DarioArgento

Pack your swimming trunks, take your Stellar Oudilein and then get out to Wannsee!

Megamare by Orto Parisi divides the perfume world.

For some it is a revelation with infinite power, for others it is pure disgust with an almost endlessly fishy cloud of stink.

If you read up a little on the subject, there are rather few opinions that say: Megamare is ok. The majority tends towards top or flop.

To be honest, my test of Megamare would also have been rather sobering. My sample was enough for me to say...nope. I don't have to have it.
Nevertheless, the fragrance had something in it that I wanted. Since I like aquatic fragrances, it must have been the perfectly realized aquatic note. The rest just wasn't mine.

If you - like me - would like Megamare in a more subtle form and perhaps with a little twist, then Stellar Oud might be something for you.

Let's start with the bottle.
It looks great, much better than in the pictures. Noble, heavy and a real eye-catcher.

The sprayer is a smooth 10 out of 10, as it distributes a super fine spray mist.
You can't do any better than this.

Let's move on to the fragrance itself.

First impression: Megamare...100%.
Second impression: Momang, how awesome did Khadlaj put the bergamot in the top note?

This has already negated the unpleasant algae-fishy touch for many.
It's not completely gone, it's just moved into the background and let the bergamot do its thing.

This decision by the perfumer (whoever that is) was spot on.
In one fell swoop, the niche Megamare seems suitable for the masses without pandering to the squeaky-sweet clientele.

Yes, Stellar Oud is a little sweeter, but by no means overly sweet and certainly not synthetic. In general, the perfume is very natural and the salty note has not been removed.
The citrusy-salty combination is also reminiscent of Moroccan salt lemons.

The iris leaves a wonderfully clean, well-groomed impression and a touch of class. Nevertheless, the fragrance remains in the aquatic corner, exactly as intended.

Megamare lovers will probably turn up their noses, as the fragrance has been stripped of the harsh scent of the rough sea.

Now some may ask: What does Stellar Oud have in common with Megamare?
I say quite a lot, the fragrance DNA of the great role model is simply completely there and cannot be concealed.
Personally, however, I am very grateful for the adjustments Khadlaj has made, as I can enjoy the benefits of Megamare's perfect aquatics and still wear the fragrance at all times without getting too much at some point due to the brute effect.

Of course, the longevity doesn't come close to the original, so neither does the sillage.

This does not mean that Stellar Oud is a weakling.
On the contrary, for an aquatic newcomer it has quite some staying power.

I hardly notice any oud here.
Yes, the fragrance becomes beautifully ambery and woody in the drydown, but this is rather lightly woody.

I am appalled by the price of Stellar Oud by Khadlaj.
I simply have no explanation for how you can sell such a valuable fragrance for 14.50 € / 100ml. Plus the packaging and bottle quality.
Sorry, but I can't get my head around that.
Well, my luck, one more fragrance in my collection.

If I have appealed to anyone with my description, please take the opportunity to try Stellar Oud if you get the chance.

My blind purchase was a complete success, I have no regrets ;)

So you can't expect a hardcore rough sea scent here, but a nice trip to a body of water of your choice, without dangers but with lots of fun and good humor.

Have a fragrant day :)

Ok, guilty!

Once again, it's a "women's fragrance" that gets a review here from me as a guy.
I think I'll mention this for the last time, as I don't want to bore anyone with my statement on the subject.

Wear whatever you like, no matter what label you put on the fragrance.

For me, "Essence Pure Ocean pour Femme" is a purely unisex fragrance.
I would like to explain why this is the case in the following lines.

S.T. Dupont is a mega exciting label for me. In my opinion, the people there do a fantastic job when it comes to fragrances.
Similar to Lalique or Montblanc, their main expertise lies in other areas (leather goods, pens, lighters, etc.), but they still come out with fragrances that have a great value.
I haven't yet tasted Crap from S.T. Dupont and this is already my 5th fragrance from them.

But let's get to the fragrance itself. I'm happy to give you a comparable direction at the beginning so that anyone interested can decide in advance whether it's worth reading on.

I have exactly 2 fragrances in my range that are roughly similar to this one.
That would be 1. Cool Water Woman and 2. Ralph Woman (the blue one), by Ralph Lauren.

Essence Pure Ocean pour Femme" also goes in this direction, only here my above-mentioned writing comes into play.

While the two related fragrances seem quite synthetic and short-breathed, "Essence Pure Ocean pour Femme" has a completely different quality and, above all, staying power.

Without exaggeration, I can place it in the top third as far as fresh and fruity perfumes are concerned.

