MickeyRourke

Originally, I had planned to test one of the "spice bombs," but due to some comments, it ended up being an 8ml sample of Rehab. And for a change, this will be a more analytical rather than a creative or emotional review. So, let's get straight to the point.

Rehab starts fresh, and this freshness from the bergamot gets a refined spicy kick from the pepper. I initially perceive little to no lavender. Musk adds a slightly clean creaminess to the opening as it develops. The combination of cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, guaiac wood, and sandalwood takes a correspondingly sweet, vanillic, woody, and slightly smoky direction. The transitions are actually very good. However, a certain, hard-to-describe note lingers. It somehow smells like chewing gum and slightly sour. Is that from Hedione?

Since I have been familiar with many individual fragrance materials as a DIY mixer for some time, I try to get to the bottom of it. Lavender, Hedione, and musk are quickly found in the drawer. But like with all perfumes, something is surely still missing. That means I need to quickly identify more ingredients. Here I find limonene, linalool, and citral, which are fragrance materials very close to bergamot. Next is citronellol, which, through certain leathery and rosy accords, likely rounds off the heart note. Alongside alpha-isomethyl ionone, known for its iris-like, waxy, powdery-woody direction, coumarin finally appears on the list as well. Oh no, I think to myself. So I pull that out of the drawer too, and off we go. First, I start with lavender. Initially, I spray two spritzes of Rehab on my left hand. With my right, I hold a pipette containing the respective fragrance material at certain intervals to the left and wave it around a bit.

And what can I say, there is definitely lavender in Rehab. The musk was no question, so I try it next with coumarin. The next "aha" moment follows; that definitely fits as well. Then I take Hedione. I should mention that Hedione is not perceivable for many people, meaning it has a very weak scent for many sniffers. However, it enhances other fragrance notes and creates connections between the three main notes. But when I hold the Hedione with the pipette next to my hand, it becomes clear to me that there must be a decent amount of Hedione in Rehab.

For me, that unknown scent ultimately arises from the combination of the previously tested fragrance materials, a certain sour note from the bergamot, especially in combination with Hedione. And this component won't leave me alone. So I go back in.

At first, I think that the sample of a perfume costing over 200 EUR is too precious to mix. But I am just curious, so I take 4ml with a pipette and fill it into an empty spray bottle. Next, I grab a few typical top and heart notes like orange, grapefruit, jasmine, geraniol, and lilial and wave them around again. Quickly, orange, jasmine, and lilial are eliminated. Grapefruit and geraniol fit best with the original. So, I add a drop of a 10% grapefruit solution. Instead of geraniol, I take a drop of Bulgarian rose, also a 10% solution. Now shake lightly and let it sit for a bit.

What can I say, the grapefruit makes the top note a bit fruitier and creates a better transition to the heart, while the rose adds more warmth overall. All in all, this results in a slightly more feminine scent for me. Rehab is, of course, a great scent without my mixing. I haven't had anything like this in my cabinet before. It is also, as indicated, a unisex fragrance, which unfortunately cannot be said for many other scents with such a designation. The masculine part is clearly in the refined, oriental spice that accompanies the entire progression.

PS: My now-arrived bottle is from a batch over two years old and is a bit darker, spicier, and I actually like it even better. Not a Spicebomb and ten times more elegant.

Conclusion: A remarkable scent with good longevity and sillage, which has its price but is wonderfully balanced, with a touch of the oriental spice of a Noir Extreme.

And in the end, I also like my own mixing, because with a little more rose, I was able to create a Noir Pour Femme from Tom Ford's Noir Extreme as well ;-)

PS: Happy New Year!

A fragrance that can be described with a bit of sober pragmatism as fresh, clean, slightly soapy, and spicy, with the typical, somewhat old-fashioned character of a barber scent. I certainly don't mean this negatively. Whether it's Cartier Declaration, Chanel Pour Le Monsieur, or Dunhill Icon, it can definitely hold its own among all of them. Still, these fragrances are very easy to distinguish, and Armani has its own, by the way, somewhat Mediterranean character. I was also very curious about the scent, as this Armani was one of the fragrances I used in my youth. I also believe my father used it in the past. Unfortunately, it doesn't evoke any memories, and thus it remains with this rather sober description. Anyone looking for a fresh barber scent for the summer or simply wanting to smell fresh and clean in the morning after showering will be well served here. The Eau de Toilette doesn't necessarily have the best longevity, but you can always reapply it, filled in a small spray bottle for on-the-go.

There are days when curiosity drives you to research and try something new once again. That's how I came across Layton Exclusif. It didn't take long before I had the sample in my mailbox and the first two sprays on my hand. However, I'll skip the description of the fragrance development here. Instead, I'll focus on the following.

From the moment I sprayed Layton Exclusif on my hand, the thought "where do you know this from" haunted me. For quite a while, I couldn't figure it out, I researched, compared ingredients, but nothing really got me anywhere. Until eventually, it clicked.

And what can I say, Layton smells at first like Swiss Arabian Shawq layered with Al Haramain L'Aventure. I sprayed one of each on my other hand, and the similarity is undeniable.

The differences lie in the sweet pineapple from Shawq and a bit more green-citrusy freshness from L'Aventure. The pineapple is sweeter and more assertive compared to the apple in Layton, but that somehow doesn't change the similarity at first. The two layered fragrances, however, come across as a bit coarser, more assertive, and maintain a rather citrusy, fresh-fruity, oriental touch until the end. Layton is clearly more nuanced and transforms into a beautiful woody, spicy sweetness over rose, oud, and cinnamon as it develops.

