Purchase Alert !!! Duty Free in Amsterdam

I got at duty free this time Narciso Rodriguez for Him musc collection, Hermes Concentree D'Orange verte & the new Amouage Memoir Man.

Coming Home !!

Time to get back home. See you guys soon.. the 2 day travel to get home starts tomorrow :)

Subscriber's Choice : X-Mas Edition

Since my return is coming soon I am deciding to bring back Subscriber's choice with a bang. I will be doing a special christmas special subscriber's choice video for you all the week of christmas. I decided to pick 3 bottles that have had TONS of mail to review. I believe this is going to be a close race and that I will get a record of votes on these ones. As usual my blogging friends you know theses bottles weeks ahead of my youtube channel viewers and not only that but you get a vote on here and on my youtube page once I release the video. So from the pictures if you did not know what bottles these are I would like to introduce you to them. We have from Le Labo a fragrance called Rose 31. We have a Bond No. 9 fragrance called New Haarlem and a Maurice Roucel beauty called Musc Ravageur. So please vote in the poll and not in the comments below because I will not count those comments as votes on this blog. You can always comment to let everyone know how you voted if you wish or cheer on your fav. bottle. Thanks

Purchase Alert !!! Chanel Sycomore

Another Blind buy today ! Chanel's sycomore bottle is huge 200 ml of juice so I hope I like it lol... it sounds like a bottle that would up my alley. I know the quality will be there at least since I know Chanel makes some great stuff with Mr. Polge. Vetiver based fragrances as usually pretty good and I hear this one is one of the best in the business so it was a no brainer for me. See you guys soon on the tube, I should be back in the next coming weeks.

Purchase Alert !!! Neiman Marcus Purchase Guerlain

This might be the most expensive blind buy I have ever done in my life, with duties, taxes and all that other junk Neiman Marcus charged me this bottle cost me well over $300 and I owe all that to the youtube splitter Will. He split this and saw his video and how he described this scent, I just had to get this. Thanks Will !!!

I really love these Guerlain releases instead of the usual stuff they put out. This and SDV should be a great 1-2 punch for the cooler weather as far as Guerlain goes. This is a gourmand oritental fragrance that was released this year. From what Will said this should be one of the faves instantly. Guerlain describes this scent as a middle ground between gingerbread and chocolate, so I think this should be one of my best blind buys ever.

Purchase Niche Alert !!! Luckyscent Bulk Buy

So let's start off with Artisan scents, I got two. First Dzongkha and we all know how I felt about my sample of this stuff. It was a no brainer. Next it was Havana Vanille which is a blind buy. I really hope it works out, but vanilla based fragrances are no brainers for me. They work on my skin very well.

A got a few Montale's since I reviewed both of mine last time I was home. Black & White Aoud were pretty interesting scents to review and both pretty unique, but I decided to go left field with these Montale's. I got the newest addition called Full Incense since I love incense based fragrances. I also grabbed Chocolate Greedy and see how foody it can be . Both are blind buys but looking at the notes I think I should love them both and hopefully we have two winners here.

A Serge Lutens fragrance called Five o'clock au gingembre. This is a blind buy but the note breakdown got my attention. This looking at the note breakdown is going to be a comforting scent a la tea for two or Gucci pour homme II. Not because it has tea in it, because it does not. It seems like it's going to be one of those that won't be too harsh or too brash just enough to wear on a casual day perhaps in the fall or spring. Most SL scents are pretty harsh and better for winter but I think this is going to be that toned down version for them and I can't wait to sniff it.

Next was a Comme Des Garcons fragrance called Hinoki. I believe it was me and another fragrance reviewer called Miguel was talking about this one. It's a special fragrance and I finally figured it was time to add it. It was between this and Sequoia. This gave me a woody and incense based fragrance. It kinda reminded me of my last CDG purchase called Avignon (great scent! ) . Happy I am getting this.. finally !

Finally bought Lonestar Memories from Andy Tauer. My 2nd bottle from the Tauer line. This is the same company that brought you L'air du desert .... Ahh such a great scent, the leather... the birch and the incense. This gives me a cowboy feeling. This is going to be a great scent in the cool months. I really like how this and L'air is going to go head to head in the winter months.

Scent of the Day : Eau Duelle by Dyptique

Eau Duelle's sample is done today. Will I miss it ? Yes and No. I have many vanilla based fragrances and I love them all, this one really reminded me of my king of vanilla which is SDV by Guerlain that I just purchased. It mixes some spice with the vanilla but overall it's a vanilla based fragrance. It's really nice and well done and probably a cheaper alternative to the Guerlain but this sample was really weak on projection on me. No one could smell this at all, even in the heat where vanilla based fragrances usually cook and project like monsters. So overall what can I say about Eau Duelle ??? It's quality and a good vanilla based fragrance but with so many choices out there I would shop around but keep this one on the list. It's good enough to be compared to the guerlain. For me, it's a pass at the moment but I won't say I won't come back and buy a bottle if I need a good vanilla fix.

