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It’s not even close.
This fragrance, is simply put, in another league when it comes to the basic designer fragrances. Gucci guilty elixir is to put it lightly the best thing you’ll find in a normal beauty store right now, this does what sauvage elixir should do but doesn’t.
To start, Guilty Elixir is like walking into a dinner party this beautiful orange blossom that you can almost feel the petals of greets you at the door and as you make your way to the dining room, as you sit down you notice the nutmeg and pimento take their seats on either side of you. However they don’t overstay their welcome they simply introduce themselves to you and fade into the background. As their friend calls them to sit farther down the table.
At the heart of this fragrance, they finally have the the majority of guests together and sat down at the table. Just before the food comes out as you’re talking to the osmanthus that had taken the place of nutmeg you feel something tapping on your shoulder, you turn to see who it is and time screeches to a standstill as you come face to face with an orris butter note that almost suffocates you with its presence, however, you don’t mind. This note is far and away the star of the show and the reason the party is so lively. The orris butter stays rest of the time this fragrance is on you, and as the evening progresses you choose to bring your dessert of vanilla and benzoin garnished with a bit of patchouli outside behind the house to deck where you notice a small creature laying on a bed next to a doggy door. It’s a small sort of cat from what you can tell and as you take a seat in one of the chairs it crawls into your lap.
Scent 10/10 - This score is relative to not only what this fragrance has parallels to but also to designer fragrances in general, this is at least “private blend” status and if not better as it not only deviates from the entire line its a flanker of, but its also the best thing outside of any private lines in the world of designer fragrance. Though it isn’t the best fragrance of all time, it is, in my opinion, completely unchallenged when it comes to current designer fragrance.
Versatility 8/10 - comfortably a cold weather fragrance but can easily be pulled off if the wearer is dressed maturely or at least if it’s later in the night.
Sillage 9/10 - No complaints, stronger than is required for a “night out” fragrance.
Performance 10/10 - set and forget. No need to worry about reapplying period, its a night out/date night fragrance and by proxy you don’t need it to last more than 5-7 hours yet it’ll still be comfortably projecting a couple feet around you by the end of those 7 hours.
Value 10/10 - This really should be a designer price but its at an entry level niche price and completely fine being there, not hard to find for around 100-140 but if you can’t find it then its to me worth every penny of retail.
To start, Guilty Elixir is like walking into a dinner party this beautiful orange blossom that you can almost feel the petals of greets you at the door and as you make your way to the dining room, as you sit down you notice the nutmeg and pimento take their seats on either side of you. However they don’t overstay their welcome they simply introduce themselves to you and fade into the background. As their friend calls them to sit farther down the table.
At the heart of this fragrance, they finally have the the majority of guests together and sat down at the table. Just before the food comes out as you’re talking to the osmanthus that had taken the place of nutmeg you feel something tapping on your shoulder, you turn to see who it is and time screeches to a standstill as you come face to face with an orris butter note that almost suffocates you with its presence, however, you don’t mind. This note is far and away the star of the show and the reason the party is so lively. The orris butter stays rest of the time this fragrance is on you, and as the evening progresses you choose to bring your dessert of vanilla and benzoin garnished with a bit of patchouli outside behind the house to deck where you notice a small creature laying on a bed next to a doggy door. It’s a small sort of cat from what you can tell and as you take a seat in one of the chairs it crawls into your lap.
Scent 10/10 - This score is relative to not only what this fragrance has parallels to but also to designer fragrances in general, this is at least “private blend” status and if not better as it not only deviates from the entire line its a flanker of, but its also the best thing outside of any private lines in the world of designer fragrance. Though it isn’t the best fragrance of all time, it is, in my opinion, completely unchallenged when it comes to current designer fragrance.
Versatility 8/10 - comfortably a cold weather fragrance but can easily be pulled off if the wearer is dressed maturely or at least if it’s later in the night.
Sillage 9/10 - No complaints, stronger than is required for a “night out” fragrance.
Performance 10/10 - set and forget. No need to worry about reapplying period, its a night out/date night fragrance and by proxy you don’t need it to last more than 5-7 hours yet it’ll still be comfortably projecting a couple feet around you by the end of those 7 hours.
Value 10/10 - This really should be a designer price but its at an entry level niche price and completely fine being there, not hard to find for around 100-140 but if you can’t find it then its to me worth every penny of retail.
