Quorum Silver Puig 2005 Eau de Toilette

The best perfume currently available for less than $15, I think. It's a bit linear, but it has both the good identity and popularity. Actually I was pretty surprised. It's a kind of cheating with a lot of Iso E Super, but isn't that Terre d'Hermes and Encre Noire too? Quorum Silver is, to say, a more spicy version of those two masterpieces, a version brightened with ginger and nutmeg. It didn't have a thing like vetiver or wet soil, also, this may not be a masterpiece, but it's still notable for the fans of TdH and EN.

I would say that Quorum Silver is not a 'mature' fragrance but rather a modern fragrance suitable for men's grooming. It actually goes well with a good gray suit. And, it must be somewhat 'fresh', but don't expect it to be sporty at all. It will be great on days when you've neatly combed your hair and tied a good tie.

This is a very pleasing and very nice fragrance. It's a cedar & guaiac wood surrounded by mandarin, pink pepper, grapefruit, lavender jasmine and amber (with hints of fresh ginger). Warm, smooth and spicy. It may be priced cheap, but it smells expensive. A great choice for men or anyone who wants to wear it. Spicy, woody, ambery musk. Not ground breaking but incredibly nice and sophisticated smelling. You can't go wrong with it. Enough complexity to set it apart from most male-designed fragrances. A good choice which smells modern, sophisticated and not boring at all! Highly recommended from Puig!

Quorum Silver is a really nice "old school" style masculine fragrance. Not much of the original Quorum here but in comparison it's lighter and more polished. To my nose, the ginger and cinnamon are nicely balanced. I don't get a strong gingerbread/Christmas vibe. Same with the cedar. While it's noticeable, the cedar is not overpowering with no hamster bedding impression. Reasonable performance - after about 6 hours, Quorum Silver becomes an intimate skin scent. Initial projection is moderate for about an hour. It's not a slap in the face like Quorum, making Quorum Silver more versatile. Would work any time of the day or night, any day/season of the year. At around $14 at discounters, the price can't be beat. Get yourself a bottle!

This is a wonderful spicy, woody, creamy, slightly sweet scent. It opens with some sparkling, effervescent citruses and ginger before quickly settling into the dominant accord of creamy, spiced woods that lasts for around 6 hours. This is not really an intensely woody cedar; no pencil shavings or sawmill here. The cedar IS identifiable as cedar, but it's beautifully blended with guaic wood, amber, lavender, and a melange of spices. As others have pointed out, it's not mindblowing or even all that unique (I've definitely smelt something similar somewhere before, but I'm just not sure where), but it is masculine, fresh, and comforting. When I wear Quorum Silver, I feel totally at ease, and I wear it a lot lounging around at home. However, it's also a perfect scent for office wear. It's appropriate for all seasons as well.

Despite the note breakdown chock full of woods and spices, it works perfectly well in both hot and cool weather. As previously mentioned, the ginger and citrus gives this a kind of zingy sparkling freshness that keeps everything from getting too heavy. However, in the drydown things get a little bit deeper and darker as the woods come more to the fore. The only time I wouldn't wear this would be on the hottest and most humid of days (I'm pretty sure it'd get instantly vaporized), or in the bone chill of winter (it wouldn't be able to stand up to the cold). Other than that, it's a wonderfully versatile fragrance.

Performance wise, I get decent longevity - as I said, around 6 hours. Projection and sillage are pretty limited, with soft projection for maybe the first hour that fades to the skin shortly afterwards.

Now, let's discuss value. I paid $11 for a 100ml tester of this. $11. $11 couldn't even buy you a bottle of some random Ferrari fragrance. For $11, you get a great scent profile with average/decent performance. What have you got to lose? You can spray to your heart's content. By the way, the sprayer is great on this thing - huge distribution.

Overall, this is probably one of my best cheapie blind buys ever, up there with Lanvin Arpege Pour Homme, Burberry London, Bentley For Men Intense, Guerlain Vetiver, and Halloween Man Shot. $11 people! Just get it!

8/10

Quorum Silver is an astoundingly good cheapie that puts to shame many pricier fragrances attempting spiced woods.

It opens like a buzzsaw through the most realistic cedar, reminding me of the smell of the inside of a freshly carved jarana (a ukelele-sized string instrument carved out of a single piece of cedar, used for playing Son Jarocho in Veracruz, Mexico). Candied ginger and fresh lavender come to the fore, rending a slight cooling effect courtesy of the cardamom. Sparkly pink pepper makes the cedar shine, while cinnamon and nutmeg take up the temperature one notch. The guaiac wood and spiced amber make for a comforting dry-down.

The effect is remarkable: it goes from bracingly refreshing to soothingly warm, all in one fell swoop. And it’s delicious, start to finish. (Incidentally, the sprayer pumps out copious amounts of juice in a finely distributed mist; another great feature you don’t expect from a cheapie.) There’s a reason why I keep coming back to it, despite having pricier niche and designer classics in my wardrobe. Good stuff.