captivates with a sultry orange blossom. Nothing with sharp bergamot or tangy orange. But quickly back to "Kobe".
Already after a few minutes, the very harsh prelude is softened by an orange blossom, which is sweet and present, but by no means as oppressive as in "APOM" in appearance. The partly unpleasantly tart blends with the sweetness, so that a perfect balance between fruity spice and floral sweetness is established.
While "Kobe" undergoes the development just described, a change is also smellable after the first spraying on the "APOM". The amber begins, which takes the initially overwhelming sweetness of the orange blossom, additionally gives it an interesting dustiness and thereby also tames the Schülstige a little, which there is so in the "Kobe" at no time. In this one, after all - I said it already - the rather special citric is the challenge and less the floral.

After phase 1 and 2 are over with both fragrances, the third phase separates the wheat from the chaff. "APOM" captivates in this by a very clear cedar note, which gives the dusty-ambery orange blossom a woody foundation, which reminds olfactory a little of a pencil. "APOM" is thus a very dry, somehow dirty-dusty orange blossom scent and more than sets itself apart from "Kobe".
The Xerjoff may also have woody notes listed in the base note, but I truly hear nothing of them. Instead, benzoin appears, which gives the composition a very creamy and very warm character. The mild sweetness of orange blossom and the slight hints of citrus, which is still harsh and tart at the beginning, can still be perceived in parallel, although nothing stings or pricks the nose here. "Kobe" thus manages to be a lot of things at once - namely fresh on the one hand, floral on the other, and creamy-warm at the same time. Everything balances itself, takes the fragrance so but also its corners and edges.
The "APOM", on the other hand, is already enough corner and edge alone because of its dusty orange blossom and thus the in my eyes clearly more daring fragrance, in which our Francis does not rely on defusing citric and trimming to everyday suitability as it seems to be, by the way, generally very often the case with Xerjoff. I remember only, without that now negatively to mean, to "Uden" or also because all around popular "Naxos".

In the end, I can say for me that I wear both fragrances very much. I also had to get used to both first. "APOM" was not a love at first smell at the time, similar to "Kobe". Both fragrances have a central strength and equally a central weakness. APOM" shines through its edges and its simplicity, but at the same time I can not wear it regularly, because firstly this fragrance needs higher temperatures to come into its own in all its glory, and secondly, when worn continuously, it quickly becomes too exhausting even for lovers. "Kobe" is much easier to put on, as it is only a matter of overcoming the somewhat special opening. In everyday life, this Xerjoff - despite its complexity - is less likely to cause problems. Will this fragrance perhaps become a little boring at some point? A question that you can certainly ask yourself and measured by the price perhaps should!

PS: If I had to decide within the Shooting Stars - collection for a fragrance, it would probably be the "Uden" ... only so on the edge.

"Amber Star" by Xerjoff is one of those fragrances that I really wanted to get under my nose, regardless of whether I buy it or not. The latter is more likely, this fragrance is after all only sold in a double pack with "Star Musk" and is thus inevitably in a financial sphere, in which I will not go under any circumstances. At some point there is also an end. So it's not so bad that I like this Xerjoff candidate, but at the same time it doesn't completely knock my socks off. It starts off cinnamony and very tingly, according to my nose. Behind this initial scent impression, I suspect the ambergris that also provides a similar tingling sensation in "Ambre Nuit" or "40 Knots". What follows is probably the epitome of the everyday amber par excellence, it does not go into the resinous or even sticky, but is rather dry-woody nature - probably due to the subtle smoky guaiac wood and myrrh. The whole thing is rounded off by the vanilla, which also at no time for a drift into gourmand or Diabetisgefilde provides.
"Amber Star" is thus, to sum it up, a wonderfully airy amber fragrance that can be worn almost across seasons. The durability is indeed enormous and the sillage is also not from bad parents, but it is just by just that airy not slaying, as long as you do not overdo it with spraying. However, I feel this Xerjoff as seeeehr smooth ... too smooth. It was refrained from giving it corners and edges as you often find in other amber fragrances. So it comes that this Xerjoff - as good and wearable as I find it - became a bit boring to me with longer wearing time. Ultimately, it is therefore other amber fragrances that smell more interesting for me - for example, "Grand Soir" from the house of Kurkdjian or the "Casamorati - 1888"

That I like fragrances in which light and heavy scents are in perfect balance with each other should be no secret. I own "Naxos" from the house of Xerjoff, for example, in which tangy citrus prevents an olfactory sticky-sweet honey existence. "Uden" from the Shooting Stars collection also knows how to prevent a too heavy vanilla-amber combination with the help of grapefruit and other tangy notes, and in "Allure Homme Édition Blanche" yet another component, leather, provides a very special twist within this fluffy citrus-vanilla composition. This special, albeit coming about in a different way, can also be found in "Ambra Calabria". At first sniff I hear here again citrus effervescence, which is supplemented only a short time later by vanilla, amber and musk - a familiar, often smelled fragrance concept so?