I’ll take ya to the candy shop
Hard candy is an excellent fragrance, I would even go as far as saying this fragrance is one of the best when it comes to something you can just grab and go no matter what, Signature scent worthy? Maybe, just depends on if you like it as it really is a year rounder.
Normally something like “This fragrance opens up at the top with” but no, the top and heart of this fragrance are married together and because of that so will the top and heart of this review. That being said though you can smell the citrus in this fragrance its not even close to prominent, the best way to describe how this opens up is strawberry tanghulu, drizzled with honey, and then sprinkled with dried lavender petals. You absolutely get that vanilla but that only serves to further sweeten the opening. The sweetness isn’t overpowering however as after not even a couple minutes its balanced out into a more tamed sweetness with the honey and nutmeg coming into play a little more, that is really all that defines the switch from top to the heart. In the heart all that changes is the strawberry and honey get ever more present until they’re front and center, eventually the lavender fades out and you’re left with a beautiful medley of strawberry… something??
This is when you pick up on the fact that there’s something in the way of calling this fragrance strawberry candy then it hits you. Some of the most well blended almost hidden oud and sandalwood I personally have experienced in a fragrance. It’s easily the most “friendly” oud as it almost sneaks up on you and is balanced out by the sweetness of the fragrance.
Hard candy? Definitely. Strawberry hard candy? No.
Scent 9.7/10 - Gorgeous, fruit for men don’t well.
Versatility 8.5/10 - easy dumb reach for casual occasions but look to the elixir if you want something more mature.
Sillage 9/10 - You’ll leave a scent trail behind you for the first 8 hours of wearing no question. Tows the line of being nuclear.
Durability 10/10 - Lasts as long as you could want it to last, your clothes will smell like it for a couple days for sure.
Value 10/10 - ATH has very reasonable pricing for entry to the house and for full bottles
Accessibility - 4/10 Good luck getting this straight from the retailer in America cause you honestly just wont.
Normally something like “This fragrance opens up at the top with” but no, the top and heart of this fragrance are married together and because of that so will the top and heart of this review. That being said though you can smell the citrus in this fragrance its not even close to prominent, the best way to describe how this opens up is strawberry tanghulu, drizzled with honey, and then sprinkled with dried lavender petals. You absolutely get that vanilla but that only serves to further sweeten the opening. The sweetness isn’t overpowering however as after not even a couple minutes its balanced out into a more tamed sweetness with the honey and nutmeg coming into play a little more, that is really all that defines the switch from top to the heart. In the heart all that changes is the strawberry and honey get ever more present until they’re front and center, eventually the lavender fades out and you’re left with a beautiful medley of strawberry… something??
This is when you pick up on the fact that there’s something in the way of calling this fragrance strawberry candy then it hits you. Some of the most well blended almost hidden oud and sandalwood I personally have experienced in a fragrance. It’s easily the most “friendly” oud as it almost sneaks up on you and is balanced out by the sweetness of the fragrance.
Hard candy? Definitely. Strawberry hard candy? No.
Scent 9.7/10 - Gorgeous, fruit for men don’t well.
Versatility 8.5/10 - easy dumb reach for casual occasions but look to the elixir if you want something more mature.
Sillage 9/10 - You’ll leave a scent trail behind you for the first 8 hours of wearing no question. Tows the line of being nuclear.
Durability 10/10 - Lasts as long as you could want it to last, your clothes will smell like it for a couple days for sure.
Value 10/10 - ATH has very reasonable pricing for entry to the house and for full bottles
Accessibility - 4/10 Good luck getting this straight from the retailer in America cause you honestly just wont.
Keep it simple stupid
As the title of my review implies, Keep it simple stupid.
Gentle fluidity silver is the furthest thing from a complicated fragrance, not because it lacks complexity. But rather because its complexity is exactly what makes it so simple.
Gentle fluidity silver is far and away the most unique clean fragrance I’ve yet to smell, it’s almost linear yet complex to the point I can’t put my finger on it. I have, since I started collecting looked for a fragrance that does what I wanted from a clean fragrance. All I wanted was the fragrance equivalent of a silver wedding band with squared off edges, The water coming in a well lit rainfall shower. And after going through many niche houses I eventually landed on gentle fluidity silver.
