Luwa

There it is. The best coffee scent I've had under my nose so far. After really many fragrances that I tested specifically because of the coffee note, quite a few different variants, this one really hit the spot. Exactly what I was hoping for from a coffee fragrance. A really intense coffee note, a strong roasted aroma, spicy and warm, slightly dark and delicately balanced by the right notes. No flowers, fortunately no flowers, as I have already smelled in several other fragrances in combination with coffee. Whether rose, jasmine, orange blossom, lavender, tuberose or floral notes, as such not further defined, this is unfortunately less for me, with one or two exceptions, which I prefer to smell on others rather than myself. Many of these combinations have been used in well-known and popular fragrances and have always been described as an insanely good coffee note, for me there was always something missing or too much disturbing.
Then there are the very sweet coffee fragrances, which are almost always associated with strong gourmand notes. There are tops and flops among them. Including some that I still like very much today and own bottlings of, but it just wasn't what I was hoping for.
If there were fragrances among them that had a correspondingly authentic and not sweetened or flowery coffee note, then my western taste unfortunately suffered from finding them too oriental or spicy, here too I had problems.

But no, I don't have any of these "problems" with Cafe Ambre Noir. Here I get authentic coffee from start to finish, strong, intense and well-spiced coffee, but no coffee crema, no Star Bucks drink or all kinds of sweet stuff. Starting with a rather tart note, warmly spicy and also smoky like roasted aromas, the Cafe Ambre Noir is exactly what I was hoping for. In addition to coffee, I also have some rum, but not as long-lasting in the top note. Although I think I can still smell the rum in the base. There is also a little smoky tobacco, like a tasty cigar, with fine aromas. With labdanum and amber, the fragrance becomes softer and more resinous, even a little creamier, while the bitter notes recede further. The oud is recognizably fragrant, not too invasive or animalistic for my nose, but quite dark and woody. These dynamic woody notes complement the coffee very nicely. What is particularly pleasant is the fact that the sweet notes are barely present here and I don't miss them. A beautiful gourmand without sugary sweetness or an overly sweet coffee note. The sweetness that is present comes together with the resinous side, which goes incredibly well together. I also get some patchouli, not earthy, relatively woody. When I test it more closely, I think there is also some dry cocoa coming through. It can hardly be compared with other coffee fragrances, it is far too individual and creative for that.

And this one isn't even too oriental for me, strangely enough, the "Coffee Break - Golden Dallah | XerJoff" was much more oriental with its spices and intense rose note, for example. But I don't have to understand my nose, the main thing is that I have finally found a coffee fragrance like this.

The whole concept fits here. The progression, the intensity of the coffee, the coffee note itself, all the notes used, gourmand without being too sweet, as well as the performance, none of this disappoints me. I haven't been too enthusiastic about a fragrance for a long time, but of course it has to be such an expensive rarity again.

I can warmly recommend this Sultan Pasha to anyone who likes coffee fragrances and wants to smell a little less floral or sweet notes.
Once again, a big thank you to Schalkerin for the testing opportunity!

The summer is slowly coming to an end, and to him it does my beloved bottling of the On the Beach same. The last few days I have increasingly worn all my fillings of fresh citrus summer fragrances and mostly also emptied. As last year, the On the Beach has been one of my absolute favorites, especially in very hot temperatures.

LV offers with its fresh and citrus scents a wide range of fragrances that can be worn well from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn. Some also like as daily Immergeher throughout the year. The On the Beach is for me a fragrance for the very hot temperatures. Also, it was then the fragrance in which I first smelled Yuzu, which stand now has definitely become one of my favorite citrus scents. This bitter and intense citrusy start of yuzu dominates and just makes mood, a tart undertone resonates. Unfortunately, the part is not as long-lasting as usual with the beautiful citrus LV top notes. Further added a lot of spicy notes, some pepper, definitely still rosemary and maybe some thyme, fits super together and gives that certain something. Gradually, yuzu is also replaced by neroli. Nevertheless, it is not a really strong neroli scent for me, for that the note is too little in the center, also the spicy notes are too dominant for that. The pepper note is a very important factor here, along with the neroli. Nevertheless, you should like neroli, otherwise the On the Beach could not please. I myself have so my problems with it, but here I quite like neroli.

Great synthetics I can not determine, great made the fragrance is quite. Especially the herbaceous notes make in combination with yuzu fun. In this combination I have not smelled it before in another fragrance, really special, even if Yuzu could be a bit more long-lasting. Overall, the durability is already a little weaker, the sillage is quite decent for the first 2 hours, for a summer fragrance perfectly fine.

