MajorTom

Brunello Cucinelli - anyone who knows a little about the fashion industry has at least come across the name once. And you may know that a cashmere sweater can cost 2,000 euros, a cardigan 3,500 euros, and a coat up to 8,000 euros, if the noble piece is to change hands. Regardless of this, there is of course always the question of whether a suit is worth 5,000 euros, but that is always in the eye of the beholder and his financial possibilities. What is clear with these price tags, however, is that it will probably remain window shopping for many of us with this brand.

I became all the more clairaudient when I ultimately saw a flacon. Should it suddenly be possible for me to have at least a minimal part of the designer at home? And if so, at what price point and how would the quality?

Brunello Cucinelli stands for extremes in every respect. The processed fabrics are of the highest quality, the processing itself at the very highest level, the price point unfortunately also. In this respect, I was not shocked by the estimated 130 stones for 50ml. Of course, however, the expectation of each Cucinelli product, according to the whole brand nonsense, maximum high. Because who announces in life, must also deliver, otherwise it does not go well for long.

You can consider a blind purchase in this price segment completely disturbed, I did it anyway. On the one hand, because there are only a few ml in a whole series of my flacons, on the other hand, because I wanted to treat myself once again to a new fragrance, one that is not worn on every corner and finally also, because in view of the yet excellent name of the brand, the risk of a bad purchase seemed justifiable to me.

As I said, the expectation was immense. Rightly?

The yellow shipping service provider reliably delivered the package. Unboxing. A taupe-colored cardboard box encloses a visually and haptically very high-quality flacon. This is full and heavy in the hand, compared to many other 50ml vessels. Presumably, they at Brunello Cucinelli have incorporated some steel into the base to make the part heavy. Nice grooves run around the square vial with rounded corners. A real hand candy, this is very well done in my opinion. Hopefully my spice tester's nerves will feel as flattered as my hands. Pull off the cap (with the brand emblem) and - wait, even on the spray button is the brand emblem applied to the top. Lots of attention to detail, then, which is pleasing. The spray head itself discharges the contents with sustainability, that is, a decent pressure. I had expected a fine atomization here as usual with the Roja flacons. Bad that is nevertheless not, because all the more accurately placeable.

Sodann them nose to the sprayed place led. And compared to most perfumes no sharp prelude, which must first lay down, but from the beginning, yes, a nose flatterer. First impulse: fits perfectly with the brand. Because no screamer and no speaker, but a representative of the quieter tones, completely gentleman-like. In a time where often an Ambroxan bomb thunders you into the next corner, soothing restraint.

I smell bergamot and, what I later take from the fragrance pyramid, but so would not have recognized directly, cypress. In addition, a fine spiciness, although I do not like to distinguish whether this is due to the pepper or the ginger. A very noble arrangement, that much is clear. Definitely in the green corner, but if I put my much loved Bottega Veneta Parco Palladiano V Lauro next to it, the latter, while similarly fantastically made per se, is downright crudely green, to be fair, but also a bit woodier. Yes longer, the better Brunello Cucinelli develops with me, the freshness minimally present at the beginning withdraws and gives more space to the green elements. Juniper joins the cypress, while the bergamot slowly but surely fades into the background. According to the fragrance pyramid, the ambrox elements are only marginally noticeable, but the not so often used clearwood, which gives the fragrance a certain lightness and "cleanliness". And in this constellation, the fragrance then eventually runs out of steam.

Let's move on to the rating.

Fragrance: I have nothing to complain about. Expectations fully met, the perfect fragrance to business and smart casual outfits, a very good office fragrance, a compliment catcher, m.E. from 30+, but rather nix for the generations Y and Z, sorry. Due to the price point, the distribution will be within manageable limits, the probability that the colleague tomorrow smells the same, is rather low. Do I want to smell like this? A resounding YES. I see the fragrance mainly in autumn and spring perform, in winter too little strong and for the summer too little fresh.

Flacon: Since I have me appropriately to omitted, very lovingly and wertig made.

Sillage: For me disappointing. At the beginning still good, just as but well decreasing. After two hours, there is no longer much sillage. I had mentioned above, the fragrance is not a speaker, but a better performance should already be in there.

Durability: at a decent level. Brings you on skin level through an 8-hour day.

Price-performance: Goes in view of the offered (especially with regard to the sillage) just okay. The Parco Palladiano series of Bottega Veneta is once again aggressively priced above, perhaps Cucinelli wanted to consciously sort a tick below.