This is a fragrance you can’t say either opens or changes in the typical sense. It opens as a clean scent like what you would imagine water to smell like if it did have a smell, any note that isn’t juniper or woods are almost gift wrapped by the aforementioned notes. You can always smell those two, but as you go through the development of the fragrance, the “gift” inside changes. As it opens you can get a little of that coriander and vanilla, then closer to the heart you take a peek to find the addition of nutmeg. Then as Christmas Day you finally get to unwrap that present and you get an entirely seamless mixture of the notes I spoke of earlier with the addition of a bow made of vanilla and musk.
As I said this fragrance is really just simple and complex all at once. There’s not definitive top heart or base yet there is. You can smell everything and nothing at the same time.
Scent 9.1/10 Easily in my top 5 clean fragrances of all.
Versatility 9.6/10 - Any time anywhere, just keep it clean.
Sillage 7.5/10 - Good projection but as is the nature of fresh fragrances it wouldn’t be turning heads off performance along.
Durability 9/10 - excellent durability, fresh and clean are words that do not mix with my skin at all when it comes to fragrance and yet gentle fluidity silver does just that with no issue.
Value 9.4/10 - Considering your only other options are Prada L’homme and SMW, this is not only an excellent intermediary price wise but blows both of those fragrances out of the water.
Gentle fluidity silver is the furthest thing from a complicated fragrance, not because it lacks complexity. But rather because its complexity is exactly what makes it so simple.
Gentle fluidity silver is far and away the most unique clean fragrance I’ve yet to smell, it’s almost linear yet complex to the point I can’t put my finger on it. I have, since I started collecting looked for a fragrance that does what I wanted from a clean fragrance. All I wanted was the fragrance equivalent of a silver wedding band with squared off edges, The water coming in a well lit rainfall shower. And after going through many niche houses I eventually landed on gentle fluidity silver.
This is a fragrance you can’t say either opens or changes in the typical sense. It opens as a clean scent like what you would imagine water to smell like if it did have a smell, any note that isn’t juniper or woods are almost gift wrapped by the aforementioned notes. You can always smell those two, but as you go through the development of the fragrance, the “gift” inside changes. As it opens you can get a little of that coriander and vanilla, then closer to the heart you take a peek to find the addition of nutmeg. Then as Christmas Day you finally get to unwrap that present and you get an entirely seamless mixture of the notes I spoke of earlier with the addition of a bow made of vanilla and musk.
As I said this fragrance is really just simple and complex all at once. There’s not definitive top heart or base yet there is. You can smell everything and nothing at the same time.
Scent 9.1/10 Easily in my top 5 clean fragrances of all.
Versatility 9.6/10 - Any time anywhere, just keep it clean.
Sillage 7.5/10 - Good projection but as is the nature of fresh fragrances it wouldn’t be turning heads off performance along.
Durability 9/10 - excellent durability, fresh and clean are words that do not mix with my skin at all when it comes to fragrance and yet gentle fluidity silver does just that with no issue.
Value 9.4/10 - Considering your only other options are Prada L’homme and SMW, this is not only an excellent intermediary price wise but blows both of those fragrances out of the water.
Good soup
To preface, a fragrance for everyone this is not. It is something that you can boil down to being a fancier “blue” fragrance. It’s a branch off that same tree of shower gels and reed diffusers. It’s not a fragrance I can in good faith recommend for the price if it’s not what you’re looking for. That being said, I can say this is a fragrance that completely obliterates anything else on that tree.
That being out of the way, this fragrance opens gorgeous yet almost too clean. The first time you smell it you would think you’re smelling a bottle of one of those men’s body washes what some stupid name like “sports blast”, after about 10 minutes as that neroli comes in this evolves into the most gorgeous clean scent I’ve gotten my nose on. Every time you catch another whiff of it, you get a hint of something almost warm and powdery, the scent slowly gets enveloped in an embrace of cardamom.
As you make your way down to the heart of the fragrance the fragrance is almost lying in a bed of cardamom, while not the most prominent its there to stay, and that’s not a bad thing. Traveling even further, you start to get hints of that Sicilian orange and the pepper notes. While the orange is a welcome addition I can safely say it’s a perfect choice to keep it in the background. This it not a fragrance that needs a lot of citrus in it.
The base of Météore, though not all that dissimilar from the heart, is almost tucked into that bed of nutmeg and vetiver. And not that almost cooked pasta sort of vetiver but rather a light earthy sort of vetiver that works beautifully with the slightly bitter warm nutmeg balances out the cardamom.
Overall This fragrance has solicited itself in not just one of my favorite Louis Vuitton fragrances but also as my new signature scent.
