Luwa

Velours, an almost elusive fragrance, despite having been released in 2016. A candidate that makes one wonder why it had to be discontinued.
In response to my predecessor's question, I would like to address it as well, as I hadn't considered it myself until now: Yes, I find it good to test and review discontinued fragrances. At that time, I tested Velours knowing it had already been discontinued. Back then, there were still a few more Souk offers, but it has been rather quiet around it for the past few months. Recently, however, I did manage to get another sample, which I will use sparingly.
I wanted to test it back then nonetheless. Fragrances with such good reviews and comments always intrigue me. I want to test this "treasure," this now rare find, and I want to be captivated. Long searches, sometimes paying high prices per ml, and sometimes you get lucky and come across such popular discontinued fragrances, pure joy. And so I want to rave about this fragrance here and perhaps inspire one or two people to test it. I don't know why, but testing such fragrances is becoming more and more enjoyable for me. After the initial excitement, there's often disappointment when the fragrance isn't as good as hoped, because then getting a bottle is significantly harder than getting a sample. But I'm willing to take that risk.

Now, let's talk about the fragrance itself.
The pyramid looks enticing. Black tea, iris butter, suede, I like all of these base notes.
In the top note, the black tea is initially skipped; for me, it starts immediately with iris butter. Soft, dense, but not as creamy as one might expect from Francesca Bianchi. It becomes a bit powdery, and gradually the suede comes through, which I can also recognize as suede. A bit rough, yet soft. The tea now emerges in the background, adding a gentle note.
In the base, a dark frankincense-vanilla joins in, only subtly sweet, rounded off by woods. The performance is just right, a slightly perceptible cloud when passing by, but to truly experience it, one must come closer. No attention-seeking performance.

Elegance and refinement describe Velours very well. I am a big fan of leathery-powdery DNAs, especially leather with iris butter. Rarely found, even more rarely well-executed. This combination of powerful leather and delicate iris butter works wonderfully.

Overall, Velours strikes me as a somewhat dark and alluring fragrance, with intriguing notes that are beautifully harmonized, and the quality is good, as is often the case with this line. The bottle looks absolutely elegant with this slight dark purple and black running color.

I must confess, neither leather-vanilla nor iris butter-vanilla combinations are new, but so far I don't know of a fragrance where it has been executed better, at least not when considering the entire fragrance progression.

So anyone who can still snag a sample somewhere should seize the opportunity!

The Nero70 is probably the first scent with a velvet bottle that I have liked from Xerjoff. After a really long search for a sample, I eventually found an offer for this exclusive and managed to get a sample.
And as good as it smells over time, I don’t find it particularly special. It walks a narrow path between a DNA that I have not really smelled as a perfume before, but on the other hand, it is incredibly similar to the scent of a hotel fragrance/hotel property. Hotel scent is, of course, completely nonspecific and could mean anything, but both my first thought while testing and that of my girlfriend leaned towards a hotel fragrance. By this, I mean the kind of room fragrances in hotels that you often smell around the Mediterranean. A bit sweet and fresh-citrusy, almost exactly like the Nero70 smells, only in hotels it smelled somewhat synthetic, which we fortunately do not experience with the Nero70. The kind of scent you immediately smelled upon opening the automatic sliding doors, preferably in larger hotels.

But first, to the scent itself. A bright, radiant lemon opens, accompanied by blooming lavender; these two notes make me mentally fly to the Sicilian coast in the first few minutes. Following this is a fairly strong neroli note, which is quite sweet and delicate, yet long-lasting. Neroli here is also more citrus-oriented and less floral. This neroli combined with the Xerjoff sweet-creamy musk-vanilla base creates something very special. It partly feels like a creamy vanilla ice cream, and the overall impression feels cooling to me.
It also simply reminds me of vacation. I can’t describe how hotels do it, but as a child, I often went on vacation in Spain, and many hotels smelled almost the same. This carefree vacation experience is what the Nero70 brings back to me.

I don’t have such a strong association with similar fragrances like Neroli Portofino Eau de Parfum or "Sun Song | Louis Vuitton." Generally, the similarity of the fragrances for me lies in the citrus notes. Thus, the scent itself is somewhat known, but to smell it so well executed in a perfume is very rare, which is why the Nero70 has always remained very special in my memory. With this sweet vanilla note, Xerjoff stands out even more, and therein lies this similarity to the vacation scent.

My opinion on this perfume does fluctuate from time to time, yet it has overall convinced me and has remained positively in my memory.

Sometimes, how chance brings us to fragrances that we would probably never have tested on our own is a matter of luck. That was the case for me with the THD Eau Givree. My father had ordered the scent as a blind buy and couldn't really connect with it. He then gave it to me to resell. It sat with me for a few weeks until I finally had it in my hands and wanted to take pictures for the Souk. Only then did I test it. I could never get into the other two THD versions; for me, both scents carry an earthy note that I do not like at all. After spraying the Eau Givree, I was more than surprised. The earthy notes are not present here, and there is hardly any similarity to the other two versions. With the insight of the pyramid, it quickly became clear to me that I would keep the scent for myself.

This flanker is an amazing scent from spring to autumn, much more invigorating and fresher than the original.
They have remained true to the pepper, which I would see as quite similar to the EDT version, but here it has been used significantly more.
The Eau Givree starts with a very intense citron, juicy, slightly bitter, and reminiscent of fruit flesh. Somewhat cool and almost so intensely citrusy that it could also remind one of grapefruit; for me, it also has a certain similarity to lemonade. After the first few minutes, however, the lemon becomes distinctly recognizable, which also has a slightly sparkling effect. I can also already perceive juniper, but at the beginning, it is clearly in the background of the lemon and the pepper. I already like this note combination in other fragrances, and smelling it pure also very much suits my taste. Over time, the scent becomes more bitter and, due to the juniper, slightly dark green-spicy. The lemon remains recognizable until the base.

