Galahad

As a passionate coffee connoisseur, who is very much involved in the matter and knows the scent of fresh Arabica beans every morning, this scent is unfortunately no revelation.
As the title suggests, the bottle does not contain a black café, but a very sweet and gourmand mixture that all fans of "Double Chocolate Chip Caramel/Turmeric/Pumpkin/Chai Latte" with fat-reduced soy milk at Starbucks could well enjoy. Far away from all irony, the fragrance, which comes across as a flowery-sweet composition slightly underlaid with oud, does not meet my personal taste. There is a coffee-like note throughout, but it is too sweet. After the top note fades away, more spicy tones come to the fore.
Since I would never drink my coffee with coffee, I am probably particularly irritated by the turgid sweetness, which rather nails the smell to the months October-March. In this period I tested it a few times and now it has to go ...
Durability and sillage for an oud fragrance not too bulky. A good 6h I have swaths of it in my nose. I can imagine the scent more on a lady than on a man

All in all, simply not my cup of tea, but a beautiful autumn/winter scent, which I could definitely like in a woman

Mancera and Montale - the common DNA of both houses can be found in the name, the flacons and very well also in the fragrance creations. Since not so many perfumeries run the two houses - and in many cases only one of them - I was only familiar with the more prominent Montale for some time. The scents of this house are for me all exactly one: polarizing! Either you love creation or you despise it. Now that I've tested a handful of fragrances from both houses, I come to one conclusion - the label doesn't always live up to its promises and: less is sometimes more! The latter does not apply to the number of fragrances contained, but rather to the variety of creations that both labels throw onto the market.
Characteristic of the creations of both brands are the descriptive names, meaning that the name of the fragrance anticipates which ingredients should dominate the course of the fragrance. As already mentioned above, I cannot always agree with this naming, also in the case of Aoud Lemon Mint. Cool, marketing-optimised fragrance names such as "Viking", "Egoiste" or "Layton" are not to be found at Montale. Many of the fragrances are also categorized as unisex, including the one discussed here.
Now to the fragrance itself, the title focuses on Oud, Lemon (here converted as Mandarin and Lemon) and Mint. In my opinion, the latter can only be found in the title, it can neither be found in the list of ingredients, nor can my nose really identify it in any phase of the fragrance process. I could understand Aoud Lemon even better.
The fragrance also starts off directly with a citric note, reminiscent of green mandarins. The citric is quite spicy at the beginning, but is surrounded by a very strong sweetness, which remains for my nose throughout the entire course of the fragrance. While the sour fruit disappears after a short time, this spicy, slightly musty Oud/Patchouli sweetness remains for well over 10 hours. I applied the scent yesterday evening around 20:00 o'clock and it was still very closely perceptible the next day at lunch. Altogether the very dark ingredients dominate for me in this bright and very briefly freshly starting fragrance after only a few minutes: Oud (low dosage), patchouli, vetiver, which make the fragrance very spicy. Amber and vanilla add sweetness. No trace of mint.
The bottle, which is a feast for the eyes, therefore does not really go well with such a powerful hum, which, unlike the name suggests, is hardly bearable in summer. I see the scent in autumn, winter and on cool spring days. I couldn't stand him in the heat. In general I admire durability and Sillagemonster, but this one was too penetrating, also too stinging and too musty and above all one thing: much too synthetic.
This synthetic is my biggest reservation against Montale and Mancera so far. Nearly all fragrances tested so far stood out due to very prominent fragrances, all of which seemed very synthetic. The large number of releases also makes me a little suspicious. I would prefer some selected, really balanced and rounder fragrances. Besides, Oud - or as Montale and Mancera call it - makes it: Aoud - not every fragrance more exclusive, more complex and therefore justifiably more expensive. It simply doesn't go well with some compositions, especially not with supposedly light and fruity fragrances. Also the abundant patchouli and here animal musk distort the beautiful top note in the course.
Thus, none of the Montales and Manceras purchased so far will probably be allowed to move into the core workforce. This one also leaves me via the souk towards a new owner.
Too bad, because the bottle is a feast for the eyes, the durability of this fragrance is second to none!