Well ... not quite.

The special feature of this Nishane fragrance lies in its green impact, which is generated by just green leaves and probably also jasmine, fortunately only very discreetly emerging. In the end, the result is a citrusy, light, discreetly green-hard, well-dosed creamy-sweet good-mood scent, whose spring and summer suitability need not be argued about. Vanilla, amber and musk prevent a citrus-fresh triviality, which we already know from other summer fragrances. In return, the bergamot provides a light vanilla, not too stuffy amber and not too sultry musk. The green notes form the special twist, round everything off, miss a little astringency and in the end, above all, uniqueness.

The sillage is just right for the warm days. No one is annoyed or olfactory bludgeoned. I would even almost think that you can not overspray this fragrance at all. The durability is very good on my skin, by the way. Sprayed on at noon, I could still perceive the fragrance late in the evening without any problems.

I have stopped counting how many fragrances from the house of Kurkdjian it took two or more attempts to learn to love them. At least "masculin Pluriel" was one of them, I got him for the first time about two years ago under the nose, when I knew olfactory not so much. But while I was already enthusiastic about "APOM Homme" and "Lumière Noire Homme" back then, "masculin Pluriel" had quite a hard time impressing me. So it happened that I passed the small bottling to my cousin. A few months later, I asked him rather casually what had become of the sample and whether he liked the fragrance. He explained that there was still a little left in the mini atomizer, but that he didn't want to use it up as he quite liked the scent. I was very surprised, because I had remembered "masculin Pluriel" as a rather dull, inconsequential perfume reminiscent of simple lavender shower gel. Several times I announced here in the forum that "masculin Pluriel" always reminded me of my grandfather's after shave, which was regularly overdosed. Nevertheless, my curiosity was aroused and it was ordered a small filling in the souk - a decision that paid off.

Freshly sprayed on, "masculin Pluriel" offered me no great surprises. After all, I knew the lavender-dominated initial phase already. The lavender occurs here quite scratchy and rough, but at the same time very fresh. I wrote about a stereotypically masculine scent impression in my statement, but the whole thing is very trimmed to aftershave or even shower gel. However, if you give the fragrance time - fortunately it doesn't take hours here - you are rewarded with a lavender that loses its shower gel-like scratchiness and is underpinned by soft leather and subtle wood. "masculin Pluriel" is now impossibly aromatic, yet very mature, and manages to bridge the gap between classic scents and modernity. The triad of fresh lavender, wood and leather is easily wearable everywhere, even for the under-thirties, because there is no trace of old-fashionedness here. It doesn't matter how you are dressed, because "masculin Pluriel" goes with a shirt, a neat T-shirt, a suit, a coat or even a leather jacket. So this Kurkdjian is a suitable candidate for spring, autumn or mild winter days. The durability is thereby very good, the sillage absolutely socially acceptable.

Conclusion: it seems to boil down to the fact that my small collection will consist of Kurkdjians felt only. One could now say that this is boring or simple-minded, but on the other hand, the fragrances - not all, but many - are simply good to very good and above all suitable for everyday use

Now I have had all three fragrances under the nose. Meant are "Silver Mountain Water" by Creed, "Mefisto" by Xerjoff from the Casamorati collection and also the offshoot "Mefisto Gentiluomo". All three fragrances are enormously similar and I can subscribe to the fragrance twin statements like this. "Mefisto Gentiluomo" stands out, however, again a little from the conventional "Mefisto" and thus also from "Silver Mountain Water".

The prelude impresses with lemon and bergamot. Up to this point, everything smells like the well-known "Silver Mountain Water" DNA. A little later, however, the iris joins in, which gives that DNA a few rough edges, caused by a slightly cosmetic-scratchy, reminiscent of the iris in "L'Homme" by Prada undertone. Cedarwood also makes an appearance later, but remains rather in the background. Unfortunately, I don't smell any of the violet, which could have made THE difference to spice up the "Silver Mountain Water" "Mefisto" DNA, which I find yawningly boring. At least the bright iris prevents this musty musky undertone, which I heard with "Mefisto" or even the Creed and which bothered me enormously.

In the end, "Mefisto Gentiluomo" doesn't pick me up either. The basic DNA of the fragrance plays first fiddle and since I can not quite with the, neither iris nor cedar wood can help here. This fragrance also remains too boring for me, doesn't inspire me. Lovers of "Silver Mountain Water" or conventional "Mefisto", on the other hand, can grab heartily. They should find their grail here.