Stefanoleng

A stiff breeze from the southwest makes the waves of the North Sea roar. Even in midsummer, the wind is cool. My lips are blue and I shiver a bit after swimming in the sea. I walk through the white sand into the tall dunes and search for the wind-sheltered hollow where my parents are sunbathing. The wind drives the clouds across the sky. Shadows flit over the high sandy dunes and the swaying grass. I snuggle into a towel. I feel the rustle of the wind, salt, sand, sun. I nibble on a Leibniz butter biscuit and enjoy the beauty of the moment. Carefree and happy.
This childhood memory was immediately evoked by "Dune pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) | Dior." The fragrance is genius in its nature and extremely well done. French and subtle. If you are looking for something strong, you are completely wrong here. Dune is a beautiful summer scent. Harmoniously composed, it creates a feeling like being in the dunes. In the top note, it is fresh like the cool wind from the southwest. In the heart, some flowers are fragrant, created by the finely integrated rose. The fig adds a very light, but subtle sweetness. In the base, you can smell the grasses and woods warmed by the sun. I feel like I perceive new facets of this fragrance with each wear. The perfumer of "Dune pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) | Dior," Olivier Cresp, recently posted on his Instagram channel that he created Dune Pour Homme as the first niche fragrance for Dior.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C91dRzoi03T/utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==.

This suggests that the fragrance was probably not economically successful for Dior. Today, it is rarely found in perfumeries. Currently, many fig scents are being released. Francis Kurkdjian has also recently taken up the theme in "Dioriviera | Dior." I would be happy if such a beautiful fragrance as this is rediscovered.
I enjoy the summer and let myself be accompanied by "Dune pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) | Dior." Whenever I smell it, I am back in my thoughts to the year 1978 in Denmark, frolicking through the dunes.

My new white BMW 5 Series on the highway brings me great joy. The big 6-cylinder purrs like a kitten. I treated myself to the big engine. Recently, things have been going very well professionally, and that can certainly be shown. The modern Bavaria Blaupunkt cassette radio has auto reverse and plays the new cassette by Chris Rea "Josephine, I sent you all my Love...." My wife lights up a Reno Menthol and enjoys the ride. She looks stunning in her oversized blazer with shoulder pads. My new fragrance is Cartier Santos. Here, I also paid attention to quality and didn't look at the price. Masculine with strong performance. Profound. The leather steering wheel of my BMW has already absorbed the drydown of the fragrance and will smell like it forever. A complex scent that is masculine, fresh, spicy, and a bit green in the opening. The drydown is very French, elegant, woody, and soft with sandalwood and cedarwood. No fragrance embodies the elevated elegance of the 80s described here with a wink better than this scent. It takes a bit of courage to wear it today. It is so different from the fragrances marketed to men today. No synthetics and absolutely no sweetness. Clear, fresh, masculine, woody, endlessly elegant. It's great that something like this is still being produced.

Often, our community complains that designer brands are too uncreative and keep releasing one flanker after another. From my perspective, the new Kenzo is a truly commendable exception. Here, Quentin Busch was commissioned as the "nose" to create a modern men's fragrance. Mr. Busch seems to be on a roll at the moment and is correspondingly busy. In recent years, his name has frequently appeared, and he has been responsible for some very successful creations at Paco Rabanne, Parfums de Marly, and Dolce & Gabbana. I really liked Le Male Le Parfum. Of course, not all of his works have to be liked, but I think he manages to combine the existing brand identity with a high degree of creativity quite well. This is also the case here with Kenzo. The brand has always stood for fresh, aquatic, and also quite individual scents. For a long time, nothing noteworthy was released. Now we have Kenzo Homme Eau de Toilette Intense. I find the fragrance totally exciting and successful for a mid-priced designer scent. It starts fresh-aquatic, salty, and develops into a soft woody base. The fig wood occasionally lets a bit of fruitiness shine through. Nicely integrated. The whole thing feels modern and also includes a certain synthetics. However, this does not bother me, as it is well woven into the composition. This is by no means a so-called shower gel scent. I think the theme of aquatic fragrances, which the brand also represents, has been wonderfully reinterpreted here in a modern way. I believe it is important to test the fragrance's effect again intensively in warmer temperatures, as it seems to me that the scent is better suited for spring/summer. The longevity and sillage are decent, in the upper midfield, and good for a designer fragrance. The soft woody drydown accompanies me all day. A nice release that certainly deserves a bit more attention.

