Categories
Fragrance Reviews

By Kilian Black Oud Fragrance Review

by-kilian-black-oud
* Starts off viciously, with an aggressive oud in your face mixed with animalic skank and dirty musk.

* Wow, this stuff is strong and definitely not for the faint of heart.

* Leather comes into the picture in almost a violent way – again, it’s dirty and animalic.

* At this point, the scent goes completely linear – leather, oud, sweat, animalic, and dirty.

Summary:  Etat Libre D’Orange did a fragrance for Tom of Finland which was a pretty weak and safe leather scent.  They got it completely wrong.  By Killian Black Oud is the scent that should have been for Tom of Finland.  Smelling it,  I picture hot, sweaty, hairy musclemen dancing in leather gear for hours.  And hours is the optimal word, as this scent doesn’t go away – it lingers, for more than 24 hours and through a shower or two .  Black Oud was previously exclusive to the Middle Eastern markets and it’s easy to see (and smell) why – this is some strong stuff.  Clearly not office-friendly and you would definitely need to have cojones to wear this out in public.  It projects massively and everyone around you will notice it. 

By Kilian Black Oud is only available by Kilian boutiques.

Sample purchased by me. Image from By Kilian website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Parfums Retro Grand Cuir Fragrance Review

parfums-retro-grand-cuir
* Starts off with pine, sage, motor oil and a hint of citrus.

* Off the bat, this is a classic and rugged manly scent.  You kind of need chest hair to pull this off.

Continue reading “Parfums Retro Grand Cuir Fragrance Review”
Categories
Fragrance Reviews Mainstream Monday

Dior Homme Eau For Men Fragrance Review (Mainstream Monday)

dior-homme-eau-for-man
* First whiff is a bit tingly and spicy.  Its hard to define the notes but it feels (but doesn’t smell) peppery with the way it makes my nose twitch

* Within three minutes, a semisweet grapefruit and citrus comes in with a bit of spice.

* The fruits mix and stay at the forefront, and a faint flower starts to come in.

* The original Dior Homme was an iris-based scent – so I am guessing the flower is a muted iris.

* The long-lasting base of amber woods lasts a really long time.

Summary:  Dior Homme Eau For Men is a safe and solid designer men’s fragrance. It is easy to wear, accessible, and will work for a lot of people.  I think it is better than most department store scents because what you smell on top is pretty similar to what you smell throughout the life of the scent and it lasts more than twelve hours.   Fans of scents like Chanel Blue and Dior Light Blue would do well to check this one out.  It is office-friendly and will no doubt be very popular as I’ve already smelled it on guys at the club several times.  The glass bottle is also quite attractive – in a modern masculine minimalist way with the black tube accent giving it a visual exclamation point.  This is one of those times when I appreciate a fragrance for its merits while realizing that it is not something that I personally would reach for.  

Other opinions:

Alpha M
Goodsmellas

Dior Homme Eau for Men is available at Macy’s.

Disclaimer: Sample received from publicist. Image courtesy of Fragrantica.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Jacoglu Oud Prestige Fragrance Review

oud-prestige-jacoglu* Stoic citrus are at the top. The fruits stand out, but they aren’t sweet and juicy, they are more sharpened and direct. Grapefruit and strawberry with earl grey tea and some cedar behind it.

* The opening feels very distinguished – in a gentlemanly kind of way.

* What comes next is a bit strange – a mix of motor oil, pine, and dirty jasmine.

* It smells a bit strange but softens a bit and gets a bit sweeter and woodier.

* A bit of oud seeps in as a supporting note behind a musky amber in the base.

Summary: There is a lot to like about this scent – it is interesting and a bit strange without being so weird that it is scary. Oud Prestige is an Oud 2.0 fragrance, so it isn’t an ‘oud in your face’ bomb, but rather the oud acts as a supporting player and blends well into the composition. The label on the scent says for women, but I completely disagree. While a woman could wear this, on me it reads very rich gentleman. The strangeness I describe in the middle sounds kind of leftfield and it does remind me of Smellbent Accident – but a much more refined and dignified version. Longevity is excellent, at more than 10 hours, and after the first hour, the projection is light enough to make it an office-friendly scent. I would recommend this scent to anyone looking for a nonaggressive oud scent that has a bit of personality and is a bit out of the ordinary.

Jacoglu Oud Prestige is available from LuckyScent.

Disclaimer: Sample received from publicist. Image courtesy of Luckyscent.

