* Bang. Boozy sweet fruit explodes on the top.
* Apricot and peach infused with rum projects loudly.
Tag: jasmine
* Kicks off strong with a burst of spicy herbal fruit with a touch of honey and hay.
* It feels like an Arabic fruit – which must be the saffron and the rose.
* After that opening, it mellows down to a floral melange – a sharp rose and some jasmine.
* A light patchouli appears with the flower and quietly becomes the focus.
* The patchouli is joined by some clean musk and a slight hint of amber in the base.
Summary: I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Bond scents. Either I love them immensely or absolutely detest them. Perfumista Avenue is the rare Bond scent where I am neutral on it. It’s okay, if a bit generic. I don’t get the Perfumista Avenue theme – it’s saffron, flowers, and a pretty generic dry-down. It does smell like a Bond Scent – sniffing it, that’s obvious, but there isn’t anything in it that makes it stand out from the rest of the collection. Longevity is disappointing for an edp as it becomes a close skin scent after two hours, then after four hours, it’s barely noticeable. There are much better scents in the collection, so I would advise you to try a different one in the collection. Please note – other reviewers are getting much different results on this scent, so read the other reviews below and test for yourself if they sound interesting.
Other Opinions:
The Scentrist
Man Loves Cologne
Bond No 9 fragrances are available at Nordstrom, Saks 5th Avenue, independent boutiques and from Bond No 9 boutiques.
Disclaimer: Sample provided by department store. Image courtesy of Panella Parfums.
* Sweet yet subtle flowers – not really muted but not as vivaciously strong as you would expect
* Then after 5 minutes – it blooms – a lush garden of dirty jasmine and spicy carnations.
* Next comes a sweet rose that is both powdery sweet and fruity/jammy.
* At one point it seemed to have morphed into a fruity floral with a bit of a kick.
* During this portion, if you sniff really closely there is a hint of oud behind the rose. Not overbearing, it kind of just levels out the sweetness.
* The flowers fade away for a base that is a soft mix of light leather, woods, and amber.
Summary: Fleur oud is confusing. It makes me think again of the infamous “chess for girls” sketch from Saturday Night Live, but it goes both ways. A few times when I wore this, it felt like it could be a safe “non-oud” oud for women who didn’t want a skanky, dirty oud scent. Other times I wore it, it seemed like a floral fragrance that a guy could wear without feeling too girly. Either way, this is one that definitely needs to be skin-tested several times to get the full story of how it works on your skin. Projection is strong for the first hour, but after it calms down it would be safe for office wear. Longevity is excellent for an EDP, lasting over ten hours. Together with Tobacco Oud, these two scents restore my faith in the Tom Ford Private Blend line. This is the line that first got me into niche perfumes a few years back. The past few collections (Musks, Atelier D’Orient, and Jardin Noir) made me feel like the brand had lost their way but these two oud scents make me think that the line is ready for a comeback.
Other opinions:
Perfume Possee
Kafkaesque
The Candy Perfume Boy
The Scentrist
Ca Fleure Bon
Persolaise
Man Loves Cologne
Katie Chutzpah
Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances are available at Saks 5th Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Disclaimer: Sample provided by sales associate for review. Image courtesy of Neiman Marcus.
* Imagine a drunk forester in an orchard. Or at least an absinthe drinker with pine resin on his coat, drinking cranberry spiked lemonade.
* Those two guys in the cranapple commercials come to mind.
* A soft polished jasmine comes into focus as the cranberry fades to the back. The licorice/absinthe note provides some depth to the jasmine.
* After the heart notes comes into focus, it becomes a skin scent.
* The base is soft pipe tobacco with a hint of vanilla.
Summary: When I visited the Guerlain boutique on the Champs Elysees back in 2011, I knew I was going to buy Chamade Pour Homme, and the SA showed me around to another new scents. I liked this one on first sniff so it was kind of a blind buy. I like it, but I don’t love it so it’s not one that I would have bought if I had tested it more in depth. It’s marketed as feminine but it’s easily unisex. It’s sheer and pretty but it doesn’t really stand out, especially in the Guerlain house. It is a safe fragrance – nothing out of the ordinary – mainly because it is a little muted and soft to the skin. It’s worth a test but I think you can find a better Guerlain.
Other opinions:
Eau MG
Perfume-Smellin’ Things
Perfume Possee
Olfactoria’s Travels
Perfume Shrine
Guerlain fragrances are available through Guerlain Boutiques and Neiman Marcus.
Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Guerlain website.