Adan

I have always found Amouage as a fragrance house quite interesting; I wore Reflection Man up and down for some time until I imagined I was getting headaches from it (sometimes I just overdid it) and then sold it again.

What I find super interesting about Amouage is that many fragrances are quite complex, and at least I often sit down and ask myself, "What in this fragrance gives it this character?" At the same time, most fragrances are very powerful, especially Memoir Man and Interlude Man are good examples of how dark, gloomy, and grim Amouage can be.

At the same time, there are also things that are "easy to wear," such as Reflection Man or Beloved Man.
Reflection Man smells very clean, modern, and well-groomed to me, but it feels a bit like a hard break from tradition with Amouage (although that is probably intended; Reflection Man was the first Amouage created under Christopher Chong's leadership). The goal was probably also to show that one does not want to be stuck in a specific cultural identity. However, Reflection Man feels almost too far removed from Amouage itself for me. This means that if you want to know what Amouage is really good at, you might want to neglect Reflection Man.

Fate Man, for example, I find really good; it has really extreme contrasts, "raw power," and a kind of celestial aura (in English, I would use the word "celestial," not "heavenly"; I think "celestial" has a tendency towards the otherworldly, the divine). But the fragrance is very polarizing and not really "easy to wear."

Beloved Man somehow manages to bridge the gap between "easy to wear" and the values that Christopher Chong has, namely that a fragrance should not only be a good composition of its components but also convey a story and/or emotions.

Beloved Man opens for me fresh and woody, with a combo of incense and citrus, sometimes also a bit with a somewhat beeswax-like accord (--> Iris + the sweet components probably). The character of this opening feels crystal clear and defined; afterwards, Beloved Man transitions into the sweet and soft.
I can understand where the comparison with 1Million comes from, but in my opinion, the fragrances are not really similar; Beloved Man feels too elevated and is much more reserved in terms of volume.

The woods, the sweetness (it's not vanilla; I would guess tonka bean/coumarin and/or heliotropin), and the rest are more or less united into a rather generically appearing and hard-to-define entity. Probably because of this, comparisons to other fragrances come up from time to time. Today, while wearing Beloved Man, I occasionally experienced hot flashes, although the sweetness was quite good at firing up; sometimes I even had to think of Le Male).
Nevertheless, Beloved Man has a certain Amouage DNA that one might recognize from the other woodier or incense-heavy fragrances.

I would recommend Beloved Man as a fragrance if you want an example of what Amouage is good at and which can also be worn casually without turning up noses among others.

At the same time, Beloved Man somehow feels "soothing" to me; the fragrance progression really conveys a feeling: that moment when you gain a certain insight and finally have clarity about a situation, so you can finally switch off your mind and sleep peacefully. It could be a flash of genius in the lab that finally gets the assay running and delivers a nice result, but it could also be that cozy feeling after a date when you get the confirmation that the girl is into you (and you go to sleep in the evening with a smile on your face).

Beloved Man manages to feel somewhat magical without being particularly demanding.

However, I must say that the retail price is absolutely ridiculous; I would never willingly pay that, no matter how good the fragrance or the storytelling behind it is.
But if you can get a good deal on Beloved Man, feel free to go for it; compared to other Amouages, it seems quite foolproof. But the fact that it is the most expensive Amouage is really a shame because I think it would be the ideal fragrance to introduce someone to the house of Amouage.

So, when I read through my old comments, we find Escada Magnetism Cherry Coke, and in Invasion Barbare we find Thomas Henry's "Spicy Ginger Ale," and with Pure Malt the master brewer sodas from Eichbaum (I hope this isn't misunderstood as advertising for beverages).

With Sweet Redemption, I have now found a comparison to Root Beer.

Root Beer (also known as "Sarsaparilla") is a very sweet drink, somewhat like cola, but with a certain bubblegum flavor that many describe as mouthwash. The American versions are extremely sweet and sugary due to their thick fructose concentrates. In Taiwan, however, it is the national drink, less sweet and more intense in its bubblegum characteristic. Even though it sounds bizarre, a pinch of salt is often added, which intensifies the flavor and gives the body some salt back in the sweltering heat.

In any case, Sweet Redemption reminded me exactly of that.

At the beginning, you get orange blossom, but not a refreshing one like in every neroli water, no, it is a thick and heavy kind of orange blossom, thickened by jasmine, which becomes more intoxicating than refreshing.

The whole thing is underpinned by vanilla and benzoin as sweet components, with the benzoin making the sweetness somewhat elusive; it smells vanillic but is not distinctly vanillic. The frankincense components myrrh and frankincense are also kept very mild and are not clearly recognizable, but they give the fragrance a somewhat dry and woody aspect; you can almost smell the texture of incense sticks.

