Warilol

I must admit, I only became aware of the creations of the Le Male creator relatively late. This is probably because I absolutely do not like his most prominent work from his own fragrance collections, the BR540. Too sweet and syrupy, I tend to flee from it. That Mr. Kurkdjian can also do subtlety and takes a fresh direction with his Aqua fragrances, I could only experience firsthand after a deal at the local souk. The Aqua Vitae Forte made its way into my collection blindly, a good decision, as I later found out!

When a newcomer engages with MFK fragrances, one often faces a large, insurmountable mountain of terms and additions. "Forte" was the one that made me ponder with this Aqua Vitae. Okay, apparently it is supposed to be "stronger," longer-lasting! Sounds good, but if I can believe the opinions here in the forum, it seems to smell different from the normal version? Which one is better now?

To put it briefly and succinctly: For me, there is no reason to reach for the normal version, the Aqua Vitae. It generally comes across as a bit softer, even diluted, and does not have the great longevity that one can attribute to the Forte. As for the DNA, the latter simply feels fuller, spicier, and generally more balanced.

But enough banter and comparisons, after all, this is about the Aqua Vitae Forte!
The scent itself is relatively easy to describe: A creamy dream of mandarin, feminine floral, paired with a subtle, masculine spiciness. This impression only changes slightly over time; the scent itself is rather linear. For a fresh fragrance, the longevity is absolutely top-notch; it easily lasts through a workday! Even though bergamot and lemon are listed in the fragrance pyramid, this one is not a typically citrus-fresh scent as one knows from the designer segment. As already mentioned, here those fragrance notes manifest more as a floral creaminess.

Because of this, one might want to attribute a more feminine tendency to it. However, due to this pleasant, underlying spiciness, it is also very well-suited for the gentlemen of creation. Whether in the office or out on a date in the evening, somehow the fragrance exudes a certain elegance and seriousness, almost luxury in my opinion.

In this fragrance, Kurkdjian's signature is clearly recognizable. This typical softness, almost an aura, creamy and very nicely rounded. Performant, high-quality, and in my eyes, definitely worth the money.

Finally vacation! Full of anticipation, I feed the navigation system with my upcoming destination, off we go! But then the shock, a flat tire on the way... Disappointed, I command my navigation system to end the route guidance, the well-deserved vacation will have to wait.

This is how I can metaphorically describe my experience with Sur la Route. Initially absolutely thrilled and full of excitement, it turned out for me personally to be a rather prudish and somewhat boring citrus scent as the journey progressed.

When I look at the bottle and the color of the perfume, they reflect very well the scenario that Sur la Route creates in my mind. A classically yet very modernly dressed man taking a walk through a Mediterranean landscape. Heat mirages, caused by the scorching sun, flicker over the road, while the grasses at the edge complete the concert with their frantic dance movements. The landscape is tinted in pastel colors, the heat has almost completely robbed it of its fertility. But appearances can be deceiving; high up in the treetops, there are still remnants of late summer, overripe yet juicy citrus fruits that round off the dusty walk with a brief refreshment.

I like to compare this scent to Bond No9's Bleecker Street because, in my opinion, there is a similar DNA here, even though the scents themselves are perceived as completely different.
While Bleecker Street represents a picnic with fruits on a squeaky green meadow for me, Sur la Route embodies the scenario described above. However, both scents have one thing in common: a citrusy start followed by a grassy base.

Sur la Route starts pleasantly with a very authentic yet restrained citrus note, which is quickly underpinned by a slightly musty grass scent that I associate with grass dried out by heat. Attention, this is not about vetiver! To me, all of this feels very classic, yet timelessly modern and by no means mainstream, even though it is essentially a regular designer scent.

But where is my problem with this scent? Well, on my skin, this fragrance feels very simple and fleeting. I hardly perceive the beautiful citrus note, especially on my skin, resulting in a slightly musty grass note as already described. This likely leads to the associations with leather! Additionally, I can no longer perceive the scent myself after just about an hour; the projection, at least for me as the wearer, is simply almost nonexistent. My surroundings have also perceived this scent rather neutrally or not at all. For me, this is quite unsatisfactory; why then spend €230 on a designer scent that was only truly convincing on paper (test strip)?

Despite everything, Sur la Route is a very nice designer fragrance that, in my opinion, is ultimately not worth €230. When I spend such sums, I want to perceive and enjoy the scent, and not just for a few minutes.

As I mentioned in my last comment, I want to take a closer look at Zara fragrances in the near future. In addition to the current Summer collection, the somewhat longer available "Vetiver Pamplemousse" is now on my list.

I don't want to beat around the bush here, because according to the simple fragrance pyramid, there's really no need to drift off. You are presented with an incredibly authentic grapefruit that you would almost want to bite into. This is accompanied by a gentle vetiver note, which gradually pushes itself more into the foreground after a few hours. Soft and smooth, less dirty and masculine than one might expect from classic fragrances that play with the grass note.

What can I say, I am thrilled with this scent. For €25, you get a rather simple but top-quality fragrance that strongly reminds me of the house "Atelier Cologne" or the "blu mediterranio" collection from Acqua di Parma. There is nothing synthetic or cheap here; the fragrance simply feels very authentic overall, a revelation for me.

