WRoth

This fragrance opens with a light citrus note intertwined with a weird fruit accord. This melange of notes is supposedly banana, but only with a lot of imagination do I see the creamy sweetness of the tropical fruit. At best the banana aroma can be described as very synthetic, like the flavour of those banana-shaped chocolates with creamy fruit filling. The scent finds itself after roughly half an hour: a woodsy base blends rather well with the creamy fruit accord which more and more resembles banana. Amber provides extra sweetness and smoothness, whereas citrus adds a touch of tartness. Spices emerge in the mid-development and add an interesting contrast to the fruity main accord. They keep the fragrance from being too bland and straight gourmand. This Creed vaguely reminds me of Ambre Gris by Balmain, especially during its middle and last stages: they both share smooth vanilla and salty amber, but while Ambre Gris focuses more on lemon and vanilla, Acier Aluminium focuses more on banana and other tropical fruit. The dry down is pure vanilla and amber, but it lacks the depth of its distant cousin Ambre Gris. I’d wear this fun scent in winter and early spring.

The first impact of this fragrance is a fresh fruity note floating above a familiar incense and vetiver accord. As the fragrance settles on my skin, the fruit note disappears and the fragrance veers into dry and peppery territory. As the main accord develops the vetiver base gets stronger and loses some of its peppery sharpness; it thus becomes more harmonious. The fragrance slightly reminds me of Timbuktu, since both of them prominently feature vetiver and incense notes. After roughly two hours everything that was sharp or peppery disappears and the fragrance settles into an aromatic vetiver and wood accord. This is the last transformation on my skin, after that, the fragrance disappears.

This fragrance opens with a whirlwind of tart citrus notes, sweet orange blossom and milky caramel. The resulting accord is fresh, fruity and most of all sweet, to which lavender adds an interesting herbal touch. It ensures in fact the initial accord is not too sugary. As the fragrance progresses, the citrus notes disappear to reveal the beauty of the orange blossom, whilst the caramel note turns from gooey and to crystalline. Together with the lily note, the two help creating a "dry" orange blossom experience; it is not floral and airy, but rather powdery and sugared, like candy. In its sweetness and sheer power the fragrance reminds me of Bal d'Afrique without is sweaty, spicy undertone. The fragrance becomes lighter as it dries down and the strong caramel note calms down considerably. The dry down can be described as a caramelised musk.

Opens with alcoholic sweet and bitter citrus notes. Underneath the citrus notes I detect a sweet note, which grows stronger as the citrus notes fade. On my skin the body of this fragrance is mediterranean herbs balanced by a powdery sweet iris accord. If I get very close to the skin I smell a peppery, woody base carrying the sweeter, headier note. As the fragrance develops, the powdery sweet notes get stronger and push the herbal notes into the background. The dry down is mostly amber and vanilla.

I see an odd blend of tuberose, caramel and mint camphor. Vamp a New York is creamy, fruity, flowery, salty, spicy, candied and synthetic all at once. It is absolutely sweeter than Frederic Malle’s Carnal Flower, but far less teeth-rotting than Tubereuse Couture by Parfumerie Generale. Just like Tubereuse Couture this is a bright floral gourmand, built around a heart of benjoin, cinnamon and tuberose. The dry down is once again very sweet, featuring vanilla-enhanced benjoin.