Purchase Niche Alert !!! Comme Des Garcons & CB I Hate Perfume

Two new niche fragrances from CDG & CB I Hate Perfume.

First let's go with Avignon from Comme des Garcons. I had a sample of this and this is the best incense based fragrance I have tried in my years of sampling. Kyoto gets all the press from the Incense series but this one is the star IMO. Cheap too for a niche scent, under $100. The fall is perfect for incense based frags, and if you never tried one start here and finish here because this is it. Anyone who has been in a Catholic Church will know what I mean about this incense. Thank you Mr. Duchaufour for this masterpiece !!!

Next is a fragrance house that I had my eye on but never got a bottle. This is a blind buy and I am basing this buy on the name alone : Burning leaves... this should be great for fall too. I am really into these smokey themed fragrances to keep me warm in the cool weather of Canada, this should bring back memories of raking leaves before the winter's that I do every single year. I can't wait to smell this.

I am a happy camper btw very happy with these purchases... next I need to tackle Artisan and get myself a few of them, perhaps a Montale and a Amouage... keep it locked in

Purchase Alert !!! New Kenzo & a classic Guerlain

Purchased 2 New fragrances today, a couple designer names you should know... Kenzo & Guerlain. First I got Guerlain's L'instant de Guerlain not the edt but the edp. Can't wait to give that one a sniff, not only that but I want to get more bottles from the famed house of Guerlain .

Next is Kenzo Homme Woody/Boisee. My fellow friends on basenotes told me about this one in a recent thread as one of the best releases in 2010 so I decided to pick it up.

Purchase Alert !!!! 2 New Creeds

Ever since finishing my Green Irish Tweed sample overseas I have had the itchy trigger finger to add to my several bottles of Creed. I decided to go with some darker Creed's for the cooler weather. The only thing that bothered me was Bois du Portugal does not come in the 4.0 oz bottle which I wanted all my Creed's to come in since they look nice and tidy together. Either way the juice was something I could not pass up, so Bois du Portugal was purchased (2.5 oz). Next was another Millesime fragrance. I took a chance on one of the lesser known Millesime fragrances called Tabarome. I was seriously considering others but most of them like Erolfa & Original Vetiver are much more for spring and summer, so I will wait till next time.

Purchase Alert !!!! Comptoir Sud Pacifique

My latest purchase is Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanilla Banane. This is one of 3 bottles I will be buying from this line (they also have a coffee & a chocolate based fragrance) . This one is what the name says a banana milkshake vibe that driesdown to simple vanilla. Nothing complicated and some would say it's too simple but I think it's pretty unique. The banana milkshake feeling only lasts at most an hour but it's worth the purchase for me. If you like sweet fragrances and wanted a banana based fragrance and don't mind sweet vanilla fragrances then this one is for you. See you guys soon

My Story of Going Crazy with my A*men Sample

I usually don't share my crazy stories with you guys when I sample fragrances for reviews but I need to share this one just because I have some spare time. So I had a leftover sample of A*men yesterday from a previous review that I brought overseas with me. So I decided in the morning to spray the rest of the sample on me so I can throw the sample out. There was 4-5 sprays worth, which I felt was not too overboard since I was going to be outside most of the time and it's freezing over here ( i'm talking about winter coat..gloves the whole works) so I was like oh this should be fine.

So the morning went on and I did notice the fragrance but nothing too overpowering and I was happy to announce that I did not stink up a whole room. The day went on without a hitch, at the end of the day around 6 pm I decided to shower up and apply some Dior Homme Intense (a very very strong fragrance 2 sprays) for the night. Smelled great but I never really noticed anything different.

The next morning I woke up (my room is freezing since I love sleeping in the cold) got in the shower did my morning thing, I usually turn the heat on in my room after I wake up. Anyway long story short when I was in the middle of my routine in the morning , my room was getting pretty warm I caught a sniff of something... what was that ???? WTF it's the patchouli from A*men glowing on my skin , just the patch just glowing off my skin after 23-24 hours 2 showers and wearing another very strong fragrance.

This is why A*men is still one of my favorite fragrances of all time. That is what I call a fragrance with balls ladies and gentlemen.

