Ethanmcq
Reviews
Ethanmcq
Thoughts
I wore this fragrance today all day and I loved the initial scent and the way that I smelled the next few hours..but man the longevity frankly sucked.
"With Oud Wood, TOM FORD uses rare oud notes to overwhelm the senses with dark, earthy sensuality. Exotic rosewood and cardamom give way to a smoky blend of precious oud notes, sandalwood and vetiver. Tonka bean and amber add warmth and sensuality."
I sprayed this for the first time and I fell on my bed and just smelled my wrists for a solid 10 minutes. It smelled wonderful to me. The scent truly was "earthy" it felt like I had walked through a recently rained on forest and came was surrounded by giant trees. The cardamom wasn't as spicy or strong as it was in bitter peach, and the vetiver, tonka bean and oud notes were such a wonderful accord. I wanted to just lay there in this scent forever.
What I liked about this was that it wasn't a "poopy" oud. I have smelled a some oud based fragrances that smelled like straight cow manure before and couldn't fathom wearing them. However, this fragrance was a clean oud. I could definitely tell that it was oud, but it was clean and more rounded which made it smell blissful. I think it with the sandalwood created the foresty feel for me.
After all this, I wanted to keep feeling the projection and silage throughout the day, it made me feel so clean and confident in the morning. By lunch, I could only smell it if my wrists were within a few inches of my nose. I felt that for the price of the EDP I can have higher expectations for the longevity and this one fell short.
If you haven't tried or smelled this one before, I would highly recommend it, but I am still debating on buying the full bottle due to only getting ~4 hours out of it..
Also, I love Aaron Terence Hughes' review of this fragrance posted a few days ago and I think he does a great job talking about the chemistry side of the fragrance. I share much of his views after wearing it.
Overall rating: 7.9/10
"With Oud Wood, TOM FORD uses rare oud notes to overwhelm the senses with dark, earthy sensuality. Exotic rosewood and cardamom give way to a smoky blend of precious oud notes, sandalwood and vetiver. Tonka bean and amber add warmth and sensuality."
I sprayed this for the first time and I fell on my bed and just smelled my wrists for a solid 10 minutes. It smelled wonderful to me. The scent truly was "earthy" it felt like I had walked through a recently rained on forest and came was surrounded by giant trees. The cardamom wasn't as spicy or strong as it was in bitter peach, and the vetiver, tonka bean and oud notes were such a wonderful accord. I wanted to just lay there in this scent forever.
What I liked about this was that it wasn't a "poopy" oud. I have smelled a some oud based fragrances that smelled like straight cow manure before and couldn't fathom wearing them. However, this fragrance was a clean oud. I could definitely tell that it was oud, but it was clean and more rounded which made it smell blissful. I think it with the sandalwood created the foresty feel for me.
After all this, I wanted to keep feeling the projection and silage throughout the day, it made me feel so clean and confident in the morning. By lunch, I could only smell it if my wrists were within a few inches of my nose. I felt that for the price of the EDP I can have higher expectations for the longevity and this one fell short.
If you haven't tried or smelled this one before, I would highly recommend it, but I am still debating on buying the full bottle due to only getting ~4 hours out of it..
Also, I love Aaron Terence Hughes' review of this fragrance posted a few days ago and I think he does a great job talking about the chemistry side of the fragrance. I share much of his views after wearing it.
Overall rating: 7.9/10
A review
This fragrance I wore yesterday for the first time so share some thoughts I had on it so far. I had a replica of this fragrance from a different company awhile back and quite liked it, especially as a lighter fragrance for the day, so I wanted to try the real deal as I have started my fragrance journey.
"Composition of the new fragrance, just like its name suggests, is composed of ambrette seed, sea salt and sage, along with red algae and grapefruit. ‘This fragrance is different for me’ – says Christine Nagel, perfumer of the composition. She adds: ‘Sea air is mixed with salty and mineral texture of sand and stones. As the scent of driftwood it has natural and fresh sophistication. A complex combination of wood and sea is in its essence. It provides the feeling of freedom and natural spirit.’"