In terms of my perception, it has only a slight similarity to Isola Blu Parfum regarding the pepper and juniper. The citrus in the Roja scent cannot be compared to this one; it's not that one is better than the other, they simply do not resemble each other. Since I also recognize additional notes like thyme, a bit of lavender, champaca, and oak moss in Isola Blu, I see the two as slightly similar, but they differ enough to have both in the collection.

A scent in the category of simple and good. While other fragrances only depict their top notes, Hermes manages to dedicate an entire scent to it, which is why the progression is very linear. Sometimes, that’s just enough. I don’t need to say more; here, one can relatively simply assess whether they should test it. If the notes appeal to you, then go ahead and test it.

Another fragrance with strong associations around the Christmas season. Even though this has only recently come to an end, at the latest with the start of the new year, the sample of Arabesque is making its way to me again in the current sub-zero temperatures. Again, a scent that leans towards the candy stand at the Christmas market, but here some fragrant clouds from the spice stand across the way also waft into my nose. All of this comes with a proper radiance and a great bottle, which could certainly be sold at Christmas markets as well.

A sweet-oriental delight, this description fits Arabesque very well. A tasty plum opens the fragrance, but not a freshly picked and juicy plum, rather a candied plum with cinnamon and sugar, somewhat darker and very alluring. The tobacco presents itself equally, and both notes merge quite quickly. Both notes also have a moderately sweet radiance, dark-fruity and sensual. You have to like plum; it adorns the entire progression of the fragrance. Only later does the plum become sweeter and reminiscent of plum puree. Because as the fragrance develops, more delicious ingredients are added. There is no shortage of cinnamon, and it doesn’t stop at just one tonka bean. Everything is captured in a sweet-spicy manner, but for my nose, it still feels quite oriental for a gourmand, which somewhat curbs the sweetness, though it cannot suppress it. Sweet fragrances are something you have to enjoy; otherwise, Arabesque can quickly get on one’s nerves.
After several hours, warm-sweet benzoin and musk join in, the fragrance becomes creamier, and the spicy notes of cinnamon and tobacco take a step back.

More of a fragrance to enjoy, together at home, but also in a fitting environment in the natural habitat of the scent: at the Christmas market. Thanks to its good longevity, it can also be worn wonderfully outdoors in cold weather, projecting enough nonetheless. There are so many fragrances in this direction. Many are quite similar, especially in the base, but Arabesque stands out a bit from the others due to the plum. I also have a weakness for dark plums, especially in combination with cinnamon and tobacco.

I find these gourmand fragrances with the necessary spicy or oriental undertone always very wearable, even if the scent is very sweet. This fragrance has a lot to offer, very harmonious, and the notes are wonderfully coordinated; especially the plum merges with the tobacco for my nose almost completely after the first few minutes, so it doesn’t surprise me that this fragrance could become one of the most well-known from the house.
I see it more on others, which is why no bottle has made its way to me yet. Unfortunately, I have never had the chance to smell it on anyone else; outside of Parfumo, the brand is still very unknown. But what isn’t can still become.

I became aware of Beat Cafe through a beautiful statement. Admittedly, the name appealed to me greatly, even though it doesn't seem to relate to the scent itself, but coffee always draws me in.

Here, I don't smell coffee, but still something else lovely. Beat Cafe has a unique charm that I haven't encountered in a fragrance before. The peppery note felt extremely familiar to me; I would consider the already mentioned similar scent "Portraits - The Blazing Mister Sam | Penhaligon's" to be quite similar as well, but over time this similarity fades significantly, more on that later.

Starting with a pleasant cognac, I liked the scent right from the first test. Beat Cafe is a good example of how to incorporate alcoholic notes well into fragrances. No sweet-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 gimmick like in "Cognac Cafe | Galleria Parfums." No, here I get a brief authentic cognac note, not burning, not fruity, not sweet, lightly spiced and somewhat dry. Beat Cafe offers this fine glass of cognac with a pinch of bitter black pepper. The top note completely convinced me.
Following are tobacco and leather; I usually don't mention labdanum, but it would have fit well too. This tobacco and leather combination is strong yet gentle at the same time; as the notes become more pronounced, they take on a dominant lift. Just as quickly as they arrive, they retreat again, but remain herbaceous and spicy attractive. The tobacco does not come off as dry, but rather fresh, as if just harvested and immediately processed, without smelling too bitter or mossy. The black leather is really very delicate and in the background, which is why the scent is hardly classified as leathery.
The base consists of cedarwood and benzoin. The cedarwood feels somewhat like it has been soaked in cognac or like a cognac barrel. Slightly sweet woody. Benzoin then adds a resinous sweetness. At no point is the sweetness intrusive or too strong; Beat Cafe is also not sticky. In the late drydown, the tobacco appears a bit drier.

I can't explain how they came up with the name; coffee, as described, is not an ingredient, and the scent does not evoke any memories of a café visit for me.

What I particularly like is the cognac opening and the presentation of the tobacco. The base with the sweet alcoholic wood note allows Beat Cafe to fade out wonderfully. A fine fragrance for the cooler days. Unfortunately, the longevity for such a scent is somewhat weak, as it can quickly fade outdoors in temperatures around zero degrees. Nevertheless, a finely spicy pleasure.