Luwa

The Nero70 is probably the first fragrance with a velvet bottle that I have ever liked from Xerjoff. After a really long search for a bottling, I eventually found an offer for this exclusive and was able to get hold of a bottling.
And as good as it smells, I don't find it really special. It walks a fine line between a dna, which I haven't really smelled as a perfume yet, but on the other hand it is incredibly similar to the scent of a hotel fragrance/hotel property. Hotel scent is of course completely unspecific and could mean anything, but both my first thought when testing it and that of my girlfriend went in the direction of a hotel scent. By this I mean the kind of room scents in hotels that you often smell around the Mediterranean. Something sweet and fresh and citrusy, almost exactly like the Nero70 smells, only in the hotels it smelled so synthetic, which fortunately we were spared with the Nero70. The kind of fragrance that you smelled immediately after opening the automatic sliding doors, preferably in larger hotels.

But first to the fragrance itself. A bright, radiant lemon opens, along with blossoming lavender, the two notes make me think of the Sicilian coast for the first few minutes. This is followed by a rather strong neroli note, which is quite sweet and delicate, yet long-lasting. Neroli is also more citrusy and less floral here. This neroli combined with the Xerjoff sweet-creamy musk-vanilla base results in something very special. It is partly like a creamy vanilla ice cream, and the overall impression has a cooling effect on me.
It also just reminds me of vacation. I can't describe how the hotels do it, but as a child I was often on vacation in Spain, where many hotels smelled almost exactly the same. The Nero70 recreates this carefree vacation experience for me.

I don't have this strong association with similar fragrances such as "Neroli Portofino (Eau de Parfum) | Tom Ford" or "Sun Song | Louis Vuitton". In general, the similarity between the fragrances for me lies in the citrusy notes. So the fragrance itself is probably a bit familiar, but to smell it so well realized in a perfume is again very rare, so Nero70 always remained in my memory as very special. This sweet vanilla note makes Xerjoff stand out even more, which is probably where the similarity to the vacation fragrance lies.

My opinion of this perfume varies from time to time, but overall it has won me over and has stayed positively in my memory.

How chance sometimes brings us to fragrances that we would probably never have tested on our own is sometimes a matter of luck. That's what happened to me with THD Eau Givree. My father had ordered the fragrance as a blind buy and couldn't really do anything with it. He then gave it to me so that I could sell it on. It sat around for a few weeks until I actually had it in my hand and wanted to take the pictures for the souk. Only then did I test it out. I could never do anything with either of the other two THD versions; for me, both fragrances have an earthy note that I don't like at all. After spraying on the Eau Givree, I was more than surprised. The earthy notes are not part of this fragrance, and in general there is hardly any similarity to the other two versions. After seeing the pyramid, I quickly realized that I would keep the fragrance myself.

This flanker is an insane fragrance from spring to fall, much more invigorating and fresher than the original.
They stayed true to themselves with the pepper, which I would consider very similar to the EDT version, only here they used significantly more.
The Eau Givree starts with a very intense lemon citrus, juicy, slightly tart and reminiscent of fruit pulp. Somewhat cool and almost so intensely citrusy that it could also be reminiscent of a grapefruit, for me it also has a certain similarity to lemonade. After the first few minutes, however, you can clearly recognize the lemon, which also has a somewhat tingling effect. I can also detect juniper, but at the beginning it is clearly in the background of the lemon and pepper. I already like this combination of notes in other fragrances, and smelling it on its own is also very much to my taste. As the fragrance progresses, it becomes more bitter and slightly dark green and spicy due to the juniper. The lemon remains recognizable until the base.

In my opinion, it is only slightly similar to "Isola Blu (Parfum) / Oligarch (Parfum) | Roja Parfums" in terms of the pepper and juniper. The citrus in the Roja fragrance cannot be compared with this one, not that one of the two is better, it's just not similar for me. Since I recognize other notes such as thyme, some lavender, champaca and oakmoss in the Isola blue, the two are slightly similar for me, but still different enough to have both in the collection.