The other day I wrote about another scent, Wild Bluebell that Christine Nagel also created at Jo Malone and I quite liked it. This one was much different than that scent, which was nice to see the difference in accords formed between the two compositions, but the same perfumer.
Upon applying this, the first scent that you smell is what I would explain if you were walking through a grassy field with a sea breeze passing through. You definitely get the sage and a salty feel to it. Not a sweaty salty, but a sweet salty scent. It was really pleasant.
As quickly as the sea breeze comes, it leaves. The longevity of this fragrance is abysmal. I felt like i needed to reapply before even leaving my room. I am not one to over-apply fragrances, a 1-2 spray no matter what kind of person, but you could spray 10 of this fragrance and you wouldn't be overwhelmed, nor would it last any longer than before.
Overall I rate this a 5.8/10 purely off of price and longevity. If the longevity was better, this would be much higher on my list and most certainly a daily wear for me.
"Composition of the new fragrance, just like its name suggests, is composed of ambrette seed, sea salt and sage, along with red algae and grapefruit. ‘This fragrance is different for me’ – says Christine Nagel, perfumer of the composition. She adds: ‘Sea air is mixed with salty and mineral texture of sand and stones. As the scent of driftwood it has natural and fresh sophistication. A complex combination of wood and sea is in its essence. It provides the feeling of freedom and natural spirit.’"
The other day I wrote about another scent, Wild Bluebell that Christine Nagel also created at Jo Malone and I quite liked it. This one was much different than that scent, which was nice to see the difference in accords formed between the two compositions, but the same perfumer.
Upon applying this, the first scent that you smell is what I would explain if you were walking through a grassy field with a sea breeze passing through. You definitely get the sage and a salty feel to it. Not a sweaty salty, but a sweet salty scent. It was really pleasant.
As quickly as the sea breeze comes, it leaves. The longevity of this fragrance is abysmal. I felt like i needed to reapply before even leaving my room. I am not one to over-apply fragrances, a 1-2 spray no matter what kind of person, but you could spray 10 of this fragrance and you wouldn't be overwhelmed, nor would it last any longer than before.
Overall I rate this a 5.8/10 purely off of price and longevity. If the longevity was better, this would be much higher on my list and most certainly a daily wear for me.
Tom Ford - Bitter Peach - Initial Thoughts
I sampled Bitter Peach today and wanted to share some initial thoughts. This is my first time doing a writeup like this, so hopefully it's somewhat insightful/helpful.
I have recently started to branch out in my fragrance selection and decided a spring/sweeter smell might be something fun to try. I have now been wearing it for ~6 hours and i have grown to like it more and more as the scent develops.
"Top notes are Peach, Blood Orange, Cardamom and Heliotrope; middle notes are Rum, Cognac, Davana and Jasmine; base notes are Vanilla, Indonesian Patchouli Leaf, Tonka Bean, Sandalwood, Benzoin, Cashmeran, Styrax, Labdanum and Vetiver."
Upon first application, the projection is crazy, even with just 2 sprays. The top notes work well together that almost adds a 'pepperiness' to the scent, hence the bitter name. The cardamom (peppery) smell comes through with a hint of citrus from the blood orange. I might go just for a single spray next time I wear it as the top notes became somewhat overpowering for me for the first 1.5 hours or so, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever, merely preference. However, since then, the smell has developed into something wonderful. The jasmine and patchouli come through the most for me and I enjoy it. It is now much fainter and like getting subtle whiffs of it are exciting as has lasted very well. The longevity is proving well so far. My current rating: 8/10
EDIT: Day 2 of wearing this and I love it even more. Upping my rating to an 8.5/10. I can’t get over the longevity, now had it on for 15 hours and can still get subtle hints of it. The base notes really shine through on this one. Amazing!
I have recently started to branch out in my fragrance selection and decided a spring/sweeter smell might be something fun to try. I have now been wearing it for ~6 hours and i have grown to like it more and more as the scent develops.
