DerDefcon

"Bois d'Argent" is a fragrance that is heavily discussed in this community, not in terms of fragrance DNA and its perfection - there is broad agreement here - but rather in terms of durability and sillage. I will describe my experiences, which might be contrary to many a comment or statement.

"Bois d'Argent" is a fragrance that does not undergo much development, which the complex pyramid would suggest. I detect a mixture of brightly flashing iris, frankincense, honey and subtly spicy myrrh. Dior's bestseller smells to me like dry wood thrown into a haystack. Others associate it with attics, barns and similarly scented images.
Now it is often said that "Bois d'Argent" has a poor durability and can only be heard at close range. At least on my skin this expresses itself differently.
The silverwood is sprayed in the morning, around 7.00 o'clock. Then it is time to go to school, observe, teach, exchange ideas with the mentors. During this time "Bois d'Argent" regularly blows around me, is there and then not, only to flash up again sometime. I was not addressed by the scent and I don't expect that. However, I think that the surroundings also have something of it. After all, he blows me around the whole working day, which suggests more than just a very close silage. It's certainly not massive and that's a good thing, as a room-flooding character would completely contradict the airy, elegantly designed scent DNA. And even if the scent DNA may smell of luxury, elegance and somehow also wealth, it is still wearable in a casual way and does not seem out of place anywhere. You don't need a suit or a shirt, at most long trousers, well-groomed shoes and a simple, plain-coloured T-shirt. Then this signature-scented masterpiece is an ideal companion for the day, which is not able to cause a nuisance in any situation and which actually cannot be "sprayed over". In any case, I do not regret having tested it, even though I already know "Bois d'Iris" and classify it as a very good fragrance. But "Bois d'Argent" is even better, even more beautiful, simply perfect.

"Ambre Redoutable " from the more exclusive Mugler range is an amber-dominant, wonderfully warming winter scent that I didn't even have on my screen. I like "Ambre Nuit" and in general this somewhat viscous kind of amber, which you can also find in the beautiful, but not quite suitable for everyday use "Grand Soir" from the house of Kurkdjian. This Benzoe-Vanilla-Amber-Bomber is very strong and might be a bit too sweet for some noses. But with the Mugler presented here, those noses could be helped. The reason for this is the somewhat greenish, floral and fresh gentian that brings freshness to the composition, which is surrounded by spicy, wonderfully creamy amber. Additional sweeteners are not used in this case. No vanilla, tonka bean or other things are needed, because the amber used here has a beautifully balanced basic sweetness, which should also be pleasant for sweet-sensitive noses. Figuratively, the fragrance can be imagined as if you had a large, amber-coloured amber ball in your hand, which spreads its creamy, warm and spicy-sweet smell in the room you are in. This great amber scent can be perceived, but without being olfactory too invasive. Our amber ball has a hollow space in which the fresh gentian has made its nest, which is able to loosen up the viscous in a well-dosed amount, so that the composition never drifts into syrupy and sticky on skin and nose. But please dose it sparingly, because just because the scent DNA is not so dominant and hits the twelve, it does not mean that it is a weakly breasted scent.

I would like to be fair and in the case of this fragrance, I would not like to give a rating, except for durability and sillage. My reason for this is that both "Pegasus" and "Pegasus Exclusif" do not fit into my prey scheme due to the dominant bitter almond, similar to Tom Ford FF. I have my problems with this just mentioned scent, as it is often too medicinal, synthetic and unpleasantly biting in the nose. In the conventional "Pegasus", this scent was accompanied by creamy vanilla, which made the composition as such more bearable for me. In this flanker, however, i.e. "Pegasus Exclusif", there is no such background music, which makes the bitter almond omnipresent over the whole fragrance and therefore unpleasant for me. You see already ... i am simply not receptive to this note as long as it is the pivotal point within a fragrance composition. But even if it is the centre of this new flanker from Marly, there are other ingredients that will be added over time. Guaiac wood, which has a smoky, dark character as in the "Layton Exclusif", is particularly prominent here. I also smell an animal note, which I already heard in the Layton flanker. So I guess that Cypriol is also used here, which in combination with the wood creates a sweaty scent.
So if you are looking for corners and edges, like bitter almonds or even better, you should take a closer look at this new flanker. But if you think that "Layton Exclusif" is overloaded and therefore overstraining, you might not be happy with this candidate. Those of you who are looking for something suitable for everyday use and socially acceptable for the cold days should also take a step back, because one spray from the mini-sprayer already felt like too much. Pegasus Exclusif" may not quite come close to the sillage of an "Oud Satin Mood" or a "Baccarat Rouge", but the distance to the former is by no means big. I therefore advise against a blind order and recommend to test it. If you love Pegasus and hate "Layton Exclusif" or its woody, anal smokiness, you might get a surprise in a negative sense.