Scent of the Day : Dzongkha by Artisan Parfumeur

Bertrand Duchaufour is a damn god !!! This is him at his greatest. This is simply stunning for someone who is looking for a spicy/woody fragrance. I want the whole Artisan line at the moment, and this one is on my purchase list. You can smell the leather, the incense , the cedar okay actually you get all the notes and it's simple but delicious and such a warming fragrance. I was cold today but with this on people wanted to get closer to me because I was giving out a warming vibe. LOVE !!! this is a must get ... logs on to luckyscent

Scent of the Day : Lyric for Men by Amouage

Well here's another test of Lyric for Men by Amouage. I am really really trying to like this but this stuff again is stepping into the feminine a little too much for me. I smell like a damn girl with this stuff on. Okay I will give it this, it's quality and it lasts and lasts and I am one that can put on a unisex fragrance with confidence. This one just can't do it for me. Sorry but I will pass on this one, perhaps a good buy for the wife. I'll stick with my C&S No. 88 for my rose based fragrance .

Purchase Alert !!!! 3 New Scents

First I purchased a Bvlgari fragrance called simply Man. This is Bvlgari's newest fragrance for men released in 2010. This and the other fragrances I bought are all blind buys so I have no clue what I just purchased but the bottle looks good tho. I always liked Bvlgari fragrances so this should be pretty good.
Next up is round two of trying to purchase Marc Jacobs Bang ! I love this bottle but I hate pepper based frags and I know what I am getting here, maybe the worst fragrance I could smell but perhaps I might like this pepper. Either way I could not pass on this fragrance since the bottle is beautiful and I loved the original Marc Jacobs frag.
Last but not least is the one that is getting lots of press lately as the Dolce & Gabbana knockoff of the discontinued "BY". So we will see if Kristiansand NYC is the same as "BY" but not only that but is it any good.

Tim is back !!!!

If you have been on youtube in the past 2 days you will notice a familiar face that left us came back to the game. I will link his comeback video on my blog and please comment and show some support to the one reviewer that has my respect. If you don't know if there was no Tim on youtube there would be no me on youtube. So mad respect for him and I am one very excited to have him back. I always respected his views on fragrances and happy to see new reviews will be coming. Thanks Tim for coming back and the fragrance community feels complete with you back.

What I'm working on.....

I'm working on a few reviews at the moment... Versace Pour Homme 2008 is pretty much complete and ready to be reviewed and should be on the slate for a youtube review in late December or early January. This one reminded lots of people of Allure Homme Sport and I agree at some point. I also felt a little ADG in this one too. There was a oud note in the breakdown and I was disapointed that it was really muted almost non existent.

I am working hard at the moment getting the Givenchy Pi review ready for my return. I really tested this one out when I first got it , some testing in the spring and summer but mostly in the cool weather. Pi is very popular and mostly compared to my fav. Le Male and people want to know if it will also be a fav of mine, well keep it locked in and see if Pi does well.

Scent of the Day : Cardinal by Heeley

Cardinal by Heeley smells much better then I thought when I first tried it. Perhaps it's because it's on my skin now. It's incense done differently and I like it. It's not what you come to expect from a incense frag. It won't remind you of church or anything. It has a touch of citrus that I can feel with some dirt thrown in from the patch & the vetiver. This could be a great one for incense fans like me once spring comes to town, not too dark or harsh. Thanks Heeley another good one.

New Youtube Series Introduction

Have you ever wondered which fragrance is better when people compare them and say they smell alike ? Is Cool Water really Green Irish Tweed in cheaper form ??? What about Sean John and his knockoffs of numerous Creeds ??? How about Bond No. 9 fragrance being compared to other scents ??? Did you ever wonder which one would come on top in 12 different categories ? I have decided to finally introduce to my channel the VERSUS challenge where 2 bottles will go head to head and I will let you know which one is the best... Stay tuned

Scent of the Day : Kyoto by Comme Des Garcons

Kyoto by Comme des Garcons

What I wanted to get from this incense series I got from Avignon while Kyoto fell short. I was really excited to smell this fragrance ever since I knew about the incense series, this one was the most celebrated and talked about. Perhaps the hype killed it for me, but my sample is now done and I came out pretty upset at it with my last wearing. The perfumer for this one is Bertrand Duchaufour which to me is a genius and I love all his scents and I truly recommend anything he has done. Incense based fragrances should be dry, Kyoto has it. Incense fragrances should be darker, Kyoto got that. How about strength , Kyoto lost it. This is too transparent for me to really think this is going to shine in the fall & winter's of the Canadian weather. I need some Oooph... where is it? Bertrand is known for amazing and tuned up incense fragrances, this is not like him to do this like this, it's almost like CDG asked JC Ellena to do a incense frag, and he did his magic and made a transparent incense fragrance.

