Lilsniffles

For your information - mid-20s, male. I rarely see this info, but it's very important to me personally.

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Yes, it's been a while since I first held Mercedes Club Black in my hands, in the well-known specialty store in every city. I was 19 or 20 at the time, if I remember correctly. A few years have passed, and I still love it.

Weird thing, looks funny, I would almost say ugly. Seriously, I have rarely seen such an ugly bottle. Not the worst, but definitely very low on the list. Important - it doesn't matter how it looks at all. Hide the perfume somewhere if possible to avoid any awkward questions. Please. Price? So unbelievably cheap that I couldn't believe it at first.

Aside from the funny exterior, let's get to the main topic - the scent.

Wow. I can't think of anything else. This scent was my invitation into the world of "gourmand" sweet fragrances, Club Black - a world ruled by a vanilla pod with a beard. The vanilla wants to knock you over at first, but then keeps its distance. Then the wood slowly creeps in, the masculinity of this scent. Smoky, woody, but the vanilla is always in play, and it’s DAMN good, believe me. All the ingredients play with your nose as if it were a fairground full of good memories, this scent radiates a warmth that is incredibly pleasant and calming. It’s not an explosion of scent, not a grand adventure, it’s calm, winter, the fireplace is crackling in the wooden cabin, you sit there reading a book in peace, there’s a cake in the oven that you’re baking - that’s exactly what this scent radiates. Calmness, serenity, a scent that almost makes you sleepy because it’s so pleasant. It lasts really well, still noticeable the next morning, it clings a bit too much to clothes. It projects very strongly at first, you will definitely be noticed. After 3-4 hours it relaxes a lot and is only perceived from a short distance, but still smells just as great. A powerhouse at a low price, and actually a top 10 of the best date fragrances.

Club Black is and remains my favorite for Netflix evenings with some other date, because this scent just ALWAYS works. There has never been a "I don't like that," it has always been "I like that a lot." Believe me when I say this scent will bring compliments & you never have to worry that someone won’t like it, that would be the absolute minority. It’s just so unobtrusive & beautiful that you will never have problems with it.

An absolute 10/10 for any age, but especially those aged 20-30 will have the greatest success with it. You shouldn't be too young, as this scent does come across as a bit mature. Under 18 it gets critical.

Compliment scale: 9 out of 10. Women LOVE it, men are in a dilemma. It depends on what you want from it.

You really can't say more than that. Just for your information - I'm in my mid-20s, male.

A scent that is addictive. Sweet, bitter, gentle, not a "I AM MAN" fragrance, but a "What's your number?" fragrance, where you are not the one asking, but the one being asked.

A scent that sneaks up on you, and doesn't punch you in the nose. You are not the center of attention, the sun around which everything revolves because everyone notices you from miles away. You are the earth, because everyone is on you. Noir Extreme is in no way "Extreme," but it is extremely good if you understand what I mean. I'm not familiar with all the terms, I can't write a novel about unicorn blood of the Third Archimedes like some others, cardamom flower dust from the lily garden of the once noble maid of Latruvia, who knows - such things confuse me rather than tell me what kind of perfume this is.

Do you know One Million? Yes, terrible, I know. In the first second, there’s a brief shock and you think "Oh no, it smells like One Million," but the shock fades after 5-10 seconds. After that, this perfume unfolds on a completely different level, very gentle, sweet, simply delicious (which is why it is also called a gourmand). You won't smell like Chicken Tikka Masala, no, you will just smell incredibly delicious and inviting. If you ask someone how they find the scent, they will smell your neck, pause for a moment, and then go back to your neck and take another DEEP breath, just to say "wow," you know you’ve done everything right with this scent. It is absolutely not intrusive and aggressive, but subtly present and incredibly close to the body. Unfortunately, it doesn't last too long on the skin; the first 2-3 hours, it is definitely noticeable up close, but after that, the scent slowly fades away.

A suit is not the right choice for this fragrance, unless you wear a black suit, gold jewelry, and are the main character in 365 Days. Just kidding, but also not really.

I can't say it often enough - this scent is just amazing. So incredibly amazing, and an absolute ladykiller. No Barbershop 0815 crap in a classy black bottle whose only purpose is to be rated as "Perfect" on TikTok, this stuff is worth every cent and sets you apart from the rest.

Compliment scale: 10 out of 10. A magical scent that will have women worshipping you, believe me. For many men, it might be a bit too unisex and too sweet, which might put some off.

Mid-20s, male, just so you know!

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For those who, like me, don't want to read long texts, scroll down until you see "DESCRIPTION." I'm giving the full experience because it's somehow expected.

For everyone who wants it short and snappy - If you love the cheap aftershave scent from the barbershop in the side street, buy it. This stuff smells like you boiled the sludge from the barbershop until a true elixir was created, intense and repulsive at the same time. If you want to shower right after the barber because you hate that smell, stay away from this fragrance.