The opening is - although not listed - pure peach, paired with the wonderful effervescence of starfruit (comparable to Versace Man Eau Fraîche).

But S.T. Dupont has achieved this in such an organic way that you want to sip the perfume in a frenzy of excitement.
Fortunately, the omaha-like florality never stops you from doing so.

When I say floral, I primarily mean brightening, clear floral essences.
I'm just not an expert enough in the field to say that this is water hyacinth and peony. That would be presumptuous.
That's why I associate pure fresh flowers/blossoms here without any floristry backroom attitude.
And I sense a Mediterranean vacation here. At any time. Warm days in Italy. Markets where you can buy delicious sun-kissed fruit instead of greenhouse fruit. That's exactly how this perfume smells.

What is immediately noticeable is the enormous sillage of the perfume. Especially in warm temperatures, it projects really well. The longevity is correspondingly good, but tends to wear off on a long walk in the blazing sun rather than in a bistro protected from the sunshade.

The development of the fragrance is a dream, as it becomes increasingly musky over time, although the fruit is never completely lost.

After several hours, the warm, sweet woodiness of the cedar comes to the fore and a beautiful fragrance experience remains, which experiences another beautiful twist towards the end.

I would like to emphasize the natural feel of the fragrance. Unlike with so many fragrances, you don't feel like you're glowing in the dark with synthetics.
It rather makes you want to bite into fresh fruit. That's how appetizing this fragrance is.

This is how my headline comes into play. Cool Water Woman in noble.
This is how I would best describe this perfume, because anyone who likes it will be thrilled by it.

Once again, I have not fallen for a S.T. Dupont fragrance - in the truest sense of the word. I am now all too excited about the "men's" version of this.

Oh yes, I still owe you a statement.
I can't think of a single reason why a man wouldn't want to smell like this perfume. At best, hardcore rockers who pour a sip of motor oil into their coffee at breakfast to wake up.
Seriously. At best, the fragrance could be perceived as "too delicate" but so what?
I also like to live out my tender side once in a while. So give it a try.... ;)

I think I've said everything about it now, except:
"The perfume has been around since 2012 and nobody cares???"

It's amazing what can slip through the cracks.

That's it from me.

Have a fragrant day :)

And once again, I couldn't stick to myself and had to make a blind buy.

Yes, I've fallen on my face with it from time to time, but "Stone" by Replay didn't turn out to be a stumbling block.

Why this is so, I would like to explain in a few simple words.

To begin with, Replay's perfume "Stone" is something I would definitely like to put in the seasons to come.
Anything below 20° I think is appropriate, the cooler it is the more it exudes its charm.

The opening can easily be described as freshly spicy. Both the lemon (finally NO bergamot), as well as the nutmeg are directly present.

The very big fresh note disappears within the next 10 minutes, without ever drying up completely. Now, however, the clove, as well as the cinnamon appear in any case.

Mentally, I felt directly reminded of an Italian market / supermarket. There, where you can find the spices. Just wonderfully soft and warm. Never scratchy or intrusive.

You might think that you get a Christmas scent here, but I can't say that. Yes, "Stone" seems spicy, Christmasy he is but not at all, what you could think on the basis of the cinnamon.

As an amber and musk fan, I could also enjoy the foothills of fragrance development very much.
Both present, soft but perceptible.

This little stone is definitely loosely office-suitable, one pulls because of the subtle but perceptible sillage a fine soft spicy note with it, where I can not imagine that anyone could be bothered by it.
Too softly rinsed are the notes of the spices present...and the attribute "softly rinsed" is to be considered here throughout positive.

The durability is totally average. After 5 hours, the scent is skin present but in no way gone.

The flacon is just a blast. What a beautiful hand flatterer.
I have the 50ml bottle and that one has simply gladly in the hand.
Coupled with the metal plate, which locks the spray button is just fantastic in this price range and that makes my paid 10 euros seem almost ridiculous.

The all-round package is completely right here. I am glad to have discovered Replay`s "Stone" now in late summer, because so I know now already, which fragrance will accompany me in the next few months.

Maybe in my little review has come out now:
In this great, valuable flacon is a spicy soft fragrance, which never ticks off or annoying.

Again, a Blindbuy I do not regret... quite the opposite!

Have a fragrant day :)

Sergio Tacchini's "Club" is one of those perfumes that most will pass by carelessly.
Too boring - indeed, almost ugly - is the flacon.
The name screams yawning boredom. Let's be serious. "CLUB"??

So it's a good thing that I'm actually quite brave when it comes to blindbuys.

