Denden22

I'm usually not a fan of Boss fragrances—I generally find them to be somewhere between bland+basic and drugstore trash. But this one is the first that I actually like! Woody-balsamic, sweet, and leathery—wow! When I first sprayed it, it felt oddly familiar, and after reading other opinions, I realized: Shaghaf Oud Azraq Eau de Parfum !

Comparison:

- ShOA offers a wonderfully realistic honeyed sweetness, while BBA has a honey-like, balsamic-amber sweetness—I’d guess it’s fir balsam, complemented by a good dose of ethyl maltol.
- ShOA has a dry oud accord, while BBA rests on a balsamic-woody base, with a substantial dose of some superamber (Amber Xtreme?).
- The light cinnamon note in ShOA seems to have been replaced with incense in BBA.
- Leathery notes and patchouli are about equally strong in both fragrances.
- BBA has a noticeably more intense scent; however, I find that ShOA has significantly better sillage, even though the scent itself isn’t as strong. In terms of longevity, ShOA also clearly outperforms BBA.

For me, ShOA is the niche version of BBA, or rather, BBA is the designer version of ShOA. ShOA remains a 9.5/10 for me, but for a Boss fragrance, I still find BBA really good!

BBA also has a certain harsh fruity note that reminds me of Layton, especially on the Drydown.

OMG, this is awesome!

During my teenage years I wore SoCal Cologne almost every day; I just loved that scent.

Upon the very first spray, I get a seemingly endless flashback of my teenage years and an inexplicable association with Hollister. Wow. Then I looked up the notes online; and indeed - suede, pineapple, rosemary in SoCal Cologne, compared to Al Ameed with leather (for me suede), pineapple, sage, pepper, mandarin.

This one has less sweetness, much more spice from the pepper, and herbaceousness from the sage. But this base DNA of pineapple-suede-herbs is just unmistakable for me. It's really as if the 14-year-old SoCal Cologne has grown into a handsome man.

Wow. Instantly one of my favorite fragrances.

First off: I've never smelled Pegasus, so Phantom Paragon is a standalone scent in my little world.

When I received my bottle two months ago, I was very disappointed; it was supposed to be a dupe of Pegasus, described as a "sweet-creamy fragrance with bitter almond as the main player." I thought to myself, "Great, I love the scent of marzipan, and this seems to be just like that. Bitter almond? Sounds like it's a regular almond, but with an even more intense almond scent, awesome!" Oh, how wrong I was...

It was a sharp, chemically-metallic wall, and there was nothing else, maybe a hint of florals, but no trace of sweetness. For me, it was a disaster of a blind buy, a 2/10. I put the bottle away...

But the thought never left me – Zimaya has never disappointed me, and Pegasus is celebrated by so many people... After some research, it turns out that bitter almonds contain cyanide (by the way, 30-50% of people genetically can't perceive it), which smells just as sharp and metallic. I kept applying the fragrance at home; I wasn't a real fan, I would never wear it outside, but something kept me hooked, it became a bit addictive. Over time, it got better and better, the sharp-metallic aspect toned down, and gradually, I could perceive the other notes of the fragrance.

Now, after two months, I'm completely thrilled - today I wore it in the park at 18C degrees, and I've fallen in love with it. The metallic aspect never fully went away, but I learned to appreciate it; once I did, a wide gate opened in the metallic wall. Personally, I now perceive:

Top notes: Bitter almond, heliotrope
Heart notes: Bitter almond, jasmine
Base notes: Sandalwood, lavender, amber, vanilla

Where the jasmine accord could also be a mix of the metallic and lavender, and the heliotrope a mix of the almondy scent and lavender... Or the two accords create a lavender-accord... In any case, it's very pleasantly floral (but not too much). In the background, it's wonderfully creamy/sweet, not quite marzipan because of the amber/sandalwood/vanilla, but I like this even better. The bitter almond remains the main player - a unique accord with metallic, nutty, suede accents... Brilliant. A slight powderiness adds the finishing touch.

I think this was a perfect example of an "acquired taste." Once the nose gets used to the unusual smell of bitter almond and the brain embraces it with open arms, a whole new world opens up. It was a wonderful journey, especially for the laughable price. Thank you, Zimaya!

For a cheapie, the longevity and sillage are quite good! In my opinion, a superb spring fragrance at 15-20 degrees.

Initially worn on the skin and I did not believe my nose - then I tested on a paper strip, it was like two different scents to me. Original review is now expanded...

On the paper strip:
Fresh aquatic with light citrus and herbaceous-floral notes with green violet leaf and a pronounced patchouli base. Scent: 8/10

On the skin (original review):
Reminds me a lot of the recently released not-so-great "Invictus Parfum | Paco Rabanne" - just a bit more mature with a bit less sweetness, but still with that "aquatic" syntheticness (which just doesn't work as well as with citrusy/fresh scents).
I'm really not a fan of the violet leaf-lavender combo (as with Invictus Perfume), for me it just smells like sweet, rotten leaves and flowers and overshadows everything else. I find that really unfortunate - I grew up in a place with lots of immortelle and rockrose flowers and thought I would totally love the scent, but the violet leaf-lavender wall blocks out almost everything for me. In the drydown after about 2 hours, it gets better, the wall starts to crumble slightly, you get a faint hint of the lovely immortelle... Otherwise moderate bergamot-citrus and that's about it for me... Slightly better than the Invictus Perfume, but yeah... I expected a lot more from Armani.

After some research in various perfume forums, it seems to be quite a widespread problem that violet leaf develops strangely on the skin for many people. It's apparently a matter of "skin chemistry"... As sorry as I am, my rating is based on how the scent smells on the skin, and for me, it's a hard pass...

Massimo Dutti has been one of my favorite fashion brands for years. When I read that Alberto Morillas had created a fragrance for them I just had to get it... And I was not disappointed! (Disclaimer: I've never smelled Bal d'Afrique, which it is often compared to.)

The official scent pyramid reads as follows:
Top notes: bergamot, marigold, calendula, cassis
Heart notes: tulip, orange blossom, cyclamen
Base notes: musk, cedar, barley, sandalwood

The fragrance is so wonderfully composed that it's hard to pick out individual notes. I would describe it as very soft, creamy-fresh, and floral. However, the floralness doesn't come from the "usual" jasmine, tuberose, violet, rose, lavender, plumeria, neroli, etc., but rather from a unique marigold aroma - fresh, honey-like, slightly herbal; pleasant and soothing. Add to that a delicate freshness and elegance from the tulip and a subtle powdery quality, likely attributed to the cyclamen (do they even smell?). The base is slightly woody, with a lot of soft, sensual musk and gentle cereal notes - it reminds me of an oat body milk. A very subtle citric note lingers on in the background.

The scent is so great that it will work as unisex, but it would be particularly perfect as a daytime scent for women - I will be gifting it to my mother, and I'm 100% sure she'll love it.

A wonderful fragrance that works anytime, anywhere (except maybe for the gym, as it's too calming). Longevity and sillage for this type of fragrance are good - I have a strong feeling that the aroma will develop differently in the air in the summer heat.

I'm very positively surprised by Massimo Dutti!