A fragrance in the simple and good category. While other fragrances only depict their top notes, Hermes manages to dedicate an entire fragrance to them, which is why the progression is very linear. Sometimes that's just enough. I don't need to say any more, it's relatively easy to assess whether you should try it. If you like the notes, then go ahead and test it.

I became aware of Beat Cafe through a nice statement. Admittedly, the name also appealed to me, although I don't think it has anything to do with the fragrance itself, but coffee always attracts me.

I don't smell coffee here, but still something else beautiful. Beat Cafe has a charm of its own that I have never experienced in a fragrance before. The peppery note seemed extremely familiar to me, as I would also consider the similar fragrance "Portraits - The Blazing Mister Sam | Penhaligon's" already mentioned to be very similar, but this similarity is lost in the course, more on the course.

Starting with a pleasant cognac, I liked the scent the first time I tried it. Beat Cafe is a good example of how to incorporate alcoholic notes into fragrances. No sweet and loud impact like in "Angels' Share | Kilian" , no spicy-sweet boozy half-hearted alcoholic experience like in "Enigma pour Homme / Creation-E pour Homme (Parfum) | Roja Parfums" , no questionable name-baiting game like in "Cognac Cafe | Galleria Parfums" . No, here I briefly get an authentic cognac note, not burning, not fruity, not sweet, slightly spicy and a little dry. The Beat Cafe gives off this fine glass of cognac with a pinch of tart black pepper. The top note completely won me over.
This is followed by tobacco and leather, I don't really go for labdanum, but it would probably have worked well too. This tobacco and leather combination is strong and gentle at the same time, as soon as the notes become stronger, they have a dominant upswing. As quickly as they come in, however, they also retreat again, but remain tartly spicy and attractive. Tobacco is not dry, but rather fresh after the harvest and immediately processed, without smelling too tart or mossy. The black leather is really very delicate and in the background, which is why the fragrance is hardly classified as leathery.
The base is made up of cedarwood and benzoin. The cedarwood is somewhat like cognac or a cognac barrel. Slightly sweet and woody. Benzoin then adds a resinous sweetness. At no point is the sweetness disturbing or too strong, nor is the Beat Cafe sticky. In the late drydown, the tobacco becomes even drier.

I can't explain how they came up with the name, coffee is not an ingredient as described and the fragrance doesn't evoke any memories of a visit to a café.

I particularly like the cognac opening and the presentation of the tobacco. The base with the sweet, alcoholic woody note also brings Beat Cafe to a wonderful close. A fine fragrance for cooler days. Unfortunately, the longevity is a little weak for a fragrance of this kind, meaning that it quickly fades when it is around zero degrees outside. Nevertheless, a fine spicy pleasure.

London. A shooting star in the perfume community, very well known and loved by many. It has become even more popular in the last two years. It is now also in the top ranks of the unisex list. It is by far the best-known fragrance from Widian, a brand that has become very well known thanks to it.
Nevertheless, in my opinion, London is somewhat out of the ordinary compared to other fragrances in the top 100 lists. Hardly anyone knows the perfume house unless they are familiar with it on Parfumo. Few perfumeries stock it, it's not available online in many stores either, and if it is, it's usually sold out for half the year.

I think I first became aware of London through a YouTube video. Presented in one of those "with these 10 fragrances you smell different!" Videos. I heard the name, saw the notes on Parfumo and quickly bought a bottle to test. I was already familiar with the forerunner of today's leather-raspberry faction, Tuscan Leather. At the time, it was still a little too extreme for me as a fragrance, as I was still at the beginning of my fragrance addiction. In contrast to the Tom Ford fragrance, I found London took some getting used to at first, but it was still more wearable and pleasant.

From today's perspective, a few years later, London smells a little different again, and I would like to elaborate a little more on the current perception here. London has been in my home as a bottle for over two years now. I don't use it that often anymore, but the bottle will definitely stay around for a while.

