Condorpilot1

Spring is here, and summer is not far behind. Especially with the current sometimes very warm temperatures, many of us are likely reaching for our light, refreshing perfumes. Citrus fruits, in particular, enjoy their popularity, as is well known. From the house of Al Haramain, we often hear that they see themselves as a fragrance house that bases its creations on well-known/famous (niche) scents. Thus, when searching for a supposed clone of Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, one eventually comes across Neroli Canvas.

I still remember very well the two times, about 2 years ago, when I tested Tom Ford Neroli Portofino twice (and to date the only times) and how absolutely overwhelmed I was. Even though the scent did not last particularly long on me, I immediately rated it a 10/10 in my nose. But when I saw that Neroli Canvas does not cost that much less in some stores (up to €190), I was initially very skeptical. What convinced me, however, was that it supposedly has a significantly better performance. Fortunately, I was able to snag this scent for about €85 during a discount promotion - and I’ll give it away: I wouldn’t have valued it any higher.

For me, it is much more independent than Neroli Portofino by TF and cannot be called a clone in any way. The citrus fruits in the opening are much brighter and "more aggressive" than in Tom Ford, and overall, I also miss a certain refinement in Neroli Canvas. In Neroli Portofino, the citrus blend felt very natural and fine to me; Neroli Canvas does not convey this feeling. In terms of character, they are not fundamentally different, but to me, it seems that the quality differences are quite pronounced, as Neroli Canvas simply smells more like a (very) well-made designer fragrance. Additionally, it is strongly linear and smells almost the same from start to finish, although the scent becomes a bit creamier in the base over time.

Unfortunately, the performance leaves much to be desired on my skin. Longevity, with a bit of luck, maxes out at 5 hours, and the scent becomes very close to the skin very quickly after spraying. For €190, I would have considered it a waste of money...

Sure, it smells good; I like it. But perhaps in the end, that is the problem when you have significantly higher expectations than what you then receive or perceive.

With the "Man" series, Bvlgari has now discovered a product palette that they can exploit in all directions, just like a typical perfume designer has been doing in recent years. If I haven't miscounted, there are currently 12 Bvlgari "Man"-something perfumes, all going in different directions or sometimes even in similar ones (Bvlgari Man in Black Cologne Man in Black Essence). The Bvlgari Man Terrae Essence is the latest product from the Italian house in the Man series and stands out on the shelf with its transparent orange/brown bottle.

The name "Terrae" suggests that the scent revolves around the theme of earth. But earth in a perfume, is that even possible? Or is Bvlgari just playing with our imagination, making us think and convince ourselves that the perfume has something to do with earth? Well, I can say that Bvlgari has crafted this composition quite cleverly. Somehow, this earthiness oscillates in the scent between dust-dry and muddy, sometimes one way, sometimes the other. This is continually underscored by a slight smokiness. The citrus in the top note is just a sweet, unobtrusive companion but gives the Terrae Essence a pleasant freshness and makes it seem more versatile to my taste. Vetiver is also clearly perceptible and adapts very well to the citrus fruits, balancing the earthiness nicely. Otherwise, the scent progression changes relatively little; shortly after spraying, it becomes clear what Terrae Essence is all about. The name is indeed programmatic, and with that, Bvlgari has captured the theme well overall.

Above all, I am positively surprised that a designer fragrance with recognition value has finally appeared again! A quality that has been missed over the last few years among the many shower gel freshies and bubblegum show-offs. For me, Bvlgari Terrae Essence is even borderline niche because it comes across as unique. The perfume is by no means appealing to everyone, especially not after the first spray. Many will likely have to get used to this type of DNA, but those who embrace it will find that the scent can fit very well into an autumn collection.

Longevity and sillage are somewhere in the middle at 4-6 hours. A bit more depth would have done the perfume good and possibly provided better performance, making it a bit softer. A hint of guaiac wood would have also fit here. But the latter is just my own gut feeling.

Tip: Test first, then buy. And please test multiple times and, of course, on the skin. A blind purchase can quickly turn into a mispurchase here.

Aaron Terrance Hughes (ATH) has become one of my favorite indie houses, also thanks to the fact that his fragrances are often hotly and controversially discussed here and there. I have already commented on one or two scents here in the forum, and more may follow. The fact that ATH's creations come at a price is also due to the high-quality ingredients that are bottled in very high concentrations, if we are to believe the owner and perfumer of the house. By the way, my following review is based on the scent of the old bottle with the white label. I really hope that the scent from the current black bottle has not been reformulated...

