ScentSlave

Somehow they got a resonance of the classic, kicked it up a few notches, and “modernized” it.

That the vibe I get from this. I can tell it’s got Le Male DNA, it’s definitely there, but it’s got its own flavor, and resonates nicely.

Projection is awesome for the ENTIRE time. How? I have no clue, but it's the truth. Sillage? Yep. They will know WHO is wearing it, where they were, and where they are going. Longevity is an easy 10 hours.

Do you like the Le Male DNA? That’s the first question. Do you like Tonka sweet scents? That’s the second question. What if they mixed the 2 together? That’s when you run to take a sniff of a tester.

This is a big win for JPG, but I’m already a fanatic.

…. Different indeed….

Not for everyone, and NOT for beginners.

Everyone is asking for something that isn’t “mainstream” and Cartier is giving its take on something “different”.

Right from the start, the people that it won’t appeal to are going to KNOW it. The opening is definitely very different than what most designers have been trying. This caught me off guard as well, as I’m so used to designers having their either sweet or soapy approaches introducing themselves immediately.

The immediate opening smells like that feeling you get when you swallow that FIRST SHOT of a good, strong bourbon/whisky/scotch. Not what it smells like from the bottle, but the FEELING you get in the back of your throat/upwards toward your nasal cavity when you take the shot. THAT’S what I’m talking about. That passes, and it’s quickly followed with a dark, musky and smoky feeling, almost coffee-esque vibe. It kind of reminds me of when elementary schools had a “coffee lounge” where the teachers would gather and be themselves before school, and during recess and lunch. (The teachers playroom, if you will). Remember that room, but think of it back when the teachers were allowed to smoke cigarettes in there as well (yes I’m old). Now remember that coffee-breath+smokers-breath feeling that resonated throughout those types of rooms? That’s what I get here. A quick kick of nostalgia that I didn’t even know I would remember.

Semi sweet, smoky, MATURE, and unique. When I say breath, don’t mistake me for saying it’s a bad odor, because it’s not. I honestly get the feeling of those “administration only” rooms that only adults were allowed into in the mid-to-late eighties. There was a resonating scent that would remain there even after work hours, but when the coffee was hot, and the smokers were puffing, it become louder and louder, and that’s what I see here.

That scent remains as it dries down into the mid, and an Antaeus/Jules feeling musk slowly emerges, but lightly. Very much present, but not loud. It then becomes sweeter and sweeter as time progresses, eventually settling into a burnt caramel that feels very similar to Gentleman Reserve Privée.

This feels like a modernized take on an old school, musky scent. If Antaeus was created in todays society, this is what it would be.

It has an authoritative, very masculine feeling, but I think a woman could easily wear it as well. The visual I get here is a 35+ year old administrator (like a superintendent). It has a very strong masculinity, but when I close my eyes, I see a female wearing it. She has all the power, and her fuse is short. No one knows her true personality, and they all fear her. She only exists to them in the professional world. No one has been inside her house. That is what this feels like.

Performance is modest; projecting 1.5ft or less in radius, and the sillage trail isn’t loud either. People WILL know it is you, and that you were there, but in a more “intimidating” way. (Footsteps in a carpet more so than a sillage trail). Longevity is fantastic, however, as it maintains its humble performance for over 9+ hours.

This isn’t bound to a suit and tie environment either. A decent polo and slacks would work too. Just be professional, and you can pull it off. I think it would work well on a smoker as well, to be honest. It would “clean up” their aura, and add a color to it.

… and this one is an absolutely perfect example of exactly that. Whether it’s the scent itself,the projection, or even the longevity, this one plucks EVERY string in the chord of polarity.

It’s SO inexpensive, so a frag junkie like myself absolutely HAD to pull the trigger on a blind buy try.

$25 later, here we are.

I’m SHOCKED that this is SO inexpensive, because no one would suspect this as being such. It’s well arranged, and just the blend makes it worth the cost of admission, whether you like the scent or not, it’s completely worthy of the price tag.

As far as how I feel about the scent itself?

I love it. It’s got a darkness to it, and it makes me envision a cartoonish picture when I close my eyes; a purple sky, with black tree shadows, and a moving cream colored moon. That’s how I feel about it. Not quite as gothic as many do, but dark indeed. It then blends and mixes into what I imagine moist, old tree stumps would smell like on a cold, damp night. I absolutely could not stop smelling my wrist.

Now performance wise? I honestly think that people who question its projection and longevity might be the same people that can’t detect ISO-e Super. The loud projection feels like it has a glowing radiance (as if I jumped into a pool of plutonium, and now glow in the dark). Sillage is also quite direct; and everyone will know WHO the radioactive individual is. It lasted 8+ hours on me, becoming closer to the skin at the 4 hour mark.

I see this on a confident performer type personality; maybe a musician or an artist. Confident and oblivious to what an outside opinion might be. On the person who can pull it off, it will generate a multitude of compliments, because that person already has a following, and the fans will eat it up and fall in love with it.

Probably the best $25 I’ve spent in a long time.

…but you've smelled it before. It’s a mixture of several popular designers, in my opinion. Nothing bad, but not groundbreaking either.

To be honest though, it’s a lot better than a lot of what is being pushed on YouTube lately. It will work as an everyday scent, and it’s ok as a year round scent as well.

It’s got a green feeling that’s rounded off nicely, and then it becomes softly sweet. I can’t put my finger on which scent(s) it reminds me of, but I KNOW I’ve smelled something that smells almost EXACTLY the same. It’s green but not a fougere, it’s sweet but not gourmand, nor is it spicy.

[EDIT: It has the drydown of Ultra Male, tamed down a hair, and some green notes added. THAT’S the familiar scent]

Performance is average; the projection is modest; with a 1-1.5ft bubble that stops pushing at the 2 hour mark. Sillage is also modest… it’s not leaving a chem trail that leads people to you, and longevity is actually pretty good, going 8 hours or so as a skin scent.

So it isn’t a failure, and it is not a rip off. Maybe $75 it would be a more worthy price of admission, but it’s much better than a lot of what’s on the hype wagon.

I’m cool with what I got, and I’ll wear it this summer. A small price adjustment, and many people would agree.

…and saw that this is being heralded as a “hidden gem”. I dug a bit deeper, and saw it was compared to Reflection and Le Male, so I pulled the trigger.

I’ve given it a few wearings, and I do see why people would compare them, but it’s much closer to Le Male than it is to Reflection. Reflection is like if Le Male were made of Diamonds and Gold. A sheer elegance. Not the same thing, but a very successful, very very distant relative.

Now Darley is right in between the two, but closer to the Le Male feeling. Still a much higher tier in quality, but you smell the similarities more. It’s much fuller and richer, and if you smell them side by side it’s obvious. However….. a non-fraghead might not pick up that difference, so be aware of that…. If you’re going to get all mental if someone mistakes your PDM for JPG, it might not be what you want.

The scent is gorgeous, but I have that bias. I like these types of scents. Better than JPG, not as good as Amouage. Performance wise? It’s got a moderate projection 1-3ft, with a nice sillage that follows you for 3 hours, then becoming a skin scent for another 3-4 hours. Is that worthy of $300+? Nope, but you can find it at discounters for a more worthy price.

I don’t regret it, and I love PDM, but Amouage is my favorite house for a reason. ;-)