Adan

I must admit Montblanc Legend is - the longer I engage with it - more interesting than I initially thought. Montblanc Legend is a "Fierce" scent, a copy of Abercrombie's "Fierce".
Many years ago, a Dior representative stood in the Kurfürstenparfümerie, it must have been around 2011 or 2012, a time when I still had a great love for Creed's "Green Irish Tweed" and "Cool Water" (and the love for Cool Water is back). He said that "Fierce" by Abercrombie was now the "new generation" of these fragrances, a statement I only understand today as I smell Montblanc's Legend.
First: I have actually never smelled "Fierce" by Abercrombie, but I am sure I know what to expect; there are many fragrances that can be compared to it:
Montblanc Legend, Le Beau Male by Jean Paul Gaultier, Dior Homme Eau for Men, even the Axe Apollo body spray and shower gel, all these scents have a certain opening that I would describe as a "deodorant spray" accord.
If you take a closer sniff of Legend a few minutes later, you can smell an element that somehow reminds you of black ink, quite exactly like the black ink you can buy from Montblanc for their fountain pens. And if you take another closer sniff, you can smell "Cool Water quotes". However, Montblanc Legend does not turn out to be as fresh and aquatic as Cool Water, but rather a bit sweeter. If you leave Montblanc Legend on your skin longer or let it sit on a paper strip overnight, you can also smell Ambroxan here (for reference, think of "Molecule 02" by Escentric Molecules). Ambroxan at a very pleasant level, which was later turned up much louder in Dior's "Sauvage".

Legend is therefore indeed an interesting scent for me, as you can somewhat trace the development of the "Fougere" genre over the last 30 years:
In the beginning, there was Cool Water / Green Irish Tweed, then came Fierce / Montblanc Legend, followed by scents like Bleu de Chanel and Sauvage by Dior. And Aventus by Creed moves somewhere in between, between a very classic base like that found in Cool Water, but moving away from the aquatic to the smoky-leathery.
All these fragrances are very successful in their own right, and for each of these scents, there are several accounts that they are very well received by women.

I must conclude by saying that Montblanc Legend is nothing special to me in terms of perfume as art, but the craftsmanship, the composition behind this scent is indeed very solid, and the quality you get for the twenty bucks you have to shell out online is truly excellent.
What I have also dared to do with this scent is: layering with Dior Homme. When you layer Dior Homme and Montblanc Legend, you end up quite close to Dior Homme Eau for Men, but somehow better.

...dary.

Since "L'Aventure" translates to "The Adventure," this line just came to mind (it's from Farid Bang's "BITTE SPITTE 5000," by the way). Nowadays, references to perfumes are often made in the hip-hop scene, so I think it's fitting to start a comment with such an intro.

I used to own a bottle of Aventus and wore the scent a few times, but never with the desired success. A neighbor from the student dormitory where I lived at the time noticed my scent trail while going down the stairs, thought it was cool, eventually approached me in the cafeteria, and invited me to bake a cake. However, I missed that chance; I didn't put anything in the oven, so it doesn't count. And the rest of the (female) world? "You've sprayed a lot today!", "That's a strong perfume!", "It gives me a headache!".

Classy.

Nevertheless, over the years, Aventus has often been copied or at least parts of it have been reinterpreted. I believe I have experienced the copies in this order:

- Micallef's "Royal Vintage"
- La Martina's "Tierra Del Fuego"
- Mancera's "Cedrat Boise"
- Frapin's "Orchid Man"

Then there are probably more that I haven't smelled yet, like:

- Ilum Dean "Fresco"
- Armaf's "Club de Nuit Intense Man"
- Zara's "Vibrant Leather"
- Reyane "Insurrection II Pure"
- "Pineapple Vintage"

Then there are scents like "Sauvage" by Dior, and I would even say "Le Barbier De Tanger" by MDCI Paris, which borrow elements from Aventus and build them into a new framework.

Now I stumbled upon the hype about "L'Aventure" by Al Haramain on YouTube. As of now (January 10, 2018), it is available on Notino for roughly 30 euros. I wanted to save on shipping costs and thought I'd just give it a try. Many said it smells like Aventus, and a few said it doesn't smell like Aventus, but is still a great scent.