The original fragrance of this long line of ancestors - the original A*Men - is a matter of dispute between the spirits. Like hardly any other fragrance, the A*Men polarizes. One of my other passions is testing Scottish single malts. The distillery Laphroaig on the island of Islay, which produces a whisky that smells and tastes like tar, algae, campfires, peat and phenol, has coined the advertising slogan "You love it or you hate it". There is no better way to sum up the divided opinions about the rubber tar sultriness monster A*Men. One thing should be anticipated: I admire the audacity of the fragrance and its absolutely outstanding uniqueness, but I couldn't wear the powerful humming noise myself
Now, after the launch of the original fragrance in 1996, an almost endless number of Flanders came out, each dedicated to a specific fragrance and merging it with the fragrance DNA of their ancestor. Some of the flankers were able to keep the rude basic DNA in check and, thanks to the respective ingredients, were even able to move to a quite wonderful composition. So far, each of these flankers had remained a small genetic part of the stem holder - some were brilliant (Pure Malt, Pure Coffee, Pure Havanne), some good (Pure Tonka), others a weak performance (Kryptomint). With the last in this series, a meaningful reinterpretation of the first also ends for me. Kryptomint tried to help a pompously heavy smell somehow to freshness by mint. The final result was neither olfactory nor convincing in terms of performance.

But since I am a big fan, especially of Pure Malt, I wanted to test this new release of the year 2019 as soon as possible and ordered a bottle online, because it was not yet available in any perfumery. The colour of the flacon, as well as the listed fragrances let me hope, because I am a big Frahlingliebhaber.
The bottle and packaging are ingeniously made. Despite the always deficient spray head, to say the least, I like the rubberized flacons, which lie great in the hand. The uniformity of the entire line also makes itself very attractive in the fragrance shelf. So far, the color had always revealed something about the scent and was chosen appropriately.
Here, however, neither the title nor the colour match the selected aromas.
To what extent is Café Moccha the ultimate man? Then why is the bottle smurf blue?
But now to the fragrance itself: for the first time in the series of all the flanks I can no longer smell the unique A*Men DNA. The scent is independent and for me no flanker of this series. Although he is also a gourmand through and through, but without the patchouli heaviness that all others, some of them only had in their background.
Apart from the floppy naming and the choice of bottle, can at least the fragrance be convincing? I'm afraid I have to say no here too. Instead of Café Moccha I get a swath of a brew in my nose, which was available at the coffee machine during university times: Irish Coffee. While I myself despised this elixir of the devil like the holy water, one of my best friends enjoyed a cup of the sticky-sweet "hot drink" in the breaks between lectures, which has nothing to do with good coffee. The balsam fir makes the fragrance somewhat creamy and greasy. Bergamot is wishful thinking here! The fragrance starts for me sticky sweet and continues exactly the same way. Little change, little complexity, no depth. He also achieves the power of the original, let alone Pure Malt or Pure Havanne. After 6-7 hours Sense was.
I would have loved to use it as my autumn and winter fragrance for 2019, as I was looking for coffee scents anyway. Now will replace in Mancera's Aoud Café. The first fragrance that smells authentic of real coffee, at least for a short time.
In summary, this Ultimate Men is not only a slip for me after Kryptomint, but Mugler's perfumers seem to have strayed from the right path. Return to the original idea or stop riding the horse dead for marketing purposes! This one is not for the ultimate man (title seems to be copied from JPG anyway), but rather the ultimate fail.