"Top notes are Peach, Blood Orange, Cardamom and Heliotrope; middle notes are Rum, Cognac, Davana and Jasmine; base notes are Vanilla, Indonesian Patchouli Leaf, Tonka Bean, Sandalwood, Benzoin, Cashmeran, Styrax, Labdanum and Vetiver."
Upon first application, the projection is crazy, even with just 2 sprays. The top notes work well together that almost adds a 'pepperiness' to the scent, hence the bitter name. The cardamom (peppery) smell comes through with a hint of citrus from the blood orange. I might go just for a single spray next time I wear it as the top notes became somewhat overpowering for me for the first 1.5 hours or so, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever, merely preference. However, since then, the smell has developed into something wonderful. The jasmine and patchouli come through the most for me and I enjoy it. It is now much fainter and like getting subtle whiffs of it are exciting as has lasted very well. The longevity is proving well so far. My current rating: 8/10
EDIT: Day 2 of wearing this and I love it even more. Upping my rating to an 8.5/10. I can’t get over the longevity, now had it on for 15 hours and can still get subtle hints of it. The base notes really shine through on this one. Amazing!
Jo Malone - Wild Bluebell - Initial Thoguhts
This one is another leap for me as someone who is more accustomed to male blue frags growing up, definitely on the floral side of unisex, but that is not to down this fragrance. I am already liking it a lot. There are some disappointments in the fragrance, but the roundness of the scent is good.
"Creator of the perfume is Christine Nagel who presented a new version of bluebell, composed of various notes, including green fresh notes, flowers (lily of the valley, rose hip) and spicy chord of cloves. Bluebell is a wild forest flower and its scent provides a moist echo of summer forest."
The initial bluebell and green notes shine through in the beginning, but only lasted a short 15-20 minutes. While that might be expected in top notes, I wish that it lasted a bit longer. However, as it led into the middle notes, the 'freshness' and smells of a garden in the perfume became greater, perhaps persimmon? Middles notes are now focused and I can get lily of the valley, but jasmine is one of the strongest scents that comes through for me. The middle notes don't feel as 'garden-ey', but more of a fresh linens smell when combined. I quite like it actually. It's cool to get two different feels out of a fragrance so quickly after application. The musk is really clean and definitely white. More plant like, but not as strong as some other white musk fragrances I have tried, it's more powdery.
I think the biggest disappointments in the fragrance is the fact that it isn't getting as good of projection/longevity as I would like out of a one like this. I feel like Jo Malone fragrances are know for being short and sweet (I could be wrong), but I think I get about ~4 hours out of this one, compared to 12+ out of a Tom Ford or others? I just wish there was a little more longevity to it.
Overall I rate this fragrance a 7.4/10.
"Creator of the perfume is Christine Nagel who presented a new version of bluebell, composed of various notes, including green fresh notes, flowers (lily of the valley, rose hip) and spicy chord of cloves. Bluebell is a wild forest flower and its scent provides a moist echo of summer forest."
The initial bluebell and green notes shine through in the beginning, but only lasted a short 15-20 minutes. While that might be expected in top notes, I wish that it lasted a bit longer. However, as it led into the middle notes, the 'freshness' and smells of a garden in the perfume became greater, perhaps persimmon? Middles notes are now focused and I can get lily of the valley, but jasmine is one of the strongest scents that comes through for me. The middle notes don't feel as 'garden-ey', but more of a fresh linens smell when combined. I quite like it actually. It's cool to get two different feels out of a fragrance so quickly after application. The musk is really clean and definitely white. More plant like, but not as strong as some other white musk fragrances I have tried, it's more powdery.
I think the biggest disappointments in the fragrance is the fact that it isn't getting as good of projection/longevity as I would like out of a one like this. I feel like Jo Malone fragrances are know for being short and sweet (I could be wrong), but I think I get about ~4 hours out of this one, compared to 12+ out of a Tom Ford or others? I just wish there was a little more longevity to it.
Overall I rate this fragrance a 7.4/10.
