Masculine Signature Collection

Layton 2016

UnicoRN98
23.05.2021 - 01:59 PM
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7
Pricing
9
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent

How special are you anymore?

As the first niche fragrance, Layton has made it into my collection after I have tested various fragrances of the niche segment. Anyone who is on Parfumo and looks at the collections of the members from time to time will quickly notice that the Layton has established itself as a fixed and serious part of the community. Sooner or later, of course, the legitimate question arises, whether this is not the Uniqueness as a result of the apparent ubiquitous presence of the fragrance suffers.

It did not take long until the sympathy between Layton and me. The rather plain packaging reveals a flacon, which in my opinion comes along just as simple, but in terms of quality and workmanship is unparalleled. Already the cap, which is as heavy as the rest of the bottle (risk of injury!), seems high quality and the price accordingly. After the first spray, a fruity-fresh top note greets you, accompanied by a discreet mandarin, which is however kept in the background due to the more present apple. The opening is tied to a light synthetic, but not disturbing the further course of the fragrance. After only 5 minutes, a fierce battle ensues between the scent's defining giants, apple and vanilla. At this point it should be said that I can understand the "apple-vanilla-cake associations", but I would not classify Layton as a pure gourmand fragrance. Here, it simply lacks additional sweetness and other components that smack you in the face à la "I want to eat you!". Ultimately, after a few hours, the apple finally has to admit defeat as a fresh component and makes way for an incredibly seductive, sexy vanilla that can now fully play out its qualities. In the dry-down, an underlying spiciness, presumably owed to the pepper-cardamom combination, joins in and provides a pleasant counterpart to the lovely sweet vanilla. I would describe the scent's progression as linear in stages, as in my opinion the scent goes through the three developmental stages just mentioned quite quickly and not much really happens in between. Sometimes there are fragrances that constantly change over the course and always bring out different ingredients. This is not the case with Layton, but that doesn't make it boring or monotonous at all. Interestingly, it differs slightly in its scent progression after each spray on my skin. Sometimes the heart note comes out faster, sometimes the top note lingers for an unusually long time, which makes Layton all the more exciting for me. The durability is on a rather high level and makes, if at all, a daily once re-spray of the fragrance necessary. Depending on the occasion, mood, time of day, season or other circumstances, 3 sprays are enough to still notice the scent after 8 hours on the skin. The sillage is strong in the first hours and ensures that you are noticed by the whole room, without coming along too obtrusive. After 4 hours, the phase begins in which the fragrance gradually becomes closer to the skin and no longer projects to the initial extent.

Undoubtedly, the Layton is designed to serve a very broad target audience. Parfums de Marly has managed here to bring a fragrance on the market, which comes along consistently pleasing and neither divides nor polarizes. For this reason, I find the often encountered "criticism" that this is a designer among niche fragrances at least understandable, but not really appropriate. It may be that the fragrance DNA doesn't come across as too "niche" and Layton thus lacks the final icing on the cake. It does, however, strike the perfect balance, at least from my point of view, between being absolutely suitable for everyday wear and being extremely occasion-appropriate. As it stands, I don't know of any (niche) fragrance that can be assigned to so many occasions and ways of wearing it. Layton actually covers (frighteningly) many settings, from the office, to leisure activities, to dates and disco nights, which has probably contributed significantly to its reputation as a genuine crowd pleaser and compliment getter. Last but not least, this is also due to the fact that you get a fragrance here that meets with great approval across genders. He is masculine and at the same time easily, due to the overall composition of the fragrance notes, feminine, without running the risk of somehow somewhere at some point to tick off.

The question posed at the beginning can be answered accordingly as follows:

Yes - you are still something special, are actually perfect as an entry into the niche world and are also located in a, in my personal opinion, just so affordable price segment. Are there dupes? Possibly. Are there (cheaper) fragrances that are at least similar to you in your DNA? Probably yes. But if you look at the overall package, you'll quickly realize that you definitely don't have to hide from the competition from other houses and still belong to the most popular niche fragrances ever. The question of the price is thus relativized and is, if at all, only conditionally in the room. ?
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