Notable Scents – Page 8 – A DJ Ron Blog
Categories
Fragrance Reviews

By Kilian Black Oud Fragrance Review

by-kilian-black-oud
* Starts off viciously, with an aggressive oud in your face mixed with animalic skank and dirty musk.

* Wow, this stuff is strong and definitely not for the faint of heart.

* Leather comes into the picture in almost a violent way – again, it’s dirty and animalic.

* At this point, the scent goes completely linear – leather, oud, sweat, animalic, and dirty.

Summary:  Etat Libre D’Orange did a fragrance for Tom of Finland which was a pretty weak and safe leather scent.  They got it completely wrong.  By Killian Black Oud is the scent that should have been for Tom of Finland.  Smelling it,  I picture hot, sweaty, hairy musclemen dancing in leather gear for hours.  And hours is the optimal word, as this scent doesn’t go away – it lingers, for more than 24 hours and through a shower or two .  Black Oud was previously exclusive to the Middle Eastern markets and it’s easy to see (and smell) why – this is some strong stuff.  Clearly not office-friendly and you would definitely need to have cojones to wear this out in public.  It projects massively and everyone around you will notice it. 

By Kilian Black Oud is only available by Kilian boutiques.

Sample purchased by me. Image from By Kilian website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Parfums Retro Grand Cuir Fragrance Review

parfums-retro-grand-cuir
* Starts off with pine, sage, motor oil and a hint of citrus.

* Off the bat, this is a classic and rugged manly scent.  You kind of need chest hair to pull this off.

Continue reading “Parfums Retro Grand Cuir Fragrance Review”
Categories
Fragrance Reviews Mainstream Monday

Dior Homme Eau For Men Fragrance Review (Mainstream Monday)

dior-homme-eau-for-man
* First whiff is a bit tingly and spicy.  Its hard to define the notes but it feels (but doesn’t smell) peppery with the way it makes my nose twitch

* Within three minutes, a semisweet grapefruit and citrus comes in with a bit of spice.

* The fruits mix and stay at the forefront, and a faint flower starts to come in.

* The original Dior Homme was an iris-based scent – so I am guessing the flower is a muted iris.

* The long-lasting base of amber woods lasts a really long time.

Summary:  Dior Homme Eau For Men is a safe and solid designer men’s fragrance. It is easy to wear, accessible, and will work for a lot of people.  I think it is better than most department store scents because what you smell on top is pretty similar to what you smell throughout the life of the scent and it lasts more than twelve hours.   Fans of scents like Chanel Blue and Dior Light Blue would do well to check this one out.  It is office-friendly and will no doubt be very popular as I’ve already smelled it on guys at the club several times.  The glass bottle is also quite attractive – in a modern masculine minimalist way with the black tube accent giving it a visual exclamation point.  This is one of those times when I appreciate a fragrance for its merits while realizing that it is not something that I personally would reach for.  

Other opinions:

Alpha M
Goodsmellas

Dior Homme Eau for Men is available at Macy’s.

Disclaimer: Sample received from publicist. Image courtesy of Fragrantica.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Jacoglu Oud Prestige Fragrance Review

oud-prestige-jacoglu* Stoic citrus are at the top. The fruits stand out, but they aren’t sweet and juicy, they are more sharpened and direct. Grapefruit and strawberry with earl grey tea and some cedar behind it.

* The opening feels very distinguished – in a gentlemanly kind of way.

* What comes next is a bit strange – a mix of motor oil, pine, and dirty jasmine.

* It smells a bit strange but softens a bit and gets a bit sweeter and woodier.

* A bit of oud seeps in as a supporting note behind a musky amber in the base.

Summary: There is a lot to like about this scent – it is interesting and a bit strange without being so weird that it is scary. Oud Prestige is an Oud 2.0 fragrance, so it isn’t an ‘oud in your face’ bomb, but rather the oud acts as a supporting player and blends well into the composition. The label on the scent says for women, but I completely disagree. While a woman could wear this, on me it reads very rich gentleman. The strangeness I describe in the middle sounds kind of leftfield and it does remind me of Smellbent Accident – but a much more refined and dignified version. Longevity is excellent, at more than 10 hours, and after the first hour, the projection is light enough to make it an office-friendly scent. I would recommend this scent to anyone looking for a nonaggressive oud scent that has a bit of personality and is a bit out of the ordinary.

Jacoglu Oud Prestige is available from LuckyScent.

Disclaimer: Sample received from publicist. Image courtesy of Luckyscent.