DieNase

After heaving worn New York for three days in a row now (a record for me) I feel reasonably qualified to write a comment on this scent.
I had ordered a sample of this scent at AlzD about half a year ago. I found it interesting, but I think I was not ready yet for the smokiness and the patchouli notes. A bit to butch for me I thought. I gave the sample to my brother who didn't particularly like it.
Last week-end I met this scent again at Wuchsa's and judged it as very good and definitely bottle-worthy. Those around and the boss himself approved that it was delicious on me and I bought it spontaneously (what I normally avoid doing, especially when I try lots of scents at a time).
Well, now I have been wearing NY for three days in a row, which I usually don't do either, need I say more?

So, what does it smell like?

In the beginning I get above all lavender and lemon. From the beginning there is a touch of sweetness (amber) and some earthy patchouli. After a while patchouli, amber, leather and woods merge to something that reminds me of an ashtray. Sounds disgusting, but it is not. Maybe a cold pipe would be a better way to describe it. I don't find a better comparison to this earthy-smoky accord. This accord with some sweetness, some spices and the rest of the herbal lavender and a very long lasting lemon note from the beginning settle to a highly delicious scent, which lasts all day.
I would like to smell this scent on a guy, which doesn't mean a woman can't pull it off. Well, at least I wear it! On my skin the amber provides some soft sweetness as a counterpoint to the pungency of the lemon. The smoke makes it round. Therefore, it is smooth enough for a woman. Although being a bit sweet (depending on the temperature!) and rich, it's not too heavy or cloying to my nose. It keeps some transparency and airiness, which makes it elegant.
It is perfect for autumn and winter.
Some compare it to Pour Monsieur by Chanel (and some to Bois du Portugal). I think, they share some DNA, but not that much after all. NY is warmer and sweeter. PM doesn't have lavender, but more lemon and cardamom. NY has patchouli, while PM oakmoss. The lavender gives a slight fougère caracter to NY being classified as an oriental chypre, while I would not call PM an oriental but a citric chypre.
Now compared to New York: I see similarities regarding the pungent citrus note combined with amber. But New York is much softer and smoother, Portugal more pungent, more brutal.
I love and own these three scents (well, just a decant of BdP). They are different enough to own them all. I imagine that people who like PM might like New York (and Équipage) for winter (like I do).
The projection and longevity are very good. Three spritzes are more than sufficient for 10 hrs in the office. Two would do as well, but three is more fun ;)

When I got sent a huge sample of this vetiver version a couple of months ago (still half a newbie) I got quite shocked by this juice. I found it very austere, dark, smoky. Defenitely not a scent I would dare to wear in public. However it kept attracting me so that I finally used up the sample.
Not - a few month later and more used to stronger stuff and some more masculine notes, I don't get shocked that easily any more (well after Kamali Incense nothing else will be able to shock you any more) I see this scent quite differently.
During a beautyboard-meeting at Wuchsa I was reminded of this scent. I tried it on, and everyone would say how great it smelled on me. I was still hesitating and hinally decided to take home "New York" bei Nicolai (which I have not regretted so far).
But soon I got a huge decant through Parfumo. Although I don't feel like wearing this scent all the time I still like it a lot. It is complex and seems smelling different everytime I wear it - depending on my mood, the weather etc.
This Vetiver tends to be compared to the Guerlain's. Having tested themm both many times I clearly prefer this one. I love the tabacco notes of the Guerlain (think my sample is the new version), on some days it has really great facets but sometimes it has a really annoying pungent cloying note reminding of the dentist's and sauna essence, then transforming into a pure green fresh (boring) vetiver(ylacetate).
Lubin is different. It is warmer, darker, deep, at least on my skin (on another girl it smelled far brighter and more citric). It reminds me of an autumnal forest after rain, smoky, musty, rooty, brown Vetiver. Nutmeg, a slight mandarin fruitiness and some acidity. I would attribute the mustyness and some of the acitiy to oakmoss, which I don't find in the list above. Something in this scent reminds me a bit of Mitsouko. Maybe the moss or the combination of Vetiver/moss/fruidy acidity.
Loads of tobacco. The whole thing is rather soft and smooth compared to the more pungent Guerlain. Warm, very round.
A very classy scent, very retro (could be a 70's scent). Very earthy, which makes it kind of sensual.

