StinkSultan

Sometimes, simple is the best choice. There's just occasions where you don't have to bring out the big guns, steal the spotlight with potent, nose-piercing, complex compositions. Just something that gets the job done, keeping you under the radar. Sure, a very rare occasion for anyone invested into perfumery; we all like to stick out. But for those few who prefer a softer, uncomplicated fragrance most days of the week, something like Eau d'Orange Verte could be worth a sniff.

The scent itself starts with a realistic, bright and zesty orange, slightly sour-sweet, and it progressively turns juicier. It barely lasts in its full uplifting power, soon being accompanied by a touch of cool, fresh mint that pairs nicely with the tame acidity of the orange. That's largely stage 1. The second and final stage sees the scent add a dry, fresh woodiness lacking in overall presence as it is quite soft. Add in the remaining citric aroma on top, as well as a bit of damp moss, and the woods stay slightly more distant. It's overall a pleasant scent, just nothing to phone home about. It's decently blended and of good quality, with the orange being very realistic. The only thing that could potentially ruin this for someone is if that someone is especially sensitive to the scent of moss, which is very tame here to be honest. Me personally, the more moss, the better.

You'll quickly arrive to the conclusion that this is a VERY soft fragrance in terms of performance; just about as quickly as the scent itself fades away. On my skin, it pretty much didn't surpass two hours, and during this time, the only projection I got was in the first 30 minutes, where even there it was pretty subdued. Being an Eau de Cologne, it isn't really all that surprising. At the time of this writing, Eau d'Orange Verte is the weakest performing fragrance I've tested, and it will probably stay like that for a while.

But it's definitely one of the most versatile ones too. I mean, extremely simple and easy-going scent profile + supremely short-lived performance? Apart from colder days or contexts where you'd actually want to stick out a bit, there's no place where you couldn't wear Eau d'Orange Verte.

But now, is it really worth it if performance is so weak? After all, performance is what everyone wants nowadays. Phrases like "Beast mode", "Nuclear Projection", and "Extreme Longevity" top the charts in the vocabulary of most fragrance influencers. And this subconsciously makes people think that bad performance = bad fragrance. And sure, it most cases, there's some truth to that. But Eau d'Orange Verte is not aiming for the same demographic. This fragrance, whether intentionally made so weak or not, is for the few people who either enjoy the simplicity of the scent so much that are willing to trade off performance and overspray if anything, or people who simply want something soft and unobtrusive. Yes, there's people who genuinely prefer a 2 hour fragrance instead of a room-filling, attention-grabbing scent. Now, the pricing seems to vary a little, but generally you can find Eau d'Orange Verte for like €80-€100. If performance is what you're after, then this is terrible value, unless you're willing to literally bathe in it. But if you value simplicity and discreet, maybe you could justify the spending.

Overall Rating: 3.4/10

Another day, another boring designer with no bit of character or any sign of actual care put into the composition. This time we have Bvlgari Man Wood Essence Eau de Parfum, which let me tell you, it has nothing to do with the essence of wood or its scent. I think Morillas and/or Bvlgari's marketing team have never actually smelt true woodiness, because if this is what they consider a "woody fragrance", then they should start visiting forests on a regular basis.

Yes, this starts quite synthetic as we've come to expect by now, accompanied by sort of a sugary citrus sweetness supported by some warm, spicy, and surprisingly nutty coriander. Nearly thought I was getting cinnamon for a second, but the sweetness immediately takes a step back, leaving plenty of room for some woodiness that never truly arrives.

The cypress soon adds a touch of crisp, piney freshness, slightly aromatic and barely "green". Supposedly, it's now that the wood essence should start revealing itself, but all that you get is an airy and hollow dry/musky cedar that lacks both strength and a grounding quality. The benzoin doesn't help much here, adding tiny bits of sweet balsamic undertones and a powdery finish, as well as that faint hair fixative vibe which if anything, makes the composition seem more synthetic. Overall, there's nothing here that reminds me of wood, nor anything that would hint at a qualitative and well-put together product. Truly one of the worst from Bvlgari.

At least they were thoughtful enough to not make this nuclear regarding performance, which is usually the opposite for most designers. On my skin, I got somewhere around 5 hours of longevity, with pretty weak projection throughout. The first hour was pretty average, maybe about 1 foot of projection at best with decent but short-lived sillage, after which it would plummet down to a skin scent by hour 3.

Once more, the versatility category is the only one where boring scents such as this manage to bring back some points. And in the end, that's largely why they're so boring, because they're made to be as versatile and mass-appealing as possible. Daily wear, office shift, school hours, a short visit to your grandparents... Basically your daily activities that do not require you smelling like Areej Le Dore.

