CH Men Birds of Paradise Carolina Herrera 2024

My FAVE Designer fragrance of 2024 hands down. I would def call this fragrance a woody, tropical-ish Gormand?? Im getting a smooth, sweet, creamy Bananas with peel and all smeared all over a creamy woodiness with herbal hints provided by the Chamomile and then ya got that amazing (Clean) Patchouli Base... Awesome!! The fragrance is quite long-lasting and has good projection. It can be "Over-Done" because again, it is quite sweet and I feel may even be too heavy for the hotter Summer days. I also feel this can be worn year-round and can most def push through the cold winter days. Ive had it for about a year now and its gotten EVEN STRONGER over-time where 3 to 4 spritzes will last me all day easily. I own nearly 200 fragrances, yet NOTHING I own smells quite like Birds of Paradise. A real LOVE for me.

After the blue cologne craze we have been going through (and still are), I have a feeling that we are now moving towards a green style of fragrances, accentuated by the release of JPG Paradise Garden, and of course, Birds of Paradise by CH.

Birds of Paradise opens very green and tropical, but not in the super sweet way. You get a bomb of violet leaf, chamomile, and woods. It is very herbal, and the chamomile brings a soft floral and earthy touch. It evokes the feeling of walking through a rainforest in the Caribbean after a downpour, meaning that the woods and greens smell moist and aquatic. The moistness gives it a soft airiness to the fragrance. Most interestingly, I suspect the mix of chamomile and woods creating a coconut-like scent. It is creamy/powdery, slightly sweet, but it is present throughout the whole life of this fragrance.

The drydown shines a bit more on the soft floral notes, but remains with a woody base and that coconut smell. Haven’t fully tested it yet but the fragrance was still kicking 5hr in. I’m thinking this will last about 6-7hr on my skin with moderate projection for the first hour and a half. After 2.5 hours, it sits closer to skin. A refreshing take on a possibly growing trend, I absolutely recommend Birds of Paradise.

Having escaped the German winter and its cold spring days, my wanderlust took me to the Portuguese Algarve. There are rainy days here too, but they are much more bearable when it's over 15 degrees Celsius. On one such day, I strolled through one of the local shopping centers.

Immediately, the extraordinary packaging and the beautifully designed bottle of CH Men Birds of Paradise caught my eye.

The first sniff grabbed me right away. On the scent strip, it is still somewhat sweet and fruity, but on the skin, it unfolds its full potential.

At first, the chamomile comes through quite distinctly. However, it quickly dissipates, leaving behind pure emotion for me. Something sweet, smoky, and powdery remains. And then, to my liking, it lasts exceptionally long.

The scent reminds me of a time when I was born, but I did not spend that time as an adult.
As a 25 - 30 year old in 1988, whether in the evening at the disco or at the beach during the day, this is the fragrance he would have worn.

Although I only saw the light of day in May 1988, if a fragrance had been worn at my birth, it surely would have been CH Men Birds of Paradise.