Conclusion: a more than just considerable new release. If one stands out, then only positive, because he is a flatterer for nose and senses. He is perceived without provoking. That alone is an art. Clear test recommendation.

Hero - the hero. With such a name, of course, you arouse desires, you stir up expectations and last but not least, you also convey a message to the potential buyer in the direction of "with this fragrance you become a (women?) Hero!"

Since all previous Burberrys, which I know, rather a heavy, sweetish or oriental component in itself, so actually have nothing to do with the Empire or the United Kingdom, I suspected a continuation of this track. But far from it, the prelude surprises me quite positively. Almost tangy and fresh run the first seconds, before then relatively briskly the bergamot makes its way.

Nevertheless, bothers me - and the longer the more - some aftertaste, which prevents the bergamot - successfully - to unfold its full effect. Some others may find this composition beautiful, I as a fundamental fan of bergamot do not. Maybe it's the pepper, which makes life difficult for the bergamot with its sharpness, maybe it's the juniper, maybe both together.

Woods: I had to grin when I troubled the fragrance pyramid to get an idea of what slightly woody shines through. Quite honestly, I wouldn't have thought of the variations of cedar listed there in a million years, but then I'm not a professional perfumer. I love the smell of my cedar shoe trees, but here I have a really hard time smelling cedar as such.

At least, over time, the pepper at least warps to where it grows, giving the bergamot a chance to survive. In addition, the woody touch gradually takes over the stage and lets the bergamot fade, but not completely disappear. At the end, and this is then so after about five hours, the hero says goodbye with a slightly woody wave, although the finale somehow smells very artificial and synthetic to me.

The bottle is okay, nicely done, but visually now not reinvented the wheel. The magnetic closure I find good, suggests at least high quality.

Sillage: At the beginning strong, unfortunately just as strong decreasing. Since just separates the wheat from the chaff. Where high-carat fragrances project for hours, the hero unfortunately lets the wings hang too quickly.

Similarly, it is about the durability. After five to six hours is really only in direct nose contact something perceptible, even there is the (albeit more expensive) competition better positioned.

The fragrance itself fits perfectly into the year 2021, appealing and modern, but at the same time somehow arbitrary and interchangeable. And that's exactly the point I want to make here: not a bad part, there are rows of clearly worse examples, but just not good enough to tear me from the stool and trigger an immediate purchase stimulus.

Test recommendation for those who are looking for a fragrance as a Christmas gift, because you do nothing wrong with it.

My first fragrance was the good old venerable Boss in the mid 80s. A simple bottle, no frills and yet a fragrance that I will never forget. Since then I have - I don't know how many - tested, bought and sprayed fragrances, but the longer I do that, the more difficult the search for something really new becomes. Felt / smelled everything was already there.

Sure, even the industry itself can not reinvent the wheel. There are umpteen ingredients, these can be mixed differently, but at some point all the possibilities are exhausted and new creations are inevitably always somewhere like a fragrance, which there is just in at least similar form already exists or existed. There are certainly fads, such as the oud in recent years, which almost every manufacturer built into his 14th Flanker, but otherwise...?

As I get older, I'm also no longer looking for the kind of fragrances that run around like a loudspeaker screaming everything left and right. Sillage gladly, durability also, but between intrusive and subtle is then still a fine line.

And so I finally stumbled upon the Parco Palladiano line from Bottega Veneta. Already two years ago, I was fascinated by the flacon, because it looks like a glass in which numerous prisms have been cut. A visual highlight, no doubt. The price deterred me then so much that it was not even enough for a test. This time - and as I said, looking for something special - I let myself be tempted into a blind purchase, which created a mixture of uneasy feeling and anticipation until delivery.

The unboxing itself is unspectacular, but for the price I expected other than a plain box. Although I do not care about velvet boxes, I knock the one like the other directly into the bin. Still, a little appreciation to the consumer would have been nice.

The bottle, yes, as already mentioned, very respectable, nevertheless, also here a point of criticism: the closure. Visually adapted to the bottle, but the pulling off and putting on just does not fit the price. Too strict, too heavy, you have to go to work with emphasis. A magnetic closure would here also the own claim of Bottega Veneta clearly fairer. For this, the sprayer does a good job and releases the contents with emphasis into the freedom. Wait briefly, let set and then take a strong breath.