Scent 8.9/10 - 9.5/10 in regards to freshies
Versatility 9.2/10 - can be used in almost any situation but would require an outfit to be built around it in some circumstances
Sillage 8.7/10 - For the first 6 or so hours you’ll have a good arm length sillage around you with 4 sprays
Durability 9.4/10 - easy 9+ hours on my skin, which is very impressive as most freshies I wear disappear in a matter of a couple hours.
Value 9.7/10 - The value for money of this fragrance is so high because this is the type of fragrance you buy not for a collection but for you, its worth as much as you want it to be and on top of that Louis Vuitton fragrances hold their value so incredibly well that I would say its nearly blind buy worth for that alone.
All I really have left to say about this fragrance is that is truly is what “Designer” fragrance should be. Météore is, like many other of its siblings and cousins stand at the pinnacle of what designer fragrance should and could be. Rather than copy and paste of the same flanker I’m truly able to see Louis Vuitton as a house rather than a Brand.
That being out of the way, this fragrance opens gorgeous yet almost too clean. The first time you smell it you would think you’re smelling a bottle of one of those men’s body washes what some stupid name like “sports blast”, after about 10 minutes as that neroli comes in this evolves into the most gorgeous clean scent I’ve gotten my nose on. Every time you catch another whiff of it, you get a hint of something almost warm and powdery, the scent slowly gets enveloped in an embrace of cardamom.
As you make your way down to the heart of the fragrance the fragrance is almost lying in a bed of cardamom, while not the most prominent its there to stay, and that’s not a bad thing. Traveling even further, you start to get hints of that Sicilian orange and the pepper notes. While the orange is a welcome addition I can safely say it’s a perfect choice to keep it in the background. This it not a fragrance that needs a lot of citrus in it.
The base of Météore, though not all that dissimilar from the heart, is almost tucked into that bed of nutmeg and vetiver. And not that almost cooked pasta sort of vetiver but rather a light earthy sort of vetiver that works beautifully with the slightly bitter warm nutmeg balances out the cardamom.
Overall This fragrance has solicited itself in not just one of my favorite Louis Vuitton fragrances but also as my new signature scent.
Scent 8.9/10 - 9.5/10 in regards to freshies
Versatility 9.2/10 - can be used in almost any situation but would require an outfit to be built around it in some circumstances
Sillage 8.7/10 - For the first 6 or so hours you’ll have a good arm length sillage around you with 4 sprays
Durability 9.4/10 - easy 9+ hours on my skin, which is very impressive as most freshies I wear disappear in a matter of a couple hours.
Value 9.7/10 - The value for money of this fragrance is so high because this is the type of fragrance you buy not for a collection but for you, its worth as much as you want it to be and on top of that Louis Vuitton fragrances hold their value so incredibly well that I would say its nearly blind buy worth for that alone.
All I really have left to say about this fragrance is that is truly is what “Designer” fragrance should be. Météore is, like many other of its siblings and cousins stand at the pinnacle of what designer fragrance should and could be. Rather than copy and paste of the same flanker I’m truly able to see Louis Vuitton as a house rather than a Brand.
1 Comment
No brainer for some, solid choice for others
TLDR: If you're under 25 and live somewhere that its warm out more often than not, this is a no brainer as far as designer goes. (Overspray it though it lasts long but doesn't project without doing so)
For my proper review:
Le Beau, especially the edt is what I would consider to be the best scent on skin if you can say yes to 2 questions.
1. Is it over 60 degrees out?
2. Are you younger than 25?
If you check those 2 boxes, this is going to be what I would say is the best readily available fragrance from the designer market. This, Valentino uomo Born in Roma, and Prada L'homme L'eau, are what I would consider to be the 3 best designer fragrances. This isnt because of their scent though, I consider them the best because they provide something that is either unique, or lost. To brush over the other two, with Valentino Uomo, you get what is essentially Invictus aqua 2016 but made into something younger guys can pull off in any occasion and season. With L'homme L'eau, you get an undeniably unique yet inoffensive scent for work or school.
