Dzarsos

I had a moment where this one didn't quite hit for me, but unlike most, it had nothing to do with it being called "Dior Homme" and supplanting the old iris-y version. For me, my difficulty came from this scent's future, more than its past; namely, I owned Dior Homme Sport 2021 before I owned this, and they are *remarkably* similar. The citrus is a little brighter in DHS21, and there's maybe a touch of an aquatic feel to it, but other than those factors, DH20 and DHS21 smell almost identical at first.

As this one sets in, though, it does have more - or at least, a different sort of - depth than its "Sport" flanker. Where that one is bright, citrusy, and tart, with touches of wood, this one is a touch of citrus, and a whole load of (artificial, but who cares, it smells good) wood. That shift in balance is subtle at first, but grows as the dry-down progresses - until DHS21 actually feels more like a flanker than "basically the same thing as" this scent.

Additionally, there's this touch of powdery-ness that this frag has that isn't there in DHS21, and it lends a more refined sense to this one. DHS21 can be worn, confidently, by anyone. DH20, though... it certainly *can* be worn just as casually, but it feels like, without a certain level of self-confidence, you might be in danger of it - slightly - wearing you.

All told, this is a thoroughly enjoyable scent, and I will probably trend towards using it in my more "upscale" endeavours - and those days when I want to laze about the house, smelling nice, just for me.

Also, on a more personal note, I am pleased that this one doesn't smell as close to 1805 by Truefitt & Hill as DHS21 does - and I can kind of see how Demachy could have arrived at DHS21 without trying to recreate 1805, which means I may owe him a slight mental apology. Maybe.

Anyway, I would say, in the end, that I like this a good bit, but I kind of wish I had the larger bottle of Sport and the smaller DH20, rather than the other way around. That's really down to personal preference, though, and this *is* a lovely scent profile, that I in no way regret owning.

8.5/10

Illusione is an odd duck. It's not really gourmand-y at all, but somehow the adjective that first leaps to my mind when I smell it is "delicious". But of course, that makes no sense at all, as it is, in essence, a slightly tart riff on Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum. It's missing that almost effervescent heaviness that E.S.P. has, but if you remove that, and add a bunch of bitter orange, Illusione is more-or-less where you end up. It's incredibly nice, weirdly kind of mouth-watering, and, in short, "delicious."

Unfortunately, though, it does have a near-fatal flaw: the longevity here is shameful. On my skin, I get two hours, and up to 4 total on my clothes - for the price, that's pretty much clown shoes. And yes, it does also have a pretty limited sillage, but it *is* a warm weather frag, so that's kind of to be expected. But the longevity? I am tempted to call it "pathetic".

So, it leaves me with a bit of a quandary. If they made this concentration a little stronger - or just tweaked it so it lasted a bit longer - this would be a top 5 warm weather/office fragrance for me. But as it stands, the amount one has to overspray to get any sort of longevity out of it will have my 100mL bottle gone by the end of next summer, if I try to put it in the rotation, and I can't really justify it - nor can I encourage that.

In the end, then, I guess we have this: (1) the fragrance itself is fantastic (2) it's also got some of the worst longevity in my entire 100+ bottle collection, and (3) she costs a fair bit. Granted, I got it for a better-than-retail price, but still - it was too much to pay for this level of performance. And yet... I really, really like it, for the time that it lasts. Sooo...

5/10 for longevity
10/10 for the fragrance itself

= 7.5/10 overall. Basically, if you see it for a good price (sub $65/100mL), the profile sounds intriguing, and you're willing to put up with the shite longevity, maybe grab it. If you get annoyed when a frag only lasts half the day? Don't.

Have you ever put pineapple on a grill? If you haven't, I highly recommend it - core and quarter it, and pop it on some foil over hot coals. It's delicious, juicy, and a totally different way of experiencing the glory of pineapple.

I bring this up because Qaed Al Fursan smells exactly like what you get when you do that: sweet, delicious, slightly smokey pineapple, with just a hint of resin/woods. It's also not going to appeal to everyone, but if you DO like pineapple, it's a great way to experience the essence of one (QAF and grilling a pineapple both are, as far as that goes - but to be clear, I'm talking about the fragrance here).

Apart from smelling mouth-wateringly and realistically edible, it also has the benefit of being super versatile, fitting most seasons and situations. Plus, it comes in a surprisingly classy bottle, made of a nice dark glass with a golden raised metallic horse design going on, and a lightweight, but magnetic, cap.

Oh, and it often sells for about $15 at discounters - and would be a bargain at twice that price.

In short, if you like pineapple, but don't want to go the whole "Aventus clone" route, this gal has you covered. It's pineapple in a bottle, and it's one of my happiest blind buys ever. In fact, I've got two backup bottles, just in case (I actually use one as a room scent for my office at work, because it's delicious, and... why not, for that price?).

Pineapple lovers, grab this one.

8.95/10

Once, as a treat for myself, I splurged on an AdP bath set, because I used to love the smell of Colonia Intensa, and I thought that it would make a nice post-shower scent (which it absolutely does, those soaps are lovely). Around the same time, one of the various discounters I use was selling some re-discovered bottles of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce Intense, and I scooped up a pair of bottles before they vanished again (as one does with discontinued fragrances at bargain prices).

The end result of this is that one day, I happened to have showered with my AdP Colonia soap, and afterwards, sprayed on Fierce Intense. At first, it felt kind of clashy, since the A&F is even louder in "Intense" concentration than the original (which historically stunk out entire malls), but as the two started to balance, it became a rather intriguing sort of scent, wavering back-and-forth between a gentlemanly classic, and its douchebag equivalent. Anyway, long story short, the admix of those scent profiles is about 95% of what I get from AdP Colonia Club - that remaining 5% being made up of minty grassiness - and honestly, it kinda works.

Contrary to what many have said regarding this scent, I'm not getting anything like Green Irish Tweed vibes from this, so I'm not sure where that comparison is coming from - I even sprayed a bit of GIT on my shirt to compare, and, at least to me, it's just not there.

In the end, to my nose, this is AdP Colonia soap + A&F Fierce Intense + Mint and Grass, but the blending somehow manages to mute the harsh parts - and accentuate the nice ones - in such a way that it's actually rather pleasant to smell. It's probably not a safe blind-buy, though, since that profile is not for everyone. But, I like it well enough, and will likely be adding it to my spring/summer rotation

8.5/10

While I get why people mention "rain on concrete" as the feeling they get from this, I have to say it is *not* petrichor - it's urban rain and gasoline and musk, yes, but it doesn't have that sharpness that I was looking for which, at first, was a bit of a disappointment. However, through a full day of wear, these other facets began to grow on me, and when I woke up this morning, the remnants of it on my shirt had me spraying it on again once I got out of the shower. Because, while it may not quite be what I was hoping, it is really, really good.

And I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since Francis Kurkdjian is a sorcerer of scents, and while some of his frags might not be "for me", I eventually find myself appreciating what he's done with almost all of them (I don't really care for Rose, so A La Rose and the MFK Oud _____ Mood ones are a miss for me, but otherwise, I'm here for it).

Heh. A funny thought just occurred to me: with him as perfume director of Dior, he could easily release this again with a couple of tweaks and call it something like "Fahrenheit Urban Rain", and it would 100% fit.

Anyway, this is a super solid, unfortunately hard-to-find scent, and while it wasn't quite what I was hoping for, I am in no way upset about spending all this time trying to find it.

9/10, hope to see something like it again someday.