MRoth

A saccharine gourmand balanced - just barely - by tobacco. Overall impression is of a fruity, sweet-tooth popstar fragrance reworked with higher quality ingredients. Upon drydown the florals float along on a fluffy cloud of vanilla which, combined with the rum, is unfortunately rather reminiscent of supermarket style vanilla essence. Eventually a hint of woodiness struggles through.

The "hedonist" here is a spoiled princess in pink tulle and rhinestones, gorging on cupcakes while her doting father watches on.

Pleasant enough, but certainly not worth the price tag. Longevity is middling, settling into a skin scent at around two hours.

Here we have the thick, creamy oud-musk of Montale's Aoud Musk. Just as present is the sweet bakhoor of 24 Gold and snapshots of Nasomotto's Black Afghano. But here's the prize and the kicker; these three taken together form a near facsimile of the heavy, almost chocolatey spiced wood and oud of 24 Gold Oud Edition, that worthy flanker to the original 24 Gold. So. The similarity in names as well as notes begs the question: is someone intentionally copying? If so, who is copying who, and how much does it matter if they are both lesser-known brands deserving of praise, both releasing fragrances easily worth twice, three times their price?

My only criticism is that 24 Carat Pure Gold can be a little rough around the edges. The oud hits harder in the opening, unbridled and unashamed. For me this was ultimately forgiveable, possibly even admirable in the way that the lumps and fibres in handmade parchment add character. There are no pulled punches, no hidden currents; this is a strong, deep, linear perfume and a few sprays will radiate beyond arm's length and last a full day.

Primarily a white floral with a pale gold aura, Iris Nobile manages to be both opulent and elegant at the same time. Its opulence is apparent in the three most detectable notes besides the eponymous: tuberose, vanilla and ylang-ylang. The elegance is in how artfully those oft heavy, cloying notes are measured into chorus, the only casualty being the tuberose taking on a rather waxy aspect.

If like me you find the best indicator of a quality perfume is how well its strong notes are balanced, I can assure you that, just like its bottle, Iris Nobile remains tasteful.

The EDP is strong but radiates only a small distance.

"Dark" is anything but dark.
This is a bright, vivacious, fruity rose. In my mind's eye I can see it, generously petalled in full bloom, canary yellow in the centre blending into soft white with blushes of Barbie pink on the tips of its petals. I have come across roses such as these (I believe the variety is called Heart of Gold) that boast a lively lemon scent; the opening notes of Dark match perfectly. Alongside this, a peach-like accord develops. The apple tones and tempers the combined rose/citrus/peachy juiciness, at least for the first hour. On a warm, sunny day, however, the fruity notes did become overpowering and my flirty floral frolic began to feel more like a dip in fruit punch. I almost expected my wrists to turn sticky!
I look forward to testing this again on a cooler day in the hopes that the cool green apple can maintain order for longer, but for now, it's a bit too much for me.

When I was young there was a "value" brand of shampoo in a transparent bottle with big green apples printed on the front. The fruity fragrance of the shampoo was literally mouthwatering; I'd lick my lips, well aware that it would taste awful, and yet I was still tempted! These were not crisp green apples from an earthly tree, these were larger-than-life, stupefyingly potent, space-age apples.
Another memory: my kindergarten's play dough, cooked simply from scratch; just flour, salt, water and food dye.
While nothing to do with the notes listed, I assure you that Furze is the quirky marriage of these two smells. The salty, fusty demi-gourmand of play dough subdues the sweet-sour tang of lurid green not-apples, a concession that tones Furze down into something actually wearable. The resulting scent is matte in texture, reminiscent of a food flavouring in that you can smell/taste it on your tongue as well as through the nose. Into the drydown vanilla and coconut take control, further smoothing out the faux-apple.

The downside to all this novelty is that Furze has a lamentable lack of projection. Even at first spray sillage was so piddly that even the store assistant admitted she could hardly smell it. I put the tester back, disheartened, but kept circling back to it until finally I gave in and took a bottle home. It's quite an original little scent, a fragrance ear worm. Funky, fun and just a little bit obnoxious!

(Und wenn deine Fürze riechen wie dieses Parfüm, Flaschen sie!)