When I first smelled Sedley, my enthusiasm was limited. The scent struck me as quite ordinary, like a modern designer fragrance. Fresh, masculine, Ambrox-heavy. For the price??? Three big question marks. You can get much cheaper options. Since I enjoy watching perfume videos on YouTube, Sedley kept popping up as a top recommendation. There were also discussions about the weakness of the first batches and that this weakness has since been addressed by the manufacturer.
So I gave Sedley a second chance. I had once again let myself be properly "influenced," and since I needed a good freshie for the summer anyway, a bottle ended up in my shopping cart. The first sprays were significantly stronger than my previous sample. That was a good start. But overall, Sedley still had that "designer" feel. I sold some samples so that the bottle could breathe properly. Now I find that the scent has improved significantly. No longer comparable to a designer fragrance. The individual notes became much more intense, and I would now describe the longevity of the scent as excellent for a freshie. Sedley is a composition of a beautiful citrus opening, with mint playing a significant role. The mint is so well combined that I don’t find it disturbing (I usually don’t like mint in fragrances, as I quickly associate it with chewing gum or herbal tea). Here, however, it is beautifully blended and has a very natural, high-quality quality. In combination with the citrus notes and the aromatic heart notes, the scent creates a wonderful Mediterranean summer feeling for me. A dream. In the base, the modern woodiness comes through, carried by a quite pronounced Ambrox note. But I also find this well combined and not disturbing at all.
Overall, a very high-quality fragrance. Modern in the combination of notes. I find it remarkable that the ingredients apparently needed to mature and breathe to develop their true power. This may indicate a significant proportion of natural ingredients. I already have that impression with Sedley. After spraying, I notice a strong oil film on my skin. I have only experienced this with extraits before. This can only come from a very high proportion of fragrance oils and is another indication of the high quality of Sedley.
The matured Sedley accompanied me wonderfully through the summer of '21 and was very well received everywhere. The scent was one of the "most complimented."

For this fragrance, I want to break a lance. I think it receives unjustly a lot of hate online because it is no longer what it once was. The hype is about the old version, which still carries the sticker on the bottle. Produced by Euroitalia in Italy. The current version is manufactured under license by Shiseido in France. The old Euroitalia version is offered at horrendous prices on eBay and hyped by various YouTubers. To get straight to the point: I think the new version is really, really good, even though I have an emotional connection to the old DGPH.

A brief flashback to the year 1994. I was 22 and freshly in love. Accordingly, I wanted to buy a new fragrance. For several years, I had worn Fahrenheit as the only scent in my possession, and now I needed something new. At that time, I narrowed it down to Havana by Aramis (which had a very appealing advertisement back then, exotic, masculine). However, a young saleswoman in the perfumery recommended not Havana, but the fragrance from the then-young Italian label Dolce & Gabbana. PH was the first men's fragrance and something sensationally new and innovative. Family and friends were excited about my new scent, and it felt like every second person bought it for themselves. That's how the hype was created in the 90s without the internet. Simply through a lot of personal contacts and exchanges. It could also have been because I spent more time in my regular café with friends than at home. In any case, I associate DGPH with a beautiful time.

After losing touch for over 20 years, I bought a bottle of the current version. I recognized the scent immediately. The character from back then has also remained in the new version. Of course, it is no longer as strong and noticeably weaker in performance. The tobacco leaf note has receded more into the background. The fragrance has somehow become "more French." More subtle and softer. But still beautiful. In my eyes, it is very unique and not a synthetic uniform mass. Shiseido has done a good job here and saved a fragrance from the 90s over time. One can definitely wear DGPH as a signature scent. It is versatile and also well-suited for the office. In no way is it old-fashioned. I just spray a bit more than would have been necessary with the old version. I don't think one necessarily has to chase after the old version in this case. You get a great fragrance from DG at an acceptable price.

At the end of 2021, the license agreement between Dolce & Gabbana and Shiseido will expire. Then DG will have to find a new producer for its fragrances. Experience shows that new formulations will then be launched. Anyone who is also a fan of the current version should prepare for this and possibly stock up. You never know what’s coming, right? It would actually be fitting if DG went back to Euroitalia. Back to the roots. However, L'Oreal will probably do everything to acquire this lucrative contract as well. What do you think? L'Oreal is good at discontinuing old fragrances for profit reasons (as already seen with YSL) and completely "relaunching" the brand.

I still really like my "French" Italian and am glad that it is still available for purchase.