Vikteur

Lighter, barely perceptible accords in contrast to dirty leather, a slight animalistic kick, dark green patchouli, dark base notes, a subtle dry mustiness, spicy, sweet.

When I first tested the fragrance, I felt something I call the "Gaultieri/Nasomatto" experience. The nose is overwhelmed, the scent repels yet simultaneously attracts. The fragrance delivers on its "advertising promise," tending to be darker, sexy, and somewhat tomb-like.

I immediately thought of a lacquer and leather vampire party with a lot of physicality in a crypt transformed into a decadent club. Electimuss themselves stay connected to their marketing with the Roman Empire and the corresponding culture and mythology.
The fragrance is meant to describe the opulent, lavish but also dark and - dead - court of the underworld god Pluto (Hades) and his treasure chambers in the underworld (gemstones in the darkness), but also the elegance and animality of a panther (:D). It somehow makes sense when you smell the fragrance.

For some, it may be too heavy, perhaps too sweet, too musty, too animalistic. For the hardcore clientele, it might be too tame and agreeable. I like this middle ground where Patchouli of the Underworld resides. Of course, the counterpart of the fragrance is also recommended: the much brighter and greener "Persephone's Patchouli | Electimuss," dedicated to the beautiful Persephone, who was abducted by Pluto (Hades) into the underworld.

I also really like the ostentatious and very high-quality Electimuss bottles. They remind me of steampunk or old films like Metropolis.

The fragrance is, in closing words, very special: agreeable yet disagreeable, repulsive yet sexy, musty yet exciting. In conjunction with the bottle, it's definitely a beautiful collector's item - surely worn very rarely and "outstanding."

Wearable rather for parties where it is dark and hot, or upscale evening events where strong fragrances are generally accepted - or my personal rule, whenever you feel like it.

I join all the pirate comparisons of my predecessors, and I think it’s great that I can! This fragrance truly combines many scent notes that must not be missing in a good pirate fantasy: boozy rum, coconut, a bit of sweetness, wood, tobacco, smoke, leather, green notes, and a very fine mustiness.

Malibù - Party in the Bay for really hearty people.

[The fragrances don’t have much in common aside from coconut and a boozy note, but they effectively represent the two ends of a Caribbean fantasy spectrum.]

Or better: People who wear Fan Your Flames ambush those who wear "Malibù - Party in the Bay | Simone Andreoli."

Or: People who wear Fan Your Flames turn a stiff beach party with piña coladas into a wild rum feast.

What do I like about the fragrance?

1. The scent is strong and multifaceted. In fact, the first minutes are very boozy, green, bitter, and somewhat unappealing. Since it was a blind buy for me, I briefly felt a certain regret. Only over time do coconut, tobacco, sweetness, and finer woody notes develop for me, making the fragrance really good, pleasant, and even a little elegant - although the scent should feel most at home in casual leisure. Additionally, I personally detect a slightly leathery note: the oak moss shows clear edges but harmonizes excellently with the other fragrance components.

2. The fragrance stimulates the imagination, and we associate heavier, bitter-spicy scent notes with sun, beach, and sea. Pirates in the Caribbean, indeed.
This breaks a tiresome cliché: with heavy, dark, gourmand, or spicy fragrances, direct connections are often made to winter wonderlands, Christmas markets, fireplaces, or other cold-romantic scenarios. This annoys me, and Fan Your Flames shows that it’s all in the mind and that classic notions can be questioned. Of course, one should take care of oneself and one’s environment regarding heavier fragrances in higher temperatures.

3. Pirates!

"Dry and very fresh citrus at the start. Then vetiver and ambered woods take over. Something reminds me of Elysium. Unfortunately 'meh,'" I wrote in my statement.

I would like to elaborate on this and partially revise my thoughts.

[The fragrance takes its name from Greek mythology. Did you know that the bustling godfather Zeus transformed into a rain of gold to conceive Perseus with Danaë, who was imprisoned in a dark dungeon? Somehow fits the fragrance DNA.]

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On my skin, the "rain of gold" starts wonderfully fresh-citrusy (I can't quite pinpoint the type of citrus fruit - grapefruit works for me, but it could also be lemon for my common nose).
This citrus is not so golden, as it smells only minimally sweet to me and is rather weakly underlined, which makes it smell sour and almost a bit "dry" (in contrast to "juicy") with the woody-dark notes in the background. I won't lean too far out of the window here; it could certainly be subjective. Nevertheless, the heart note completely passes me by. All in all, I don't find that bad, because the more I smell the fragrance, the more this "clean-cut" citrus freshness appeals to me.

