Selection Men s.Oliver 2007 Eau de Toilette

Yesterday was a family gathering, and thus a collection of green coats.

My husband, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law - all forest advisors.

And since I always have a little something for everyone, I got my sister-in-law her beloved Betty No 2 - and wanted to delight my brother-in-law with the obligatory book.
But my husband stopped me and suggested trying a fragrance gift for Peter instead.

Why not?
I tried this and that in the supermarket, but kept coming back to Selection Men.
This spicy - woody scent could suit the nature-loving Mr. Chief Forester.

The herbal, fruity start of basil, sage, and mandarin is fresh and spicy at the same time.
The clover blossom is green - natural, and the nutmeg adds depth.
It becomes woody with soft moss and resinous guaiac wood.

Should I dare?

And what can I say? Bull's-eye!

The recipient couldn't keep his nose off the bottle!
He kept sighing with delight: Ah, this smells so good!

Such emotional outbursts had not been triggered by my well-intentioned books before.
I hadn't even considered Peter as a "fragrance nose."

I was happy about his joy, in accordance with the saying: ... for the joy we give returns to our own heart.

A few weeks ago, I raided my sister's - scandalously small - perfume collection, and I stumbled upon a sample of Selection Men (literally, I almost dropped the vial down the sink drain). "Look, men's perfume, she doesn't need that," I thought to myself, and took the little bottle. So far, she doesn't seem to have missed it...
Or she simply doesn't care, because effectively, she has lost, well, practically nothing. I put it on again this evening, and if I didn't know that I had done so, I would be wondering why I am not wearing any perfume at the moment. Euphemistically speaking, one could definitely describe the scent as "unobtrusive," but you can't really argue with TerFum further down when he barely found the scent. My right arm is currently heavily doused with it, about half of the 1.6ml sample went on, and aside from a massive alcohol explosion at the beginning, there's hardly anything to feel, more to sense. The synthetic note, which was slightly headache-inducing for me as well (but that could also simply be due to the sheer amount of perfume), is initially the strongest element, but fortunately fades away after a few minutes. What remains is a subtle hint of "Almost Nothing," completely harmless and unremarkable, both for the environment and for oneself. The "Almost Nothing" is quite pleasant, which elevates the scent to mediocrity for me, but given the fragrance pyramid (Sage! Nutmeg! Patchouli! Vetiver!), I am quite disappointed. There was so much more potential. The scent feels like radio at work in a large room, like a factory hall or a shipping warehouse. It's kind of there, and also quite nice, but you don't really perceive it - and unlike the radio, there's not even a good song every now and then.

There isn't much for me to write about this scent.

It's one of the few fragrances that triggers a negative reaction in me.
About 5 minutes after spraying it, my body temperature subjectively changes by at least 2 °C. I experience shortness of breath, dizziness, and headaches...

At first, I didn't take it seriously...

When I sprayed it once before driving and my concentration was so disturbed that I had to pull over, I realized I couldn't use it anymore.

In an initial test on paper strips, I found "Selection Men" quite interesting.

So here is the test on my own skin:

It starts herbaceous-fresh and fruity. I get the impression of spiced mandarin. The sillage is moderate and unobtrusive. Up to this point, it's not really my thing.

After 1.5 hours, the mandarin is still the absolutely dominant note. Now a bit of nutmeg comes in. It becomes more refined and even has a slightly leathery quality. The sillage remains good.
However, I don't pick up any green or even woody notes that I had read about here.

After more than 5 hours, the nutmeg gradually begins to triumph over the all-powerful mandarin and slowly transforms the scent into a more pleasant and interesting fragrance. But that's much too late!

On cold days, it can be worn. It is subtle and office-appropriate. But something is missing, and for me, the mandarin is simply bothersome. Without it, it would have been really good. Moreover, it feels too floral for me in the crucial time window, making it too feminine for my taste.

Similar to Terre de Hermes, Davidoff Horizon, and some others, this scent only becomes really good for me in the later drydown. And just like with the two aforementioned fragrances, this interesting scent is hidden by a penetrating and, in my opinion, unnecessary fruity note.

Therefore: Too mandarin and too feminine. --> Not my thing.

Selection Men smells unusually elegant and spicy for a drugstore fragrance. I had the impression that the manufacturer is trying to adopt a more mature image. Selection was certainly a good choice in this regard. Especially, I can strongly detect the clove. The longevity is also really impressive for the price. The scent hardly changes over time, and I find that very good. I would actually buy the fragrance, but to me, it smells like a subtle mixture of Gucci Pour Homme, CK Obsession, and YSL M7, all of which I already own. However, anyone who doesn’t want to spend too much money definitely won’t go wrong here.