During my test series through the collection of fragrances from the MFK Fragrance Awardrobe for men, I was probably most excited about the Baccarat Rouge by far. On the one hand I was fascinated by the blood-red bottle in the colour of an absolutist royal coat, on the other hand the price was as decadent as the colouring. I would have to pay about 300€ for a whole bottle if I wanted to call it my own. As part of the Wardrobe samples, 11 millilitres had now migrated into my fragrance collection for test purposes, the balance of the account is breathing a sigh of relief.
Already at the first test with a tiny spray I felt like I was back in my earliest childhood memories. There are certain scents and tastes that I strongly associate with very early childhood experiences. Usually they are culinary experiences, which have settled directly in the rearmost frontal lobe of my long-term memory. Every time I enjoy these smells and tastes again today, childhood scenes flash before my inner eye. For example the smell of Fanta from the small green glass bottles with the bulbous dents, which could only be drunk on holiday, or the taste of Frigeo shower sticks, a traditional component of the sweets bags at the outdoor kiosk. I rediscovered the shower note, the tingling cult candy in Kenzo "Power". The top note of Baccarat Rouge ExDP bears a striking resemblance to another ingredient of the outdoor pool treats. Each of the confectionery blends also always contained some of the effervescent UFOs, consisting of a sweetish eating paper wrapper and a tingling, slightly tingling filling. These Brauseufos, once bitten into, were the ones that immediately appeared to me in front of my inner eye when BR 540 first poured into my nose.
After one or two minutes the fragrance becomes darker and warmer, the bright, tingling sweetness merges into a noble heart note. Undoubtedly a creation of great class such as quality - saffron has long been in the foreground of the fragrance for me. Overall, the fragrance remains very sweet, the woods create only little spice. The purple-red colour of the bottle matches the ingredient perfectly, BR540 looks royal and raised. This fragrance is not an everyday fragrance, it needs a suitable ambience, it needs a big appearance, it demands a tailor-made robe from the wearer. I'd even say he needs a wearer in a red evening gown! The unisex classification is justified, but I can imagine the scent better on a lady at least Ü30 than on men. His projection seems too sweet and tempting to me. The Brauseufo of the top note has matured into an exquisite delicacy. For a good 7-8 hours the scent remains, it becomes increasingly warmer and somewhat less sweet in the course.
Apart from the Downton-Abbey evening on the couch, I wouldn't know of any environment that would be royal enough to apply it. And it's too bad for me, because I'm not an Earl of Grantham who wears a luxurious fragrance with a tweed suit, but relax with a blanket, Earl Grey tea or a single malt and shortbread in front of the TV.
Therefore the BR540 will leave my collection after two tests, because I don't know any reason for it yet. In addition, I still feel too young for this "very classic" fragrance, which seems to have fallen out of time. From a time when wearing purple was still the privilege of the nobility and when the Earl put on a dinner tuxedo and a luxury scent and did not indulge in joggers and cuddle blankets of his favorite series.

Bye bye Darlin - you always meet twice in life

If one translates the name of this fragrance, the adjective "gentle" could be interpreted in many ways. Relevant dictionaries list over 20 different translation variants. My first intuition to translate it as "polite and distinguished", derived from the noble gentleman, covers only a part of the possible spectrum of meaning.
"Tender, gentle, soft and sensitive", mostly female associated characteristics (without any gender clichés) are found in the encyclopedia as a possibility of interpretation. On the other hand, however, also "quiet, leisurely and light"; together with and especially less promising attributes for a fragrance. This one is meant as a unisex scent and is definitely wearable by both sexes after the first impression.
I think it meets the criteria of both translation directions, because the nutmeg note combined with the sweetness of vanilla gives the fragrance a very lovely feminine touch from start to finish. The musk provides a shower gel freshness, completely far away from any animal note, which musk is quite capable of producing.
Coriander, juniper and woods, which are supposed to give spice and a little bit of astringency, are only to be guessed at at the edges and quite subtly, they give some depth to the bright scents. At no point of the drydown does the fragrance become really bitter and herbaceous, it remains silvery bright, it remains a "gentle water" - too gentle for me. I like the scents of well-being that feel like a cuddly soft woollen blanket that lulls you with its tenderness. However, this one is so completely without depth, without change, without innovation. Please do not misinterpret, the scents seem valuable and well composed, but just too "tame". Therefore GFSilver from MFK is both at the same time: a kind, but too quiet water.
If I had to recommend him to a woman (again without gender bias). Portable to bright colors in late spring to late summer on sunny, bright days.