But I don't want to cut Bvlgari Man Wood Essence Eau de Parfum any slack with that. There's still plenty of better options out there that check the "simple and boring" boxes better, managing to still give the fragrance some more personality. And while Bvlgari Man Wood Essence Eau de Parfum is not the most devoid of character scent I've tried, it surely won't (shouldn't) win any awards for uniqueness. With a price tag between €100-€150, anyone who knows what they're doing will skip on this one, as it isn't even a good value fragrance for people who don't care about fragrances obsessively. Very lackluster, but very unsurprising.

Overall Rating: 3.4/10

Just like with Egnaro, Verdant Delirivm strikes me as quite a vibrant and expressive fragrance, smelling thoroughly green just like Egnaro smelled orange. However, in a similar fashion, Verdant Delirivm is also a little too sweet for my taste. But it is undoubtedly interesting.

Right off the bat, an intense and bright blast of green aromatic sweetness greets you, making for a prominent melon candy-like scent, as @TheDunkPapa stated in his statement. If you ate as many of these candy when you were a kid as I did, it will instantly bring back some nostalgia. Even more so for me since I lived for most of my childhood in Spain, the same country Santi Burgas is situated in. And from what I remember, melon candy was pretty popular around the Iberic Peninsula, so I can see where the inspiration for Verdant Delirivm came from. A nice dosage of citruses accompany the scent on the side, like a mix between lime, orange, and grapefruit, a.k.a. yuzu. The mint envelops everything with its cool, lightly sweet and herbal aroma, appending a mentholated vibe.

There's also some spiciness present underneath, blending well with the oregano that supports the scent with its unmistakable herbal, camphoraceous aroma. It's hardly pungent in here, however, so don't be alarmed if you don't sit well with such aromatics. Same with the jasmine and rose if you aren't particularly fond of florals; they take a step back, still detectable, but aiding behind curtains with some delicate floral sweetness. The jasmine in particular brings a slightly heady, kind of soapy, creamy interplay of accords. I don't get much vetiver, just a touch of its grassy scent far back helping with the overall green structure, but no earthiness or woodiness. What you do get further down as the fragrance dries is a prominent vanilla base, but with a creamier feel than anything else, and covered with the green melon candy-like accord, not letting the vanilla completely take over. It does, in @CivetOnly's words, make even the vanilla smell green. Overall, a pretty distinct scent, just too candy-sweet for me.

The performance Verdant Delirivm offered on my skin was pretty decent, but nothing nuclear, with somewhere around 8-9 hours of longevity and moderate projection. Quite strong the first hour, easily getting you noticed in a room. Afterwards and up until around hour 4 you'd get significantly dimmer pushing power, much softer than I expected after seeing the potent first hour result. Regardless, okay-ish but not stellar.

How versatile the scent is will largely depend on the person wearing it (as usual). Leisure wear, more special gatherings, maybe for weddings - I wouldn't really wear it as a daily or office scent, at best just once in a while to keep things interesting. It should be also good all-year round, less so during extreme heat waves. But ultimately, it's not a difficult fragrance to wear.

I appreciate the little nostalgic memory Verdant Delirivm brought to me with the melon candy similarities. But as a whole, I don't appreciate it enough apart from "it's interesting and vibrant" to justify a spot on the shelf. It's too sweet and I feel it could've benefitted from some better balance between certain accords. But I do kind of like the vibrancy here, which I also found in Egnaro, so it seems to be Santi Burgas' style of perfumery. The White Collection is also apparently inspired by Santiago Burgas' childhood memories and people/artists that inspired particular moments of his life. So far, two fragrances in, I infer that Santiago had a very vivid and spirited childhood.

Overall Rating: 6.3/10

As I continue going through the valley of darkness, testing all the samples of the terribly underwhelming designer crap that I accumulated foolishly back when I was just starting in this hobby, I stumbled across Legend Eau de Parfum, for which of course, I had low expectations. But I think they weren't low enough, because Legend Eau de Parfum somehow manages to dethrone The Most Wanted Eau de Toilette Intense as the worst designer I've tried to date, and that only a week after I tried the Azzaro.

At this point, it feels tiresome to state the obvious every time, but Legend Eau de Parfum sets off synthetic, stripping away any real citrus tones from the bergamot. It does soften up to a mildly refreshing violet leaf, which is accompanied by faint touches of floral notes from magnolia and jasmine, sort of giving it a lightly soapy, clean, out-of-the-shower feel with hints of sweetness. As for the supposed "woody" notes, this is possibly the faintest "woodiness" I've ever smelt. But frankly, this might be one of the softest scents I've tried yet altogether. Everything is so muted and one-dimensional that it is genuinely a challenge to pinpoint accords. And don't even get me started on the leather; there's about as much leather in this as in a linen shirt. So while it doesn't stay nearly as synthetic as other competitors and it does somewhat smoothen out rapidly, its softness is its biggest weak link.

