MrPink

Aventus - the KING (as many call this fragrance) - is the heart scent of many men, of boys who want to become men, of f*ckboys and other subcategories of the male sex - at the same time it is probably also libidinous cocaine for many women and light girls. (Or whatever combination you're into: be kind to each other, have fun, and protect yourselves! I think everyone knows what I mean and what I'm getting at... and I hope no one feels left out - love is for everyone.)

But back to the actual comment --- for me, Aventus is dead!
And I'm happy to explain why:
For a long time I couldn't afford and didn't want to afford a full bottle, I had bottlings and tested my way through the clone landscape (quite successfully) but somehow I felt my collection wasn't complete without the King. So I grabbed when I found a good offer!

I had tested Aventus except for my bottlings only in various perfumeries, so had never had the complete Creed Aventus experience.

When finally the package came - disappointment all along the line. - 220€ - and that's what I get?

The bottle - has a cheap feel, the lid made of cheapest plastic and squeaks worse than a Chihuahua you step on the paw.

The fragrance is nice, admittedly in the opening a bit more citrusy than I knew him, but good - batches and so *sigh* - in the drydown then but usual Aventus'sche elegance and the longed for "pantydropping" qualities he has also still!

The durability - what can I say? In the morning at 7 to work sprayed - after lunch hardly noticeable (8 sprayers I have allowed myself incl shirt collar and lapel!). On another evening for a date again Aventus put on and in the course of the evening he then crawled away faster than Testikel at the winter bathing in Malmö!

- and that for 220€?

Since the shop was verified and also known at Parfumo, I could exclude a fake. So what is this for a broth Creed there recently under the flag of the king the people unterjubelt? Creed has been known to skillfully talk its way out of batch madness: "We nUtZeN naTüRlIcHe ZuTaTeN, dA kAnN eS TO qUaLiTaTiVe UnTeRsChIeS iN GeRuCh aNd PeRfOrManCe kOmMeN!" - okay, that sounds logical, but why is it only Creed that has such significant fluctuations in scent and performance? And why always in a gradual decline to the previous batch? - I don't believe the fairy tale of raw material fluctuations, I believe the answer is greed. Creed knows that Aventus is a status symbol by now, they also know that men will buy it as long as women want to smell it - and if they have to bathe in it to smell like Aventus at the disco or on a date and reach the goal of the evening (Is there already an Aventus shampoo? :D).
Whatever the reasons... unfortunately doesn't change the facts!

The whole thing really is a travesty , but as they say:

Pride comes before the fall!

With this fragrance you do not stand out, you adapt wonderfully and elegantly to its environment. A bit like water, which also adapts to any environment.

This reminds me immensely of Bruce Lee's famous quote:

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water.
Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup;
You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle;
You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot.
Now water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend."

Therefore, this description fits imho quite well to the fragrance:
He is pleasing, unobtrusive, elegant and "slick".
For me, one of the fragrances that convince by their simplicity and unexciting.

For me, it smells mainly wet, such a dry warm wet, as when you dry after jumping into the cooling lake in the summer heat, slightly "metallic" notes I also perceive - probably by the juniper berry.
Overall, very coherent, balanced and interesting despite the simplicity - and anything but synthetic!
In addition, the elegant musk freshness which paired with the vanilla gives the fragrance a certain creaminess and almost cuddly nuances misses.
He is not a typical Aquat for me and certainly not a shower gel fragrance.
He is woody fresh creamy spicy and in its simplicity very complex.
Qualitatively certainly high quality, as expected from a MFK.

It is everything and nothing, it adapts, it is changeable, malleable, transparent.

He draws his strength and charm from the simplicity of things.

Like water.

Layton - probably the most famous and hyped niche fragrance (right after A.).

There was / is certainly some discussion - from pure hatred to excessive praise this fragrance is probably already everything sloshed against.

But why? - I think a background is certainly the question:
Is this niche at all, if the so "uncomplex" and pleasing is?
I don't want to raise a fundamental debate here, but what is niche anyway? Does it have to smell like a coked-out farmhouse or an avant-garde piss-take? (There's no judgment in this, but anyone who's ever drifted into "crass niche" probably knows what I mean!)

But now in medias res:
Layton is not exciting, Layton is not someone who stands out from the crowd and screams for attention - no Attentiongrabber (heard Anglicisms give extra cups ;) ).
What I appreciate about him is above all that he awakens memories for me - namely Boss Bottled!
He is not necessarily very similar to him, but this vanilla apple pie association has Layton imho already. Only this is a full-bodied opulent handmade cake, from Grandma, with apples from their own garden, butter from the butter churn and a lot of love - and a little mint for garnish. So in short, qualitatively highest quality class!

Does he reinvent the apple pie? Nope. But he is olfactory soul food!

At the end of the day, you can like the recipe or not, not everyone likes apple pie - nonetheless, this one is pretty darn well done!
Also, I feel Layton is a wonderful introduction to the niche world!

And last but not least, Layton has an incredible cuddle factor, it melts the vanilla ice cream ;)

.... now I'm hungry.

How can a fragrance with officially 3 notes have such complexity?

Above all, I smell at the beginning of a strong portion of spices - cinnamony, peppery and powdery-vanilla comes the Trente-Quatre around the corner and makes directly clear where the journey goes - What a blast - lecko mio!

But is really clear where the journey goes? Because after a short time join flowers.

Wait ... FLOWERS? FLOWERS? Yes. Flowers! And not just one flower directly a whole bouquet of flowers - superficially I detect a rose as well as a violet note, with the former clearly predominating. I also mean that a little iris in conjunction with the sandalwood contributes to the "creaminess".

The drydown then shows what Dyptique is capable of! When the vanilla and the sandalwood together provide stability and the flowers and spices sort to your respective place surrounds a noble spicy creamy aura! The Trente-Quatre is elegantly seductive and mysterious and yet surprisingly suitable for everyday use. Here the classic French perfume art is led into the 21st Jhd!

To Tentre-Quatre I also have the following association:
Do you know this movie scene where someone stands in a trench coat under a streetlight, you can see the smoke of the cigarette in the light and you can only recognize half the face by the shadow of the slider cap / the Fedora? - This mysterious man is probably wearing that scent!

He has surprised me very much - positive

In life we have many "firsts" - the first kiss - the first love - the first sex - the first drunken stupor - the first fight - when was the last time you did what for the first time?

This question can take on quite philosophical proportions - but here I would like to report on my first WOW experience with a perfume. And unlike some other "first times" - he even said "pardon" here. ;)

Now to the background story - I was relatively new in the perfume world and visited for the second time the Trierer Nischenparfümerie of Edith Lücke. Until Dato I knew Nasomatto hardly to not at all - but the flacons attracted me. Now I stood there and of course directly reached for Black Afgano, which I knew from some Youtuber. But somehow I found it boring and way too ashy and sweet for me. And then a nice lady approached me and told me I had to try the Pardon. No sooner said than done. She sprayed me with Pardon on a scent strip... and it was around me happened.

Chocolatey floral opening - with slight aftershave vibes. Then an earthy woodiness comes in (patchouli?). And again and again the fragrance is accompanied by a light spiciness (something cinnamon and oud?). What accompanies this fragrance but always is a powdery fresh creaminess that I have never smelled at that time.
To smell this fragrance in the perfumery was like an olfactory daydream.

It was the first scent where I felt something beyond "it smells good".

It was the first fragrance that completely thrilled and at the same time overwhelmed my mainstream nose.

He was the first fragrance with a trend-setting olfactory WOW experience for me.