The reason I believe Le Beau to be the best thing from a designer for younger guys is because of 2 reasons, the first reason being that its so oddly versatile considering what it is and what its notes are. The coconut is strong at the top but you also get that tonka bean bringing it back down to being wearable in cooler temperatures, by no means does that mean this is the best option for fall/winter, even in the morning. But regardless of better options for those seasons its still absolutely wearable around that time (which is where age comes into play). My second reasoning is that Le Beau is just genuinely my most complemented designer fragrance, and not only is it my most complimented designer fragrance but it even stands up to some of the niche fragrances in my collection. Le Beau really does punch above its weight and even if its not the greatest thing I own scent wise, for some reason girls around my age range (sub 25) all absolutely adore it, Ive had friends of friends, acquaintances, all kinds of people who have told me that it smells gorgeous completely unprompted. This fragrance even earned me the coveted "Getting stopped by a random woman in public" award at the grocery store a couple months ago.
As for the review I'm going to keep it simple and sweet cause that's what this fragrance really is.
Le Beau opens up with an absolute blast of coconut and some subtle tonka bean which balances out the coconut. The bergamot isn't immediately noticeable in the fragrance but if you look for it, you'll find it. The bergamot is pleasantly received, but does not overstay its spotlight. Its still there for the heart but what you really get is that now woody coconut stepping down and making way for gorgeous tonka bean at the base, this is where this juice really shines. However, and my one gripe about this fragrance, is that its a beast that runs on adrenaline. And when that adrenaline fades, you're left wishing you sprayed more of it. This is the one fragrance that I decide to wear beforehand even if its still what I would consider to be casual, and that's because any time I wear it I make sure to spray at least 8+ times depending on the occasion which in result means I need to give it around 30 minutes or so to calm down, in spite of it not performing well in the department of projection. Anything you spray this on more than 1 time will smell like it till its washed pretty much. In summary, this is the best from the JPG Line and arguable the best designer fragrance relative to what it offers and what it brings to the table and really is a tried and tested complement puller.
For my proper review:
Le Beau, especially the edt is what I would consider to be the best scent on skin if you can say yes to 2 questions.
1. Is it over 60 degrees out?
2. Are you younger than 25?
If you check those 2 boxes, this is going to be what I would say is the best readily available fragrance from the designer market. This, Valentino uomo Born in Roma, and Prada L'homme L'eau, are what I would consider to be the 3 best designer fragrances. This isnt because of their scent though, I consider them the best because they provide something that is either unique, or lost. To brush over the other two, with Valentino Uomo, you get what is essentially Invictus aqua 2016 but made into something younger guys can pull off in any occasion and season. With L'homme L'eau, you get an undeniably unique yet inoffensive scent for work or school.
The reason I believe Le Beau to be the best thing from a designer for younger guys is because of 2 reasons, the first reason being that its so oddly versatile considering what it is and what its notes are. The coconut is strong at the top but you also get that tonka bean bringing it back down to being wearable in cooler temperatures, by no means does that mean this is the best option for fall/winter, even in the morning. But regardless of better options for those seasons its still absolutely wearable around that time (which is where age comes into play). My second reasoning is that Le Beau is just genuinely my most complemented designer fragrance, and not only is it my most complimented designer fragrance but it even stands up to some of the niche fragrances in my collection. Le Beau really does punch above its weight and even if its not the greatest thing I own scent wise, for some reason girls around my age range (sub 25) all absolutely adore it, Ive had friends of friends, acquaintances, all kinds of people who have told me that it smells gorgeous completely unprompted. This fragrance even earned me the coveted "Getting stopped by a random woman in public" award at the grocery store a couple months ago.
As for the review I'm going to keep it simple and sweet cause that's what this fragrance really is.
Le Beau opens up with an absolute blast of coconut and some subtle tonka bean which balances out the coconut. The bergamot isn't immediately noticeable in the fragrance but if you look for it, you'll find it. The bergamot is pleasantly received, but does not overstay its spotlight. Its still there for the heart but what you really get is that now woody coconut stepping down and making way for gorgeous tonka bean at the base, this is where this juice really shines. However, and my one gripe about this fragrance, is that its a beast that runs on adrenaline. And when that adrenaline fades, you're left wishing you sprayed more of it. This is the one fragrance that I decide to wear beforehand even if its still what I would consider to be casual, and that's because any time I wear it I make sure to spray at least 8+ times depending on the occasion which in result means I need to give it around 30 minutes or so to calm down, in spite of it not performing well in the department of projection. Anything you spray this on more than 1 time will smell like it till its washed pretty much. In summary, this is the best from the JPG Line and arguable the best designer fragrance relative to what it offers and what it brings to the table and really is a tried and tested complement puller.
