MattRotar

Ok, this is really good. It does have some of that AS dna , but it goes into its own direction. Wouldn’t call it a clone at all. Its vanillic, boozy (but not as much as angels share), spicy and gourmand like. I dont get much coffee, but what I do get is a slight bitterness, that balances the sweetness beautifully. I have also tried the normal Khamrah, that one is a lot worse. Its too sweet, vanilla is overpowering and a tad synthetic, its kinda like that saying “too much of a good thing is a bad thing”. Qahwa is by far better. Its like they took Khamrah and fixed all of its flaws. Its no longer too sweet, projects better and lasts longer. I got 12+ hours out of it (thats way more than I get from even AS) and 6-8 out of the normal Khamrah. Its definitely on the level of Angels Share (which I also own, so im familiar with it), if not a tad better as a stand alone gourmand, boozy fragrance and thats not even mentioning the fact, I find it more wearable in warmer temperatures.
This is how I’d put it:

Khamrah 7/10
Angels share 8.5/10
Qahwa 9.2/10

You know, I almost feel like this fragrance found me not me it. Me and my girlfriend decided, we’ll get each other fragrances as gifts this holiday season. I decided on Elysium, which ive been wanting to get for a very long time, but never did get and she decided on Instant Crush. Than one day we went to the store and I saw this fragrance. I remembered George (YouTuber) talking about it and he said its reminiscent of Reflection man, but smoothened out with vanilla. So i was like ok im gonna spray it on, I did while we where leaving and didn’t smell it right away, because I definitively remember eating a pretzel (lol), when I finally did smell it, I was so surprised this smell I was smelling was coming from a designer house. Spicy, slightly fresh, smooth woods smashed with some of the best smelling vanilla I’ve smelt. I think Gentle Fluidity Gold is also a great vanilla, but this to me in the drydown smells like youre eating an amazing vanilla ice cream on a beach. You’re smelling the trees around you and the summer breeze…Absolutely Outstanding… I was back to the store 4 times to wear this and in the end chose it over Elysium. Now lets compare it to Reflection man. I have tried Reflection before, really wanted to make it my signature, because the iris and overall floral nature of the fragrance really spoke to me. Only problem was, that it went so sharp on my skin it started giving me headaches. This has that same powdery iris, along with the fresh like spices, but it doesn’t go sharp, the vanilla rounds up the whole story, making it so much more enjoyable for me. You might think that the vanilla will take away some of the versatility, … I would disagree. I think this is still perfectly wearable in all seasons. This fragrance man… all im gonna say is that ever since I’ve gotten it my other fragrances, have been getting a lot less wear because I wear it so much. That spicy, yet fresh opening that fades into the vanilla, but still retains the iris… ahh outstanding this to me is a bonafide 10 and my signature scent I’ve been searching for.


10/10

Tried this today, because Notino has a really good deal on it (65€ for 100ml) and yea…. This stuff is criminally overhyped if you ask me. Ive tried it before on strip and thought it was ok, but today I tried it on skin. I think most Americans like it, just because of how hard it is to get in the states. Its really a very simple, sour/sweet and not even that long lasting cherry and leather combo, with some almond up top. The opening is actually really good. Than you get into this weird stage in the mid, where it smells like a cheap cherry candy, theres this synthetic, almost plastic like smell, that eventually thankfully dried off, but even still after it sits for about 30 min the projection really dies down. Almond steps in the background, which makes the cherry smell a little sour in an unpleasant way. Its kinda like a cherry compote, that has gone slightly off. EDP is much brighter, sweeter and overall just more natural and pleasant smelling IMO. My girlfriend also isnt a fan of this for anyone wondering how women liked it. (I know plum is listed not cherry, but it really smells more of cherry than plum to me)

Everything the edp lacks, extrait makes up for IMO. Its more masculine, theres no "latexy" smell in the opening, its way longer lasting, denser, woodier and overall just more interesting. It still smells like baccarat rouge for sure, but it goes about the dna in a different way. The edp screams the first 3 hours and then kinda settles. After that, it lasts for another 5 hours and thats it. The extrait on the other hand, never pushes as hard, but it just lasts and lasts for like 12+ hours. You think its gone, then you randomly get another whiff and you’re like “o ok definitely still here”. You could almost call it magical. Its my signature scent now :)

This stuff (to me) smells like a hotel breakfast in Italy. Really does kinda take me be back there. You can smell the freshly washed sheets, a long with coffee being brewed. Really does give a care free Italian feel. For the price 8.5
I got mine off notino for 25€ for 30ml. Thats a hard price to beat.