Many perfumes intended for summer stand out mainly due to their lightness, have high citrus content, and are very top-note heavy. However, ATH places great emphasis on the base of the fragrances. This often makes them so long-lasting. Ozone takes a slightly different direction and values more balance between top, heart, and base notes, thereby creating a beautiful transition for me in the scent development. The fragrance is not citrusy, but tropical and somewhat heavy, depending on how you perceive it. The name "Ozone" suggests that the fragrance wants to be ozonic, but what does that mean? For my nose, it means that the perfume brings something airy and loose, and that's exactly what Ozone does. This airy looseness is accompanied by a gentle coconut in the opening, a little fruity-floral lime, and a lot of creaminess. A delicate freshness (probably from the mint) also joins in on my skin. Everything fits very well together; no fragrance notes completely overpower the others. For me, coconut is the most perceivable in the long run, but not so much that I no longer notice the rest. On the contrary: Ozone shows me other facets here and there, sometimes lighter, sometimes heavier, always gentle and creamy, a bit like a pleasant body lotion. Occasionally, a rum note makes itself known, reminiscent of Virgin Island Water. However, the latter is not directly comparable to Ozone. Now and then, a slight pleasant bitterness appears, adding additional complexity to the fragrance (is that the mocha?).

Longevity and sillage are known to be very good at ATH. Ozone is no exception, and the fact that a summer fragrance can last 10+ hours on the skin even surprised me. And I am quite critical when it comes to longevity, perhaps because my skin chemistry often doesn't allow for much, but Ozone really delivers here! Here’s a story from today about sillage and Ozone, perhaps the reason why I’m writing this comment today: Ozone was my so-called "Scent of the Day" today, as it was fitting for the warm spring day. I was driving and had applied three really very light sprays of the fragrance about 20 minutes earlier, knowing that the scent has some strength. But how strong it really seems became clear to me when I drove to the gas station after those 20 minutes and the cashier smelled my perfume even before I reached the register! I was honestly still at least 5 meters away when she commented, "Oh man, why do you guys always have to wear so much perfume? Are you bathing in half a bottle of perfume or what?" Well, to be honest, a very honest direct opinion from the gas station employee regarding the intense sillage of this fragrance, which I personally found very surprising (but positively so). I suspect that the lady might be recalling those men who heavily douse their bodies with strong Axe deodorant and are accordingly detectable from 100 meters away ;-) Nevertheless, the employee added that she really liked the scent itself but that it was quite strong - and that with 3 really very light sprays - so be careful, less is more. That’s the performance aspect.

ATH describes Ozone as its first "Commercial Release," meaning a fragrance that is supposed to be more mass-appealing. I'm not entirely sure how mass-appealing this perfume really is, but at least it has unisex qualities. For me, it is still a niche fragrance, as it clearly stands out from the crowd with the coconut note. Citrus can practically be done by anyone, without wanting to sound derogatory.

The fragrance was a blind buy, but I do not regret it and would recommend it to anyone looking to take a different direction and still want to smell good in the warm season, while letting their thoughts drift towards Caribbean islands and cocktails.

Creed Aventus and its clones - it will probably be a Never Ending Story, even though Afnan likely released one of the first clones with the Supremacy Silver in 2013. The question is whether they really did themselves a (useful) favor with it. In search of a new bottle for myself, after I had used up CDNIM, I naturally came across what felt like hundreds of "reinterpretations" of Aventus for (not always) cheap money. Highly praised on many websites was Supremacy Silver, with the balance between fruitiness and smokiness being highlighted repeatedly, so I chose this one. At that time, I was also not ready to spend over 100 euros for an Aventus clone, as some manufacturers actually demand.

Sure, one often tells oneself that a cheap fragrance - if one doesn't like it after all - isn't that bad in the end. After all, you didn't spend much on it and therefore didn't waste that much money. But the more I wear Supremacy Silver, the more I regret the purchase decision. I should have perhaps read the comments here in the forum earlier, as my predecessors are right in many respects with their descriptions.