As spicy-green the fragrance is pigeonholed, I would add woody if necessary, initially maybe even slightly fresh, in any case pleasant and super pleasant. A nose flatterer par excellence. The announced rosemary does not sniff my nose. Sage, if too prominent, can quickly become annoying (as in throat lozenges), but here finely dosed and in combination with the laurel a fantastic composition. Green fragrances are often dangerous, because they like to drift sometimes into the musty, but here, it should be anticipated, that does not happen even after hours.
On me, the scent has a soothing calming effect. No forest walk in the usual sense, too little dark for that, but with the previously mentioned "freshness", perhaps better expressed "lightness". PP V Lauro does not crush you in the thicket and also not in the moss, despite the green character resonates energy.

I always catch myself noticing how much I like the scent. When I sit down, a small pinch spills out of my open shirt and into my nose. Lauro is classic without being boring. Very natural looking compared to many synthetics. Omnipresent, but never overbearing or loud. A statement without celebrating the very grand entrance. The fragrance doesn't have to, it works that way too. When passing by others, it leaves a fine impression without slaying the fellow human beings. It simply makes a mark. Very very noble, very successful.

In the course of the day, the lightness gives way to a slightly enhanced green, the woody hints present from the beginning come out a little stronger and emphasize the masculine character. Lauro brings me through the day and is still my companion at dinner.

At the beginning I had mentioned that more or every fragrance was so or similar before. And yes, of course, there are quite a few greenlings of other brands, yet this one is special. Because the complete arrangement is almost perfect for me. Great cinema. The fragrance reaches full marks with me, I simply find no point of criticism.

Sillage and durability are according to desire about the dosage individually hochfahrbar. However, an overdose in the sense of fogging does not correspond to the character of Lauro. In the normal case 10 hours, so neat.

About the flacon, I had already let out.

The price, we need to talk about that. Okay, the bottle is not one of the bar, but the people of Bottega Veneta long to the motto "take it from the living, the dead pay no more". 170 hammers for 50ml is absolute pain point. Yes, other niche products run around with a similar price tag, and yes, luxury always runs. Still, you shouldn't push consumers' patience and willingness to buy to the limit, because once overpriced, you've lost the customer.

A fragrance with unique selling proposition, which I will certainly very happy to wear in autumn and winter!

Bulgari Man Wood Neroli - actually, everything is said with the name, right? But first it comes differently and secondly as one thinks.

My basic idea, as I stand in front of the now amazingly broad Bulgari range in a perfumery, is simply that this fragrance could be a woody freshman. And since Bulgari is just in recent years a lot of effort to get away from the cliché of a cheap designer producer, already to see in the quite successful flacons, I'm curious what would expect me here.

My first attempt to operate the sprayer fails miserably, as well as the second. Let's attribute this to the fact that it is a tester. After closer inspection and a third attempt, the bottle releases the contents, somewhat impetuously and more as a jet than an atomized something, better will be another try. Nevertheless, the performance of the sprayer is to be judged overall as simply sad, but let's also credit this to the test bottle, which may have already passed through various rough and untrained hands and already has a hard life behind it.

What does the bottle now have to offer in terms of content? At first, I feel almost slain by the neroli bomb. I love quite a clear and strong prelude of a fragrance, this one, however, is hard on the border of penetrating. Okay, so I smell neroli, then neroli, then neroli again. Nothing else? Nothing, just nothing. Neroli it is. Well, let's give the fragrance time to develop, because from the beginning I ask myself the question, where is the wood?

An hour later, Man Wood Neroli reminds me distantly of Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino Forte, but as is so often the case in life: When two do the same, it is far from the same. If in Tom Ford's case the neroli is somehow perfectly embedded in various other citrusy ingredients and this evolves towards green-fresh over time, Bulgari Wood Neroli remains very linear and without much evolutionary steps for me. To that end, the neroli remains super dominant, thankfully the penetrating opening gives way to a slightly softer appearance. Still, I find myself further disappointed in the search or rather the wait for the wood, which just doesn't like to appear. On the other hand, I hear a bit of bergamot , which but against the neroli never has a real chance.

Another two hours later: neroli, minimally still bergamot and a slightly softer overall note, perhaps due to ambery hints? Still no wood, I had hoped to find this at some point. Remains therefore only the chance of the Drydown.