Sadly this scent is getting more and more difficult to find. A few weeks ago i discovered it at Galeria (!) and sprayed it on.
I was instantly thrilled, tested it a few more times and now own a decant + a mini of the vintage juice. A big bottle seemed too much, however this might become full-bottle-wothy.

The scent:

To me this scent is very distinguished and sophisticated. The top-notes are VERY spicy, lots of cloves (carnation?) and some cinnamon. But not as warm as this might sound, rather cool. Don't know how they did this - might be the bergamot, the nutmeg or the pine. No idea. Spicy cool and a bit waxy.
O yeah, I forgot the orange. Feel a bit like an almond biscuit ("Spekulatius") in the beginning. When the first spicy tempest is over, the spices remain present in the background. Then, the right dose of patchouli creates a very delicious ashtray - or cold pipe note. DELICIOUS! Some slight hints of leather. To me the scent shares some DNA with New York by Nicolai. Or lets say this might have been one of the inspirations of New York. Spicy-orangy-smoky. New York seems a bit warmer, sweeter, more abundant, less understated - it lacks of the nutmeg, has a longer-lasting citrus and additional lavender. Ok, a totally different scent, but I believe that Equipage is cited by New York.
After the first spicy blast Equipage is rather quiet skin scent. Very understated, very british. I can virtually see the plaid tweed blazer.
Yes, a winter scent for those who love Chanel Pour Monsieur for example. Rather masculine in character but very pleasing and soft. Should work well on a woman. Well, actually I don't care. i wear it because I love it. A perfect scent for work and for special occasions, serious, classy, a bit reserved, nothing dandy-like. Evidence of the wearer's good taste and class. For a gentleman/woman that can appreciate a certain understatement and does not blurt out: Look, here I am. Equipage is not a scent for attention-seeking and narcisstic egocentrics. Not a scent to get the chicks laid. On the other hand I wouldn't call it a gradfather's scent. Certainly, I do not see a teenage boy wear this one. 30 and up.

Last but not least some technical details:
- low key sillage once the initial blast has settled down
- longevity is ok but not earthshaking (New York lasts longer and projects more - to give you an idea)
- the recent and the vintage version smell very similar if not the same. At least this was my first impression. Now that I have been wearing the vintage quite a lot I should retry the recent version.

F**, this is a damn long review to translate... ;)

It is difficult for me to write an objective review on this one because there there are some memories linked to it.
In the 90's - I was a teenage girl of about 14 years old - we did a school exchange with a french partner school. I was really lucky with my exchange partner, we were virtually soulmates and stayed in touch for a long time afterwards. Her mother collected perfume miniatures, I especially remember her owning some Chanels. Though I liked perfume I was still not a junkie. On my last day in their family her father took me down to the wine cellar and chose a couple of bottles for my parents not without instructing me that the bottles had to rest for 2 weeks before opening them. The mother prepared a lunch pack for me and gave me a 4 ml mini of Chanel Egoiste.
That juice captivated me, it made me crazy like hell. I kept that little treasure - my holy grail - for as long as possible - just sniffing some of it from time to time. I had no idea at all that it was a guy's frag (internet still did not exist and I lived in a small place were I didn't pass by perfumeries every day...) and honestly, it never would have come to my mind.
It was MY scent, so special. Actually I have no idea why I never made my parents buy it for me for birthday or something. Maybe I had given up on it because I got to know that it was for guys - who knows. Back then I wouldn't have worn guy's scents. And lateron I forgot.
About a year ago - now as a perfume junkie - I went to a perfumery with a male friend of mine. I sprayed some Egoiste on him and it was disgusting. Very skanky. After an hour or two it got better. Once more I forgot about it until I got to know Bois des Îles this summer, which I quite liked - and read about its ressemblance with Egoiste.
A couple of days (now weeks) ago I had the spontaneous opportunity to buy cheaply another 4 ml mini of Egoiste. Looked exactly like the one I used to have and according to the label it must be vintage juice.
I applied some drops on my neck and WOW HOW COOL IS THAT? I still find it damn good an this is although my tastes have changed a lot during the last months and years. Pure nostalgia? Don't think so!

