RisingChaos

Opens with a strong soapy lavender backed by a crisp, juicy apple dusted with cinnamon and a woody base. Base notes slowly become more prominent as it dries down, becoming sweeter with a lightly medicinal lift from the oud, blending in with but never completely overtaking the top/mid. Strong projection for 2-3hr, faint whiffs many hours later, longevity 12hr+.

I'd say this was nothing like I imagined, but to be honest I never actually bothered to read reviews and build any sort of image in my head of what this was "supposed" to smell like in advance. It's excellent. I think it's extremely versatile being a fairly fresh soapy scent, not something that needs to be particularly avoided in hot weather or daytime, but it's not as boring as something like a Prada L'Homme or the typical minimalist scent because the woody base is noticeable and there's a fair bit of sweetness permeating the composition. The oud makes its presence known with the way it lifts everything else but it always stays in the background, combining its woody element with the other woody notes present and never revealing its more typical earthy/dirty, strong spicy, or heaven forbid fecal facets.

Opens with a boozy, dry tobacco leaf underlaid with a healthy dose of warm, rich chocolate and vanilla. Moderately sweet at first, after 30 minutes dries down to include a prominent amber accord and a suede leather that comes in to seamlessly replace the fuzzy, powdered tobacco touch. I'm not a huge tobacco fan but this stuff is fantastic. The vanilla and chocolate are bit players that play into the syrupy sweet base, with rum and tobacco accords being most dominant. Moderate-strong projection for 2-3hr, longevity 8-10hr.

I gotta be honest, I don't know how they came up with this nothingburger of a note breakdown. There's clearly way more going on here in a way that isn't the case with their other fragrances.

Exists in a space between Code Absolu, Le Male Le Parfum, and Dior Homme Intense. On its own, it's a beautiful sweet vanillic iris garnished with a fresh, fizzy orange-apple top. This is less intensely powdery or pure vanilla than OG Absolu to my nose, with the floral-aromatic accords in the mid, but less aromatic than LMLP without lavender here to bolster the iris. It's fairly well balanced between the vanilla and iris notes. The woody and suede-ish base is quite a bit more noticeable here as well, giving it shades of DHI if you traded ~55% of its iris in for vanilla. Similar performance to OG Absolu, though I get more longevity as a skin scent from that one. Moderately soft projection for 2-3hr, longevity 10-12hr.

Very soft powder, a light fruitiness, and a fresh airiness. It's bright and uplifting with a gentle sweetness, powdery yet not dry. Unfortunately I've never smelled fresh figs, but it smells like (what I imagine to be) freshly sliced figs infused with tea.

The powderiness is not prominent, its softness is quite fluffy and cohesive like a clean white musk. It's very bright, however, with a noticeable "bite" to it reminiscent of the accord in Dior Hypnotic Poison and PdM Pegasus that people commonly refer to as licorice or metallic. (Of course, there are no vanilla or almond notes here.) Probably some combination of the orange citruses, spicy aspects of the freesia, and sawdust from the woody base imparting a light effervescence that pops from the skin. Surprisingly strong on initial spray settles to more moderate projection over 4-5hr, longevity 12hr+. Excellent performance for a freshie and definitely the best from Essential.

Warm, balsamic, slightly creamy vanilla-amber with a soft undertone of dried fruits and incense, perhaps burning wood chips. Not really a complicated scent profile but IMO the only one that gets the formula right. Everything else is too smoky, or too sweet, or too spicy... or too one-dimensional as in something like Tihota or Grand Soir. This is just a warm vanilla with exactly the right touch of supporting notes. Slowly gets fruitier as it dries down. Moderate projection that peaks around 90min and peters out after 3-4hr, 8-10hr longevity.

Reminds me most of Lune Feline but with less smoke and spice, which I love because Lune Feline was too smoky for me. Same with By the Fireplace, which is more sugary sweet and goes pure smoke on my skin. Prada LR Black with less powder and more vanilla. Lacks the green accord and freshness of Ani. Smells nothing like the bowl of melted ice cream that is Tihota.