DerJulian

This is what I asked myself when, motivated to buy by a certain Mr Fragrance, I smelled this fragrance from Montblanc for the first time.

The reason: in the top note it radiates such a penetrating and for me in places aggressive chewing gum sweetness (like these cuboid Hubba Bubba - chewing gums that often lay in the kiosk right next to the shelf of sweets for the "colourful bags"), which it only puts down in the middle note and "comes to rest" with tasteful floral tones.

So the first shock is followed by a "positive disillusionment" and the mixture of the sweet components described at the beginning with violet, amber and delicate vanilla works surprisingly well, although I have different ideas about an office fragrance (this is the status of this fragrance according to my research of many Fora and YouTube channels) (not necessarily more subtle, but definitely drier, less sweet).

Calvin Klein ("Contradiction", "Be" or directly most other fragrances from the same house), Lalique (Encre Noire Sport; White), Guerlain (Homme; L'homme ideal Cologne) or Creed (Himalayas) have repeatedly shown how versatile fragrances can be for this area of application and at the same time retain a certain sweetness, fruitiness or freshness.
Balance is the keyword here and I have to say that the "individual" is a little too angular for me.

For the summer it is definitely recommendable, but due to its wildness it is not as versatile as I would like it to be. But due to the excellent price it is worth a look.

The price-performance ratio.

In my opinion, there is absolutely no consumer good that can be ignored, regardless of whether it covers a basic or a luxury need. Of course, one can recognize gradations, especially in the cosmetics or even perfume sector, which can be described as pure luxury. The purchase of most supermarket own brands can be perfectly justified with the PLV, at the latest since their continuously good results in the Stiftung Warentest and other consumer comparisons with the expensive advertising brands.

In the case of perfumes, this is much more difficult without directly questioning the purchase of a perfume itself ("Why not just a deodorant?"). Like a textile garment, perfumes are dependent on the wearer's status, expression, taste and therefore in value (unlike a pound of potatoes). Just because one perfume costs twice as much as another, it doesn't have to be twice as good for everyone. For some, a certain independent variation is enough to justify the price premium, for others, all the less.

What exactly does this have to do with white Lalique? Because I bought it more than any other perfume so far, mainly because of the price. I've had good experience with Encre Noir Sport and I can get 125ml for under 20€? Add it to your shopping cart. If it's half as good as L'Homme Ideal Cologne or The Dreamer, it's already affordable, I thought

Very clear and very clean it begins, the lemon leaf with a tendency to lemon balm dominates and remains. The association of fresh laundry hovers above everything without becoming obtrusive. The light notes of pepper and cedar wood also prevent the fragrance from becoming too sweet and from having a certain balance.

Shelf life, silage and the fragrance and its development in general are very tidy throughout. And this at an excellent price. I compare this result with a C&A shirt (with this association I'm probably not the first one here, as I just realised). Doesn't pull any trees when it comes to innovation and independence, but neither does it want to, because you know that your strengths lie elsewhere, namely in your proven track record. Anything but junk, but quality of upper middle class, at a SSV price. A safe choice for the day, the summer, the office. Bright and fresh, a classic "sure thing" for me.

The fact that the brand Lalique enjoys great popularity is not surprising to me when such a decent quality is offered at such prices, which is why I don't have to take up the cudgels for the brand here anymore.

When you think of Creed, you think of Aventus. When you think of niche, you think of Aventus.

These views, which have now become truisms, are omnipresent and continue to hold true, if you just look at how large the share of this water in the overall profit of the entire house is. And yet it is difficult for me to find access to it.
The purchase of one of the most famous Aventus clones, Armaf's "Club de Nuit Intense Man", in the heavy and abundantly ostentatious black cobblestone bottle, which many believe contains a perfume that is 90% equivalent to Aventus, wanted to make the spark jump over to me. Undoubtedly I knew immediately why so many people like this scent DNA and why he is still so successful. Just as undoubtedly, however, was the fact that I am not the type for it and I will not be. This mixture of leathery smoke and tangy pineapple, paired with an overdriven sillage (I assume that this is less chemical and therefore less overflowing in the original Aventus than in CDNIM, but I think the direction is the same) does not meet my taste.

Oh, and also, I hate pineapple. Not just on the pizza. I guess that's where the dog is buried...

Very well, then. But I begrudge Aventus his success. He has definitely earned it and he has probably not only seduced me to take a look at the house in general and the other Creed scents.

Here I would like to highlight the Himalayas in particular. A fragrance that I like all along the line, not even because of its apparent pyramid of scents, whose notes for an 18-year-old perfume are amazingly reminiscent of a "blue" fragrance from the last five years. Rather, this fragrance with its rough and invigorating freshness paired with careful fruit sweetness radiates a masculinity that is self-confident but not boastful, and that doesn't opt for macho ("Aventus"; "Bentley for Men Intense") or softie ("The Dreamer"; Joop fragrances in general).

