Landshark321
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Landshark321
Very nice sweet and spicy mix, somewhat nutty and effervescent
This sampling of the house of House of Sillage, HOS N.001, a sweet and spicy mix that immediately strikes me as a sort of cherried tobacco, an exaggerated variation of Mugler A*Men Pure Havane, though it lacks both cherry and tobacco in the note breakdown. Rather, it’s a mix of sweets (vanilla, tonka), spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove), and resins/woods (cedar, mahogany, amber, oud), the overall effective of which is largely more sweet than spicy or woody.
I wouldn’t say it’s a sweetness overload, however, as it feels reasonably refined, and reminds me also of Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia along the lines of smelling like effervescent root beer a bit. There’s something nutty, surely the tonka, in the way that that the almond features in the almond-named Mandorlo di Sicilia. The oud feels undetectable, however, as I do not get any of its animalic or medicinal twinges when wearing, and the spices are relatively tame—neither the cinnamon nor ginger nor clove stand out very much, though I could imagine each being part of the mix.
Overall, HOS N.001 is easy to wear for fans of sweet fragrances like me, I imagine, and is reasonably versatile to that effect in that it’s not so heavy to be overbearing on a summer evening but certainly strong enough for the winter cold. And while some might regard it as masculine, I could see it being unisex, particularly given many of its foody notes .
Sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and the house site, HOS N.001 retails for $285 for 75ml, though it’s currently on sale on the house site for $213.75, though I’ve recently seen it as low as $142.50 (50% off). At the lowest price (under $2/ml), it’s quite a good deal, albeit a bit more of a stretch at retail.
For me, personally, it’s a bit more of a “like” than a “love” and I feel it’s well-executed overall but a couple notches below Mugler Pure Havane, which it initially reminded me of, albeit comparable to Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia, which might be a better analogy for what it does best, the sort of unrelenting, nutty, almost candied sweetness.
7 out of 10
I wouldn’t say it’s a sweetness overload, however, as it feels reasonably refined, and reminds me also of Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia along the lines of smelling like effervescent root beer a bit. There’s something nutty, surely the tonka, in the way that that the almond features in the almond-named Mandorlo di Sicilia. The oud feels undetectable, however, as I do not get any of its animalic or medicinal twinges when wearing, and the spices are relatively tame—neither the cinnamon nor ginger nor clove stand out very much, though I could imagine each being part of the mix.
Overall, HOS N.001 is easy to wear for fans of sweet fragrances like me, I imagine, and is reasonably versatile to that effect in that it’s not so heavy to be overbearing on a summer evening but certainly strong enough for the winter cold. And while some might regard it as masculine, I could see it being unisex, particularly given many of its foody notes .
Sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and the house site, HOS N.001 retails for $285 for 75ml, though it’s currently on sale on the house site for $213.75, though I’ve recently seen it as low as $142.50 (50% off). At the lowest price (under $2/ml), it’s quite a good deal, albeit a bit more of a stretch at retail.
For me, personally, it’s a bit more of a “like” than a “love” and I feel it’s well-executed overall but a couple notches below Mugler Pure Havane, which it initially reminded me of, albeit comparable to Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia, which might be a better analogy for what it does best, the sort of unrelenting, nutty, almost candied sweetness.
7 out of 10
Subtle and classy
Sampling the last of the original ten releases from Encounter Scents, Seduction for Him, which immediately feels like a classier, less jumpy version In the Club for Him, so not so much a loud Ultra Male-like club scent but more a fougere-meets-sweet mix along the lines of Le Male, with its own twist.
The tonka is the standout note, its signature sweet/sharp mix emblematic of the whole fragrance, supported by chestnuts, the rest being made of up a mix of cardamom, citrus, woods, and musk.
Overall it’s smooth and fairly easily wearable, not obtrusive but effectively alluring—once again, an aptly named fragrance, and one I prefer to In the Club for Him for its subtlety, versatility, and blend.
