...Best: Classical by Anat Fritz (though this is only an amazing re-work of Anat's original 2006 creation)Honorable Mention to the following as a four way tie for second:Bentley for Men Intense by Bentley (best value of the year)Ylang 49 by Le LaboAshoka by Neela VermierePeety by O'driu (I don't consider the fragrance weird at all, though I can understand the concept weirding folks out)Worst: Polo Red by Ralph Lauren (just a terrible release that fails on every level)Dishonorable Mentions to Millesime 1849 by Creed and Noontide Petals by TauerWeird: Montecristo by Masque (though weird in a good way)

...Most of the offerings from the house are at least good, and many exceptional -- Dia Man, for example, is one of my three favorite compositions overall. My personal top 5 from the house are: 1)Dia Man2)Tribute Attar3)Hommage Attar4)Jubilation XXV5)Lyric Man

...Apicius:I just had a brief look at BN. It seems they cut off the off topic section in their forum since they want to concentrate on perfume topics.Wrong decision!First, they move to Huddler without the Scent-of-the-day section. Then they re-install it. Then they move back to the old platform but then decide to cut off other functionality! Now, instead of welcoming the new "old" site format, people are complaining again!What are they doing over there?While the whole SotD exclusion (and the Huddler site "partnership" in general) was a major mistake that I think BN regrets, I respectfully disagree with the sentiment that eliminating the "Off-Topic" area was a further mistake.That area was a breeding ground for hate speech, seedy explicit pictures and other unmentionables in addition to the mundane one line comments about what someone was eating, etc... It added absolutely zero value to the site in my opinion and I would guess was occupying all the moderators' time to constantly remove the lewd photos and comments found there. I never posted in the Off-Topic area so maybe my comments come off as cold and detached, but I wont miss it one iota.

...Unfortunately, all the down time and site functionality glitches are back too.While I truly hope BN succeeds, I am happy and thankful to have Parfumo as a safe haven from all the BN functionality problems... :-)

...Ylang 49 is my favorite and the only one I own. That said, I was also highly impressed by Iris 39 that has some similarities and probably is by the same perfumer. Both are excellent, IMO.

...In my case I only list a fragrance in my collection if I own a full bottle. I list all my minis as minis and don't list any decants regardless of size or samples at all (just too many too keep track of).

...Apicius:Drseid:Apicius:Bringing together the high quality content of BN plus the rock solid technical platform of Parfumo - that would have made a lot of sense. I guess it is too late (for the moment) ;-)The high quality content of BN was mainly from the past, IMO. Most of the posts nowadays are rather childish with many of the most knowledgeable users there having left the site (willingly or unwillingly). That said, there is a great archive of excellent material there, and a good review database as well with some talented current and past reviewers (of course I feel that way about the reviewers here too). I agree that if you combined the technical superiority of Parfumo with the older, helpful discussion group members and content of BN that would be ideal and quite desirable.The best moment for such plans would have been summer / fall 2011 when BN started to have problems with their old software and Parfmo took the decision to go international.Well, the opportunity was not taken.Anyway, I always felt that Parfumo (both the German and the International site) is pretty much what BN used to be 4 years ago, when I was a quite regular user.Looks like it was just posted that Basenotes is going back to the old site format.

...Apicius:Bringing together the high quality content of BN plus the rock solid technical platform of Parfumo - that would have made a lot of sense. I guess it is too late (for the moment) ;-)The high quality content of BN was mainly from the past, IMO. Most of the posts nowadays are rather childish with many of the most knowledgeable users there having left the site (willingly or unwillingly). That said, there is a great archive of excellent material there, and a good review database as well with some talented current and past reviewers (of course I feel that way about the reviewers here too). I agree that if you combined the technical superiority of Parfumo with the older, helpful discussion group members and content of BN that would be ideal and quite desirable.