When wearing the fragrance I get an image of blue sky and intense sunshine, over 30 degrees. Here but no exclusive vacation or beach fragrance, rather for me a daily fragrance for hot days, also like to work, because it just gives me a great vacation feeling ready. Some such fragrances I can only wear on vacation, this one also gladly more often. As soon as creamy notes are added to such vacation fragrances, they are for me less suitable for everyday use, but that's no problem with the On the Beach. Could quite appeal to many people who like it citrusy-herbaceous or just intense citrusy-fresh, Neroli fans also get their money's worth.

The often mentioned alternative "Le Mâle Pride Edition | Jean Paul Gaultier" by JPG is me yet too far away from the On the Beach that he could replace him. The main point for me is that the LV is much more authentic and dynamic. Also, the Pride Edition is super linear, as far as the Nerolinote is concerned, compared to the LV rather boring for my nose. The blood orange is also very nice, but also evaporates very quickly after 5 minutes. Subsequently, I get to smell there only a linear floral soft neroli scent with some musk base. The spicy herbaceous notes of the On the Beach are completely missing the JPG.

Next to the "Sur la Route | Louis Vuitton", the On the Beach is probably one of the most independent fresh fragrances of the house. Hardly comparable fragrances, both have their own character, here has probably been served to no known fragrance dna.

The new PDM has hit like a bomb. For my taste, the fragrances released in recent years have not been as intoxicating as the brand's older classics. Nevertheless, I was delighted when Althaïr was shown to me on Parfumo. I'm still a PDM fan, so this golden-brown bottle caught my eye very quickly.

Starting with an interesting orange blossom and pleasant cinnamon, the fragrance had already won me over. I'm not a big fan of orange blossom in fragrances, but here with spicy and not too much cinnamon, it goes well together. Absolutely not floral, no freshness recognizable, just some sweetish mixture in combination with cinnamon. Not really an orange scent for me either, I find it super hard to describe, both on the skin and on the fragrance strip. But it smells good, and that's all it really needs.
But: When influencers hold the fragrance up to the camera and tell me that the top note is super authentic, I just smile. It's definitely artificial! But well-integrated, not exactly synthetic or pungent, but very artificial.
It continues with an intense vanilla note. Very delicious, sweet, but not too extremely sweet, as it tends more towards dark vanilla, really deliciously creamy and gourmand. The cinnamon from the top note carries over into the heart notes, vanilla and cinnamon also go well together.
Last but not least, the parlin note is added, which I find very noticeable. The fragrance becomes even more gourmand, creamy and sweet, perhaps also a little more resinous in combination with the resin and wood. Add a hint of fine spice and Althaïr becomes a very wearable gourmand.
For the life of me, I can't detect any ambroxan in the course of the fragrance.

The fragrance itself also has notes that I really like: cinnamon, vanilla, some resin and guaiac wood. I'm not completely averse to praline either, but it always promises sweetness very quickly, and lately you've been seeing the notes in fragrance pyramids more and more often. The presence of orange blossom and ambroxan in between shouldn't put me off testing it.

What also makes the house of Marly perfect again here, or makes it look very trivial and not a "niche" to other noses, is this perfect degree that the fragrance stands out well from the classic designer fragrance but still seems very artificial compared to other niche brands.
Overall, this is a typical Marly for me. Quite loud and long-lasting. Sweet and appealing, without any big frills or daring extras, and everything is balanced by PDM synthetics, so that the notes blur into each other somewhat.
This is exactly what the House of Marly does perfectly here. And yes, of course it is also pleasing! I know of no other house that can do this as well as PDM.

For me, an ideal fall and winter fragrance, well balanced, without surprises and delicious. There is no real progression, which makes it a bit boring. It also has little depth for a long-lasting gourmand. I am mainly convinced by the simple mix of orange blossom&cinnamon and vanilla&praline.

I hardly know any similar fragrances. The sweet and creamy notes remind me very slightly of "Le Vie di Milano - Passeggiata in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II | Trussardi", only less floral. The base notes of "Emporio Armani - Stronger With You Intensely | Giorgio Armani" also go in a similar direction, but the top note is very different here.

To have over 400 reviews in such a short time and still maintain such a strong average rating speaks volumes for Althaïr.
If you like vanilla, you can try this fragrance with a clear conscience, I will definitely use up my bottle.