Carlisle Parfums de Marly 2015

Carlisle is a apple pie scent with a great boozy scent to it. It doesnt have something like that as a note but i get some whiskey or rum. It lasts around 8-10 hours on my skin which is really good for being parfums de marly. Bottle feels really good but the price tag is a bit to high for the perfumes from the brand. Good scent for winter, colder weather and date nights!

Managed to pick up a brand new 77% pre-reformulation batch. Smells extremely luxurious and warm. The apple notes mixed with the vanilla, patchoulli and wood notes is amazing. It’s definitely a very mysterious, unique smell that will turn heads. I’ve gotten so many random people asking what carlisle is when I’m wearing it which is insane, because that doesn’t happen to me with any other fragrance i own besides maybe aventus. This bottle I have is extremely, extremely strong. I put on three sprays before I went out, and within 10 minutes, my brother could smell me all the way from downstairs and said the entire house smelled. I guess that could be a good or a bad thing. You can EASILY fill up a large room with 2-3 sprays. Carlisle will overpower every other fragrance in the room if someone happens to be wearing something. Longevity is nearly eternal, 24+ hours i can still smell it radiating off of me before I’ve showered. I’m convinced if I didn’t shower this would last two or three days on me lol, that’s how potent this stuff is.

Newer batches don’t perform as strong but are still very VERY good. The newer batches also have a more “medicinal” opening before the dry down starts. My 77% bottle smells a tad smoother.

Edit: after more testing with an 81% formulation tester, the two are very very close. After the first 20ish minutes, they smell identical. The 77% formulation will give you an extra couple hours of noticeable longevity. I wouldn’t worry if you have a newer batch, still smells unbelievable and performs like a champ.

Carlisle is worth every penny, even at full retail price. I paid 400 USD, and I have zero regrets, I would do it again tomorrow.

I ordered my first sample of Carlisle, as an afterthought: a second-hand sample obtained for a discounted price, where I had no intention of ever purchasing a full bottle as I already owned Herod from the house. As such, my first encounter was devoid of expectation. My first impression could be characterized as... familiar. The amalgamation of notes created a sensation that was well-known to me, and no particular facet of the composition struck me as interesting. It reminded me of a gentle, smooth brown. Brown in its surface connotation to chocolate. Brown in its suggestion to the fall season. Brown in its reminiscent quality to the ordinary. No masterpiece to say the least.

As I had no expectations from the scent, I wore it liberally and consistently, taking no quarrel with running through my sample. My friends mirrored my own reaction, reinforcing my first impression. A shoulder shrug accompanied with "yea it"s good". For 2 weeks the scent was my companion, through long days, and easy days. The description of a companion is apt, as throughout its wearing Carlisle does have a tremendous presence, even in the cold. And so over time, the resolution of Carlisle sharpened.

My conception of the plain brown canvas focused to unveil the play present all along. Damp wet soil lays the foundation for the background, built upon with subtle resins. The vanilla illuminates the foreground, in which streaks of bitter green apple dance across the stage. The nutmeg does little to make its voice heard and is only differentiable by the most attentive listeners, nonetheless is inseparable from the rest of the piece. The climax never comes, although I find myself never waiting for it. Each segment of the piece stands on its own feet. The progression of Carlisle is a long and steady one, with the most impatient audience members becoming disinterested. Those willing to stick around and stay attentive leave intrigued and satisfied.

I first noticed my love for the scent, when I stood waiting out in the open. A cool gust of wind approached letting Carlisle waft by my nose. In a comical fashion, I closed my eyes and let my attention dance from note to note. The scent no longer felt familiar like the feeling a hit song on the radio might induce but rather familiar like the wry smile of a trusted friend.

In hindsight, I doubt there is any possible way I could have gained the understanding that I have of the composition now, on that first day. As such, I would recommend you to wear even your most mundane samples. The process of testing fragrances by simply spraying them once on your wrist is about as successful, as initial compliments are indicative of your enjoyment of a scent. I would also emphasize the importance of approaching a new sample without any expectation, as was the case here.

From my experience, Carlisle will be a favorite for those close to you, and one that grows on those spending more time with you. I ended up buying another sample relatively quickly, after which I subsequently purchased a full bottle. Carlisle has steadily grown to become one of my most violent fragrance loves.

I've always been a big proponent of the brand in general, with Herod being one of my absolute favourite fragrances of all time; but lately...well, I've been noticing an alarming trend.

Surely I can't be the only one who's noticed that many PdM fragrances tend to smell eerily similar to earlier releases from other houses? For example, Godolphin smells like Tuscan Leather, Darley smells like Le Male, Galloway smells like Lalique White, Oajan smells like Ambre Narguile, Layton smells a bit like Pure Malt (to me) and even the new Percival smells strikingly close to Mont Blanc Legend/A&F Fierce. To be honest, I was never really fussed, perhaps having been mesmerized by the substantial heft of the bottles, but the realization came back to me all the more intensely when I smelled Carlisle.

You see, after purchasing a decant a while ago, I sprayed the sucker on and could immediatly tell where people got the Herod + Oajan/Pegasus connection. Sweet, slightly warm apple, honey crisp sort of vibe. What can I say? - It's good. Not entirely rich or deep, but good. That is....until about 30 minutes in. Then something else happened. As the minutes and hours went by, I just couldn't help but get wafts once in a while and think, gee, I've smelled this before. In fact it's almost identical to something in my collection already (I'm sure you know the feeling) but....what....is it? My mind remained in a daze until I finally looked up the notes and considered what else I had that was similar. Nothing. That is, until I remembered the Oajan connection. BINGO.

It's 811 Absoluto by Mathilde Bijaoui for Giovanna Antonelli parfums. And yeah, although that one came out a few years after, the similarity is, once again, UNCANNY. Naturally, I was more than a little bit disappointed and left thinking whether progressive niche brands have finally fallen victim to the designer trend of just copying each other to boost sales. Surely not though....right? Surely?

Either way, I still think it's a wonderful scent, especially for the upcoming holiday season. The blend is very smooth and incredibly true to the notes. Fruity, slightly floral, slightly powdery, warm and sweet. And whereas 811 achieves the effect with tolu balsam, honey, cloves and pepper, Carlisle does it with tonka, apple, osmanthus and nutmeg. Both have a touch of florals and vanilla (with the former being slightly longer lasting, albeit sharper on the nose - that would be the honey), and both layer extremely well with other gourmands. But in the end, the scents are, well, more than a little similar...to say the least. The biggest difference comes in the price, which I won't quote here, but let's just say it's as substantial as the PdM bottles.

So there you have it. Needless to say, I'm still looking forward to every new release by PdM regardless of what they resemble. In fact, compared to some of their earlier offerings, Carlisle is considerably more mass appealing IMO. But you know, sometimes, it just pays to be aware. Let's just hope that we don't find ourselves in a future where everyone smells like Aventus. Yeah. YOU know what I mean.

As I’m testing side by side with Herod, a few things immediately come to mind. 1- This is an amazing fragrance 2- I thoroughly enjoy this more than Herod and 3- This is an oddly familiar scent. I go to the similar to, and there it is. Intense Red Tobacco. Personally, I’m not against owning similar smelling fragrances if there is enough of a difference to my nose, but this just smells way too similar to justify a full bottle at the price as I already own Intense Red Tobacco. It’s a shame because I really was looking for any reason to add this to the collection.