So many times I wanted to love this. I gave it so many chances now I hate to say this but this one is a pass. Avignon on the other hand..... simply amazing

Purchase Alert !!!! Creed Aventus

Need I say more ??

Scent of the Day : Green Irish Tweed by Creed

Simple simple simple... I just showered and wanted just something simple yet elegant but nothing over the top. Yea the swiss army knife of the Creed brand will just do well. Nothing too crazy and nothing too boring, just right ! I forgot I had a sample of this overseas way back when I was actually reviewing it and had some left over so I decided to finish her off. Great scent and is making me look into some new Creeds. Oh no that trigger finger is cocked

Scent of the Day : Fat Electrician by Etat Libre D'Orange

Today was a vetiver day. Beautiful day here in my ultra secret location overseas. It was a little cool but I thought it was perfect to wear in my opinion the best from this fragrance house which is called Fat Electrician.... yes that is not a typo ! Anyway back to business, this one is different from other vetivers I have tried. This seems like they meshed one of my new favourite notes (vetiver) and one of my old faves (vanilla). The vetiver does take center stage here and it seems like it's joined with incense at the start (might be wrong and too lazy to look at the note breakdown) then comes in the vanilla but no too sweet (not like a le male type of vanilla) very much toned down but nicely balanced. Really enjoyed this and I believe it's time for me to get a bottle.

Purchase Alert !!!! Bond No. 9 Bulk Buy

Hello there frag heads, it's been a while since I wrote to all of you . Well the Bond No. 9 lovers out there will be happy to hear I decided to add a few more bottles to my collection. As previously said in one of my videos, I will continue to buy Creed's & Bond's every single time I go overseas and stock up on the whole collection. Keep in mind these are blind buys and I have no clue what they smell like , well I do to a certain point knowing what the notes are. Today I purchased 2 of the most popular Bond's on the market. Riverside Drive & Chez Bond (both purchased on ebay.. one from my ebay connect millcreekrescue909 (Chez bond). Chez Bond obviously is being compared to GIT from Creed, well if it does then that's great since I love GIT. Next purchase for me is to stock up on a couple Creed's ... I am looking at you Aventus !!!

Scent of the Day : Wonderwood by Comme Des Garcons

The jist of this one is wood. I guess you could of figured that one by yourself .... a very dry fragrance perfect for the cooler months. Not sure if I would fork over the money for it since I know alot of other woody frags in the designer section that do the same thing this one does. It really did not blow me away or showed me anything new sadly since I had high hopes for this one .

Top 10 List ?

Alright guys I am working on a few top 10 lists. I have not done any top 10 lists on my channel yet (not including my top 10 season based lists) and I always get tons of requests to do some, so here is your chance to let me know what top 10 list you want to do on youtube once I get back. Comment below to let me know what list you want from me, I am hoping to release at least a good 3-5 top 10 lists for this winter. Some ideas that have been requested lately were : Top 10 most complemented, Top 10 for high school, Top 10 clubbing, Top 10 longest lasting, Top 10 most masculine.. you get the picture so let me know which ones you want, let me know of any fresh ideas... thanks

Scent of the Day : Cardinal by Heeley

Cardinal is my next venture into the Heeley frags. This one reminded me of another sample I got from Comme des Garcons called Avignon. So if you have one you don't need the other. This one is a incensed based frag. First impression wearing it gave me a dry wood feeling almost a cedarwood feeling, then the incense moved in. It's not as potent as I wanted it to be for a incense frag , so it does loses marks for that. It's not that smokey which I love in my incense frags but this one would be great if your looking for a incense fragrance that's not in your face, it's almost toned down. Not saying it's a weak frag, today I got a good 6-8 hours and do remember it's a EDP so it's will last. Ohhh I just felt a little bit of green, can you say vetiver peaked it's head ! So far this is not bad quality, but for the price I would probably pass. Just might buy it to complete my Heeley collection but I think if you like incense there is much better out there for the price.

Scent of the Day : Lonestar Memories by Andy Tauer

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag. As much as I want to keep this one a secret and I will let you guys know what I got with this one. Just looking at the name this reminds me of a Cowboy scent. Weird how I get these pictures in my mind when I smell something. What is a cowboy smell you ask... well it has some incense, leather, just reminds me of the wild west with the horses, leather, the cowboy hat, the guns etc.... WILD WILD WEST... haha

I know now that I post this some people will get a sample since I love this so much and I encourage you to get a sample because this is good, this actually for me challenges L'air du desert for the crown of the Tauer fragrances. This is only off this one sample but I can smell quality pretty quickly.

