JackHunter33

Now this is a fantastic aromatic Fougere with a enigmatic allure to its fragrance. It opens with a very fresh aromatic spicy notes with hints of shaving foam, woods, florals, lavender, cypress and has dark spicy facets. It also has a herbal character, imagine James Bond coming out of a high class barbers. Smell this and you can believe it.!!

As time passes these notes go wide in the air giving good projection and sillage. The notes dance around each other and every time you smell yourself your picking up something different. Back in the day this was one of the fragrance women loved on men. This and Kouros was what men were rocking in days past.

Now the first two to three hours I get good projection and sillage. It then reigns it self in but I can still smell it for another five hours. In the far drydown I'm left with a shaving cream accord. I can't help thinking if you mixed Rive Gauche and Fougere Royale you would get something like jazz.

Imagine if you will a majestic golf course in the highlands of Scotland early on a cool morning. Around you is a green forest with heather covering the edges of the forest floor. You look up and see the snow tipped mountains as you walk to the green to tee off. You take a deep breath of the cool morning breeze as it caresses your senses. For a moment you close your eyes as carried on that breeze is a fresh green scent that is coupled with honeyed moss from the heather. Before you swing your club you stop to light a cigarette just to savor the moment. Again you take a second inhalation and the tobacco mingles with the green piney fresh mossy scent and you know it's going to be a great day!!

This is what I envision when I smell the current formulation on the shelves today. They have really done a good job as my previous bottles were a vintage aftershave and a vintage edt. The old vintage was more mossy which did add depth but also more rougher. The current formulation they have added more sweet honey accords and smoothed the composition out. There is still oakmoss in the current but its not as forward as the vintage.

I get two hours of decent projection and sillage which projects within a arms length and then a further two hours where it has reigned itself within half a arms length. Then it's mostly a skin scent but spray this on your clothes and I tell you it smells better than any fabric conditioner money can buy.

All in all a great smelling fragrance that still stands up today. A great designer Fougere at a great price at discounters. Big thumbs up to the current formulation on the shelves today.

Well I have purchased a new bottle to replace my old 2012 bottle and I'm glad to see the wrap around silver sticker from the vintage era has returned. Looks cool!

The fragrance still retains the patchouli and honey magic with hints of leather and woods. But it is much much lighter and aromatic, it performs like a eau de cologne. Now this is good in that the scent is more wearable, my old bottle was very potent and hard to wear. You smelled like you just walked out of a new age shop that had patchouli joss sticks burning. But on the other hand performance in comparison is lacking both in longevity and projection. But not terribly so, the scent fits the time we are living in. Most scents nowadays have been greatly reduced in performance due to regulations.

The leather and vetiver mix is great with the honey/Patchouli. But the civet has been totally removed, even in my old bottle there was a hint in the basenotes.

Overall the question is do you get value for money if you love this fragrance. As the fragrance can be had for a affordable amount at discounters and it still retains that Patchouli magic for me the answer is yes.

Wow this is totally gorgeous and complex which has you smelling many different notes from the opening to the basenotes.

The fragrance follows the usual Chypre formula, sparkling bergamot to start followed by a array of florals in the mid-notes. And all this settles on a bed of oakmoss, spices and vetiver in the basenotes.

There is also among the many notes a beautiful neroli note running through the composition brightening everything up. Projection is within arms length and I get eight hours plus in longevity. Despite the florals the scent is very unisex and can be worn by anyone. A beautiful and evocative fragrance reminding you of people, places and times gone by.

Now this is a fantastic fragrance that ticks all the right boxes on my skin. In the opening i get a minty very fresh iris and violet leaf that smells very luxurious like you have walked into a five star hotel. Now on my skin these two notes, the iris and especially the violet leaf are the stars of the show. Everything else plays second fiddle to these two accords.

Within the next four hours I get coming behind the lush violet leaf a white musk, a dry peppery cedar note and hints of leather and cardamom. After that the woodsy Sandalwood fragrance with a sweet amber note become prominent and at this stage it smells more glorious and lush.

Now the performance is really good, from three sprays I get twelve hours of longevity. The projection for the first three hours is like 10ft then it stays just over arms reach. The sillage is great as well, going in and out of rooms this beautiful scent just lingers in the air. When this happens you know you are onto a winner!

I can only guess by the very divisive reviews that this scent must be subject to batch variation especially when you have different people blending the ingredients in store/factory.

So I'm giving this glorious fragrance a 9.5 out of 10. I'm dropping half a point because of the very expensive price point. But wow this one on my skin delivers the goods!!