My "humble" collection with reviews
- Acqua di Parma Colonia Essenza: An absolute freshie, tailor made for an Indian summer. 'Soapy, detergent-esque' opening laden with citrus (think Amalfi lemons and orange blossom), beautifully rounded with a gentle spice and musk.
Best suited for: Summer
Performance: Low
Rating 4.25/5
2) Thameen Carved Oud: A riff on Tom Ford's Oud Wood; whilst it shares the DNA 90% of the way, this feels a little creamier, 'dressy' with a slight nod to spice (think cardamom). Slightly more rounded along the edges and a better blend, but not as daring as OW.
Best suited for: Winter
Performance: Medium
Rating 4.25/5
3) Amouage Reflection: Powdery, peppery opening bordering on pungent. Jasmine and neroli then take over, and it's in the dry-down where this much adored perfume really shines. The interplay between white floral middle notes and sweet creamy base notes of sandalwood and patchouli lend a gentle femininity to this highly masculine scent.
Best suited for: Spring
Performance: Medium
Rating 4.4/5
4) Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka: The quintessential Fall fragrance; burst of lavendar that quickly transitions to a silky, vanilla sweetness whilst being held by a subtle frankincense note. Simple and elegant.
Best suited for: Fall
Performance: Medium/High
Rating 4.3/5
5) YSL Y EDP: My personal favorite amongst the wildly popular 'blue' trio. Prominent green apple and sage note, very refined with geranium adding a vegetal, aromatic touch. Extremely long lasting.
Best suited for: Year Round
Performance: High
Rating 4.3/5
6) Aqua di Gio Profumo: A bonafide masterpiece! Can't add much to what the innumerable reviews have already highlighted; the frankincense and oceanic notes notes wreak olfactory havoc (in the best possible way)!
Best suited for: Year Round
Performance: Medium/High
Rating 4.5/5
7) Rosendo Mateu No. 1: A beautifully crafted tea fragrance that more than holds its own amongst its more popular counterparts (Miller Harris Tea Tonique, Nishane Wulong Cha et al). Uber fresh bergamot, mildly bitter tea leaf and creamy sandalwood combine to give a spring/summer staple.
Best suited for: Spring/Summer
Performance: Medium
Rating 4.4/5
8) Ermenigeldo Zegna Acqua di Neroli: A 'keep it simple silly' freshie. Neroli for days, a blind reach on a sultry summer's day. Whisks you to a non-descript village in the Mediterranean.
Best suited for: Summer
Performance: Medium
Rating 4.3/5
9) Code Deco Malabar: Think of wading through the Malabar forests as monsoon looms large. Oranges, wildflower, Indian spice mix sit atop a base of moss, cedar and sandalwood - thereby mimicking the forest.
Best suited for: Monsoon
Performance: High
Rating 4.4/5
10) YSL La Nuit De L'omme: Date night personified; a cardamom punch in the gut that will have your significant other floored faster than you can say 'Mississippi'. A complement magnet if there were ever one - that's if one can get to close enough quarters to smell it on you, no more than 1 hour after you spray it like there's no tomorrow. A mildly spicy, caraway base will do just enough to convince you that this isn't a one dimensional, 'boring' scent. Alas, it is a beautiful, gloriously boring scent.
Best suited for: Relationship Season
Performance: Low (low low low......)
Rating 4.45/5
11) Nishane Wulong Cha: Read review number 7; the discernible difference is that the sweetness of Rosendo Mateu No. 1 is derived from a creamy sandalwood whereas here it is more gourmand with the fig. Slightly more 'feminine' leaning than the former, but still a ubiquitous, unisex favorite.
Best suited for: Spring/Summer
Performance: Medium/High
Rating 4.4/5
12) Berdoues Maasai Mara: This plum cake in a bottle is perhaps intended as an ode to teatime at a campsite in Kenya's Maasai Mara; dried fruits, plum, cherry and vanilla swirl together on a bed of buchu leaf and leather. Gourmand, mysterious and alluring - much like the African plains, (depending on whom you ask).
Best suited for: Fall
Performance: Medium
Rating 4/5
13) Guerlain L'omme Ideal Extreme EDP: Festive season's poster child. Nothing will whisk you to winter Wonderland if notes of almond, pepper, cinnamon, plum, cherry and tobacco don't.
Best suited for: Winter
Performance: Medium
Rating 4.25/5
14) Mancera Intense Cedrat Boise: A confused smorgasbord of scent profiles ideally shouldn't work; a heady citrus opening, a synthetic 'oudy' middle note and a linear, musky drydown shouldn't work. Yet, as the name suggests, this is an Intense woody fragrance that somehow works as a many-in-one heavy hitter.
Best suited for: Year Round
Performance: High
Rating 4.3/5
15) Matiere Premiere Encens Suave: Sublime perfumery that takes you to church in the most visceral manner possible. Thick, sticky and resinous benzoin and labdanum form the underpinning to a rich vanilla and a sneaky coffee note. The end result makes you believe you are sitting on a wooden bench in a glorious cathedral tucked away on a cobbled street in one of Europe’s lesser known towns.
Best suited for: Winter
Performance: High
Rating 4.6/5
16) Xerjoff Naxos: A fair dinkum masterpiece; who says a jack of all trades can’t be a champion? If the freshness of lavender and citrus doesn’t entice you at the onset, maybe the sweet honey and woody cashmeran will push you over the edge. If all else fails, even the most ardent scentophiles with exacting standards will be bowled over by the tried tobacco and vanilla base.
Best suited for: Fall/Winter
Performance: High
Rating 4.65/5
17) Dior Homme Perfume: Entering into the conversation of GOAT category; on paper, this syrupy, ‘lipsticky’ scent could very well flatter to deceive. A heady concoction of iris, leather, rose and cedar stands defiantly in the face of doubters. You have to wear it to believe it. Arguably the greatest designer fragrance of all time and holds its own amongst the very best niche perfumes.
Best suited for: Fall/Winter
Performance: High/Extremely High
Rating 4.75/5
18) Creed Aventus: Much maligned, even more misunderstood and scoffed at primarily by fragrance enthusiasts who own one if its incalculable clones. Let it macerate, maybe ignore its performance and wear it on one of summer’s forgiving days - it will set itself apart more than a sorbet would on a scorching summer’s day . A complement magnet if there were ever one. Tropical pineapple and blackcurrant marry woody oak moss and musk. Inimitable and a living legend. CDNIM, eat your heart out.
Best suited for: Summer/Spring
Performance: High
Rating 4.8/5
19) Marc Antoine Barrois Ganymede: The crown jewel of my collection. I hate it once every 5 times I love it. So enigmatic, a paradox. Words often dessert me; mandarin orange, saffron, leather collude with what one could call ozonic, salty, mineralic, spicy, aquatic magic. If you’ve reached here, its all words as evidenced above. Keep smelling it till you love it. If you don’t, well that only encapsulates the subjective beauty of our collective fragrance passion.
Best suited for: Year Round
Performance: High
Rating 4.85/5