Summer93

He who knows, knows.

This scent reminds me so incredibly strongly of something from my childhood. My parents had an old bathtub in another very small house on the property, which was filled with hot water using an external boiler and inlet. We always had to walk across the property before and after and our neighbors heated with fir and pine wood for a very long time.

This smoky smell, which I currently only know from bath shampoos a la "mountain pine", always reminds me of that time.

The fragrance starts with strong incense, which I personally perceive more as fir and pine smoke, and I also smell a hint of eucalyptus at the beginning, which gives the fragrance that typical sauna infusion scent

I don't know of any perfume that is even remotely comparable (and I am happy to accept suggestions from the community) and that is what makes it so unique for me. However, it's not a fragrance that I would wear all the time in everyday life, but rather a fragrance that I want to smell almost every day. Sometimes I actually use it for a nice, warm bath (then I spray the fragrance into the bathtub and/or the room beforehand) - I can really recommend it.

To be honest, it lasts okay on me, but not extremely long and the sillage is similar for me.

First of all, because this seems to be a thing:

I'm judging the fragrance, not the influencer behind it. I can't understand why many people here don't seem to be able to do that. Taste and perception are of course individual and relative.

When Kai included a sample with every order in the store, I wanted to give it a try, because I have to admit that I find the price disproportionately high for the fragrance (Cherry X is much better).

At first, the fragrance was too much for me and I thought to myself: nope, that won't work. However, the sample alone convinced me over time, because I tested the fragrance over and over again and fell for it more and more each time. The sample lasted me an incredibly long time and after I bought a bottle here in the souk for a really good price, I was able to pass it on to someone in the souk.

About the bottle: I think it's really beautiful and successful. It looks very valuable, very solid. The only thing that doesn't seem to hold extremely well (for me) is the sticker. The packaging is beautiful, but very simple and could - especially at this price - be more pompous and unusual.

About the fragrance: Strong, but at the same time soft oud with a great rose. I don't have (perhaps in the meantime) any hint of cowshed, cheese (which I've never had) or anything smelly, because the oud is really great. I also didn't notice a huge progression in the scent, but for me that's a good thing because I love the fragrance just the way it is.
It has incredibly good longevity and would have to be by far the longest-lasting fragrance in my collection (even better than my Gebauer fragrances), and it also has an extremely strong sillage that doesn't diminish even after a few hours. I get the scent in my nose again and again for a very long time and use a maximum of two sprays. I can detect the fragrance on my clothes for 2-4 days.

So the fragrance is definitely not for people who don't want to stand out. Contrary to my initial fears - because I thought the fragrance would be very "controversial" and "hard to like" due to its reviews here - it even goes down well with my family, who are usually rather annoyed by a lot of my fragrances / don't like them and find them too strong.

Conclusion: Top fragrance with extreme sillage and longevity. Nevertheless, the price is a little too high and the packaging does not do it justice. If it wasn't from Kai Porten, but Xerjoff and Co., I'm pretty sure it would be better right away

After finally being able to call Afternoon Swim (AS) my own, I met someone here on Parfumo who, after I expressed my enthusiasm for AS, told me about "Portraits of Portofino" by "Birkholz". He was even kind enough to send me a small sample of his fragrance.

Pro:
When I sprayed Portofino for the first time, I immediately realized that I liked the fragrance so much. It also reminds me a lot of AS, but I have the feeling that Portofino is a little more fruity. I also see Turathi Blue as a similar fragrance in terms of DNA. It is simply an incredibly refreshing and yet long-lasting fragrance, which I see especially in the warm season (but of course you can also wear it all year round). In contrast to AS, it lasts a good deal longer and the sillage is also stronger than with AS. That was also the reason for me to buy a whole bottle of this and give up my AS for better or worse. This is because I only want to keep such expensive fragrances as those from LV in my collection if I don't have a comparably great alternative.

Similarities:
I notice similarities to AS and also to Turathi Blue. Since the second one is said to have a striking resemblance to the Tygar, I could imagine that this one is also similar.

Cons:
Personally, I still don't think the fragrance is good value for money. I think that with Louis Vuitton you are also buying this world-famous brand image and you get a (in my opinion) wonderful bottle with a magnetic cap. The outer packaging is also very elegant. In the case of Birkholz, the bottle looks valuable, the lid less so. Although it is also heavy, it is neither magnetic nor made of metal on the inside (although it is made of metal on the outside!). The outer packaging is also absolutely simple. I also don't quite understand why this range is more expensive at Birkholz, but so be it.

Conclusion: One of my new favorite fragrances, in a chic bottle with great longevity and sillage, only the price could be set a little lower.

So I bought this fragrance here and still owned the Ultra Male at the time. When I was able to compare the two, I had to really realize that for me both fragrances smell almost identical.
Short and sweet: I find the fragrance, just like the Ultra Male, really good and everyone who knows and loves the Ultra Male, will also find this one good. I have my Ultra Male thereupon even sold, because here I like the sillage and price performance simply significantly better.
Only the bottle I do not like, because this has a narrow and rounded footprint, which is why he has already fallen over a few times. Because one has here, however, really thick glass, nothing happened of course.

When I was recently again briefly at Zara, I was directly surprised by new fragrances. In addition to the Vanilla Vibration, which I bought in a small bottle, I also bought this one (a total of four fragrances were offered in these blue bottles).
I also have the ADG in the perfume variant here and in my opinion, a certain similarity (regarding the aquatic freshness) is clearly noticeable. At first Testriechen I did not notice the oudig-holzige and dark at the fragrance and I thought: Cool, a very cheap ADG. When I then sprayed the fragrance several times at home, I noticed this additional note. The mixture I find very interesting indeed, if for me still something to get used to. I find that this is really a nice fragrance for the summer over to the fall. The bottle I find actually again quite good, the sprayer is also really good.