Very nicely done! I admittedly prefer Compliment for Him, Confidence for Him, and Romantic for Him to Seduction for Him, but really all four are solid, and In the Club for Him is good as well.
7 out of 10
The tonka is the standout note, its signature sweet/sharp mix emblematic of the whole fragrance, supported by chestnuts, the rest being made of up a mix of cardamom, citrus, woods, and musk.
Overall it’s smooth and fairly easily wearable, not obtrusive but effectively alluring—once again, an aptly named fragrance, and one I prefer to In the Club for Him for its subtlety, versatility, and blend.
Very nicely done! I admittedly prefer Compliment for Him, Confidence for Him, and Romantic for Him to Seduction for Him, but really all four are solid, and In the Club for Him is good as well.
7 out of 10
Perfectly pleasant but not outstanding
One of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s newest releases is L’Homme A la Rose, a fresh rose scent designed for men, and I think it mostly hits the mark in this respect. It’s fresh, slightly sharp, ever so slightly sweet, but mostly rosy and pleasantly so, with some citruses and spices to create rounded, balanced perfume, some key notes being grapefruit, sage, and amber wood.
This falls into the category of being very nice and easily wearable and versatile, but a bit pricey for lacking boldness and innovation. Still, it could be a rosy men’s signature scent—not to mention a perfectly pleasant option for women or anyone else—so if it’s one of a handful of scents that one wears, it could be worthwhile.
Retail pricing is $275 for the standard 70ml bottle size in EDP concentration, sold at the French house site as well US boutiques and department stores. It performs reasonably well, but not outstandingly.
Overall, a nice scent worth smelling but not groundbreaking.
7 out of 10
This falls into the category of being very nice and easily wearable and versatile, but a bit pricey for lacking boldness and innovation. Still, it could be a rosy men’s signature scent—not to mention a perfectly pleasant option for women or anyone else—so if it’s one of a handful of scents that one wears, it could be worthwhile.
Retail pricing is $275 for the standard 70ml bottle size in EDP concentration, sold at the French house site as well US boutiques and department stores. It performs reasonably well, but not outstandingly.
Overall, a nice scent worth smelling but not groundbreaking.
7 out of 10
Excellent, balanced modern men's scent
Today is my second wearing of Zaharoff Signature Pour Homme from George Zaharoff, the 2018 release that has become very popular in the fragrance community. I only tried it for the first time five days ago, long overdue, and it made quite the impression, as well.
It certainly lives up its name immediately as it has the smell of a men’s signature scent, very modern with some more classic touches as well. It’s woody, spicy, musky, and, to make especially modern, sweet. Of the notes, the standouts to me are the lavender, pepper, cardamom, ginger, resins (myrrh, frankincense, amber, and woods (cypress, balsam fir, cedar, sandalwood). The mix of notes is a testament to how well blended it is, and it’s effectively (albeit not overly) sweet without the use of vanilla or other dessert-like elements (save pear), relying instead of the resins to bring out the controlled sweet vibe in contrast to some of the sharper elements of lavender, pepper, and cardamom. There’s oud in the background somewhere too, but admittedly it’s subtle, though I do get vague, slight animalic twinges in the background, very much in the background behind the woods, resins, and spices.
Zaharoff Signature Pour Homme achieves a balance between being a bit familiar (I likened it to the muskiness of Escada Magnetism a bit during my first wearing, and now it feels like there’s a champagne cologne-ness in the background as well, along the lines of Acqua di Parma Colonia) but at the same time it feels modern, new, and a wee bit idiosyncratic, having its own character.
Zaharoff’s pricing is very reasonable for the versatility and elegance of the fragrance, $155/95 for 120/60ml, at EDP concentration. It also performs quite well. I think a bottle is in my future.
