Fortlandia

When I first sprayed this, I immediately thought "oh, it's BR540 Extrait". But it took about 30 minutes for it to immediately leave that saffron bomb behind. The mate and woods kick in quickly and turn this from a feminine-leaning top note to a masculine-leaning base. It becomes a sweet/spicy/floral masculine scent that, unfortunately, is just in line with the trendy DNA right now. This whole bergamot-focused sweet/spicy/wood base trend isn't going anywhere.

This is a solid fragrance, but it doesn't separate itself from the very crowded market. Not even the sharpest nose will smell this on me and say "oooh, Torino22?" It is just another Ex Nihilo, Creed, ATH, Sospiro, Xerjoff creation that can't pull itself away from this trendy DNA.

THAT SAID....if this is the one you choose out of all of those options, you won't go wrong. It's a well-crafted fragrance.

I've tried it so many times. I really wanted to like it. The notes and ingredients are right up my alley and I respect the house.

But this is just a woody/oak bomb to me. I never pick up the lighter fruitier notes. And I definitely don't understand how people compare this to Aventus.

It might do better in the fall when I'm in the mood for woody/mossy. But for a summer fragrance, no way. It's just too rich and dark for warmer weather.

Just goes to show everyone's skin chemistry reacts different. This is a miss for me, despite giving it several shots.