After 10 hours (and that's worth all respect for a summery fragrance, the Tom from the Ford has long since signed off in direct comparison!) I still smell neroli, and properly so. With a little imagination, I can imagine a hint of leather, light and merely background. Wood? Hmmm, I smell again and again, but I'd be lying if I could detect wood, of any kind. There's nothing discernible to my nose.

Conclusion.

The scent itself a loud version of neroli. Not everyone's cup of tea, but who likes it flashy, is right here. Fairly, however, I should also mention that the applied amount was negatively affected by the slightly defective spray head, with a normally functioning bottle would perhaps turn out differently.

Sillage: Violent. After only an hour of driving, my car was completely enveloped in a cloud of Neroli. Opening the car seven hours later burst a fragrance bomb, as I have rarely experienced.

Durability on the same level, loose 10 hours, wants to say, the thing brings you through the day.

The flacon as already touched on above nicely done, but without now to creations like Louis Vuitton or Roja even scratch to be able.

Price-performance ratio okay.

Who See the fragrance by out as unisex, although promoted under Man. Basically very modern worked, perhaps a little too synthetic, thus rather younger semesters to recommend. Wearable especially in the warmer season, so May-September.

In sum, a very independent Neroli interpretation with tremendous performance in nice packaging. In direct comparison, however, I feel clearly better with my TF.

Leather fragrances are many, really good rather few. Also with me at home are a few representatives from this rail (Tuscan Leather, Moroccan Leather, African Leather) and therefore I have not looked for a leather fragrance.

Leather N' Green fell into my hands rather accidentally and the name itself actually already indicates the direction in which it presumably goes, namely into the green leather. So cap off and go. I've already gushed about the value of the bottle in other reviews, and at the risk of repeating myself, but the cap is just awesome. Leather-covered, it immediately conveys exclusivity and character, so from the outset basically exactly what you are looking for and also expected when you hold the bottle of a "Manufacture Birkholz" in your hand.

Sprayer operate, once again enjoy the lid when closing or optionally ergötzen and then schnuppern.

It rises immediately leather in my nose, super finely done, this note, in addition, a slightly fresh appeal, but very much to my chagrin quickly fades. In the first moment I thought directly, wow, exactly something you are missing for the fall, but the bergamot can not begin to assert itself against the dominant leather tone. I find that extremely unfortunate, because exactly this mixture has a huge appeal.

After three hours, I wonder why the name Green is listed in the product name, because until then I can not sniff anything from any grasses.

This changes after another two hours, the scent turns towards the forest and there straight into the undergrowth, where it grows dark green. I had hoped to find a rather light variant from the corner fern or grass, but it becomes rather mossy without - and this is a great art - musty. Overall, the whole story becomes a bit heavier, darker, and even more masculine.

The day is drawing to a close and leather still wafts by with every wave of the hand. Not obtrusive, but as described in the beginning, in a very fine way, yet present and perceptible, yes longer the day, the more masculine the overall picture of the fragrance.

The green has then somehow warped with me again not to say, dissolved into thin air, but after eight hours just "only" the leather sticks.

Where and how can / should / should I now sort Leather N' Green?

First, although declared as unisex, for me simply masculine. Where I can imagine Tuscan Leather quite times on ladies (just also as a perfect complement to the mini from Nappa), the Birkholz is simply too masculine.

Masculine, but not chavvy. Not a crude nose toot, but rather a nose flatterer. Classy.

The freshness of the beginning disappears for my taste, unfortunately, God, much too quickly. I have extra nachgesprüht to enjoy this sensational prelude again, but after a short time the same result.

On the subject of green: I had a certain expectation in the direction of Irish Leather by Memo, which I would really put a lot more in the green corner. The green cloak, which Birkholz puts on here, is similar to the bergamot at the beginning simply too thin to be able to stand up to the leather in the long run. This is not bad, but I would have hoped for a greener ending.

And so, from start to finish, that subtle leather note that makes the scent so distinctive dominates.

A word about sillage and durability. Not from bad parents. A normal dosage pulls a fragrance trail through the morning, into the late evening skin durable. Very decent values from the side, but what you should be able to expect considering the price, the claim as a manufacture and also compared to the competition.

For me ultimately built too close to Moroccan Leather (which I find even more exclusive by ginger and tobacco) and too little green to create a real incentive to buy, but an extremely successful fragrance that shows high craftsmanship due to its performance.