That’s exactly why I felt reminded of a Root Beer Float, which is a somewhat perverse dessert from America for Europeans; it basically consists of a glass of Root Beer and 1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream (by the way, this is how Vanillacoke was created, because this float also exists in the cola + vanilla ice cream version).

The parallel I see here to the float is that you take something refreshing (the orange blossom, the cola/root beer) and transform it with vanilla (or vanilla ice cream) into something heavy, into a calorie bomb.
Sweet Redemption is, for my horizon, the only fragrance so far where orange blossom has been pushed to the maximum into the oriental.
Furthermore, there is a contrast here between rough (frankincense, myrrh) and soft (vanilla, benzoin), which can also be faintly smelled in "Love" (this "rough" element can also be found here).

The fragrance itself has an incredibly good performance and leaves a phenomenal scent trail behind; heads will definitely turn as you walk by. I find that from a distance, Sweet Redemption smells many times better than up close.

Sweet Redemption is, for me, the highlight of all Kilians, and the numbers here on Parfumo confirm that it is a beautiful unisex fragrance (32 people own Sweet Redemption, half women, half men). Clean, folks! But in my opinion, more people simply need to own Sweet Redemption.

I now belong to that group as well, and the next woman will surely follow. ;)

Before I dive into the perfume, I have to quickly mention my little luck, because my parents were on vacation in France last week (Provence, lavender fields, etc.) while I was stuck in the lab. And since I always mess around on the internet during incubation times in the lab, I inevitably stumbled upon the Dior Homme perfume hype. So I sent my dad a WhatsApp message right away: "Please check it out and bring it back!" and the next day I got a picture back saying "Got it." That was simple. :)

But now to the perfume. Dior has already released parfum versions for Eau Sauvage and Fahrenheit, and I find both damn solid. Therefore, I was optimistic and was not disappointed. What I find pretty cool is that Dior is also releasing perfumes (real Extrait de Parfums) for men in the "mainstream" segment, even though Extrait de Parfums - at least in the "mainstream" - are considered somewhat typically feminine. I still think that the original Dior Hommes (Dior Homme and Dior Homme Intense) were just a good marketing move, as some people wouldn't consider this scent to be stereotypically masculine, unlike the sea of sporty-fresh Procter & Gamble waters that together shape the mainstream. But if you write "Homme" on it, it just works.

It becomes really clear to me with Dior Homme Parfum.

Unlike how Showdown described it, I would say that I personally recognize more of Dior Homme Intense here than Dior Homme.

The description will be very synesthetic, as Dior Homme Parfum feels like a "darker" version of Dior Homme Intense, less sweet, with more weight on the iris/lipstick accord and wrapped in incense/myrrh and orange, with the orange here feeling very sweet and "warm".

You won't think of freshly squeezed orange juice here, but rather of those dried slices that you put on the heater in winter or that lie around with cinnamon and cloves and smell good.

This element, combining citrus with a heavy, oriental base, reminded me - also in terms of scent - of Guerlain's Shalimar.
In Shalimar, you also find a lot of vanilla, a leather-lipstick accord, and a bit of citrus that takes some of the heaviness off at the beginning.

I would conceptually see Dior Homme Parfum as a hybrid of Shalimar and Dior Homme Intense, with the addition of woods (maybe a synthetic oud base? It’s definitely a wood, but I can't identify which) and something smoky (incense/myrrh?) that takes the whole theme away from the feminine.

Furthermore, I see a similarity to 24 Gold through the combination of "woods" and the "smoky" element, except that this balsamic amber base has been completely kicked out and a sweetened Dior Homme Intense has been used instead.

What I also think I can smell is vetiver. At least after showering, there was still a certain crisp, green note on my skin that I know from Dior Homme, Dior Homme Intense, and also from Chanel's Edition Blanche, which in these three is definitely and unmistakably attributed to vetiver (or more precisely, vetiveryl acetate?). And it’s usually exactly this note that women say, "Yes, hmm, there’s something rugged, masculine in there," and then unfortunately don’t wear it. And as I said, I think I can also smell that in DHP, even though it's not listed in the pyramid (which is anyway just a guideline).

In terms of performance, Dior Homme Parfum is extremely long-lasting, but in terms of projection, it's only moderate yet pleasant, perfect for chilling with some gem in bed/on the couch and watching a movie, possibly a bit too subdued for the club. But very long-lasting, as I said, I can still smell parts of it after showering.
Maybe I could just be mistaken and actually smoke out everyone else in the office, I will find out and possibly add to that. At some point when it really is autumn/winter.