The freshness is more reminiscent of a strong wind, which blows clearly with its sillage, but does not knock you over. Neither a gentle breeze nor a devastating hurricane, but just right. Whether you feel it at the top of Mount Everest or at a lighthouse cliff with a strong current and crashing waves is irrelevant, both are suitable

In short: a powerful but not tactless shower gel fragrance of the upper class, which is comparatively versatile (especially for office, leisure and sports) and my previous Creed favourite.

What I like immensely about sides like Parfumo is their pleasantly fertile culture of debate, here especially in connection with fragrances that polarize and are between 4.5 and 6.5 points, not because everyone finds them equally mediocre, no, because some hate them deeply and others love them. This is particularly noticeable in designer fragrances that have become very popular (Invictus) or have been very popular (One Million or Lady Million). The last two examples show that Paco Rabanne is particularly affected by this situation.

Especially One Million, whose outstanding success has spread through the perfume community as Ed Hardy once did through the fashion industry. With the same result: At some point you got tired of him, at some point you could no longer smell that headache-causing and decadently sugary DNA. Every light comes to an end, and yet (or perhaps precisely because of that) One Million has both financially fulfilled its service to the house and awakened the interest of a whole generation of teenagers and young men and women in fragrances.

Double success for Paco Rabanne, who intends to continue to polarize, as you can easily see from their latest releases. So, just as One Million and Invictus have divided us snoopers into two camps since their inception, so does Pure XS, the fragrance I would call my first, which I intend to defend passionately against its sobering average rating, as enough people have done for the above two fragrances.

First of all: I consider the name of this EdT to be one of my absolute favourites: Pure excess I love the word "excess" because it sounds exactly like what it means. And that's how this scent smells the way it's called. It's loud, sweet and velvety from the start and radiates the aura of a club that can hardly escape from dancing, sweating people in chic evening wear, but also in simple C&A clothes, where both Kir Royal and Whisky-Cola are ordered at the bar, where the DJ could just as well play Goa to rave as Mallorca party poppers to roar along. No matter what, no matter how, main thing loud, main thing evening, main thing club.

The main thing is excess!

You can already tell that I consider the areas of application for this fragrance to be relatively limited. In the office, in the sun or during sports, this admittedly deliberately penetrating sugar shot makes no sense. You need a certain self-confidence to wear it and you should not overdo it with spraying, as the Sillage will penetrate and it will last the whole evening. For me, Pure XS is nothing more and nothing less than PR's answer to Eros, an equally loud club fragrance for the man who wants to have fun and also allows himself to go overboard. Only Eros is noticeably fresher, not least because of the mint, Pure XS is warmer, more sticky.

I stand by Pure XS, even though I've never been a great friend of One Million (don't ask me why, I don't know myself). A strong and loud, long lasting fragrance for the evening, who is not ashamed of his cola-cracker attitude and just lives it (was there anything better in the colorful bag from the kiosk than the cola-crackers? Exactly!).

The only thing I don't like about it is the bottle, whose cap cannot be removed completely, but is attached to one side like a Zippo lighter. This makes it difficult to apply the fragrance of the relatively wide bottle to different parts of the body. At least this has been removed from the "Pure XS Night" flanker, where it is completely removable.

The original Coach for Men is undoubtedly one of my previous favourites for everyday use and is a perfect match for me both as an office and leisure fragrance for spring and summer. A pleasant shower gel freshness blends light fruity notes of pear and cake to create a blend that always wants to go and lends itself. In its presentation and its areas of application (and for me less in its actual fragrance; for me it still has a certain originality) reminiscent of the blue models Sauvage, BdC, Invictus etc., its admittedly somewhat meagre durability is probably its biggest, but for me the only problem, which is relativized by the significantly lower price.

Now, one year later, the first flanker of this PLV gem appeared. Coach Platinum the name, silver-chrome the design, EdP the concentration. And from many sides it is claimed (as well as in places with the original) that this is a Sauvage clone with extra vanilla. On the skin, Coach Platinum is even further away from Dior's hobbyhorse than his predecessor. Not least because the ambroxane component that makes Sauvage what it is is completely missing.

Nevertheless, the vanilla dominates, although not as synthetic as one might think. From the very first spraying, the association of hot vanilla sauce with an apple strudel is closer than that of artificial vanillin. From the head to the heart, however, there is still a pleasant freshness that I appreciate so much in the original, even though the fragrance is by no means as fruity as the top notes (pineapple, juniper berry; neither of which I can really perceive) suggest. Nevertheless, as it progresses, the fragrance becomes warmer, more dignified and pachouli-heavy, which makes it suitable for the day as well as the following early evening. If it would last that long.

Unfortunately, the durability leaves a little bit to be desired here as well. Although Coach Platinum lasts longer than the original, it does not last long enough to be able to see blindly that this is the next higher concentration. From the Sillage much better, the durability is the essential problem here as well; definitely one of those fragrances where you are well advised to fill it in a mobile 10ml sprayer and take it with you.

At the latest then you should also be able to drive very well with Coach Platinum, however, it should be said: For a flanker it is relatively far from the original!