Where should I start?
When this perfume was gifted to me by my sister in 2019, I wasn't sure what to make of it. At first, I found it perhaps a tad too sweet, not masculine enough. The reviews here initially reinforced my opinion, but unjustly. After I couldn't bring myself to wear it, it sat on my shelf; at least the bottle is nice and improves the overall look of my collection, I thought.
At the beginning of this year, while sniffing with friends, I then noticed that it’s not that bad at all.
The sweetness comes across as more seductive, not feminine, and I liked the transformation it makes on the skin after a while. It becomes more mature, and the sweetness recedes a bit but is still present. It becomes woodier, which I really like.
In my opinion, H/S is rated far too poorly; at least on my skin, it is quite loud, almost room-filling in the first 2-3 hours, I was told. It lasts a good 5-6 hours on the skin, even though it becomes noticeably closer to the skin after those 2-3 hours. For the price of around 40-50€ for 50ml, you can easily reapply without feeling heartache.
Now, about the reactions from my surroundings. So far, I've never heard anything bad about this scent, even though my circle isn't shy about saying negative things (Naxos is said to smell like grandpa). It is always noticed and very positively received. I was told it smells inviting, trustworthy, and not intrusive but still present.
For me, it’s astonishing that this fragrance has such poor reviews; sure, it’s not a masterpiece or my favorite scent, but it doesn’t disappear after 3 hours and is not only detectable up close, as the reviews made it seem to me. I would give a limited recommendation to buy, as it is available in almost every perfumery and you can sniff it before purchasing. Especially the bottle and price have been arguments for me to get a backup, as it is particularly affordable when on sale.
