Sleuth

I'm disappointed with the (current) EDT because the dry down doesn't have enough sillage. It smells watered down. Also I smell very little amber. I have to apply 6 or 7 sprays (drenched) to get acceptable sillage. It's mostly a nice vanilla scent.

Having said that, and considering the low price I paid at a (reliable) online discounter, Must de Cartier EDT still has quite a lot of interesting notes: Short-lasting amber nicely combined with galbanum, warm spices, a very small amount of carnation, a nice vanilla that seems woody, and in the end vanilla plus some patchouli.

I find it interesting but not satisfying. Be aware of what you're buying.

With 3 sprays on my wrist, I thought of two things: Unlike most celebrities Pharrell dares to do something different. Great. Secondly there's an unusual greyish accord, so there's a bit of Comme des Garçons in here.

G I R L starts with a combination of fresh violet and an equal blast of the grey accord. It reminded me of 'He Wood' and 'She Wood'. Let me describe the grey accord: Grey because it evoked impressions of sand or clay, though more towards sand. Another reviewer calls it a milky quality. Its texture is like fine woody light grey saw dust. I'm guessing the accord is made from iris and ??..

After 30 minutes a violet note appears, very slightly candied, a little sweeter than in the beginning. This note leans to the feminine side but it's fine for guys too. At 1 hour on my skin the violet is in the lead, the grey starts to decline.

At 2 hours: I get dry notes, a bit woody, a bit of patchouli and perhaps a hint of spiciness. Some may find this leaning to the masculine. At 6-7+ hours: same smell with more vetiver. I suggest testing G I R L with at least 3 sprays and wait until this phase. Not sure how much I like it. It's better than weak patch/vetiver notes in celeb scents. But this phase has weak sillage and doesn't smell amazing.

It's not a crowd pleaser, and also not unusual enough to be weird. Possibly this will not become a success. But G I R L smells different and I like that a lot!

With this the Vespa brand owners wanted to monetize the brand. They probably told the perfumer to make something without much character, just a bottle with the Vespa name. Well a job is a job, nothing wrong with that. Me personally: "Vespa? I don't care"

When I tried it in the department store I smelled intense iris, recognizing that this parfum edition has some Dior Homme DNA in it. Later I received a sample vial (my 2nd impression, lol) and I started to like it more: It is primarily a leather perfume with iris in second place. The initial phase consists of intense iris, reminiscent of Dior Homme Intense. The leather accord will appear soon after that, and after 1 or 1,5 hours the leather takes the lead. At that point, in my opinion, the iris only serves to add a 'clean' aspect to the leather.

The leather is not one dimensional but an accord with several facets. Leathers can be quite different and I'd describe this one as black leather, it's also smooth and soft. I haven't detected any rose. The woody note is probably there, yep. I haven't smelled any oud. However the leather accord has a nice edible aspect. I quite like this leather smell, maybe it's in my top 5 leather fragrances.

Performance: I get 6,5 h.longevity, probably because I've applied too little from my sample. I get average sillage, or a little less. You should test this for yourself.

Comparisons: Let me compare Dior Homme (Parfum) with another recent release Guerlain L'Homme Idéal. DH Parfum is more mysterious and perhaps 'sexier'. But L'Homme Idéal has equally good quality (or better) and a very appealing smell for a better price. Another black leather I smelled is Bottega Veneta pour Homme. That one is quite mature (30+) whereas DH Parfum is pretty much for everyone who dares to wear a leather fragrance.

'Les Senteurs Gourmandes' are simple and cheap, and aim to make a good fragrance without fancy aroma chemicals. With 'Vanille Pamplemousse' they succeeded. Out of 5 scents that I tried from this line, this one is the best. The scent is simple to describe: It starts with zesty grapefruit combined with a pleasant vanilla. The grapefruit disappears slowly and the vanilla (with some residual freshness) remains. Simple. The longevity is not very good. But this zesty fresh vanilla smells so nice!