...Bouzeos:Waste of money on stale juices, this is what vintage snobbery is. You want so much to think that the juice still holds "the spirit of those times", but truth is, it doesn't, even if they are kept in ideal conditions, they get bad in few years.P.S. Yes, I do speak from experience, unfortunately. I had my ... quite big share of vintage acquisitions.Actually in my collecting experience I have rarely encountered this (and while I am showing my age a bit, I have been around long enough to know what many of them smelled like when they were originally released). Maybe I have just been lucky but I have a decent collection of vintage fragrances that have held up very well. Sometimes the top notes are not what they once were, but for the most part the composition is very much intact. Of course I have had a couple duds that indeed had gone off and those went into the rubbish bin tout suite, but those misses were few and far between. I wouldn't trade my vintages for their current releases and you can call that misguided snobbery if you want, but I rather think it is just choosing quality.With respect to it being unfair to compare current compositions to their vintage counterparts... Why not? It is certainly true that some materials can't be acquired or can't be used due to regulations and that has altered the fragrance profile of the composition... That is the point, however. I am not blaming manufacturers for honoring IFRA regulations or not using materials that are no longer available, etc., but as long as they want to use the same name of a given classic, it is fair game to compare the original release with the current, IMO... I will even go further in saying one should.

...Bouzeos:Again, negative side - a good deal of snobs too. That includes the vintage trend snobbery.Interesting point of view of BN... I actually wish there was more vintage fragrance discussion on the Male Fragrance Discussion forum there. Right now in my experience it is "all Aventus, all the time" to my great chagrin. Folks have absolutely no idea what they are missing with the classics and that really is disheartening. I enjoy the current releases and the vintages, but to me it is anything but vintage snobbery on BN nowadays, more in favor of misguided (IMO) Creed snobbery instead. The vintage versions of the classics very frequently smell completely different than their current counterparts due mainly to IFRA restrictions among other things, and I am a firm believer they need to be sought out by folks to get a good foundation for what they are smelling with the current versions of those classics. No snobbery here, just the sad reality of what is happening on the ground in the business.That said, it is always good to hear differing view points and I will have to look harder for those instances of vintage snobbery you are seeing.

...My favorite and the only one I own, "Entre Naranjos" is one of the best orange blossom compositions on the market, IMO."Impossible Iris" is another standout. While I am not an iris fan at all, it is one of the few iris focused compositions I not only can tolerate, but actually enjoy wearing.

...Favorite perfumer and composition: Dominique Ropion, "Portrait of a Lady" by Edp Frederic Malle.

..."Padparadscha" by Satellite is an amazing fiery/spicy release over a sandalwood base that sells for very reasonable money but goes largely unnoticed.

...I only add full bottles to my collection. I also keep track of minis using that feature. Like others I don't keep track of tried or samples as there are just too many to keep track of.

..."Collection Excessive - Oud For Love""Caesars Man""Jean Luc Amsler Homme"

...One of my favorite notes. My favorite rose compositions are:Portrait of a Lady by EdP Frederic Malle is an outstanding composition featuring rose and incense with raspberry support over a patchouli base. This is my favorite fragrance outright.Lalfeorosa by O'driu is an entirely original spicy composition that uses rose to tone down its more aggressive spicy facets. Another that is in my top 5 fragrances outright, but is sadly unavailable (and super-expensive at about $1200 a bottle even when it was).JHL (vintage) by Aramis features a great rose and carnation tandem.Une Rose by EdP Frederic Malle is a reference calibre rose soliflore.Lumiere Noire pour Homme by MFK is a fragrance that uses a soft rose to support the other complex facets it offers... IMO the best from MFK.Une Fille de Berlin by Serge Lutens is another outstanding rose soliflore that gives Une Rose a run for its money for a lot less.No. 89 (vintage) by Floris is a classic woody vetiver composition with rose support.I could go on and on as there are so many outstanding ones on the market...

...Favorites: rose, oak moss, vetiver, cedar, cinnamon, chile pepper, radiant incense and suede.Likes: most spices and herbal notes, sandalwood, aromatic lavender, citrus, fresh mint leaf, plum, patchouli, most woods and rum.Dislikes: cumin, fecal and/or indolic notes, powdery vanilla, powdery lavender, fenugreek, celery, absinthe, anise, sweet accords, menthol and iris.

...It has got to be either Dia Man by Amouage or Richard James edt by Richard James.

...I prefer the discussion forum at BN not because of better content or structure, but rather higher site traffic and participation on the boards. If Parfumo can get more people to post and participate in the forums that would be the final piece of the puzzle leading to its success long-term, IMO.The site format, functionality and overall community here is far superior, IMO. I think with the recent Huddler issues this is a golden opportunity for BN folks to check out Parfumo and make up their own minds.I want both sites to succeed truly, but I confess as a reviewer I used to look to post on BN first, but now with their DB and review format problems I post first on Parfumo and I doubt that will ever change as I am hooked. I just wish the discussion groups could really get going here as mentioned earlier...

...Oud Shamash by The Different Company