Brylski

In a side-by-side with Boss Bottled Absolu, I would say they are the same idea going in different directions. Star for Men has a softer spiciness, focusing more on the cardamom and saffron while the Boss takes a darker, bolder approach. If you are looking for a soft, spicy vanilla fragrance then Star for Men is it, especially if you can pick it up for 20EUR, but if you want something more bold and interesting I would look into Boss Bottled Absolu or Elixir.

In general a good buy, but I would rather save up for something more interesting in the future.

The journey that led me to Bentley for Men Intense started when my friends took me to a cosmetics shop to try some perfumes because they were shocked that I didn't have one. After sampling a few, there were two that stood out to me, Davidoff Cool Water and Dior Fahrenheit Le Parfum. Cool Water reminded me of the scents my father from childhood: Hattric, Brut, Barbasol. Irish Spring... but the Fahrenheit Parfum was like nothing I had ever smelled before, it was rich and sweet, but not too sweet, warm and cooling, and the note that stuck out to me the most at the time was the violet which bore an uncanny resemblance to violet candies. My friends ended up buying me the Cool Water for my birthday later that week (we were students in our mid 20's so there was no way they were dropping over a hundred euro on the Dior), but the Fahrenheit stuck in my mind.

Some time later, I found myself browsing in Zara and found the fragrance Tobacco Sublime. To my inexperienced nose it vaguely reminded of something I smelled in Fahrenheit Le Parfum. I had no way of comparing the two in the moment but I liked it enough to buy the bottle on the spot. It became my favorite for quite a while and I used 3/4 of the bottle during the fall/winter/spring of 23/24.

As I started to collect more information in the fragrance space I watched numerous video reviews of my dear and dearly priced Dior Fahrenheit Le Parfum. One descriptor that reviewers repeated over and over was "boozy", of course I knew what this meant but I didn't know what other (ideally cheaper) fragrances had this note. After some searching, "boozy" led me to Bentley for Men Intense, and although it is not that expensive, I was not yet confident enough to blind buy a bottle so it remained on my watch list.

Fast-forward one year to me finally obtaining a bottle. From the first smell I knew it was something I would wear and love. I felt the spicy barbershop DNA similar to Dior Sauvage Elixir and Boss Bottled Elixir, with the wood and resin that I loved from Zara Tobacco Sublime, all coated in this rich booziness. This is an easy wear for most occasions in the colder weather, and although it leans mature it could be for any age when the vibes are warm and cozy.

I also find this to be a great scent to layer with. Bentley for Men Intense + Red Tobacco DNA, Sauvage Elixir DNA, Gucci Guilty Absolute. It just gives a nice boozy lift to whatever you layer it with.

This is a fine member of the Sauvage Elixir DNA family. Gaith takes roughly the same approach as Asad but goes even further with the creaminess. This is really a nitpick but I prefer the spicy opening of Asad, although, once they are on skin and start to dry down I find the lavender and frankincense mid of Gaith to come across a bit better. As far as performance goes, I haven't noticed much difference between this and Asad. No, neither are nuclear, but they are strong enough and will last you the work day.

Buying advice: just get whichever is cheaper.

When I saw the name Vibrant Leather & Violet Elixir my mind instantly went to Dior Fahrenheit so I was initially disappointed when it turned out not to be a dupe of Fahrenheit Le Parfum. The notes of leather and violet are most defiantly present though, the connection to the original Vibrant Leather is there but it is not so much leaning in the Aventus direction. I have never smelled Hacivat, so I can not comment if it is in that direction either. After letting it settle for some time and a couple wearings I finally figured it out: It smells almost exactly like Emir Cedrat Essence (Cedrat Boise inspiration) with added violet. Both are thick, creamy, citrus and woods with the Emir being more of a higher heat spring and summer night vibe thanks to it being being more citric and slightly lighter and fresher. The Zara is also super versatile but comes of a bit more heavy and earthy so would be more suited to mild weather in fall and spring days.