Zebra782

Imagine the notes in this fragrance like a queue of people waiting to get into a club (the club in this case being your nose lol), and they are crowding the entrance, Incense and the base notes are like that hot chick with her entourage that will cut right in front of the queue to get in after a 5 minute wait.

This isn't a citrus fragrance, this is an incense fragrance with little resemblance to the original LDPH, a bit dusty/ashy but super classy, blind buy worthy and absolutely recommended, love it.

So, I live In Saudi Arabia, where summer temperatures usually exceed 50c (that’s over 122f for those of you who still don’t understand the metric system in 2021), these are scorching temperatures, you can literally cook a quick breakfast outdoor using just the sun’s heat.

I bought a brand new bottle of ADG Profondo, thinking that it was “summer” appropriate, I think it was about 46c or 47c if I’m not mistaken the day I first wore this to the office, I entered the office feeling fresh and motivated ,90 minutes later I couldn’t smell it, not even on my skin, maybe a faint hint but that was it, needless to say I was very disappointed, I really thought it would give me 4-5 hours at least, so I returned it to its box and kept it in a drawer thinking I would have to gift it to someone or even sell it, and came back to the only fragrance I know I can trust to last me at least 6+ hours in that searing heat, my beloved L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme.

Fast forward to November, it is considerably cooler now, temperatures range from 25c to 29c during the day, and my son has been wreaking havoc all over the house, he came to me holding a certain blue bottle in his hand, and I thought: Oh, look at that, I couldn’t possibly rate this after only one wear, could I? So, I decided to give it another go, and I was in for a huge shock…!!!

Right away, 5 hours after wearing it again for the first time in nearly 5 month a colleague of mine gave me a compliment…!!! and I could tell there was a nice scent bubble around me, it lasted for 7 hours on me that day and I kept wearing it every day ever since.

Speaking of the fragrance itself, mineral notes are weird, sometimes they come out sweet and sometimes they are bitter and very dry, however I think it was well blended here even if it is noticeable.

Notes detected by my nose: aquatic notes, mineral notes, citrus, lavender, musk and amber.

I would say it is blind buy safe, the overall feel of the scent isn’t offensive at all.

Performance is good for 6-7 hours with a sillage of about 2.

Versatility: this is a versatile fragrance that can work pretty much all year round provided you wear it at daytime.

Moral of the story: what might be summer for someone could turn out to be winter or fall for someone else, this is what I learned the hard way, temperatures ranging from 25c to 32c is what most people in Europe and North America call summer, not here though, where anything below 40c is considered “pleasant” lol, so these fragrances are designed with that “summer range” in mind, and in hindsight this is exactly why I find a lot of “winter” fragrances are so cloying even in the coldest days simply because it is never going to get cold enough for me to really enjoy them..!!

Disagree:
Don't get it wrong, this is not a rose forward perfume, this is a spicy first, floral second perfume, I tested this and then let my wife smell it, she said it smelled like a bunch of freshly cracked peppers on cutting board made out of rosewood, and that's a pretty accurate observation, pink pepper has that floral undertone to it which helps the rose shine even more, so it's not a punchy in your face rose.

Agree:
It's creamy and a little juicy/fruity, and up until that point everything is slightly masculine, but no more, as soon as it becomes a skin scent, this delicate amber sweetness comes into play, and now it turns completely feminine, so feminine in fact that I decided not to get it, this has nothing to do with boldness or confidence, if you are the most masculine man out there, you're not gonna be comfortable wearing feminine perfumes, that's just a fact, however I agree, it's a unisex creation, pretty unique and pretty bold of Moschino to market it as masculine, but that's to be expected, Moschino are nothing if not bold.

Disagree:
I'm also finding myself come to a complete disagreement with people saying that this is a linear, one dimensional fragrance, opening is spicy floral masculine, the dry down is resinous sweet feminine, it's like a two faced clown, and not a funny one, but rather a surprising one, in a very pleasant way.

Notes detected by my nose: pink pepper, floral notes, pear, cloves, sandalwood, amber and bergamot.

Not blind buy safe at all, this is a very specific and acquired taste, not for everyone.

Performance is monstrous for both longevity and sillage.

Although unique and really pleasant, sadly the dry down turned my away from this fragrance, my wife might get it though, lol

Prepare for your understanding of perfumes and how they're composed to be thrown out the window when you smell this.

You get a blast of aromatic pine and sandalwood, this combination is too strong for me to notice any aquatic or sea notes, I can get the feeling of it but can't quite single the note out.

This is strictly masculine and it's definitely old school, so you must test it before you buy.

Notes detected by my nose: pine, sandalwood, and carnation.

In terms of uniqueness, this is probably the most unique ever, it's not like Cool water, not like L'eau D'issey pour homme, nor Acqua Di Gio, this is not an aquatic, citrusy fresh scent, this is aromatic woody first and foremost, super versatile, can easily see myself wearing this in the middle of winter thanks to that divine woodiness.

This was and still is so ahead of it's time, avant-garde perfumery at it's brilliant best.

I am from Saudi Arabia, so I'd like to think that I know a thing or two about Oriental perfumes and this is definitely one, and although beautiful, it's not unique by any stretch of the imagination.

The immediate impression I got upon spraying is : "oof, this is classy" I was greeted by a thick, almost oily cloud of sweet, velvety rose, absolutely beautiful, the insence and leather kept it in check to give the fragrance it's classy masculinity, the dry down was equally as impressive.

While 90% of Oriental perfumes are unisex by virtue of their notes, this is purely masculine, classy and for me, only for men over the age of 35, kudos to any woman who can pull it off but that would be really, really difficult in my opinion.

Now I don't know if this was a special tester or something, but Or Encens stayed on my skin for a DAY, yes you read that right, a whole day where I could reach to my inner elbow and still get a whiff of it, silage was monstrous as well.

Notes detected by my nose: rose, incense, soft spices, leather, and sandalwood.

Blind buy: if you are under 30 just don't even bother, this is dark stuff for "mature" men, not a playful or sexy scent, but rather a classy upscale one, still better to test first, although beautiful this is an acquired taste that is not for everyone.

This is classy, special occasion classy, thick, dark, sweet and velvety stuff that will last for a long time, I haven't smelled Noir Argent or Noir Ambre which are praised a lot here, but to me Or Encens is already the best Issey Miyake creation since the original L'eau D'issey pour homme, and I am not exaggerating.

An absolutely incredible release by one of my favorite brands, 10/10.