Maxibrtz08

How long have I had my eye on you, yet you were unreachable for a long time. After inquiring with the lovely Martin (the owner of the brand), and a great conversation later, I was finally able to acquire you as a leftover bottle. And what can I say...?
This fragrance is in a class of its own. Generally, I am not averse to artisanal scents that contain cocoa (e.g. Russian Oud II), but this one is in a league of its own.

At first, Bellum starts off very pleasantly with an animalic spiciness (which is in no way "stinky") and is accompanied by a gentle sweetness of honey. I suspect that musk has a hand in this. From the very beginning, the cocoa is already present, but it is still somewhat reserved at first.

After about 20 minutes, the fragrance takes a wonderful twist. The initial animalic notes recede a bit, and a beautiful accord emerges consisting of cocoa, which now fully unfolds, honey, and tobacco. These scent components harmonize perfectly with each other, and I also believe I can identify a bit of coconut & iris, which beautifully refine and round off the whole composition. I cannot describe the listed skunk note exactly, as I have never smelled anything like it in its pure form, but nothing here smells bad at all ;)

As Bellum progresses, the Chinese oud gradually comes through, adding a slight woody twist to the perfume. All the other listed notes are well integrated and complement each other into an absolute masterpiece. Towards the "end" of the fragrance pyramid, it becomes a bit sweeter again, and vanilla makes its appearance in conjunction with amber. The latter is not salty but rather leans towards the animalic direction, yet it is not biting at all, rather pleasantly spicy-warming.

All in all, in my opinion, the fragrance is not as animalic as described in the lower statements, although one does perceive a subtle animalic component. The fragrance itself is an absolute masterpiece, and the quality is top-notch. Many thanks once again to @Martin2804 for the incredibly wonderful opportunity to acquire this leftover bottle, EVEN THOUGH the fragrance has been completely sold out for ages. I will definitely have a lot of fun with this perfume. If you still have it on your wish list and haven't had the chance to test "Bellum | Custodia Libertatis," I highly recommend you do so as soon as possible ;)

Have a nice day or whenever you read this review...
Best, Maxi

Wow, what a bomb of a perfume this is! For me, it's the second sample from the brand Areej le doré and what can I say... Again, an absolute masterpiece! The scent is pure power in my opinion and one of the strongest I have ever smelled.

Russian Oud II starts with a slightly cheesy oud to my nose, which is then replaced within seconds by one of the most intense dark chocolate scents there is. The musk and amber play more of a supporting role, but are still noticeable. However, the absolute star is the cocoa, which runs through the entire progression of the fragrance and remains incredibly present throughout. This strong dark chocolate note is accompanied by an oud note that becomes warmer over time, to which resins join after about 20-25 minutes.

All in all, I find this scent very well balanced, even though it scores very brutally in H/S and is likely not suitable for everyone. I find it wonderfully wearable when it's colder outside and you just want to feel cozy, like with a cup of warm cocoa in front of the fireplace :)

The bottle design, like all from the Classic Collection III, is a clear 10/10 and a great eye-catcher for any perfume enthusiast's collection.

Definitely, Russian Adam has outdone himself with this creation again, and I give a clear recommendation here; if you can, you should definitely give it a sniff!

This fragrance is truly far removed from all conventional woody-green scents. The opening is very fresh and dominated by juniper and geranium. The barber shop associations mentioned here can certainly be detected, although they are not very prominent to my nose. This juniper note accompanies you throughout the entire progression of the fragrance, but after about 20 to 25 minutes, it is replaced by a slightly sharp/prickly cedar. This cedar is integrated into the fragrance for a long time, but eventually has to yield to the musk-amber combination. All in all, this perfume takes on a rather masculine scent progression and possesses a lot of depth. My absolute (current) favorite in terms of woody-fresh and optimal for pretty much all cold days/seasons (spring included).