Alleged Fine'ry 2024

This men's offering is both compelling, but rather simple.

In all honesty, I don't even smell a true patchouli note within this. It's an impressively *clean* patchouli (if that is what it is), but it smells almost like a sort of evergreen. Fir or spruce needles can be gently astringent, clean and uplifting. There's a subtle sweetness underneath too (but a natural sweetness, not a contrived/sugary kind).

This fragrance isn't exactly that, but it's somewhat adjacent to it. At any rate, it doesn't smell like a pungent patchouli (which I love sometimes, so that's not a negative). It's gentle greenery with mellow, indistinct herbs.

Good gracious do I love this EDP, enough that it might become my signature scent! (TL;DR read the takeaways if you don't want my little tour of the fragrance!)

This is a very green-notes-heavy perfume. It's really quite lush, verdant, relatively mellow, and not very challenging to enjoy.

Straight out of the bottle you get an opening that's initially almost synthetic, a bit sharp, but after it settles on the skin for a few minutes it has this punchy earthly-green profile. I'm not talking "earthy" as in dirt or mud, but rather earthLY: plants you'd find close to the ground. It definitely smells as advertised, with that wild green sage in particular coming through quite strongly. I'd say overall the opening is quite sweet-tart with a very mildly floral underpinning.

As it evolves you lose some of that punchier opening sage and coriander. You're going to be introduced to a more sweet (not cloyingly so by my standards but maybe to some!) somewhat woody heart, very faintly of birch and pine (I'd say more so birch). I find it's also not as floral at this stage.

Finally, the base note is above all sweet-spicy patchouli with a bit of that woody scent barely lingering. It's a lot warmer at this stage but the warmth is not spicy or vanilla-y. I'd still say overall tied to that herbaceous throughline of the whole perfume. For some, this note might be too single-dimensional.

Overall, I get vibes of a very green and dense forest on a cool (not cold) day. You've got a light jacket on and you haven't come here with much purpose; you just want to get lost for a while, alone with your thoughts. You'll amble slowly down a dirt trail while the sun sets and the birdsong fades behind the chirping of crickets. It's serene.

Performance-wise I'm quite pleased with this budget EDP. I work a desk job so not much sweat during the day, and I usually swim for exercise so no point in wearing it to my workouts. No day is exactly the same, but generally when I put it on my elbows and neck at 7:30-7:45 AM it lasts without becoming a skin scent until near the end of the day, like 3:30 to 4:30 PM. The sillage/projection is decent; someone within a few feet of you will probably smell it for the first couple of hours. Even after it's gotten to its base stage (around 1:30-2:30 PM for me) it still hovers like 6 inches above the skin for a good while.

Some takeaways:
1. In terms of longevity and sillage, this EDP performs quite well for its price point. It's not a nuke, nor should it be. Lasts throughout a non-sweaty workday and projects well for the first couple of hours.
2. If you want to be challenged by your fragrance, skip this one. It's a crowd-pleaser in my opinion.
3. If you like complexity in your base notes, try if possible but buy with caution. I find the base note very pleasant but somewhat one-dimensional.
4. If you don't like sweet in your perfume, skip this one. It's not candy-sugary but it's definitely on the sweet side of the spectrum.
3. If you like strong smells of wood in your perfume, you'll probably be disappointed. Get something that's more wood-forward throughout.
4. If you like GREEN GREEN GREEN HERBY FORESTY GREEN then you're going to love this stuff. It's one of the most lush, verdant scents I've tried or owned.
5. If you like patchouli, and you're willing to wait for it, you're going to love this perfume.
6. EXCELLENT VALUE FOR THE MONEY in my opinion!

Hope this was helpful. Happy trying and/or buying!