I sprayed the scent on paper, and it actually smells like Aventus. Aventus, but a bit fresher, a touch more citrusy. After 15 minutes, there is hardly any difference to smell on the paper. Only when the paper strips have been lying overnight and you breathe on/warm them the next day do you notice that L'Aventure has a few more citrus components, while Aventus has a certain sweetness (I assume it's the musk-heavy base that can be seen in the GCMS chromatogram and which also makes the difference between Aventus and Sauvage).
Furthermore, I remember Aventus being "rougher" than L'Aventure.

In principle, L'Aventure is Aventus with a bit less guts, but also fewer edges (if that makes sense). And - this might sound a bit extreme - I think if you layer L'Aventure with a scent like Sauvage or Le Barbier De Tanger, you can get close to the result of Aventus (although layering with the Barbier is totally pointless cost-wise).
But it’s fine as it is. I sprayed L'Aventure and visited my old colleagues at the perfumery in Speyer. "What do you think I'm wearing today?" - "That's Aventus!".

And no, I didn't have an adventure in the hotel with my colleague afterwards. But L'Aventure is, for me, proven to be a cost-effective alternative to Aventus and is therefore just as flexible and versatile as Aventus itself. For the price at which L'Aventure can currently be obtained, it also makes a great gift, and if someone is looking for a scent for the disco or similar, L'Aventure at least guarantees that the evening doesn't have to be expensive scent-wise.

As a closing remark, I must say: a copy is a copy. L'Aventure will never be more than a copy of Aventus. If collectors are after "the original," then you have to pay the premium.
But I am convinced that you can hardly distinguish L'Aventure from Aventus when passing by the wearer (I certainly couldn't). It's a bit like Roja Dove's Vetiver Extrait. Sure, the scent is somehow rounder and more harmonious, but people still constantly ask, "Isn't that Grey Vetiver by Tom Ford?".

So, assuming I had a younger brother who is just 18-19 years old and starts hitting up the local discos to meet girls and is looking for an affordable scent that smells good and is well-received by many people, I would hand him L'Aventure. For me, L'Aventure is the most convincing copy of the copies I have smelled so far.

It has been 2 years since I bought a bottle of Dior Homme Cologne and I was quite happy with it throughout the summer. I happily used at least half of the bottle during that summer.
After that, I thought that I preferred fragrances like Chanel's Edition Blanche and MDCI's Ambre Topkapi.

However, the current summer of 2016 is more like autumn with a few harsh heat waves in between, and it is precisely for these days that Dior Homme Cologne is perfect. Also, because I am currently doing a bit more strength training and during workouts, fresh scents like Prada Luna Rossa, Roja's Bergamot Extrait, Chanel's Edition Blanche, and Ambre Topkapi come to mind, Dior Homme Cologne has made its way back into my collection, as you can spray it liberally without ever feeling overwhelmed.

Dior Homme Cologne smells very fresh and citrusy, with a subtly sweet undertone. Imagine opening a cold can of Sprite or 7Up, with a fine mist of soda escaping from the can due to the carbonation. Dior Homme Cologne has a bit of that effect, only with a slight ginger undertone (remotely related to L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme in my opinion).
The sweet undertone comes solely from musk compounds, the "fabric softener musk" compounds that remind one of freshly washed, warm bed linens hanging on the balcony and dried in the sun. And I think that these are precisely the hallmark of Dior Homme Cologne: they are the reason why Dior Homme Cologne doesn't completely vanish after 30 minutes (as musk compounds act as a fixative) and together with the citrus components, they give the impression of being freshly showered at any moment. The fragrance has no heaviness that clouds the mind, no matter how muggy the weather is or how much physical effort one has just exerted.

This lightness makes Dior Homme Cologne a perfect summer and sports fragrance for me.
And as minimalist as this scent is, my revised comment can be just as brief. ;)

I wrote a comment about Kouros a long time ago to express my enthusiasm.
Back then, I tried to find a version that still contained the "Evernia Furfuracea Extract," a component that was declared on the back of the packaging and was then removed due to allergenicity. The new Kouros versions therefore smell less animalistic and seem to me to be less long-lasting.
So what happened? I only wore the fragrance 3-4 times and then sold the bottle.

Now, 2 years later, I unexpectedly discovered an old bottle in an owner-operated perfumery during my vacation in Taiwan - a place completely devoid of perfume culture. So I haggled down a small bottle and bought it. And the love was back.

