Farneon

Actually, I am a big fan of citrus scents, but I consider Tygar to be an olfactory disaster for this price. An average rating of 8.5! It makes my nonexistent neck hairs stand on end! I would even prefer Bergamask by Orto Parisi, which also pushes me to the limits of what I expect from citrus. Longevity at all costs. Is that necessary? And does it still smell pleasant like grapefruit or something similar?

By the way, many more ingredients are listed on other platforms than here. I also like many fragrances by Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, but with Tygar, the good man seems to have overreached himself or just thrown something out there that completely misses the mark and still doesn’t smell good!

For a drugstore scent, it’s okay, but what has been produced here is a loveless mixture of citrus aromas and Ambrox without any sex appeal. Buy something from Versace, Puig, or Zara, and you’ll be better off! I think they wanted to invent the fresh-citrusy jack-of-all-trades that fills the room, but unfortunately, it doesn’t exist... Well, maybe from the toilet duck!? ;-)

A) Carlisle is somehow a unique, almost grand, and definitely room-filling fragrance. But I don't want to give a long speech here. I can hardly detect apple (as almost always), but there are estimated to be almost 30,000 (!) varieties of it (no joke). Well: Carlisle is sweet, caramel-like, and created as if by a pastry chef who has deeply drawn from various spices, for example, in Egypt. If I were to enter his shop, I would think: Wow!

B) Please not on my skin! I don't want to smell like this and I'm also tired of the endless winter and Christmas associations. Carlisle may sustainably scent entire rooms and give baked goods that special something, but on me: No thanks! A gourmand par excellence, but only for those who are into that. If you like freshness, wood, citrus, and/or greens: Stay away!

Consequently, I won't give a rating, just a "Well, that's how it is"! ;-) It's logical that I personally would only reach for a dupe at most.

I exchanged A*Men here at the souk mainly for nostalgic reasons. Because at the end of the 1990s, my then-girlfriend gifted me this fragrance. I was already a bit of a perfume junkie back then, but I put on a "good face to a bad game" here! ;-) I wasn't familiar with sweet, bold gourmand scents. I would even say that they were rather rare at that time. And so A*Men kind of overwhelmed me. I only wore it occasionally in the evenings when going out together, but even after just 2-3 sprays, I felt olfactorily "overdressed." Back then, I instinctively associated it more with the Cologne gay scene. Well...

Now I wanted to see how I would react to A*Men nearly 25 years later. Because by now, I can appreciate sweet scents as long as they don't come off as too one-dimensional. The time back then didn't have anything in the style of 1 Million or Baccarat Rouge (which I don't particularly like). A*Men was certainly ahead of its time and is often compared to Kilian's Intoxicated, which is almost four times more expensive and boasts a proud 8.2/10 rating here with nearly the same number of reviews. Here, the difference between the sometimes ridiculously overrated niche fragrances and the designers that are often considered inferior is becoming more noticeable (as is happening more often). But that's another topic that, to be honest, is increasingly getting on my nerves. Be that as it may: If someone learned something from this, it was Kilian from Mugler.

Now finally to the scent: The top note of A*Men still strikes me as almost shocking today, but it actually dissipates after just a few seconds. Immediately, the coffee comes into play like a heavily sweetened mocha. There is something quite seductive about that. A spicy, even slightly fresh overlay joins in, which makes the fragrance as a whole genuinely interesting. Lavender and mint in coffee? "Yuck," most would probably say, but we don't want to drink something delicious, we want to smell good! ;-) And surprisingly, I truly do. A*Men reveals itself to be a strikingly loud pleasure that I didn't appreciate back then. It certainly needs the late evening hours or the colder season to not come off as out of place, but then it shows a strong going-out quality. If you think away the gourmand notes, A*Men reminds me a bit of Ultraviolet by Rabanne, which is also in my collection and comes from the same era. And as clear as the gourmand notes are, they don't immediately make me think of something to eat or drink (and that's the positive aspect).

In short: A*Men is a successful and strong fragrance for carousel rides or pop concerts, for smoky bars (which don't really exist anymore), the throbbing dance floor, or the exuberant wedding celebration.

As with all fragrances by Alessandro Gualtieri (who is also behind Nasomatto), Bergamask is likely to polarize - although, due to the chosen composition, less so than other creations by the avant-garde Italian.

Although Bergamasco is also a small town in northern Italy (I don't know if that was decisive in the naming), the name "Bergamask" points to the two key fragrance ingredients: bergamot and musk. According to Fragrantica, there are also hints of lemon, lavender, lily of the valley, orange blossom, tonka bean, and cedar.

If you're expecting a clean fresh scent, you might be mistaken. Bergamask is a sillage and longevity beast that fortunately does not drift into the animalic territory often mentioned here. The citrus notes - especially the bergamot - are consistently present throughout, but they do not poke or bite. Perhaps one should speak of overripe fruits here, which have lost some of their fresh kick. The musk base is also consistently present, but it neither comes across as particularly clean nor sweaty in any way.

How Gaultieri has "tinkered" with these two extremely popular fragrance notes is once again a case for itself! :-) Personally, I really like this scent, but not always, and I wouldn't wear it on hot summer days. It has a bit of a "dirty" quality to it without becoming unpleasant. In any case, it is unmistakable and reminds me most of something from the Escentric line by Geza Schön.

I would love to share what feeling Bergamask evokes in me and what associations... but somehow I can't manage that. So if you're curious, it's best to just try it out!

Incredible: I snagged 100 ml of this fragrance for only 6 euros (!) at Notino, and that was only because I had to add a few bucks for free shipping. And this EDT "made in France" actually comes from Grasse, the world capital of perfume.

What I then got to smell surprised me once again. I'm not really a big fan of aquatic scents, as they often come across as synthetic, salty, and/or stale to my nose, although the basic principle is clear: Aquatics are fresh without being citrusy and carry the water, hence the supposed sea breeze, right in their name.

So I approach this matter completely unbiased and find: Acqua is for me something like the blueprint or prototype of aquatic fragrances, because this is exactly how I envision a scent titled "little water." From my memory, I can recall the similarities to Kenzo pour Homme Eau de Toilette (which I once had). The astonishing thing: Longevity and sillage are truly not bad for a fresh scent in this budget price range.

I perceive a linear pleasant freshness with a rosy hint, ethereal components of pine and cypress, and very slight swimming pool vibes. It's simply well done, in no way synthetic, and perfect for summer when one wants to get by without lemon, bergamot, and co. Completely amazed and positively surprised, this budget fragrance receives a solid 9 points from me!