Schallhoerer

The Eau de Iceberg Oud was released in 2013 and I would describe it as woody and spicy. The fragrance comes in a 100ml bottle and the concentration is Eau de Toilette. Iceberg is rather known for cheap fragrances of the category "Bückware in the DM", however, they have landed here with the Eau de Iceberg Oud an absolute hit. The bottle looks absolutely high-quality, is great in the hand and I find the design from an aesthetic point of view wonderfully implemented. On the front we have the name of the fragrance as well as a 74 going around the side, which points to the founding year of the company. The closure is plastic, unfortunately doesn't seem quite in keeping with the rest of the presentation and seems a little cheap. It doesn't close with a click, but it sits relatively tight. I would still advise against lifting the fragrance while closing it. The sprayer is solid, gives out an even if short spray. Let's take a look at the scent pyramid together.

When I first spray, I notice the ginger right away, which gives the scent an interesting spiciness right at the start, and freshness at the same time. The cardamom gives the fragrance thereby a warm-spicy note, which allows comparisons to the Oud Wood by Tom Ford. The saffron then absolutely sets the tone for the basic DNA of the fragrance. In combination with the oud, it has a relatively medicinal effect. Here, comparisons to the opening of M7 by YSL come to mind again. As the fragrance progresses, patchouli adds support and gives the scent a certain creaminess. Compared to Tom Ford's Oud Wood, however, everything here seems lighter, more floating and clearly fresher. The Cypriol or also called nut grass, gives the fragrance towards the end in conjunction with the patchouli still something slightly herbaceous. For a fragrance of this price category, the way the notes are blended together is on an absolutely high level. In contrast, much more expensive designer fragrances smell like reagance glass accidents. So Iceberg definitely has nothing to reproach itself for here. You get a fresh and yet warm oud fragrance that is independent enough not to be considered a dupe, clone or pure copy. The perfomance is unfortunately the some criticism. Much longer than 4-5 hours holds the Eau de Iceberg Oud on my skin unfortunately not. On clothes, however, 6-7 hours should not be a problem.

The availability is also unclear here in places. Originally you got the fragrance for under 20€, which would correspond to a price per mililiter of 0.20 cents. Given the quality, that was an absolute snapper. Today the price is more like 40-50 for 100ml, which is still absolutely fair. If you happen to run across this fragrance somewhere, don't hesitate. There will soon no longer be many more bottles on the market.

Dior's Vetiver was released in 2010 and the perfumer behind the fragrance is François Demachy. Vetiver as a fragrance is very versatile. It ranges from fresh-sweet to soapy to earthy-herbaceous. I would describe Dior's vetiver as green-spicy. The interesting thing about this fragrance is that it combines the eponymous vetiver here with coffee. This is a combination I haven't seen or smelled that often. In the opening is briefly a tart and juicy grapefruit, which makes way for the earthy vetiver after a few moments and still resonates a little in the background and sprays an oh so small touch of freshness.

Here in this case, it is a very earthy, dry and tends to be rather tart vetiver. The coffee can be smelled out in my opinion rather in the form of an earthy note. This is considered as a single note for me, rather the tart coffee grounds from the grinder and not a sweetened latte from Starbucks. In places, something here reminds me of the smell of walnuts. Tends to resonate with something slightly bitter in the background, which makes the fragrance even more interesting for me personally. The vetiver of Dior has taken over the throne in the genre of vetiver fragrances with me. Since I personally like rather tart fragrances, the vetiver of Dior can score here absolutely. While genre classics like the Guerlain Vetiver can also convince me, these lack the unique selling point in my opinion. Here, however, the symbiosis of the green vetiver with the earthy coffee notes is so perfectly staged that the fragrance leaves nothing to be desired for me as a vetiver fan. In the later drydown, the vetiver also adds a slightly minty or menthol note. This has on me almost a medicinal note, which as stupid as it may sound, has an immensely calming effect on me. That works then almost as if one would wrap the fragrance in a cocoon of security.

The performance is with 8-10 hours at a very good level. That leaves nothing to be desired with me. I come with it without problems over a complete workday and need only 2-3 sprays.

The flacon as well as the sprayer are on known Priveé level. Just these sprayers I would honestly never want to miss again. Since other brands in the price range can definitely cut off a slice from.

Currently, the Vetiver is only about the boutiques in France to refer. Statements that the fragrance was discontinued are therefore not true. After consultation with German boutiques it was confirmed to me that the smell can be sent also on order into German boutiques. On the online page of Dior, however, the fragrance is not listed.