8 out of 10
It certainly lives up its name immediately as it has the smell of a men’s signature scent, very modern with some more classic touches as well. It’s woody, spicy, musky, and, to make especially modern, sweet. Of the notes, the standouts to me are the lavender, pepper, cardamom, ginger, resins (myrrh, frankincense, amber, and woods (cypress, balsam fir, cedar, sandalwood). The mix of notes is a testament to how well blended it is, and it’s effectively (albeit not overly) sweet without the use of vanilla or other dessert-like elements (save pear), relying instead of the resins to bring out the controlled sweet vibe in contrast to some of the sharper elements of lavender, pepper, and cardamom. There’s oud in the background somewhere too, but admittedly it’s subtle, though I do get vague, slight animalic twinges in the background, very much in the background behind the woods, resins, and spices.
Zaharoff Signature Pour Homme achieves a balance between being a bit familiar (I likened it to the muskiness of Escada Magnetism a bit during my first wearing, and now it feels like there’s a champagne cologne-ness in the background as well, along the lines of Acqua di Parma Colonia) but at the same time it feels modern, new, and a wee bit idiosyncratic, having its own character.
Zaharoff’s pricing is very reasonable for the versatility and elegance of the fragrance, $155/95 for 120/60ml, at EDP concentration. It also performs quite well. I think a bottle is in my future.
8 out of 10
A modern classic, well-priced, very welcome in anyone's collection
After fortunately finding a decant from a fragcomm friend in the US, this is my very first wearing of Naughton & Wilson Gravitas Pour Homme. After seeing the largely positive reviews for months now and slowly building up the desire to try what has been hailed as a classic-meets-modern masculine mix, I’m happy to finally smell it. It immediately lives up to the hype, its mix of lavender, citruses, coriander, cardamom, pepper, patchouli, oakmoss, ambergris, and vanilla fostering a modern classic men’s signature scent that feels balanced and tidy, but quite interesting with its own twists.
It’s fresh, floral, spicy, with slightly sweet and woody undertones, very much as the note breakdown suggests, with the lavender/oakmoss fougere formula in play and a handful of spices (coriander cardamom, pepper) in the heart providing a lot of the life after the initial burst of lavender. It comes off very spicy out of the bottle but is palpably more balanced on skin, with some of the sweetness coming out especially after a few hours.
Overall, Gravitas is lovely, a traditional fougere concept rendered modernly sweet and balanced, its sharp and spicy tones balanced by a more subdued dry down. This is a great achievement, a very nice entry, and a very good performer.
Also, its pricing is very reasonable for a niche/independent release, at £90 (rough $116) for 100ml, though I’m not yet sure of the shipping costs to the US. Still, this is a welcome price for a niche/independent release nowadays, especially considering that it performs well.
This is definitely a recommended try for all men, as it has versatility, value, and performance, with familiarity but not so much to reel redundant. And I imagine some women could be very comfortable wearing it, as well.
Bravo to Dan on this release—I look forward to obtaining a bottle and seeing what else comes from Naughton & Wilson.
8 out of 10
It’s fresh, floral, spicy, with slightly sweet and woody undertones, very much as the note breakdown suggests, with the lavender/oakmoss fougere formula in play and a handful of spices (coriander cardamom, pepper) in the heart providing a lot of the life after the initial burst of lavender. It comes off very spicy out of the bottle but is palpably more balanced on skin, with some of the sweetness coming out especially after a few hours.
Overall, Gravitas is lovely, a traditional fougere concept rendered modernly sweet and balanced, its sharp and spicy tones balanced by a more subdued dry down. This is a great achievement, a very nice entry, and a very good performer.
Also, its pricing is very reasonable for a niche/independent release, at £90 (rough $116) for 100ml, though I’m not yet sure of the shipping costs to the US. Still, this is a welcome price for a niche/independent release nowadays, especially considering that it performs well.
This is definitely a recommended try for all men, as it has versatility, value, and performance, with familiarity but not so much to reel redundant. And I imagine some women could be very comfortable wearing it, as well.
Bravo to Dan on this release—I look forward to obtaining a bottle and seeing what else comes from Naughton & Wilson.
8 out of 10