Yeah, I've been sorely disappointed a few times. But that was more due to my expectations.
Therefore, I would not blame any fragrance.

In the case of Tacchini's "Club" has actually irritated me only one fragrance component:
"Chinotto"
Why?
First of all, I know the eponymous tart refreshing drink from the beautiful south of Italy (even as a child I was often in Puglia) and secondly, I don't know any perfume that cites Chinotto as a component.

Now finally came the package, the perfume was really cheap to buy (100ml under 20 euros).

Everything that came now formed the extreme contrast (hence the headline) between nasty 08/15 Flakon and the content.

My God ,what a uniquer Freshie "Club" but is.

The first thing that greets you is the freshness of the yuzufruit, strong and in no way restrained.
The bergamot joins the opening and it first fulfills all expectations that one has with a cheap seeming fragrance. So far, so familiar.

But the drydown is simply a blast.

The (the, the?) Chinotto with its tart / sweet effervescence now makes itself really wide, followed by a wonderfully salty aquatic note, which gives you permanently the feeling of strolling along the promenade in a small southern Italian hamlet.

Here I see parallels to my dearly beloved "Salt Air" by Demeter.

That this freshness lasts easily 3-4 hours is super for a fragrance of this Couleur.
Just the tart-fresh note claws itself like crazy in the skin.

Shortly before the demise of this perfume, you can still smell clean white musk, as you know and love it from well-groomed linen.

I am simply addicted to this fragrance. He is simply unique in its DNA.
A similar fragrance - certainly not with comparable course - is not known to me.

Sergio Tacchini's "Club" is a fabulous example of a classic own goal.
If one had simply put a little more love into the design of the product, so this great fragrance would not now almost be sold off.

I'm Honest, the design would have completely deterred me in the store. Most certainly also.
Boring bottle, plastic lid, cardboard well...

How nice that courage is sometimes rewarded.
So I became the proud owner of a uniquely authentic southern Italian fragrance without synthetics and quite a few beautiful longing memories.

But even without these Erinnerrungen "Club" (oh God this name) is an incredibly beautiful freshman, whose DNA you do not smell on Hinz and Kunz.

In any case, I will feel the good Tacchini and his fragrances times something on the tooth. Maybe there is still one or the other ugly duckling hidden. ;)

I wish you a fragrant day :)

The market gives yes a lot here, what vanilla fragrances.

Whether now plump vanilla aroma a`la Dr. Oetker or the countless variations in the form of custard cream, muffins, cookies etc. etc.

Quite a few of them I also have, even if one would like to attribute vanilla as a fragrance superficially rather the ladies.

Fortunately, we are as a society but now more diverse and so speaks times nix against wearing a vanilla-like fragrance even as a man.

Of course, also applies here: The total package must be right.

And that is true with "Un Bois Vanille" by Serge Lutens but times so of.

Fortunately, one has distanced himself with this perfume from over-sugared nonsense.
The result is a remarkably fresh composition that can not and will not hide its vanilla-heavy undertone.

If you read the ingredients of the fragrance pyramid, you might think here to have a children's perfume in front of you. Fortunately, this is not so.

Fine-tuned are the individual components, even if I do not want to claim all herauszuriechen. Just with the bitter almond I do myself hard, because marzipanig the fragrance now truly does not seem.

But you can sniff a lot of fresh coconut water. Coconut milk I define rather sweet / creamy. The coconut note recognizable here I consider fresh green-watery.

And here is, in my opinion, the crux, which distinguishes "Un Bois Vanille" from most other vanilla fragrances.

Of course, many many people like gourmand sweet vanilla. Me too...up to a point.

This is where Serge Lutens distances himself from most others and has created a wonderful fragrance that I think fits any season.
It doesn't smother you with sweetness in the summer, it's still cozy enough for colder days.

For me, "Un Bois Vanille" is an all-season unisex fragrance at its best.
Clearly, this is my new reference as far as vanilla fragrances are concerned.

The durability is class, the sillage as well.

A Layerbiest is the fragrance also yet. Depending on what one the sense stands, he is grateful host for a number of fragrances (ideally single note fragrances).
I am in the happy situation a huge "Library of Fragrance" library to own and so I stand times the sense of Barbados Cherry, Neroli, Hibiscus, Cranberry etc.

Currently, the perfume in combination with "Neroli Intense" is my favorite.
The two complement each other fantastically, especially with the current warm temperatures close to 28°.

But that's all optional and not necessary, since Serge Lutens "Un Bois Vanille" also does what it's supposed to do on its own: Smell damn good!!!

I wish you a fragrant day :)