[The sword with which Perseus beheaded Medusa was, by the way, given to him by his divine half-brother Hermes. It seems that this PDM Perseus also has something of Hermes' Eau Givree;)]

On my skin, however, the citrus freshness in the drydown quickly makes an exit, just as Zeus probably did after satisfying his lust. What remains are very pleasant darker notes of subtle vetiver and ambered woods, whose "spice level" seems a bit out of place for a potential new "hype summer freshie," with a small splash of lemon, grapefruit, or whatever juice. By out of place, I mean that the contrasting fragrance components of Perseus do not blend as harmoniously as in similar competing products. Is this supposed to be edgy and PDM's creative achievement?

But it actually smells somehow simpler and 'cooler' to me than the more classic, comparable variants from the lower price range. Unfortunately, I like that. Those who have or want a Roja are probably better served with that, but I'm out with this brand.

[...End? Quite boring...]

Due to this choppy, somewhat two-dimensional "2-component progression," the fragrance seemed to me, considering expectations, house, and price category, too unspectacular. "Meh," indeed.

However, I actually perceived the true birth of Perseus when I wore the fragrance at a concert. Through the sweaty heat, the fruity-fresh heart note of mandarin and sweeter, more clearly perceivable grapefruit suddenly shone on my skin.

The missing link! Suddenly the fragrance (at least briefly) really excites! At least for a moment, the demigod has earned a place in Elysium for me.

[Since then, I like Perseus more, even though I've always held a grudge against him for the Medusa thing.]

At the end of the day, Perseus also leaves me torn. The fragrance has settled at 7.5 considering all factors (e.g., price and creativity).

H/S with 7 points each are a middle ground: slightly above average, but not impressive. The citrus fades quickly, but it reactivated wonderfully for me through heat and sweating, while the darker notes last longer. For the sillage, I tend towards a 6 - you really have to spray generously for a 7.

With the PDM bottles, I'm also torn regardless of the fragrance. 8 points because they are very high quality (heavy weight, solid, clicking metal cap, beautiful colors, great spray head), but they somehow look Ferrari-ostentatious and monotonous when you own several PDMs.

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So what should the added value of this review be?

Try the fragrance in real heat; it really convinced me then. Otherwise, it is indeed somewhat two-dimensional, but I still like it better than comparable options.

For my part, I find it important to talk about price-performance, especially since the hype around Tom Ford (unfortunately still one of my favorite houses regarding pure fragrances) and recently Roja. I always find it a shame when fragrances are very expensive just to be expensive, as they then appeal to a certain clientele or awaken desires in the common people, who then have to go to great lengths to obtain them.

I understand anyone who finds the fragrance uninspired, unnecessary, uncreative, and above all overpriced; however, I would still put Perseus on my wish list with a clear conscience, but he has to earn his place. I would say this about almost every PDM with few exceptions, as they are generally just beautiful, versatile, and pleasing (entry-level) niche fragrances that you can't go wrong with. PDM is one of those brands that can have maximum annoyance factor due to influencer marketing. If you can free yourself from that, PDM, in contrast to the subsidiary Initio, still operates in a reasonable price-performance range in my opinion: expensive enough to feel luxurious, but with exceptions and compromises, high wearability and enough performance to justify the price.

I don't care about being part of the masses. Perseus is perhaps significantly harder at the boundary than other, clearly superior "winter fragrances" from the house, but it's still far from Neroli Portofino.

If you can get it a bit cheaper, you can "give Perseus a try." Maybe you'll even stand out a bit from the crowd, as many will (rightly?) dismiss it at first sniff.

PS: It's hard to say how much thought PDM put into naming, but it amused me.

Unfortunately, despite the good price, I disagree with the general perception of summer freshness and tea.

My nose quickly gets taken over by rather sweet-floral notes after a natural and lemony opening, where an old-fashioned scent pillow note resonates early on, making everything smell quite generic. The refreshing and natural aspects of citrus and tea, which I was looking forward to, are secondary in the drydown, although the tea note is still somewhat more present for me.

In general, after a while, I feel more like I’ve sprayed myself with a synthetic-smelling wooden fragrance stick liquid like Rituals or similar. I quickly felt nauseous from the scent, and I dread to think of being sprayed with it on a hot day.