There is the opening. With CDNIM, I was familiar with a harsh citrus opening, which didn't bother me that much. With Supremacy Silver, it is the birch interpreted very specifically by Afnan. The comparison to smoky ham is 100 percent accurate, because without having read the comments beforehand, that was also my first thought. Unfortunately, I find this opening more "yuck" than "wow" and it doesn't fit the fragrance at all. The ham completely overshadows the entire fruitiness of the fragrance in my nose, which doesn't even want to show itself in the first minutes. The smoke only slowly settles down. After about 5 minutes, there is a slight citrus note, but I don't even want to talk about the pineapple. Unfortunately, I don't perceive it at all throughout the fragrance. Rose? Well, with a bit of imagination, but if so, then a very artificial rose, comparable to the cheap rose perfumes from Bulgaria that you can get in tourist shops for 5 euros. Naturally hidden behind ham smoke, of course. I find it difficult to make out anything else behind this for me overly dominant ham-birch - something that reconciles me with the fragrance or where I could say that the perfume still brings a certain complexity with it.

The sillage is okay, not fantastic. Maybe that's a good thing because I don't know if the smokiness of Supremacy Silver is well received by my surroundings. The longevity is, for me, tendentially disappointing and doesn't come close to CDNIM, but at least it's better than the overpriced "original," which only lasts 2 hours on my skin anyway. Here with Afnan's product, I’m talking about a maximum of 4 hours if things go well. Actually too little for an EdP. Okay - justifiable for the price, but other houses do it better.

Afnan Supremacy Silver ranks among my failed blind buys. I will not befriend this clone any further. It simply lacks balance and a certain portion of refinement. As a result, the perfume also feels unfinished to me and is by no means recommendable. I would prefer to get rid of it.

Once upon a time, long before the lockdowns, when one could still travel undisturbed and explore the world. Perhaps some of us have had the opportunity to visit a stalactite cave and admire the partly beautifully illuminated splendor of these cave systems. Those who dared to descend into the depths of such a cave and search for the mysteries that may lurk behind the many rocks will perhaps also remember how the surroundings changed dramatically after just a few meters of descent. Outside, where it might be warm and dry, one now descends into a world that seems to get colder, wetter, and darker with every meter of depth. Perhaps scents come to mind that we are not accustomed to at the surface and only rarely get to sniff. It was exactly this journey that Zoologist Bat (2020) took me on when I tested the fragrance.

In fact, Bat in its 2020 version is the very first scent I have tested from the Canadian perfume house. To even stretch my feelers towards the creations of this brand, I acquired the entire Discovery Set with small samples and can now gradually get an impression of this brand. Bat was the starting point. The original 2015 version is discontinued and was not included in the set, so I have absolutely no comparison.

With the first spray, there was a strong dose of tropical fruit bomb in my nose, by no means overpowering but almost overdosed. Nevertheless, my mouth was already watering because it was wonderfully intense. However, I quickly understood why this fragrance smells the way it does and why the name "Bat" fits me like a glove. Ultimately, this fragrance is meant to be a conceptual scent. You can feel that the perfumer Prin Limros has invested a lot of time and love for detail to olfactorily package the natural environment where bats can call home into a bottle. The sweet, strong fruit is quickly underscored by a light smokiness, presumably from the frankincense, which gradually balances the scent along with green notes. A damp, murky smell joins in, which I cannot describe in more detail, but it totally reminds me of wet stones covered with some moss. This created in my mind the association with the Cuevas del Drach (translated "Dragon Caves") in Mallorca, which I have visited two or three times. Specifically, this scent from Bat triggered memories of this stalactite cave in my mind - dark, cold, rocky, slippery, mossy, damp. So much at once, complex yet fascinating.

With Zoologist Bat, I felt that after a long time, I found a fragrance that I could say "This is exactly what I love about perfumes. That with a lot of creativity and attention to detail, scent worlds can be created, where the perfumer can use and combine all his skills in combining 'perfume raw materials', aroma chemicals, etc., to allow the wearer to travel into such a world of thought." Bat finally sparked joy in me again, after I had been internally desperate during my last visits to common perfumeries (and that has been months ago) through the newer designer fragrances of the last two to three years. Finally, a fragrance with character!

The impression that Bat leaves is that of a total work of art. This perfume cannot be categorized clearly, let alone described with one or two adjectives. It truly has everything: sweet, fruity, aquatic, rocky, earthy, mossy, dry, green, smoky, woody, floral. But not in a way that everything becomes an unbearable wild brew, but rather each of these nuances is felt to be perceivable in parallel or alternately.

Although I find it difficult to say for which occasions this fragrance is wearable. But even if it is not for someone, I believe one must appreciate the creativity behind this scent, as it is unmistakable.