Stratilates

I've been in the perfume game for about three years now and even though Aventus first appeared on the market in 2010, sooner or later you stumble across this name. You just can't get around this name and why should you, if it has such a hype, then it must smell good, right?
So what does it smell like, this Aventus that everyone is talking about? I was delighted when I saw it for the first time in the perfumery and asked the lady if she could spray it on me, knowing that Aventus is said to have survived many reformulations (or perhaps not survived after all~). So the lady handed me the scarf (very fancy) and I was excited until... well, toilet stones with pungent pineapple... very disappointing and I didn't have the leisure to hunt down certain batches with good versions and so my Aventus chapter was closed.

A year later, I was sitting next to a dude in a chemistry class at university, who I am now lucky enough to call one of my closest colleagues, and smelled something very nice in the air: vanilla. But it was so good in terms of quality that I thought to myself that it couldn't possibly be a designer (small-checkered thoughts)! But as I only really knew Layton from the niche world at the time, this vanilla also reminded me of Layton. And you have to imagine I smell this vanilla over a certain period of time until I really realize, okay, it's the dude next to me, with whom I hadn't really had much to do until then, except that we cracked a few jokes in chemistry class. So I asked him, "Yo bro sorry quick question, but are you wearing any perfume right now?". "Yeah, why?". "Is it Layton by any chance, because it smells incredibly good!". "Unfortunately not, it's from Electimuss and it's called Imperium - it's an Aventus with vanilla!". And that's how we got onto the subject of perfumes, which always led to plenty of conversation when we weren't complaining about the THM :D. He also said that he first heard about the fragrance on Parfumo and that's how I came across this great site in the first place.

Imperium has been on my mind ever since, but unfortunately I never got around to testing this wonderful fragrance. A year later (last year), my boys and I went out to celebrate after a ten-hour study session to "round off" the evening and that evening the friend in question wore Imperium again and this time the sillage of the fragrance blew me away! Funnily enough, the friend said that he didn't notice it that strongly himself (important for later). At the time, I still thought I HAD to test it on my skin myself - but again, I didn't until...
BF 2023 I bought it very cheaply, luckily, because when I saw the offer and it was in the shopping cart, I thought to myself "but not" and deleted the tab on my phone. I was hesitating and 5 minutes later I finally bought it after all. Maybe I hesitated because it was close to the Aventus (allegedly) and I didn't warm to it, but maybe also because my colleague really likes it; although I told him about the offer, he didn't want to get it. I made short work of it and then bought it myself.

When the package arrived, I unpacked the purple box full of joy, but also with uncertainty, and considered whether I would make him completely naked, because that would basically be close to a blind buy and I don't usually make blind buys. Nevertheless - something grabbed me and when I sprayed it on my arm and my girlfriend's eyes widened, I knew I would have NO regrets.

The Imperium opens with a very nice pineapple, embedded in even nicer bourbon vanilla. The pineapple has something slightly pungent, but not as extreme as the current batches of its role model. Personally, I find that pineapple generally comes across as a bit pungent in citrusy fragrances, but I don't think that's a bad thing. But no other fragrance has managed to create such a perfect symbiosis between Aventus (pineapple) and vanilla. Or should I just say Ani instead of vanilla? Because yes, that's right: Imperium is a (deliberate!) child between Aventus and Ani! Like the basketball player Yao Ming, whose parents were both giants and Yao Ming was then taller than his own parents, Imperium is also taller than both his parents and I'm not just talking about the beautiful, elegant bottle that weighs tons, but also about the fragrance itself. It is somehow a jack of all trades: citrusy, sweet, spicy, slightly smoky actually, even in the finish, but all without losing its class. It's a fragrance that you can theoretically wear for any occasion, during the day, in the evening and whatever the season, but I personally think you shouldn't be too underdressed for it.
Personally, I can't do much with the fragrance pyramid; yes, bergamot and neroli help the (unlisted !?) pineapple to create this beautiful citrus and in the mid-drydown you can smell the white flowers a little, but on the whole: Pineapple + vanilla (+musk). After a few hours there is also a certain smokiness, which the original version of Aventus is supposed to have (but unfortunately I never tested it). However, this smoky note fits perfectly into the overall picture and gives it a nice twist at the end. And I haven't even mentioned the best thing yet: you always want more of the empire, just like Julius Caesar.
Unfortunately, you don't get any more, because:
Longevity and sillage are a disaster. After two hours I hardly notice anything, but maybe that's also due to Noseblind, as it was the same with my colleague. It only performed really well when I was really careful not to let anything get on my neck and when it was warm (in the car). Maybe it's stronger in summer? I hope so, because it would be a shame to have to stick with a 6 for H+S. I can't wait to apply it in spring/summer!

The bottle is a real beauty, I don't like the box too much but the bottle makes up for it :D. Solid and high quality, cap is also heavy and sits firmly on the bottle. The sprayer is upper mid-range, so very solid.

PL is solid even at full price, as long as you like Aventus or Ani.

Finally, I would like to thank Sofia for this fragrance and of course my colleague @Lr510 !