As a relaxation or bedtime scent, I also find it too synthetic and sweet in the drydown. The fresh opening and the hint of green tea can’t save it anymore, and I don’t want to endure the rest. Thank goodness the fragrance composition fades relatively quickly, but to my dismay, it clung quite stubbornly to the skin.

Actually, I am someone who doesn’t hold much stock in classic gender roles or corresponding assigned scent profiles, and I try to free myself from that, but - classically speaking - Fleur de Thé would not be a scent I would recommend without hesitation as unisex due to the irresistibly spreading sweet floral nature (Fleur>>>Thé) and the too short-lived freshness. (It is also not labeled as such).

So, if you want to give your Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Signature Scent a bit of variety, go ahead. Otherwise, it’s better to exercise some caution before purchasing.

I find comparisons to LV Imagination or Gritti Pomelo Sorrento somewhat presumptuous :D, although the latter has a similarly poor H/S. Better to throw the money for this scent into a piggy bank if you were led here in search of an affordable alternative.

PS: The bottle is beautiful!

As the hype around XerJoff grew due to massive (and partly brazen) influencer marketing, I ordered some XerJoff samples: Alexandria II, Tony Iommy, Torino 21, Kobe, Renaissance, Naxos, 2-3 Stonelabels, etc.

I must admit, for my nose, which may have already been somewhat influenced by the price, marketing, and presentation of the fragrances, the XerJoff DNA somehow managed to exude an elegant and refined aura right away - I find that all these fragrances actually smell very fine, "high-quality," and even somewhat luxurious.

However, I still believe the prices are quite steep, and these luxury associations don't really suit me, as I am not a rich snob and don't want to forcefully identify with luxury products among the beautiful and wealthy,
...but still, Torino 21 somehow stuck with me, also because it is one of the more affordable scents from the brand.

I told myself that no freshie in the world could justify paying significantly more than 200 euros for 100ml. I tried to find cheaper or "better" alternatives with a similar DNA. I did find some, but in the end of my journey, I ended up back where I started - whether because the fragrances were either just as expensive or more expensive (e.g., Nishane or Roja), faded away WAY too quickly (e.g., those Guerlain stories or smaller houses from Italy), or simply lacked "that certain something."

Torino 21 is a fragrance that combines notes of citrus fruits, mint, subtle Mediterranean greenery, and a hint of jasmine, lavender, and creamy musk in a harmonious balance while remaining on the sweeter side - which probably triggers those "mojito vibes" for many. It exudes lightness, good mood, and vacation feelings while retaining the "fineness" of the XerJoff DNA. For a citrus scent, I find the sillage and longevity on my skin quite solid, but I am not impressed or find the price immediately justified - it has to be reapplied generously 1-2 times daily if I want projection. However, one could also say that the fragrance maintains a light, fine-fresh-minty-sweet-creamy base note for a relatively long time on warm days in the drydown, which is not too intrusive.

However, at the end of the day, the fragrance is neither truly unique nor a longevity beast.

What I absolutely cannot understand on Parfumo are these toilet cleaner or urinal cake comments under every fragrance that contains any form of prominent citrus - I do not perceive that at all here, especially due to the fine mint and sweetness of the fragrance (a bit of Wrigley's Spearmint, a sugary-delicious citrus-mint soda, or a really, really tasty toothpaste with little goodwill is more likely when the magic of the fragrance composition passes by). Why spoil the fun for people when one simply does not like a fragrance DNA?

But why then Torino 21?

The fragrance reminds me of my childhood, as my parents often traveled to the Mediterranean (border of France/Italy), and I recognize something in the scent that makes me happy. It evokes something positive and calming in me that no competing product achieves, and that is why it is worth the price to me, as I believe one cannot complain about the quality of the fragrance, but only about the general price-performance ratio of more fleeting luxury freshies or XerJoff's pricing policy. This fragrance clearly falls into the category of "you can treat yourself" if you really like it.

I would therefore recommend testing it first and sniffing through similar fragrances before purchasing it. Because it really doesn’t have to be Torino 21 if you enjoy pleasant and fresh-minty-sweet fragrances or a Mediterranean flair,...

(...especially if you approach XerJoff and what the brand "represents" with a certain ambivalence and/or aversion.)

However, I want to conclude with a warning that the fragrance can be addictive.