Today we look at a fragrance from the high-priced series of Chopard. A brand that has become known more for expensive jewelry, but also has very interesting fragrances in the portfolio. We look at the Aigle Impérial today.

Aigle Impérial was released in 2019 and comes in an EDP concentration. Available is the fragrance currently in 100ml and the cost a whopping 285.00 EUR in the RRP. But you can get the fragrance at discounters already for just over 100€. That's what I paid for my bottle, by the way. The nose behind the fragrance is Albero Morillas, to which you do not have to say much more. A superstar of the perfumery industry.

Aigle Imperial I would describe as woody-spicy-aquatic.

The first thing we look at is the bottle. I have been able to hold many bottles in my hand, even from very high-priced brands such as Xerjoff but Chopard trumps all other houses here in my opinion. The bottle is beautifully shaped, feels very heavy in the hand and feels absolutely premium at all times. This is a real gem. On the front we find the name of the brand as well as the name of the fragrance. On the cap, the Chopard logo is engraved in a gold plated panel. The closure also feels high quality and closes with a rich click. So you can lift the bottle up without worrying about the cap. The sprayer is so perfectly integrated with the rest of the bottle, unlike any other brand I've seen. The Chopard logo is signed on the top of the sprayer. The sprayer itself is also of a very high standard. One can dose the fine spray mist here wonderfully.

Aigle Impérial opens with the first sprayer directly with a good portion of oud. The company Firmenich (manufacturer of fragrances and oils) has distilled here according to their own information with the substance Oud Assafi the purest Oud from Bangladesh. How high the percentage of oud in this fragrance is, we can not find out. I think that this is also only the smallest amount that is financially possible for a company like Firmenich. However, the oud (whether synthetic or made from real oud oil) seems authentic and that's what matters to me. The mixture of the Assam oud and the oud from Laos works here in the interaction somewhat medicinal in the opening. The ginger gives the scent a fresh spiciness at the beginning. I don't sense anything from the bergamot. The same goes for the matcha tea. If you were expecting a tea scent, you will be disappointed. Aigle Imperial is a spicy-woody scent with salty aspects that give a slight aquatic touch. In combination with the incense, the fragrance reminds me in places of another composition by Alberto Morillas. Namely, the Aqua di Gio Profumo, which is also characterized by the incense.

In the later course of the fragrance, the salty base note increases somewhat and I can definitely draw parallels to the Oud Minerale by Tom Ford. Also an aquatic oud fragrance that reminds me more of the stormy sea than the calm sea. It's the same with the Aigle Imperial. The cedar juniper then adds something green and herbaceous to the scent. The cedar juniper is a type of cypress. If I had to represent the Aigle Impérial figuratively, then I think of an old piece of wood that was washed from a forest directly on a cliff by the sea spray back to the beach.

The shelf life of Aigle Impérial is a good 8-10 hours. About a complete working day you come with the fragrance without any problems. The first 2 hours he radiates thereby relatively strong and we then increasingly close to the skin. By this slightly salty and thus also refreshing character, I see the fragrance also at warmer temperatures as very portable.

I am ultimately very enthusiastic about the Aigle Impérial. So a fragrance I would not have trusted a house like Chopard with the best will in the world. One goes here the way away from the mainstream designer DNA's and lands not only in terms of price (which is nevertheless exaggerated) but also olfactory in the niche area. Chapeau! Chopard.

So here we have the latest booze throttle in the Liqueurs series, the Apple Brandy on the Rocks.

I would classify Apple Brandy on the Rocks as sweet and spicy. Like all the fragrances in Kilian's Liqueurs line, this one comes in a bottle that resembles a whiskey glass. The workmanship is on an absolutely great level. Here, every euro spent is noticeable. The cap is unfortunately only plastic, but I understand the background to this. If this is also made of glass and would fall down, it would be a shattering nightmare. The plastic is thick though and doesn't look cheap. In the front we have a gold plaque with the fragrance written on it. The sprayer is signed with the Kilian logo on the top. The quality of the actual sprayer is good. A fine mist of fragrance comes out here.