Thus, DHP contains something new and something old, but the quality is very good. I have paid almost no retail price for any fragrance in my collection if it can be avoided (something like Nasomatto, for example, will never be found cheaper), but I find all the Dior Hommes so good that I would willingly pay more. That would have the bonus that even fewer people would wear it. :D

But my expectations for a solid fragrance were met, so I am happy with it (besides, my parents got the thing for me at the Dior counter in Printemps Marseille, I found the item on my desk in full Dior presentation, i.e., gift wrapping, bag, and samples). It’s just marketing, but I did have a brief feeling of having received a piece of prestige as a vacation souvenir.

Oh, and women: Please try it out! It will work wonderfully on you, for sure!

I was positively surprised when I smelled Valentino Uomo, because the first impression was "Oh, a really nice, solid fragrance! Just like Dior Homme!".

Somehow, that also directly dampened the initial enthusiasm. Especially the fact that the fragrance is by Olivier Polge was somehow a mindfuck for me (sorry if that sounds too vulgar). Maybe I'm just heavily scarred by my perfume hobby here, but I wondered for quite a while what the idea behind Valentino Uomo was. Was Olivier Polge just too lazy to come up with something new? Were the clients lazy and just said, "Hey Oli, make something like Dior Homme, that was great!"?

One possible background could be that the formula for Dior Homme transitioned with the change of Dior's sourcing for raw materials to Francois Demachy, with which Dior Homme - in my opinion - could/must have been reformulated to perfection.

A comparison to Dior Homme is certainly unavoidable, as both perfumes contain this cocoa-iris combo, which also includes that "lipstick accord," which is somewhat toned down in Valentino Uomo. Additionally, there are other elements like this slight hint of "grape sugar" to the vanilla.

What you don't find in Uomo, however, is vetiver, which gives Dior Homme that crisp green nuance. Valentino Uomo, on the other hand, comes across more like a calorie bomb. I perceive VO as a sweeter version of Dior Homme with less contrast, fewer edges and corners. I would say VO is exactly for those who don't like Dior Homme because of its pronounced lipstick accord or for those who want a little piece of the old Dior Homme back (because that also had a kind of grape sugar note in it for me).

Seen this way, Valentino Uomo is, in my opinion, a very good fragrance, even though I somehow don't understand why one would copy one of their own creations, especially when they've already conjured up something good like Spicebomb.
But all in all, VO just feels "cooler" than Dior Homme. And as such, it certainly has crowd-pleaser potential.

Oh, and by the way, I personally really like the bottle; it somehow reminds me of those Grossmith bottles. It has a certain old-world charm.

When I first smelled Luna Rossa, it seemed quite familiar to me, and I quickly labeled it as generic.

Only recently, while sniffing it again, I noticed the mint in Luna Rossa, which reminds me of the Moroccan mint tea that I love to drink. Refreshing, but by no means too gum-like, medicinal, or functional (i.e., reminiscent of toothpaste).

Furthermore, almost all Prada fragrances seem to share an iris base, and one might refer to this as a kind of "Prada-nade" (inspired by the "Guerlinade," which is said to be present in all Guerlain perfumes). What I mean by this is that cool, floral accord that faintly resembles lipstick, probably attributable to Ambrettolide.

I then gave the fragrance a chance on my skin, and while I don't find it groundbreaking, it is solid enough (and surprisingly so) that it made me want to write this comment.

As an office scent, I have always sworn by Cartier's Roadster, also with mint, very subtle, fresh, and elegant (and I also dreamed for years of the corresponding watch).
But Roadster starts to smell somewhat bitter and soapy on my skin, while Luna Rossa retains its freshness.

In general, I thought that this "Prada DNA" is actually great for people who prefer fragrances that are subtle and elegant. And which perfumer do I know this all too well? Jean-Claude Ellena! And it was this thought that unlocked for me why Luna Rossa seemed familiar: in their top notes, L'Eau d'Hiver and Luna Rossa smell quite similar; just imagine Luna Rossa as L'Eau d'Hiver with mint.

I can easily imagine Luna Rossa becoming my lab work scent (in my last internship, a doctoral student briefly mentioned that some of my perfumes would really knock him out), simply because it has that office scent character.

I find the combo of iris and mint in Luna Rossa very good, as it somehow creates a strange balance between "extremely boring" and "timelessly elegant" while still achieving a coherent composition, namely a fresh, aquatic scent.