All in all, Layton Exclusif is indeed a lovely fragrance. But due to the similarity to my layered scents, I probably won't buy it additionally. Give it a try with two small samples of Shawq and L'Aventure. The similarity at the beginning is, in my opinion, undeniable. And for those who like the two layered fragrances, there's no need to dig so deep into their pockets.

The women's and men's fragrance lines from Narciso Rodriguez have accompanied me for many years now. Even though the most formative scents from Narciso are no longer available, I can recall their scent from memory with my eyes closed, and with those memories come the associated feelings. Ultimately, this is how we all feel about our fragrances and memories, right? So, I don’t have to think long about what I associate with the “Narciso For Her” line. There was a time when my then-girlfriend would ritualistically spray “For Her Musc Collection” on my scarf before my motorcycle tours, so that I would return to her safely. Yes, I exclusively associate this perfume with that time and that woman. It remains the best from Narciso. But now there is also “For Her Forever”.

Undoubtedly, Narciso has somewhat overdone it with the number of variations of this scent, and sometimes the results have not been so impressive. In the end, I’m not surprised, because connecting to the past while simultaneously creating something new is difficult. Somehow, Sonia Constant has managed to do just that with this mysterious, creamy musk carried by sweet floral white blossoms. Narciso truly means emotions for me again in 2023, and since the scent has only been on the market since this year, this review can only relate to quite current emotions, aside from the scent itself. There was briefly the question of whether it would be better to approach it more objectively and soberly. Well, I tried - and deleted everything.
In the end, I have no choice but to describe this scent with all the emotions, with everything that comes to mind and all the thoughts associated with it. Otherwise, this review would just be a foolish attempt at repression and wouldn’t even begin to represent what one would call the whole truth.

And what is the whole truth now? The truth is, For Her Forever represents happy moments when you feel the “we”, when with every meter and every minute spent together, you feel that intense connection, when you can express words and feelings without speaking, when you can say everything with just touches and glances. Forever means longing, sensuality, eroticism, passion, and - above all else - an intensely felt love for that person, who is ultimately what this is all about. A love that makes me feel happiness like a lovesick teenager in one moment and, in the next moment, makes me realize how serious everything really is - namely, that you can’t and don’t want to imagine a future without all of this and that person (damn it) forever.

Yet the future seems anything but certain right now. Clarity and determination repeatedly swap sides with uncertainty, doubt, and heartache. The current reality blocks much of what was recently counted among the happiest moments in life. And where does all of this go now? Forever preserved in a bottle?
No, amidst this reality, there is still this scent, representing everything that was recently, what is currently, and what will be. Can you smell it, can you feel it? It fights with you and for you for your future. It shows you that there can be another reality besides the current one. It shows you that behind difficult decisions, which would be associated with losses and great efforts, a beautiful future still awaits.

Yes, it’s not easy right now, but I won’t give up that easily. After all, it’s currently called “For her forever”. And besides, a man once wrote: “In the end, everything will be okay, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end yet!”

Here it is, the cold season. And so the question of what might be suitable for winter has led me to test another sample. After all, one has nothing else to do. I wouldn't call it an addiction, but I recently acquired Sauvage Elixir. This forum can really become a financial problem if you're not careful. And you will laugh, when I tested the sample of Reflection Man, I had no idea about the bottle price.

I'll start like this, as it has been mentioned frequently before. A similarity to Sculpture and Le Male cannot be completely dismissed. But in the end, worlds do open up. What once struck me as a penetrating, sweet soup in Sculpture and Le Male (which I used to have) now comes across with Reflection Man as a timeless, floral-sweet wonderful revelation. Just like Sculpture and Le Male should have been twelve years earlier.

Fans of less sweet fragrances might not find these hints particularly helpful at first. Moreover, Reflection Man has quite a strong sillage and longevity, which might additionally deter that group of people. However, if you want to try something sweet, I recommend Amouage Reflection Man alongside Tom Ford Noir Extreme. Both have a wonderful sweetness that you would want to eat (you know what I mean?) and that every perfume lover should at least try wearing.

But now finally to the scent development. The freshness mentioned by other authors is by no means comparable to citrusy notes and quickly makes its way into the floral after the spicy pepper, rosemary, and a hint of neroli. Jasmine and ylang-ylang are skillfully supported by iris. The base doesn't take long to appear, and by then you also have those associations that remind you a bit of Sculpture and Le Male, only much more balanced and mature. The spicy "freshness" never completely disappears and remains quite long and appropriately inconspicuous behind the sweet floral notes. Additionally, it becomes a bit woody before transitioning into a sweet-powdery finish.

Although I am very fond of this fragrance, which clearly goes beyond a sophisticated, noble, and mature version of Sculpture and Le Male, I currently do not tend to acquire a bottle. This is also because its feminine traits somewhat deter me despite the wonderful interplay of the scent notes. Who doesn't know that amazing women's fragrance that blows you away, but that you as a man wouldn't wear? In this respect, it is, similar to Tom Ford Noir Extreme, a scent that women can also wear. I have certainly heard several women say on one day that I smell damn good and whether it is purely a men's fragrance.

And then there are the little sums of 200 euros for 50ml or 270 for 100ml, which ultimately speak against buying a fragrance that you can currently imagine better on the skin of a woman than on yourself. But I would definitely worship that woman.

I still have a few ml of the sample, which I will continue to use in the coming days, and who knows, maybe with the help of one or another Christmas financial boost, I will manage to acquire this delicious, sweet masterpiece in a bottle.