I never tried the EDT concentration (Legend Eau de Toilette), so I won't be comparing the two. But I can say that regardless if the EDP is an improvement or a downgrade from the EDT, it still misses the target by a long shot... or does it? That depends on how you analyze fragrances and what you expect from them. Me, I judge the blend quality, the raw material quality, the progression of the scent, and the originality. In all those categories, Legend Eau de Parfum falls flat.

It was quite the challenge to find the exact longevity of Legend Eau de Parfum given how close it sat to my skin, but after numerous tests, it did manage about 5-6 hours, which is two times more I'd have bet it would last at the start. Same for projection. While still undoubtedly weak in this area, it still managed to emanate that clean, just-washed vibe for around one hour, and that's me being generous, but you'd have to get very close to me to tell.

There's not much I can say regarding versatility apart from this being as easy to wear as it is to blink. Sports, daily wear, office, school... It doesn't get more versatile than this for daily errands. But for more special occasions, I'd definitely categorize it as "undervaluing yourself" if you reached for this.

You might as well just use extra shower gel while showering and you'd get largely the same effect as Legend Eau de Parfum, with the added benefit that you don't get any synthetic start. This is seriously so boring and shy that apart from people who just need a fragrance for the sake of having one to just smell good in case anyone does get close enough to smell you, I would never recommend it. I thought that The Most Wanted Eau de Toilette Intense and Hero Parfum were completely devoid of character, but the legend itself has outdone them. However, if this is literally what you're looking for - just a fragrance, as simple and unintrusive as possible - then well, this one doesn't even force you to break the bank. But you can get much better stuff, at least regarding some extra "excitement", even with the aforementioned two above, which I consider total flops.

Overall Rating: 3.6/10

You know what would happen if you sort of combined Invictus Eau de Toilette and Scandal pour Homme, two fragrances with significant presence in the designer scene yet neither with the quality or scent profile to back it up? You'd get something like The Most Wanted Eau de Toilette Intense. And I really am not making that comparison to insinuate that you're getting the best of both worlds with the Azzaro - it's quite the opposite.

As it's easy to guess, The Most Wanted Eau de Toilette Intense opens intensely synthetic, with a screechy, citrusy bergamot following once the synthetic edge takes a step back and stays there for the whole ride. The lavender soon takes most of our attention with a fresh-floral sweetness, but at times the sweetness seems to overpower the rest of the not-too-qualitative lavender aroma, kind of reminding me a little of the bubblegum sweetness of Invictus Eau de Toilette, minus the marine freshness. The moss "liqueur" at the base doesn't really strike as terribly mossy, but it does nonetheless add the slightest dampness to the composition, while also bringing a faint sweetness that reminds of... well, liqueur. Although I might be tricked into believing that. At that stage, it sort of reminds me of Scandal pour Homme, more or less. Regardless, it's about as exciting of a composition as the news that Taylor Swift got engaged. There's nothing that screams "quality" here, nothing that screams "originality", but everything that shouts "money-grabbing, uninspiring" release. And not even the faintest whisper of "most wanted" release.

Performance was surprisingly weak on me despite the 'Intense' EDT concentration. It hardly reached 5 hours for longevity, with a pretty mediocre projection all throughout, not doing much after the first hour, which didn't impress either with an average 1 foot projection and okay-ish sillage. I would've expected significantly stronger outputs for a designer of this type.

The tiniest bit of praise that The Most Wanted Eau de Toilette Intense could get is at the versatility chapter. Sure, this is about as easy-going, mass-appealing, daily dumb reach as they come. Yet I stick to what I always say in these situations: if you really care about fragrances and want to step up your game a little, and if you're old enough to get a driver's license, then do steer away from this or similar bland stuff. I don't really see this scent fit for anyone else but a teenager that simply wants to smell good.

Now, I get that the "Most Wanted" marketing here refers primarily to the wild west and the famous wanted posters you'd see in such movies, this being confirmed by the revolver's cylinder-style bottle, but Azzaro's marketing team surely realized they're killing two birds with one stone here by also making the fragrance seem like the most wanted by the masses. It's pretty good marketing. Too bad that the scent itself can't live up to it, because as far as I'm concerned, I want nothing to do with such poor blends. It might be good for a teenager, or for someone that strictly wants to smell 'good' and chases corporate mass-appeal without having to pay with a kidney, but it's definitely not a place where you'd want to stay for long if you wish to elevate your taste in this game, for this somehow manages to have less character than other competitors which I deemed nearly unbeatable in that regard. I guess there's always a bigger fish.

Overall Rating: 4/10