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10/19/2024
Cimi
306 Reviews
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Cimi
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EXPO 2020 I Best compromise between Bal d'Afrique and Boadicea Hanuman!
Taif Al-Emarat is known for their simplicity when it comes to branding the fragrances (e.g. T-collection is numbered), but the Expo 2020 as a name fits the fragrance pretty much zero or you can hardly imagine anything by it. Janu, these are marketing details; as we all know, it's the scent that counts... and this one really has it all, because it follows similar paths to Hanuman and Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum. But does this fragrance also have a certain independence?
Let's get into it:
- The Expo 2020 starts with a beautiful and present combination of citrus and blackcurrant; a hint of blood orange flows subliminally. The fragrance notes in the opening are almost identical to Hanuman and here is also the greatest similarity to Hanuman; the fragrances smell surprisingly similar, except that Hanuman is a little more sparkling at the beginning, but this is marginally different. You have to keep in mind that the Expo 2020 is factor 4 cheaper RRP, amazingly good P/L!
- Like Hanuman, this freshness then moves into a slightly creamy-floral phase, whereby the magnolia is particularly recognizable here; this is flowery-sweet, fresh and creamy. Cyclamen is also recognizable and gives the fragrance a fresh hint of sweetness. Here, too, the scents are extremely similar in the air, even if the Hanuman still has osmanthus and neroli on top... and yes, one of the small but subtle differences here is that the Hanuman is slightly green in this phase, which personally bothered me a little about the Hanuman, because for me it was precisely this minimal green undertone together with the extremely creamy heart phase that didn't fit.
- In the drydown, the fragrance slightly loses this initial floral sweetness and noble creamy woods come into play; don't get me wrong, this floral-creamy sweetness also remains in the drydown, but is now more strongly balanced by this woodiness and a beautiful vetiver note, which is rather dry-woody and marginally green. This greenness now emerges, but fits more clearly into the overall structure because the creaminess and sweetness have been reduced a little and this greenness now interacts better with the woodiness. Here too; an extremely high similarity to Hanuman.
- The longevity is extremely good, almost better than Hanuman I would say. I also find the Expo 2020 stronger in terms of sillage; even though the Hanuman may project more strongly for a few minutes at the beginning because of the higher-quality top note and this effervescence, the Expo 2020 actually pulls slightly away from the Hanuman after these 5-10 minutes. Of course, neither is a projection monster, but Expo 2020 is technically better.
Well, the fragrance has a certain independence because it is less green from the heart note onwards, but the basic idea is very similar. I can't answer whether it is a "copy or alternative" or not. I'm not interested either, because Hanuman could also be a copy of Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum, which was released 7 years earlier.
... but what I do know is that this is probably the best compromise between Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum and Hanuman, even if marginally more expensive than Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum, it is 4 times cheaper than Hanuman .... and trust me, the fragrance is not 4x worse than Hanuman, but significantly better than Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum .
Let's get into it:
- The Expo 2020 starts with a beautiful and present combination of citrus and blackcurrant; a hint of blood orange flows subliminally. The fragrance notes in the opening are almost identical to Hanuman and here is also the greatest similarity to Hanuman; the fragrances smell surprisingly similar, except that Hanuman is a little more sparkling at the beginning, but this is marginally different. You have to keep in mind that the Expo 2020 is factor 4 cheaper RRP, amazingly good P/L!
- Like Hanuman, this freshness then moves into a slightly creamy-floral phase, whereby the magnolia is particularly recognizable here; this is flowery-sweet, fresh and creamy. Cyclamen is also recognizable and gives the fragrance a fresh hint of sweetness. Here, too, the scents are extremely similar in the air, even if the Hanuman still has osmanthus and neroli on top... and yes, one of the small but subtle differences here is that the Hanuman is slightly green in this phase, which personally bothered me a little about the Hanuman, because for me it was precisely this minimal green undertone together with the extremely creamy heart phase that didn't fit.
- In the drydown, the fragrance slightly loses this initial floral sweetness and noble creamy woods come into play; don't get me wrong, this floral-creamy sweetness also remains in the drydown, but is now more strongly balanced by this woodiness and a beautiful vetiver note, which is rather dry-woody and marginally green. This greenness now emerges, but fits more clearly into the overall structure because the creaminess and sweetness have been reduced a little and this greenness now interacts better with the woodiness. Here too; an extremely high similarity to Hanuman.
- The longevity is extremely good, almost better than Hanuman I would say. I also find the Expo 2020 stronger in terms of sillage; even though the Hanuman may project more strongly for a few minutes at the beginning because of the higher-quality top note and this effervescence, the Expo 2020 actually pulls slightly away from the Hanuman after these 5-10 minutes. Of course, neither is a projection monster, but Expo 2020 is technically better.
Well, the fragrance has a certain independence because it is less green from the heart note onwards, but the basic idea is very similar. I can't answer whether it is a "copy or alternative" or not. I'm not interested either, because Hanuman could also be a copy of Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum, which was released 7 years earlier.
... but what I do know is that this is probably the best compromise between Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum and Hanuman, even if marginally more expensive than Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum, it is 4 times cheaper than Hanuman .... and trust me, the fragrance is not 4x worse than Hanuman, but significantly better than Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum .
