Systemshock

I think the best thing I can say about Dime No. 1 is that I can't be mad at this. It's a slightly fresh and clean take on a standard lavender-based masculine EDT. The spray has a lot of initial citrus just chillin' out. The drydown is an aquatics-managed-lavender in a way that reminds me of YSL Y (either EDP or LP). It's perfectly adequate! If you want a scent that won't offend or go nuclear in a crowded room, this is a fine answer.

The first time I sprayed J'Adoube on my wrist as a test run, my immediate reaction was "well, this isn't for me." The key here is *sprayed,* though; J'Adoube hit me hard in the face with fruity sweetness upon first contact with my skin. As it dried down, I started picking up what Mind Games was putting down with this scent. By the end, I was hooked. When the dust settles on my endless search for good smelling stuff, this might be my signature if my wallet can stand it.

The pomegranate that threw the first punch doesn't disappear on drydown, but it settles in with a nice leather tunic and is subsequently doused in a kind of amber note that may as well be pomegranate's amber twin. It comes across in sillage as a kind of unisex fragrance treatise, with all three of these elements resting comfortably in some sort of aerial equilateral triangle of the traditionally masculine, the traditionally feminine, and the amber uniting the two. It's like how an immaculately-mixed cocktail tastes like all of its elements and yet one singular new thing simultaneously. And that cocktail lasts for a very long time and projects well! I'd almost say it's "linear" in a way, but the line itself is unique.

I think a scent like this is pretty important! Fruits are often cordoned off in the "feminine" category in scents. Oh, sure, those of us on the masculine side can have some citrus as a treat, and we must graciously remember that bergamot is also a fruit, and maybe we'll hide a bit of apple on the top end of something, but come on - we weren't marketed to with those fun Escada tropical things back in the late 90s. We're thrown wood, grass, resin, leather, tobacco - like we all need to be reminded of a 60s boardroom or a ranch. And that's fine, but let's go; we can handle the fruit! J'Adoube takes us further into juicy red fruits under the cover of amber, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

My first day with Amouage Search was a challenge. The decant itself smelled like fresh lemon, and from there I thought I knew what I was in for - after all, my preferences tend to lean toward citrus/bergamot top notes and an incense base with a little vetiver kick sometimes. Usually, with these kinds of fragrances, the citrus notes disappear after a while and I'm left with a soothing base for the rest of the day. That's it, right?

Nope! The strong smoke in Search (and I think that's from the elemi) first registered with me as "motor oil" before mellowing out into "okay, a good oil on fire, maybe?" Somewhere beyond the smoke was this promise of an herbal, botanical finish. And this lemon was weird! I couldn't place it!

To be fair, this scent challenge was accompanied by some weird experiences. I played a Jeff Minter arcade game in VR (for those who don't know, that's just about as weird as my experience) and vibed for a while. The next day, I sprayed it and watched Dune 2 in a theater. Surrealism, loud colors, brash noise, deserts, and this thing were blending so well together.

Now I've come full circle on it. That's not just lemon, and that's not just *any* lemon, there's a blend of citrus things going on, and the whole scent seems to last a while *including* the citrus (so probably they're using a lot of peels too). That's not just oil on fire, it's a wonderful-smelling oil transformed by it. The herbal notes in the background center it in reality.

Now I like this scent far too much, it's ridiculously expensive, and I only have a decant (hence why I'm not rating the bottle). Send help. Well played, Amouage.

For those of you who are fond of the good ol' Italian cologne profile of citrus/bergamot, florals/orange in the middle, and a little bit of incense-ish stuff in the basenotes, this is a nice, clean one of those. The drydown is less woody or incense-heavy than you'd think out of a patchouli base. There's some powder in here.

I loved my old Prada Infusion d'Homme, which has a lot of the same elements in a very different presentation - that scent really punched you in the face with neroli. Guilty Eau is way more mellowed out - for better or worse. Don't expect ridiculous sillage out of it, but the remaining scent throughout the day is pleasant and personal.