Jilly

Not quite. Let's put it into perspective. It's the nephew.
After my rather attention-grabbing comment on Aventus, here’s one about a supposed clone. Of course, I had to get a sample (thanks Kitho!) - the Explorer is currently all the rage.
This time, I took an analytical approach. Sprayed it on. Hmm, I smell nothing - so I had to resort to a paper towel. Sprayed the paper. Uh yeah, it’s masculine. I get a fresh pineapple note and a lot of spicy/peppery elements. Good. Set the sample aside and did some sports first. I should mention that I sprayed three fragrances on different cloths and they all lay in my kitchen. While I was working out, I kept getting a little breeze, and it smelled strongly of Explorer. The other two fragrances didn’t register at all (they were Atkinsons samples). I was already aware of a certain polarizing effect. It’s room-dominant and has a decent sillage. Good - showered and then thought I’d just give it a try. Sprayed on - 4 full sprays and off to the dentist. In the car, I could constantly smell myself. It wasn’t unpleasant. I had a mental battle with the pineapple (I still don’t like it) in combination with the masculine undertone that comes strongly from the Ambroxan (vetiver, pepper, patchouli, and Akigalawood). Unfortunately, I don’t notice any leather.
Well, off to the dentist. The dental assistant was taken by my perfume. I’ve never experienced that before, but it was an interesting experience....
Back home. Scent assessment: still smells the same as at the beginning ;).
Update: 9 hours later and I can still smell myself. The longevity is thus already at an extreme level.
However, when I got home, I couldn’t resist applying Aventus on my right arm and Explorer on my left for a direct comparison:
Aventus: not sweet, rather fresh, help, the pineapple is there and there’s musk. I still don’t like it :(. Too old, too heavy...
Explorer: sweeter than Aventus, fresh pineapple, the vetiver plays a stronger role here and the Ambroxan does its best. It’s brighter and sweeter but already quite similar to Aventus in the top notes.
In the drydown, it becomes clearer. Explorer remains sweeter, fresher, and for me has no noticeable smoky/leather note. There’s more synthetic quality here than with Aventus. When I look at the price-performance ratio, I don’t have much more to say. Explorer will soon join my collection as a full bottle.
Test it yourself - if you don’t like Aventus, you might find something to enjoy here.
P.S.: Note to myself - I’m slowly warming up to “pineapples” - um, the plural of pineapple, I guess... maybe also to “pineapple nuts” ;).

Let’s begin the journey:
We are on Barbados at the beach, a wonderful bar among palm trees, the sound of the sea in the background as musical accompaniment. A great and diverse fruit bowl in front of us at the bar and around us many lightly dressed ladies in bikinis, as well as palm trees as far as the eye can see - check. This is the ultimate backdrop for this scent.
First of all: the scent is unisex - certainly very pleasant to sniff on a lady as well.
The first spray and bang, the coconut hits the nose, but it becomes more subtle over time and moves to the background. Very fresh - the eucalyptus is also present. A nice fresh and slightly fruity top note through the coconut. Over time, the ocean becomes stronger. The aquatic or ozonic accord comes to the forefront paired with something sweet, that must be the vetiver. The woody notes are not that strong, at least they don’t stand out particularly to my nose. Really nice. So this is what vacation feels like par excellence. The sillage is in the good middle range, you can smell it from a slightly larger radius. The scent lasts a good 5-6 hours. The longevity is definitely 7-8 hours, which I consider to be upper middle range.
This is what vacation feels like. Now to unpack the shorts, pull out the short shirt, and head south to the beach bar.

Let’s get started. Pffffff. Hmm, the top note is really fresh. The mint dominates the first 15 minutes before it slowly runs out of steam and takes a back seat. The scent then becomes a bit sweeter, with the lime now taking center stage. A woody, spicy undertone now complements the lime. A beautiful bouquet. Not boring, and the transformation during the dry down is also noteworthy. A great fragrance for spring/summer. The sillage is average. You won’t stand out much with this scent. It is unobtrusive and very subtle. Not a troublemaker. The longevity is mediocre at 5-6 hours (after 3 hours it’s mostly only perceptible up close).
Nice, I like it. Mine for spring/summer 2019.

Wow, what a beautiful scent. The little Au Masculin always reminds me of Christmas and the cooler, darker season - especially autumn.
As soon as you spray it on, the sensual journey begins. You are greeted by a lovely star anise, paired with a hint of licorice and a light sweetness. Totally wild. It fits perfectly for me in autumn - when the leaves have already fallen from the trees. After 30 minutes, the sweetness fades a bit and it becomes woodier. The spices remain present, and the licorice-like scent increasingly comes to the forefront. The longevity is above average (about 7 hours). The sillage is in a good middle range. It doesn’t come across as intrusive but definitely masculine, in my opinion. I don’t know a similar scent.

How I came to Layton.... yes, it was about 6 months ago and I had barely dabbled in fragrances, but I was on a mission to explore department stores and perfumeries. Names meant nothing to me - let alone what a niche fragrance is. I had no clue, okay, is that something you have to have in your mid-20s?
It was summer and I was on vacation in Hamburg. While shopping in the city, I ended up in a well-known department store (the one with the blue lettering...). Once there, I had actually planned to test One Million. A very good friend of mine adored this scent and wore it herself. Well, as a slightly smitten fool, you have to check out this little potion for yourself and see how it goes and if it has any effect ;). Short and sweet - the spark did not ignite in either case ;). Instead, I had a different kind of experience. I was fascinated by this large antique apothecary cabinet in the department store and the royally displayed perfumes, in a niche, not immediately visible, but stylishly arranged. I also found the pricing to be quite royal - as I now know, they were all niche fragrances. The bottles from Parfums de Marly were almost all empty. However, I first sniffed the Herod, like a junkie indulging in his drugs (from the bottle) and found this scent very intriguing.... the salespeople there didn’t care anyway. Well, I gathered my courage and sprayed the only bottle on the shelf that wasn’t empty, due to a lack of paper strips, directly on my skin (it was Layton). Ohhh wow - memories came flooding back. It smells exactly like my favorite cola tastes (the one from the much-mentioned soda manufacturer with the two bulls in the logo). Back then, I doused myself in the scent and wrote down the name. I thought to myself, I have to treat myself to this one day.
Well, now to the here and now. This scent has occupied my thoughts for a long time; I only ordered the bottle a few days ago at a good price. Just to be safe, I also requested a sample from Kitho from the souk, which I would like to thank sincerely at this point. It arrived today - even before the bottle.
What can I say? I opened the sample and gave myself 3 sprays after showering. What a wonderfully opulent scent. It smells like cola. Very sweet - in the drydown, it becomes a bit more bitter. It has been clinging to me like a burr for 8 hours now. This is a longevity and sillage monster. It smells fruity, sweet, and clings quite a bit at first - all paired with a hint of slightly woody notes after a few hours. This fragrance is a total chameleon. After about 5 hours, it transforms again and the fruits disappear, becoming totally soft and cuddly. This is my personal highlight.
Today, I somehow only had very sensual associations - if you now mentally cross Layton with Tom Ford's new Lost Cherry..... wow, that could be a love story. Sensually nestled cola kisses sweet cherry. So if you are female and between 20 and 34, totally into Lost Cherry - then we should chat immediately ;).
In this sense - a fantastic piece and I give it a score of 10.0 points for the scent.