Enough of this drivel - now I try to explain what it smells like:

To begin with, there is a clear family resemblance between Egoiste and Bois des Îles. But they are definitely different enough to own both. When testing them simultaneously, the differences get very clear - and I wouldn't necessarily say that Bois des îles is the winner, the better, the more complex one - at least to my nose.
BdI is softer, smoother, has the typical Chanel-notes - slightly animalic (civet??? don't think so) or maybe rather aldehydes. Just as if you had removed some notes of Egoiste (e.g. lavender) and mixed some Cuir de Russie to it. It makes BdI creamier, a bit more feminine (to me both are unisex after all), a bit as if you softened a spicy sauce by adding some cream to it.
Spice is the keyword: Egoiste is a very spicy oriental with lots of woody cinnamon and lots of sandalwood, I don't get much of the clove though.
Contrary to the very Chanel BdI the top notes of Egoiste seem somewhat Guerlain - clearly lots of lavender and other herbs, something slightly animalic (not sure if there is civet, might come from the lavender). Almost reminds me of the top notes of Jicky.
In the heart there is loads of cinnamon, not overly sweet, but enjoyably pungent and woody. Somehow this scent seems sweet and dry at the same time. During one test I believed to get a faint incense note, too.
The heart melts perfectly with the sandalwood note. Lateron some floral notes, especially a slight rose note appears, not a heavy grandma rose, just a slight tough. And so on... wood-cinnamon-sandalwood. Be light on the trigger, then its simply brilliant!
In the drydown Egoiste and BdI get closer to each other, but some differences remain.

UPDATE - although I already own far too many scents... I simply had to own a bottle. This time the mini was not enough. I got a used 50 ml bottle with recent juice. It is still Egoiste, however slightly different, still great. I think I get more of the leather and tobacco (which I now get) in the vintage. Comparing to other frags containing rosewood I also get lots of rosewood here (both versions).
I recently sprayed some of the juice on my mum - and it got very skanky on her. Just as on my friend. On my skin it gets slightly skanky in the very beginning, but highly enjoyable. On my mum it stays skanky in a less enjoyable way for about an hour.

I'll try my best to translate some of my german comments from german to english - starting with the most recent ones.

Well, about half a year ago I was given a sample of the EdT. To my taste this was virtually unbearable. The violet note strongly reminded me of the pink children's toothpaste named "Blendi". A very strong sillage and incredible longevity. I was not able to scrub it off my skin. I really got on my nerves. Lateron I tried the EdP and didn't find it "that bad".
During our last common vacation I learned that my mum, who is a big violet-lover, fell in love with Insolence EdP. So I got it as a christmas present for her. Subsequently she wore it for a couple of days (while I was still there ;)) - and I really liked it. One single spritz is enough that other people can smell it the whole day. Using this dosage, it doesn't get cloying or anything. Your just get a whiff from time to time when she moves by. Just right to my taste. I still have some of that toothpaste-association (I get that with Après l'ondée, too, by the way) - however it is not as strong here. It is more elegant, more refined, deeper, not as artificial and trashy as the EdT.
In the late drydown it gets a very soft and pastel scent, vanilla? I think it might be the tonka.

As a conclusion I would say that this is good stuff, very intense and durable - you don't need to (and perhaps shouldn't) apply too much. I really like that one on my mum. I'll give it a good rating although I wouldn't wear it for myself. Partly because now it's my mum's new signature scent - and because it is not my kind of style (as you might see when having a look at my collection). Well, now I'm getting myself a dose of Bois du Portugal before it gets too flowery ;)