Staretsi
Reviews
Staretsi
Saffron Rouge
It's so close to the profile of Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait de parfum as to make owning both redundant.
I tested Bussma on my skin simultaneously with both Baccarats and was shocked at the resemblance. Bussma is closer to the Extrait of Baccarat Rouge than the Eau de parfum is.
If you love Baccarat Rouge, this one is a no-brainer. This is by no means a cheap substitute. The quality of the ingredients is very high and the performance is very good.
I tested Bussma on my skin simultaneously with both Baccarats and was shocked at the resemblance. Bussma is closer to the Extrait of Baccarat Rouge than the Eau de parfum is.
If you love Baccarat Rouge, this one is a no-brainer. This is by no means a cheap substitute. The quality of the ingredients is very high and the performance is very good.
A Refined Layton Alternative
In Andalusi, Arabian Oud has managed to remove some of the aspects of Layton and Layton Exclusif that I didn't enjoy, whilst adding a couple of oriental notes and boosting the performance. It is as if they took the Layton line as a blueprint and then sought to improve upon it.
As an illustration, saffron has been added to the top notes and it blends beautifully with the apple and bergamot. It is an intriguing accord which improves upon the opening of the original Layton.
In the mid dry down rose and very subtle non-cloying vanilla come to the fray. The dank note (civet?) that you get from Layton Exclusif is thankfully absent here. Here, the mid is an improvement on Layton Exclusif.
The base is very similar to Layton Exclusif with oud, amber, and sandalwood. However, instead of coffee and patchouli we have clean leather. Again, an improvement in my view. That dank dirtiness is gone.
So, here we have a Layton top with the addition of saffron, and a Layton Exclusif heart and base with the removal of dank and dirty accords and the addition of leather. It's an example of East meets West done well.
If you are a fan of Layton or Layton Exclusif, or found those two fragrances lacking in performance, or even put off by the dank accords, give Andalusi a try.
As an illustration, saffron has been added to the top notes and it blends beautifully with the apple and bergamot. It is an intriguing accord which improves upon the opening of the original Layton.
In the mid dry down rose and very subtle non-cloying vanilla come to the fray. The dank note (civet?) that you get from Layton Exclusif is thankfully absent here. Here, the mid is an improvement on Layton Exclusif.
The base is very similar to Layton Exclusif with oud, amber, and sandalwood. However, instead of coffee and patchouli we have clean leather. Again, an improvement in my view. That dank dirtiness is gone.
So, here we have a Layton top with the addition of saffron, and a Layton Exclusif heart and base with the removal of dank and dirty accords and the addition of leather. It's an example of East meets West done well.
If you are a fan of Layton or Layton Exclusif, or found those two fragrances lacking in performance, or even put off by the dank accords, give Andalusi a try.