Logically, we are not talking about a H/S monster here, especially not in this price range. I could perceive the scent on my wrist for about 4 hours, during which it projected quite well on textiles in the first hour.

Lovers of citrus fragrances that lean more towards the niche or focus on an authentic representation should definitely give this a try. I'm happy to stick my neck out here; you can confidently order it blind.

In light of the current isolation, I want to use my free time meaningfully, do something creative, or simply gift my loved ones. So I came up with the idea to order all the popular ZARA fragrances from the summer collection, review them day by day, and ultimately gift them for birthdays or other celebrations. This way, I bring joy to others while also indulging in my hobby.

Overall, I find Zara fragrances quite exciting. They are modern, sometimes even relatively high-quality, and you can get them for little money practically thrown at you in local stores. Since the fashion house releases its perfumes almost weekly, there is often a lack of reviews in this jungle.

I want to start with what is probably the newest fragrance in the line, the 8.0 Summer. 100 ml could be purchased on the website last week for an unbeatable €9.99. Can much go wrong there?

After spending about 5 days with the fragrance, I can confirm that I can perceive almost all the components from the fragrance pyramid. Right after spraying, I am greeted by a mix of mandarin and apple, supported by a fresh cucumber. To me, it feels less citrusy, more fruity-creamy with a noticeable note of cucumber. This scene is less authentically executed; rather, I would describe it as a modern synthetic, without attaching a negative connotation to it. I attribute the creamy nuances to the amberwood combined with the mandarin, which I have also encountered in Cool Water Intense. The longer the fragrance lasts, the more this one reminds me of Davidoff's flanker.

So far, it sounds quite solid, but this fragrance was unable to develop any drydown on my skin; it was so weak overall on the chest. I had to apply it very generously on my clothing or a test strip to even perceive it on the textile after 5-7 hours. As I mentioned, I could detect a creamy amberwood mix there. On my skin, the fragrance devolved into a sadly Zara-typical insignificance that I couldn't quite define.

This fragrance therefore completely lives off its top note, which I actually quite like. One would have to penalize it for the lack of longevity and weak drydown, but hey, at this price, you can hardly complain. And to be honest, I like this fragrance better than the aforementioned Cool Water Intense.

Anyone who enjoys refreshing themselves with a zesty top note in summer and has no problem with modern synthetics or weak longevity will likely find a good deal here at this low price.

According to Roja Dove, only a few manage to realize the dream of this supposedly evergreen and lush-blooming paradise. In 2020, I made a firm decision: I want to go to this paradise too!

Anyone who is regularly active on YouTube and in the relevant communities around the topic of perfume must inevitably be familiar with this Elysium, especially in the so-called perfume-cologne version. While the hype around Aventus may have waned over the years, this one is just now really surfacing from the sea of hype and is on everyone's lips, as there is hardly a "Top 10 Niche List" from a well-known influencer without this beautiful bottle. Since I really liked the fragrance pyramid and I generally enjoy citrus-fresh scents, I thought to myself, why not order a €270 perfume blind? Sounds silly, and it is, but at least I received a sample with the bottle so I can return it if necessary.

Looking at the extremely lush fragrance pyramid, one expects a citrus scent combined with slightly ethereal green nuances, which are based on a musk and wood foundation. Well, I can agree with that, but the pleasure for my nose comes across as much more trivial. Essentially, the scent progression can be broken down into three stages: citrus, juniper or currants, and towards the end vetiver; I don't really want to perceive all the other hundreds of components here, although the juniper berries are by far the most dominant for me. Later, this role is taken over by the vetiver, while I unfortunately miss the woods entirely.

As for longevity, I would only classify it as moderate; after 5-6 hours, the sun sets in the highly praised paradise, but I didn't expect much more considering the "fresh" scent DNA.

Based on this dynamic, the attentive reader can see that I am indeed a bit disappointed with this scent; I simply expected something different. I would have liked the citrus notes to be juicier, more prominent, and a bit longer-lasting. This scent is primarily a berry bomb, with the juniper and currant being very pronounced throughout the entire scent progression. This is new for me, and to be honest, I didn't anticipate such a progression beforehand. The reason for this false expectation was probably the constant comparison with Aventus. This one has absolutely NOTHING in common with Aventus!

Despite everything, you can clearly sense the quality and craftsmanship of this scent. It tells a story, transports the wearer to different places, is somehow complex, yet simple in its nature. Many will like it, but very few will truly appreciate it. I confess, I have a very simple freshie nose; I just like things to be straightforward.

The purchase of this scent was also symbolically the end of my passion for collecting fragrances, the end of a journey, seemingly arrived in paradise. The most expensive bottle in my collection, the peak has been reached. Almost 70 fragrances in total, worth the price of a small car. At some point, it has to come to an end.

I would have liked to celebrate this milestone with that scent, but the spark hasn't really ignited yet. I will continue to wear the sample; maybe I will learn to love it. But just liking it and finding it okay is definitely not enough for such an expensive scent. Until then, the bottle remains unopened; maybe it will get the last free spot in my collection, who knows.

Update 27.03.2020: By now, the scent has morphed into my absolute favorite. It shows how a fragrance can mature on you, and initial impressions do not lead to a final judgment. I am glad I kept the bottle.