But now we come to the fragrance itself. There is no apple listed and that although we have to do here with an Apple Brandy. The pineapple is but in conjunction with the bergamot an accord that comes very close to the smell of an apple. When I go very close to the skin with my nose in the opening, I actually smell more the pineapple out. The very fresh opening gives way relatively quickly to the heart notes of rum and vanilla. The rum really gives the scent an alcoholic note, which makes the name Apple Brandy fit very well here. The vanilla gives the fragrance some sweetness. For my perception even a little too much, but I'm also not a fan of very sweet fragrances. But it's currently 20 degrees outside and I tend to see the scent more in the fall and winter on cool evenings. From therefore, the sweetness in these environments or conditions can also act more appropriately.

From the more distant sillage, the fragrance has in places by the ambroxan, that here, by the way, not very scratchy or unpleasant, a slight shower gel note. This is then somewhat reminiscent of Mont Blanc Legend in a more upscale version. In the later drydown, the sweetness is cut back a bit and the cedar spreads out more. These woody aspects create the necessary variety to develop the fragrance not completely in a sweet-showery direction.

The performance of Apple Brandy on the Rocks is about 6-7 hours on my skin. That's not particularly long, though temperatures are also currently too high for this type of scent. The sillage is quite pronounced for the first hour, before the scent then becomes skin deep. You can't fill entire rooms with Apple Brandy on the Rocks. And I don't think that was the intention either. I see the scent more in a more intimate situation. Apple Brandy on the Rocks works on me like the perfect evening companion for a nice dinner, shared hours for two or at an event in beautiful evening wear.

Let's move on to the alternatives for Apple Brandy on the Rocks. The cheaper one would definitely be Boss Bottled Intense. Both scents have a distinct commonality due to the apple note. But while the Kilian goes more in an alcoholic direction, the Boss develops into an apple compote. The basic DNA share the fragrances but.

In the higher-priced segment, the Layton or the Carlisle of Parfums de Marly could please. Both also put the apple in the foreground here. The Carlisle goes then later rather in an apple tobacco direction while the Layton smells like the Boss Bottled Intense like a warm apple strudel. Performance of both PDMs is clearly above Apple Brandy on the Rocks. Price-wise, the scents don't take much away from each other on a price per mil. At discounters, however, the PDMs are even cheaper than the Kilian.

As a conclusion, I have to say that you get here from Kilian exactly what is advertised. A warm, spicy apple-dominated fragrance with a clear alcohol impact, which unfortunately leaves something to be desired in the performance, but is absolutely predestined for hours together for two.

Today we have again a short first impression of a new fragrance. A fragrance of which one thought that all possible flanker names have already been exploited. But no, there is always another variant. We talk today about the new Sauvage Elixir and what I think of the fragrance.

Sauvage Elixir was released in 2021 and comes in a concentration I don't know. I guess that this is minimally higher than the present perfume variant. So could be an Extrait de Parfum, but Dior is silent about it. The fragrance is currently available in 60ml and costs a whopping 134.00 EUR. So here we are definitely in the niche price segment. I would classify Sauvage Elixir as spicy-sweet.

What strikes me at the first spray directly, is the enormous sweetness that comes to me. That will be the combination of grapefruit and cinnamon with the cardamom. Already at that point I am actually out. This doesn't come across as classy or grown up to me, it's just way too synthetic and sweet. The licorice from the base note can also already be smelled clearly in the background. The lavender also plays a bigger role. The first association I had when smelling it was "this smells an awful lot like a Mugler from the A-Men range I have". Thankfully the sweetness then drives back a bit as it progresses, allowing the scent to breathe a bit and finally unfold. Ambroxan is something I can barely detect. This will please many who were bothered by it in previous Sauvage scents. Through the lavender you get now and then slight Fougere vibes as you know them from Masculin Pluriel (which, however, seems much better formulated and composed).

Tone-setting are for me in the late Drydown the liquorice, the patchouli (which both in combination give this Mugler A-Men Vibe) and as already mentioned the lavender.

Durability and charisma are at an above-average level. Here you get something for the 134 EURO. Even after 10 hours I can still perceive Sauvage Elixir. But what good is the best durability, if I do not like the fragrance profile?

So remains for me as a conclusion only that I had expected much more from the Sauvage Elixir. I get hardly woody notes, also almost no vetiver. For this dominates a much too overemphasized sweetness, which paired with the licorice and patchouli just goes to my head. The lavender here is also overbearing, wanting to be reminiscent of powerhouse scents from the 80s, but finding no suitable space in the fragrance. With me, the Sauvage Elixir will definitely not move into the collection.