My search for a woody, unsweet scent was long... very long. Many perfumes are declared as "spicy-woody" here on Parfumo, only to end up as a sticky-sweet broth on my skin and leave me with question marks. Maybe our noses work just too differently, but what is supposed to be spicy-woody in "Layton Exclusif", for example, was and is a mystery to me. It is woody, just as spicy, but still quite sweet, maybe not like the younger "Layton", but just sweet ... Full stop.
Then there are those fragrances that have lost all sweetness and which I was actually looking for. But I soon noticed that such scents were often too unfriendly and gloomy for me. "Duro" and "Nasomatto" are two "shining" examples, real wood and oud bombs, respectively, one medically bitter, the other herbaceous, earthy and above all dark, without any friendly sides - not for me.
Truly, I already knew some candidates at that time, who served my taste of a spicy-woody, not too gloomy scent. So I went into raptures with "Fars" from Xerjoff's oud collection, but at the end of the day it was simply too price-intensive for me. Chanel's bestseller, The Egoist, also knew how to please, is financially absolutely justifiable, but on my skin it is very weak in the bosom. Maybe it's also my nose playing tricks on me. Who knows ...
Another fragrance that strikes the golden mean was "Colonia Oud" from Acqua di Parma. I bought this fragrance blindly in the souk, after a nice perfume, which I'm sure you can read here, warmly recommended this masterpiece to me. This blind purchase should be worth it! Let's dedicate ourselves to him.

To me, "Colonia Oud" smells like an old, dry wooden bowl, whose aromatic smell is wonderfully pure and flatters the nose. Nothing here is bitter, medicinal or musty. Our wooden bowl is filled with a few peeled orange peels, which bring enough freshness to the woody and clean game, which is probably due to the socially acceptable oud and cedar wood. I can therefore also understand the voices according to which "Colonia Oud" is also excellent to wear in summer. Carefully dosed, it may work well for sure, but I see this fragrance more in autumn or winter, especially because a small shred of leather in the fragrance pyramid provides the last bit of depth in the composition and thus a few rough edges. Despite the declaration as cologne, there is no need to worry about durability and silage. When applied in the morning, "Colonia Oud" sticks to the skin until late afternoon or even early evening without killing the surrounding area. Well... that's exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to have a woody, spicy scent that would work in everyday life as well ... and here it is!

Those who love the great "Reflection Man" from Amouage will not be completely happy with this one, the "Hartley". But if you "only" like the great "Reflection Man" from Amouage, who demands a few more rough edges from him, you will find your grail with "Hartley" again.

"Hartley" starts just like "Reflection Man" despite other scent pyramids. I can't see any differences in the top note. You have to wait a few minutes, because then the first differences become obvious. There are no soft flowers and no subtle iris. Instead, we are dealing with lavender ... lots of lavender. This one captivates with a herbaceous, occasionally scratchy appearance, reminding me of typical fougère scents. It brings those nooks and crannies into the composition that many a "Reflection Man" might wish for. In the background there is also a light citric note that combines with the rather dominant lavender and the woods that come later. In the end you almost get a fougère with the DNA of the public's favourite from Amouage - less gentle, for some perhaps more mature, with scratchy barbershop lavender, without great floral quality. Which of the two candidates you choose in the end is of course up to you