A little addendum based on the comments, I don't want this critique to be misunderstood: The scent was extensively tested, I let it work on me for over 24 hours. At first, I tried to wash it off immediately because it was horrific, but then came the test with other people where I had the scent on me longer.

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Unfortunately, I am a bit of an adventurous person (you could also just call me foolish, that's just how I am), and I like to go for blind experiences. In this case, it was the Dior Sauvage Elixir. Big hype, big price, big ratings, but opinions often differ. Some love it, others hate it, but that's exactly what I like - if it's somehow special, because it usually stands out from the average. And it's expensive for a designer, oh yes. But so expensive. Just spray it once and you smell like that for 3 days, so that no one wants anything to do with you.

I searched for a new adventure for days, from Layton to Herod, Tom Ford fragrances, you name it. Then I kept reading more about Sauvage Elixir. It's said to not smell at all like the famous Sauvage, but to take a completely different direction and be incredible. I personally don't know the original Sauvage from testing, I just always assumed it smells exactly like what you imagine class 7B to smell like. It was basically the kids' perfume of 2021. If you follow social media, you know what I mean. You realize what audience Sauvage really has.

But now there's Sauvage Elixir. Masculine, manly, different, grown-up, it's daring. The doorbell rings, the package arrives, I was as excited as anyone. I open it, and there was the beautiful packaging. It opens elegantly like expensive branded electronics, and there stands the bottle. Pretty, dark, luxurious.

So, it's time - cap off, took a quick sniff.. "Oh no." The first shock. A hint of ashtray, old cigarettes, memories of the schoolyard where everyone secretly smoked, mixed with the smell of the trash can that hasn't been emptied for 2 weeks. And this terrible suspicion was confirmed when I sprayed it on my arm. I have never been SO disappointed by a perfume. This haze got worse and worse, couldn't be washed off, and gradually burned itself more and more into my nasal hairs, practically choking me.

DESCRIPTION:
I don't know how to describe this scent in an elegant way. I just felt nauseous, but I know this smell. A colleague smells like this, and I hated standing next to him when he had it on. It's such a disgustingly penetrating smell that just reminds you of ashtrays and after-party odors, I don't know how anyone can rate it so highly, it shocks me in a way. Extremely cheap, not elegant, it smells different from basic, but still smells extremely average, as if the perfume were in the discounted section of a discounter because no one wants it. Fresh, sweet, cheap barbershop swill that gets slapped on your neck and makes you want to shower immediately so you don't smell like it anymore because it's just embarrassing. That describes it somewhat well. Really just cheap barbershop smell, but MUCH more intense and MUCH more expensive. Aftershave mixed with the smell that clings to your fingers after smoking a cigarette. There are so many associations, but they all lean negative that I don't want to exaggerate, the review should still somehow remain objective.

I showed it to acquaintances (female), and I was handed disinfectant and makeup remover pads without hesitation because I should wash it off my arm. There was coughing, comments like "That smells like grandpa," "My dad smells like that," "The lower the level of the disco, the more it smells like this perfume," there was NO positive impression from my female acquaintances. The male colleagues, on the other hand, were divided, some liked it, some thought it was okay, some were just as disgusted as the women. If it matters - the age ranged between 20 and 30 of those involved, or should I say victims? I definitely inflicted damage on them, and I'm sorry.

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Here’s my tip to everyone: Stop getting opinions from men about men's fragrances, be careful and don’t make the same mistake I did. Many men want to smell masculine, like a barbershop, intense, so that everyone notices. It's not an attack, but you can see it in the outside world. And that's exactly what this perfume does. It's aggressive, overwhelming, it doesn't sneak into your nose, no, it knocks down the nasal bouncers, jumps into your nose, and uses sandpaper to destroy everything nearby. The thing is, you get compliments from OTHER MEN with this. If that's what you want, fine, I support that too. That's why many never mention who the compliments come from when it comes to whether this perfume gets compliments, because it comes from other men.

Here’s a very big point that confuses me: Many claim "Take your time, let it work on you, then it gets better. A few days maybe" - If this smell is so INTRUSIVE and terrible that I should let it work on me for days, how are those who happen to stand, sit, or encounter me supposed to feel? Should they stand next to me for 3 days and then say "Okay, now I like it too"? Scents create impressions, extremely IMPORTANT impressions, some people need to understand that. No matter how "special" this scent is supposed to be, everyone who smells it for the first time is negatively shocked, and with that, the scent has already absolutely lost. The first contact is important & this perfume only reminds you at first contact that you might need clean beard contours at the barber again.

Also, I will now receive a lot of criticism from many users, but that's okay, that's what reviews are for. Don't rely on elegant descriptions, wordplay & dreamy interpretations from others, this scent is bottom of the barrel, especially if you like sweet, gentle, gourmand, simply beautiful fragrances. This scent is just war for the nose.

Compliment scale: 2 out of 10. All the women who got to smell it HATED it. The men's opinions were divided. Tested right after spraying, then again about 2 hours later.