When testing Kouros on a paper strip or freshly on the arm, a floral-soapy, clean fougère accord flashes through, which can be compared to other fougères like Paco Rabanne pour Homme. However, this accord is contrasted with something animalistic (civet?) and urine-like (perhaps some honey component). But once you get past that, Kouros smells to me like a beautiful incense.
The incense that is burned for prayer in Taiwan smells quite similar to me, as it also has a slightly urine-like hint from time to time. And because of this association, I even find Kouros to be a rather calming scent. At this point, it should be mentioned that Kouros may smell better on smokers, as I am sure the scent synergizes wonderfully with cigarette smoke. It certainly has the makings of a "bad boy" fragrance and would go well with a leather jacket.

This contrast between clean and dirty makes Kouros super interesting, as Kouros smells quite well-groomed due to its fougère accord and the incense, but the animalistic components - especially from the civet and this urine-like hint - let something intimate and wicked shine through.

I am sure it happens often enough that a man or woman sees a well-groomed man/woman (depending on sexual orientation) and then partly imagines dirty things with that person in their mind.
Therefore, Kouros also reminds me of this Faust quote, which I chose as the headline, because the message behind it is that humans possess reason, but this is sometimes pushed into the background by primitive instincts.
And well, there are certainly people with a hedonistic lifestyle who basically only pursue the satisfaction of their drives.

Moreover, Kouros - I can only speak for the old version I tested here - lasts super long. I have also tried to see what happens when you wear Kouros in the morning throughout the day and then go to the gym in the evening. When you start to sweat, this urine-like aspect along with a sweet civet note comes out nicely. That gives "Beast Mode" a whole different meaning (play "Beast (Southpaw Mix)" by Rob Railey & The Hustle Standard and Busta Rhymes at this point).

In my opinion, Kouros is not as animalistic, fecal, and disgusting as others describe it here, but it reminds me that every person has a dirty side. I stand by mine.

I am currently a bit under the radar when it comes to perfumes and not entirely up to date, but now and then you do catch wind of something new.
After reading numerous comparisons with Bleu De Chanel, I thought I would give Sauvage a try. What I smelled at first definitely reminded me of Bleu, but then a woody-aromatic accord unfolds that strongly reminded me of Aventus in terms of its composition and diffusivity. And somehow that’s why I liked Sauvage, as you used to have to pay a lot of money for this concept.

The trigger for this comment was actually a discussion on Facebook. YouTuber Marc "robes08" posted his first impression of Sauvage in his Facebook group and was not entirely convinced, and Sauvage seems to have poor longevity. I simply commented that it can't actually have worse longevity than Aventus.
Then some idiot told me that I had no idea about and no money for Aventus. And of course, many people saw it as blasphemous that I equated Aventus with Sauvage. Therefore, I felt the urge to boost my ego and my point of view with a "YEAH SCIENCE, BITCH!" moment.
So I searched for my 5ml pocket spray, in which I had filled my Aventus leftovers, and ran Sauvage together with Aventus through the gas chromatograph.

And indeed, Sauvage comes across as a kind of Aventus with fine-tuning/additives: the top note has been made zestier by adding components like dihydromyrcenol, linalool and its derivatives, citronellol, and nerolidol. Furthermore, linalylanthranilate in Sauvage is replaced by linalylacetate, which gives Sauvage a slightly minty touch in the top note.
Sauvage becomes woodier through (4-tert-butylcyclohexyl) acetate as well as a splash of cashmeran and alpha-guaiene.
The base, consisting of a mixture of hedione, iso-e-super, patchouli alcohol, and ambroxan, is the same for both, but there seems to be a significant difference in the musk compounds. While Sauvage relies on poly- and macrocyclic musk compounds (ambrettolide and derivatives like muscon and/or galaxolide, I'm not entirely sure), Aventus contains a different musk cocktail.

If I have lost some people with too much chemistry, I would like to simply summarize what I conceptually see in Sauvage: a friendlier Aventus with an even "shower gel-like" top note.
Of course, if you go into each individual element, you can detect similarities to many other fragrances; the top note reminds me of both Bleu De Chanel and Boss Bottled Unlimited, and that minty touch briefly makes me think of Prada Luna Rossa. But I still see the greatest similarity to Aventus.

Here are the chromatograms: http://www.parfumo.de/Benutzer/Adan/Bild/70745
I hope you can somehow zoom in; I still have this file as a PDF, where you can also zoom in nicely. If someone can tell me how I can share it, I would release that here instead of the image.

edit: Just realized how many statements I just crushed! Awesome :D