For me, the brand's flagship is a real party fragrance, very intense, for some quite intrusive and with a strong projection and special fragrance dna that you don't often smell outside of Parfumo, leather-raspberry is not really common. London wants to be smelled, you stand out with this fragrance. The leather alone gives it something striking, but the raspberry also gives it a fruity, sweet appeal. So it is loud, attractive, dark and exciting due to the two contrasts. Therefore a perfect fragrance for going out.
It will also be a loud irritant to the nose for many people who like things more natural and classic. You have to get to grips with the fruity, sweet raspberry, and you should be able to cope with the artificial leather compared to real leather fragrances. For me, London is ideal for under-30s.

The main players are raspberry and leather, but I rarely read in the reviews how the top notes are perceived by others. I can also smell oud briefly at the beginning, really only briefly, rather artificial, but still easily recognizable, this gives a nice dark start. The London also seems a little scratchy and becomes rounder and rounder towards the drydown. Violets and cypress also give a soft spicy-floral note, which fades immediately after a few minutes.
Immediately afterwards, the beautiful combination of raspberry and leather extends over the other notes, and it stays that way until the late drydown.
In fact, over time, after about 3 hours, the fragrance also becomes softer and also much sweeter, which will be due to the musk and vanilla. Both do not emerge as recognizable notes themselves, but provide for this soft and sweet development. Although leather is the most dominant, it is rounded off in a sweet and soft way. The sweetness is not sticky and not too overpowering, but makes the fragrance a little more supple and rounded.

London stands for the dominant leather-raspberry combination, which starts a little edgy and becomes rounder, sweeter and more pleasant over time. An ideal fragrance for going out with good staying power. In my experience, it is very pleasing around people in their early 20s. It also commands a decent price, sometimes you can get it quite well in the sale if you snap it up before it sells out again.

I received this beautiful bottle here for Christmas last year. Of course, I immediately tested it "blind" that evening and didn't quite know what to expect. I was only told that it would be fruity and resinous, which I always like.

After spraying it on, I would definitely have guessed plum, which is very darkly fruity, somewhat wicked and dense, but not too sweet. The spicy notes of the fragrance come more from the labdanum, which accompanies the entire fragrance. I don't really recognize the mandarin, and the floral notes are also lost. Later, some patch and benzoin are added. However, the plum remains for a long time and adds a subtle fruitiness to the base of the fragrance.
The fragrance evolves from fruity-resinous and slightly oriental to spicy-sweet and somewhat woody.
For me, plum and labdanum as well as benzoin are wonderfully wintery notes that almost always work for my nose in cold temperatures. From the first spray to the late drydown, this fragrance is warm, somehow invitingly special, absolutely pleasantly thick and resinous, softened by benzoin as it progresses, truly a wonderful scent. Slight oriental traits also shimmer through from time to time. You have to like plum here, as well as the dense, resinous-sweet, captivating scent. But thanks to the not-too-strong performance, I don't find the dense cloud of fragrance around me exhausting.
For me, it also has gourmand traits, just through this plum note, a slightly gourmand-resinous and also resinous-smoky oriental, I would say.

Plum is one of my favorite fruity notes, especially in cold temperatures. From very sweet, candied, with floral or fresh notes, or as here with resinous notes, I like almost everything. With such dark plum notes in fragrances, it sometimes comes across as plum liqueur, in "Plum Japonais | Tom Ford", for example. I don't have that here at all, and this kind of dark plum is really terrific.

The fragrance will always be special to me, even though the bottle has now left my collection, but a large bottle was of course allowed to stay. Since I got it for Christmas, I prefer to wear it to get-togethers with the family, so it will always remind me of that from now on. But I don't need a bottle for the rare appearances.

Sometimes a warm robber stick note comes through in the base. I could also imagine this fragrance very well as a scented candle, I would definitely buy one.

I like the fragrance very much, a winter fragrance with depth, also with some Christmas associations, dark fruity through the plum, resinous labdanum, sweet warm soft benzoin and something spicy and not earthy patch. It also has good persistence without being too intense or overpowering.