Spray and Pray Experiment #0006: Bentley For Men Intense and Legend

For this experimental fusion, I am taking two fragrances that most people have heard about and will attempt to make a hypothesis of what could happen if I layered and combined them.

Or in plain language, I am taking a dubious (but still educated) guess at what could happen if I layered these two fragrances together.

It is time to spray and pray—literally.

Fragrance 1: Bentley for Men Intense

Bentley For Men Intense is a fragrance from the Lalique Group released in 2013, and is one of the more hyped fragrances in the fragrance internet community, especially with influences. While I love the leathery fragrance, it understandably has mixed reviews.

On the positive side, BFMI has incredible longevity and stands out against the sweeter fragrances that one would smell during the evening or a date night.

On the critical side, BFMI lacks versatility. The strong leather note makes the fragrance unusable in the summer heat and has questionable usage in a work environment (fine for desk jobs, not so great for physical labor).

Fragrance 2: Legend

Legend is a fragrance released by Montblanc in 2011. The fragrance was a success and produced a variety of flankers, including Legend Night, Legend Spirit, and the recently released Legend Red. 

I have described the original fragrance as a mature version of A&F’s Fierce.

On the constructive side, Legend is the opposite of BFMI’s weaknesses—the fragrance has strong versatility. While it does the best work as an office scent, the fragrance is usable in any social situation without thinking too much.

On the negative side, the worst thing most people can say about the fragrance is that, as a fresh scent, it could be difficult to stand out amongst the crowd, and it lacks unique qualities.

The Details:

Now that I went into detail about the fragrances, this is how I handled the experiment variables. This does not change with each experiment, but I always add in the information:

• I sprayed the fragrances in the order listed. Fragrance #1 (Bentley for Men Intense) as the stronger fragrance goes first, followed by the spray of Fragrance #2 (Legend).
  
  
• On the initial attempt, I sprayed each scent once on two pieces of paper. One goes in a fridge at 40° F / 4.4° C to simulate a cooler environment. The other remains in a heated and humid bathroom temperature of 86° F/ 30° C to simulate a warmer or tropical environment. 
   
  However, Bentley for Men Intense overpowered Montblanc Legend within 20 minutes, which required adjustments.
   
  
• On the second attempt, I sprayed Bentley for Men Intense once, and Montblanc Legend twice. The remaining conditions above remained the same.
  
  
• I also sprayed each scent once on a pulse point where the skin is clean and unscented to see how it works on me.

The Hypotheses:

1. The citrus and florals in Legend should tame the leather note in BFMI, allowing for other notes in BFMI to possibly shine through.
   
   
2. The sage in BFMI should combine with the lavender in Legend to give a more fresh and herbal scent.
   
   
3. Sandalwood should become a more prominent note since both fragrances possess the note.
   
   
4. I expect the sillage and projection to remain the same, as both fragrances had moderate sillage and projection. Also, while Legend can carry for a while, BFMI has insane longevity and may carry the fragrance for significantly longer.
    
    
5. Legend should add more versatility to BFMI. Meanwhile, BFMI should add more depth to Legend.
   
   
6. Both are prominently masculine fragrances that only a bold woman would attempt to wear. I do not expect this aspect to change.

The Result

• The leather note in Bentley for Men Intense remains strong and is the overall dominant note of the combination in both the initial test and the second attempt.
   
  
• The scent is slightly fresh in the opening, but the florals in Legend are weaker. (And outright disappeared in the first attempt.)
  
  
• The sandalwood became more noticeable, giving the combination a leathery/woody feel to the scent.
  
  
• The projection and sillage remained the same.
  
  
• The combination lasted for six hours in cooler temperatures, eight hours on the skin, and ten hours in warmer temperatures. All the above are the normal rates for Legend. In all cases afterward, BFMI remained in the background for the usual day-long duration.
  
  
• BFMI’s leather note dominates the overall combination. However, the combined scent gives BFMI a stronger woody profile that it previously lacked. The versatility of the combination is effectively the same as BFMI—useless in heat and extensive physical activity, excellent in winter and night.

• Because of BFMI’s dominance, the fragrance is also mostly masculine.

Overall: Disappointment 🙁

I underestimated the strength of Bentley for Men Intense. While the combination may work better if I use a third spray of Legend, I refuse to go over two sprays in the same pulse point with any fragrance.

As a result, the BFMI overpowered Legend in the first attempt with one spray, and diminished Legend in the second attempt, despite Legend getting two sprays. The most prominent change was that the combination possessed a woodier smell in the second attempt, and the opening had a hint of freshness.

I will attempt to mix Legend and BFMI again in the future—both have great mixing potential. However, I need a stronger fragrance with BFMI, and a milder one with Legend to make their next combinations work better. 

Edited on May 9, 2022 to keep the title consistent with other experiments.