Drseid

*This review is of the vintage 1981 version.

Burberrys for Men opens with fine bergamot citrus and aromatic lavender with hints of supporting mint and tarragon spice before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart remnants of the aromatic lavender remain, now in support of an unveiled natural cedar wood note that takes the fore, with slightly sharp woody vetiver, earthy patchouli, dulled carnation and rose florals and mint-like warm marjoram spice in additional support. During the late dry-down the warm spice and aromatic woods remain, now joining moderately hard leather and slightly animalic musk from the base through the finish. Projection is slightly below average, but longevity is excellent at between 13 and 15 hours on skin.

It took me a bit of time to completely warm to Burberrys for Men. Oh, I always at least "liked" it, but something about the warm spice and aromatics just didn't quite click at first. That said, the more I wear the composition the more I find myself appreciating its seemingly endless list of ingredients that near-miraculously come together to smell quite good on the whole. The composition really isn't overly innovative, but the minty marjoram spice adds a special dimension to the aromatics in particular that set Burberrys apart from its long list of competitors. If I had one wish, it would be to have the projection enhanced a bit, but that is a small "flaw" that I find easy to overlook when taking a macro view of the perfume results. The bottom line is the discontinued $150 per 50 ml bottle on the aftermarket Burberrys for Men (1981) is not the last word of what the best of 1980's perfumery has to offer, but the "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5 perfume is a winner that gradually makes its case for recommending a sample or even a full bottle buy.

I won't waste any time writing an extensive review with note breakdown of this horrific stinker. Projection is stellar and so is longevity at 20 terrifying hours on skin despite several attempts to wash it off.

While terrified by how bad a release the original Sauvage was, I read enough folks say that Sauvage Elixir was worth a try even if you disliked the original. Well, now having purchased and wearing a sample of Elixir, I think pretty much if you enjoyed the synthetic ambroxan smell of regular Sauvage, you will near-certainly enjoy the overpowering strong, highly synthetic profile of this one too. If your tastes run to more along mine (think 70s and 80s natural smelling powerhouses) steer well-clear of this abomination and insult to the world of perfume. The bottom line is Sauvage Elixir, like its Edt counterpart is scary, nightmarish stuff indeed, "earning" a 1 star out of 5 "horrific" rating and a mega-avoid recommendation. Seek out the spectacular classic *Eau* Sauvage Edt instead, says I.

Blue Lotus opens with a dash of moderately sweet, fruity amyris and a touch of smooth vanilla before quickly transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart an initially smooth before turning moderately powdery yellow floral ylang-ylang emerges as the star with remnants of the fruity amyris and vanilla now in support, with hints of underlying creamy sandalwood rising from the base. During the late dry-down the perfume turns relatively dry and mildly powdery as the vanilla remains, now as the focal note through the finish eschewing its sweetness, with the sandalwood turning relatively stark as it joins as co-star. Projection is below average and longevity average at around 7 hours on skin.

I had heard so many good things about Blue Lotus going into this review that I strongly considered blind buying a hard to find bottle when it finally showed as again available... I am now glad I resisted the temptation as Blue Lotus really isn't anywhere near as impressive as its reputation, at least not to the nose of this writer. Oh it smells pleasant enough, and I confess I have no idea as to what a Blue Lotus flower should smell like, but if this is a good representation, it smells like ylang-ylang with a bit of sandalwood and vanilla mixed in for good measure. There really isn't anything wrong with that per se, but with an exotic flower name like Blue Lotus, one can't help but feel a bit let-down from the anti-climatic mundane development encountered on skin while wearing the stuff. The powder is also a bit problematic to someone like me who is powder averse. It never crosses the line of tolerance, but comes darn near-close. The bottom line is the $165 per 30ml EdP bottle Blue Lotus smells pretty good but unimpressive coming from such a talented perfumer with its exotic name, earning it an "above average" to "good" 2.5 to 3 stars out of 5 rating and a neutral recommendation to most except powdery vanilla and ylang-ylang lovers.

Boundless opens with sweet benzoin laced subtle dulled orange and peppery cardamom spice with underlying pipe-like tobacco rising from the base before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the tobacco remains and takes the fore, now shedding most of its sweetness and turning more dry as it is infused with a co-starring moderately synthetic smelling dry woody guaiac accord and relatively dry, smooth vanilla. During the late dry-down the tobacco vacates, as does the vast majority of the synthetic dry woods, leaving remnants of the dry vanilla as the sole focus through the finish. Projection is very good early but a skin scent for most of the perfume's slightly above average longevity of 8-9 hours on skin.

Amouage is a house that has majorly disappointed in the past decade, with the disappointments more frequent the past handful of years. As such, it was with great trepidation that I applied Boundless on skin, fully expecting another dud. Luckily for the first time in a while, Boundless impressed. In truth, there really is nothing new here, as spiced dry woody tobacco and vanilla concoctions have been done to death. That said, the perfume is skillfully composed on the whole, save the distinct evidence of a "vague synthetic woody accord" frequently found in a lot of similar perfumes, albeit much better tamed here. It just is nice to see Amouage getting past its always impressive looking bottles to actually contain some perfume I enjoy wearing, derivative or not. The bottom line is the $360 per 100ml Boundless actually is quite bounded to a perfume genre tackled all too many times, but the "very good" 3.5 stars out of 5 rated perfume separates itself from the pack with superior execution, earning a solid recommendation to fans of the spiced woody tobacco genre in particular.

White Lotus opens with a nose tingling slightly sweet floral honeysuckle and white lotus tandem at the fore supported by jasmine-like white tea before gradually transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the white floral tandem from the open remains though smooths out as the white tea gradually cedes its supporting role to just a hint of gauze-like real Oud and slightly sweet nutmeg enhanced sandalwood rising from the base. During the late dry-down the white florals gradually recede though never completely vacate, as the slightly sweet sandalwood takes the fore through the lengthy close to the finish. Projection is average for the first couple hours, then minimal for the rest of the perfume's over 12 hour duration.

White Lotus is a bit of an enigma... The perfume comes right out of the starting gate hitting the wearer with the white florals, though the subdued honeysuckle and white lotus have an almost ylang-ylang-like smell, actually presenting more like a yellow floral accord despite not being one. Real Oud is used extremely sparingly in the heart, with just enough of the real stuff to give a well-executed counterbalance to the florals, with the sandalwood adding needed smoothness to the mix. Probably the best part of the development is the late dry-down when the florals recede and the Oud vacates, leaving the sandalwood as the primary player through the deceptively lengthy finish. In fact the longevity metric is a tough one to judge, as after a couple hours you have to really put your nose close to the application point to smell the perfume anymore, but it is still there in strength and lasts for quite some time, just as a more personal perfume for most of its duration. As to the overall fragrance profile, while obviously this perfume can be worn by anyone, it leans stereotypically feminine. The bottom line is the $170 per 30ml White Lotus successfully provides an alternate take on the crowded white floral focused perfume genre, though keeps most of its secrets known only to the wearer, earning a "good" to "very good" 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5 rating and a recommendation to those looking for a distinctive but more self-centered white floral journey.