HIRH

With Aqua Celestia Forte, MFK has a fragrance in its repertoire that smells mainly of petitgrain and lime. A board for the beach, incredibly refreshing. But with little depth. A fragrance that seems to consist only of the eternal top notes lime and petitgrain. Actually an invitation to layering with a heavier fragrance.

XerJoff has fixed this flaw with Renaissance. Musk and cedar wood I take from the beginning, first as a kind of bodyguard of lime and petitgrain. Throughout in the background, but still somehow relevant for the overall impression. Gives the fragrance some depth in comparison to other fragrances and applications.

In the course of the day, musk and cedar step forward a little more with every passing minute. The lime recedes slightly, but remains until the end of the fragrance's development.

The durability and silage is slightly worse than with the Aqua Celestia Forte. But it is also an eau de parfum and more expensive. It somehow balances itself out, because H+S are by no means bad at the Renaissance either.

Conclusion: Alternative to the MFK ACF for all those who wish to have a little draught in summer too. "Something" is meant literally. Nevertheless light enough for 40 Grand on the beach. May be bought.

Cheers

Today I would like to deal with my Christmas present from my favourite perfumery. First of all: I don't understand how the ladies and gentlemen of the perfumery could have come up with the idea that this fragrance is appropriate for the Christmas season. The truth is: it could hardly be any more summery. But somehow it has its good sides: I would never have tried this fragrance by myself.

The scent is relatively linear for my perception, I perceive the lime most strongly. One of my favourite citrus fruits, with the vodka soda being an elementary component of my signature drink. So you're enjoying this already. Petitgrain gives the whole thing a certain complexity, I perceive it as a bit smoky. This sets him apart from the blue-green Tom Fords, where the Mandarino di Amalfi has been my favourite so far. Shelf life is more than good for a fresh citrus scent, but that's why you buy the Forte.

I am actually a lover of heavy fragrances. Oud, frankincense and amber are my favourite ingredients. But I still like the Aqua Celestia Forte very much. Good thing I got it as a present. Because otherwise I would never get such a fresh smell. Now I finally have a fragrance that is really good to wear on the beach. Or even a fragrance that gives you a feeling of freshness without a shower. And this without being a typical washing gel scent. All thanks to the additional petitgrain!

Conclusion: A very fresh scent that is not even that fresh and should be worn on the beach or on really hot days in order to be really effective. Could also well imagine to layern him with one of my heavier scents.

Cheers!

Now that I added the fragrance to my collection about a month ago, it's time to say a few more words about it.

The prelude is a very pleasant amber-vanilla combination. A few more amber-vanilla hours follow, whereby amber and vanilla continue to unite in a very harmonious way from hour to hour. The association has something of open-pored wood - reminiscent of Bois d'Argent, despite the completely different ingredients. The vanilla suits the amber very well, makes it soft and gives a feeling of well-being. In my opinion the much better combination compared to Ambre Nuit from Dior. But I could imagine that the fragrance would be even more beautiful with earlier perceived oud. Because only sometime later a little oud is added to amber and vanilla, and then I like the fragrance by far the best.

The opening is brutal. So brute that I wonder how a gentle combination of amber and vanilla can even manage. I only know this kind of thing from oud/incense crushers. The durability is bombastic, loose over one day and the following night. Two sprayers are sufficient, despite the rather average dosage of one spray. The fragrance itself is very gentle. The amber/vanilla combination creates a cuddly atmosphere in the living room and fireplace. Thanks to the strength of the fragrance even in sub-zero temperatures in the winter jacket outside. Just pleasant.

In conclusion, the right fragrance for everyone who is looking for a strong scent that is nevertheless gentle. And which gives warmth in winter when there is no fireplace nearby.

Cheers!

As the title suggests: the perfect summer scent for late risers. For a simple reason: The flowery rose makes the start - maybe Labdanum is also there. It's hard to tell, I don't know what labdanum smells like. The floral entry is so intense that at first nothing is noticeable of heavy patchouli or the oud. This means that the fragrance is also very easy to wear in summer - the flowery freshness remains carefree at first.

But after a few hours, patchouli joins the rose. A short time later, the rose has to give way to the oud, until hardly anything of it is noticeable anymore. The fragrance has mutated into a brute Arabic sheikh, which in summer can only be worn in the evening - a link to the rose is only perceptible in the background. The oud now dominates.

For all those who, like me, start the day at 14:00 and work mainly at night, so that the perfect summer scent. A flowery, fresh start, which becomes a heavy night-time scent just in time for sunset. Without having to spray on another perfume. The shelf life is so good that the Sillage is still clearly perceived by its surroundings even at late hours and brings some compliments. After the first test I could see it on my neck - neither joke nor exaggeration - nor months (!) after that on the collar of my winter jacket. The well-dosed spray bursts of the Dior Prive flacons do the trick, by the way. Two sprays are easily enough for this fragrance. Spraying is not only unnecessary, but even harmful. The magic of this fragrance is the strong contrast between rose and oud - the mutability behind it.

Therefore not the right summer scent for all early risers: it becomes so heavy too quickly that it is no longer adequately wearable in summer. But for all late risers or sprayers it is exactly the right thing - so it has become my summer signature. Cheers!

I chose this scent for my commentary deflowering. Why? Because, as the good YouTuber and mediocre perfumer from this uncharted territory likes to say, of all the fragrances I have ever tested, he likes the "scent DNA" best.

Saffron, oud and frankincense I take most present. However, they cannot be clearly separated from each other. The ingredients are rather intertwined with each other in such a way that one has to speak of a fragrant mass that smells like "noble". You could also say it smells like "expensive". So they harmonize very well with each other. For me it is so good that I would say it is the most beautiful fragrance composition ever created. The scent is linear for me, so it smells relatively similar from beginning to end with decreasing intensity. However, unlike many Tom Fords, he manages to do this without being one-dimensional. My thumbs up.

If I had to imagine a king - not a simple sheikh - from the Arab world descending with his entourage at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills late at night. Driving a midnight black Rolls Royce, wearing a Thawb. But a black and gold one, not a white one. He would smell of this scent. So the name Oud Royal is quite aptly chosen.

But there is only one problem: The sheik would smell the same, but much stronger. He would make the entire lobby of the Waldorf Astoria smell like his Sillage for an hour after he left. And this is exactly where my problem with the fragrance lies: Don't get me wrong - the durability is already great. Even if she can't quite reach an oud Ispahan, it still sticks to my jacket collar days, weeks later. But it's been in there about 10, 12 hours. After an opulent prelude, the Sillage is so subtle after about 30 minutes to one hour that it is hardly noticeable through the surrounding area. Usually friends greet me with a "it oudelt so nice again". When I wear Oud Royal, however, there is never any comment. This is also in line with my impression: after the first hour you have to get very close to the sprayed body part to still be able to perceive the perfume. The restrained dosage of a spray certainly plays its part in this. If I wear too much, however, it is perceived as intrusive and unpleasant. Therefore, one walks with the Oud Royal on a narrow degree. If dosed too weakly, it is hardly noticed by the environment - too high doses are more penetrating. Therefore, it takes some practice to actually realize the potential of the fragrance composition. This is also the title of the commentary - the fragrance is the most restrained show-off you can imagine.

Since I got the fragrance, buying perfume has become much more difficult for me. Why? Because I'm still looking for a fragrance with a DNA identical or very similar to the Oud Royal, but with a sillage appropriate to it. The search for this fragrance occupies me so much that other perfume DNAs are currently finding it difficult to satisfy me. Maybe someone in the perfume community has an insider tip, I would be happy to hear about it.

To all who have read to the end, a good and successful day!