When I smelt this it made me think of a fire burning all night and you kept it going all night to warm you up while you were sleeping, then you wake up and the fire is pretty much done but it still has a little smoke coming from the ashes and you smell that. It also has the leather hitting the smoke and just simply is up my alley with the smokey leather feeling that it gives me.

The best way to describe this is a great leather based frag that which found it's prefect partner in crime with that smokey incense feel to it. Very highly rated by myself and this is a buy for me and will be my next Tauer fragrance.

Scent of the Day : The One Gentleman by Dolce & Gabbana

Today it's time to spend some time with the one... the one gentleman ! As some of you remember I purchased this bottle at duty free while leaving Canada. This is actually my first real wearing of this fragrance and my first initial thoughts. Wearing this today seems like I might not like this as much as I liked the original. The original had it faults but the faults was not on the scent but much more the longevity issues. This one gives me a much different smell and it actually smells at first glance nothing like the original. I am feeling lots of different things with this one , without looking at the note breakdown I get some sort a fruit, some lavender, perhaps pepper and woods at first glance. It seems to be light just like it's counterpart and this could be it's downfall. This might grow on me as far the smell goes but I might come out disappointed with again another new D&G release.

What I'm working on.....

The return of the "What I am working on" series on my blog, which I believe is a great way to let you guys know what reviews or what ideas I am working on for December release. This week I have been working very hard on my review of L'eau D'Issey pour Homme by Issey Miyake. Just doing some finishing touches on the review. Basically what I do in this final step overseas is take all the info I wrote about the fragrance in the past 10-12 months while I was wearing it and put it all together in a final review. Some information never makes it to the final edit, actually come to think of it 80% of information I write down does not make the final review. Only things that keep coming back to me makes the review. This fragrance has been reviewed to death on youtube, and I took some time this week to see what the other reviewers though about this fragrance, it was interesting to see what others though about it. I believe 4 out of the 5 reviews I saw were positive . Personally you will have to wait what I think of it , but trust me I am pretty excited to review this bottle since it's popularity and love of this fragrance.

I am working on a few ideas like I usually do to add to my reviews. I am looking at tweaking my presentation including buying a brand new SLR camera (like JR's for HD quality) , and finding a new setting in my house that I feel would be better suited for lighting for my videos. I believe my cologne/clothes room isn't the best setting. I am also thinking of taking out the rating system at the end of my videos and trying to incorporate the same rating system but with bottles at the bottom of the screen while I am rating them so my videos can finish with my face and not you guys staring at a bunch of bottles. I am also thinking of removing the "when I close my eyes this fragrance reminds me of.. " and "one word to describe this fragrance" features and replace them with a compliment factor which would go in depth with how many compliments I do get with the wearings and what kind of compliments I am getting including Steph's reaction (wife) (then rate it from Excellent to poor) . I am also adding a feature which if the fragrance did make any of my top 10 videos I would say it in the video so the consumer would know if the fragrance is something I really love (ex: Le Male : rated #1 for fall in 2009, rated #2 for fall in 2010 ...etc)

I salute you my friends ! Let me know what you think, please your opinion counts to me .

Marc

Song of the Day : Stereo Love by Edward Maya

Great Song... can't get enough of it at the moment :)

Scent of the Day : Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier

Ohhh yea you know who it is !!! When I wear this sucker it just feels like I am complete, I love this stuff !!!

Song of the Day : Cologne by John Blu feat. Twista & Gucci Mane

Love this track !!

Scent of the Day : Menthe Fraiche by Heeley

Menthe Fraiche, I totally forgot about how good you can be ! It really does live up to it's name being a Fresh Minty fragrance and I get that vibe every single time I wear this. It's just a work of art and I recommend this to anyone who likes a minty fragrances. This is one of the top ones in the game and it just evokes a clean minty vibe with me.

Scent of the Day : Dior Homme Intense by Christian Dior

2nd try with my new bottle of Intense. I am really enjoying this fragrance, it reminded me of something the past few wearings and I think I got it. It has a almost powdered chocolate feeling to it. Obviously the powdered feeling is from the original but the chocolate feeling is something new that I rather enjoy. Kinda feels like Armani Diamonds meets Armani Code. I'm really feeling this fragrance for a great fall fragrance and the more I wear it the more I am enjoying it. Alright guys that enough from me.

Song of the Day : Far East Movement - Like a G6

Scent of the Day : Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier

Going back to the favourite... brought one of my bottles with me since I don't think I could do another 2 months without it... yea if you didn't know you know now, this is my signature scent.

Song of the Day : Yolanda Be Cool vsDCUP - We No Speak Americano

Scent of the Day : Dior Homme Intense by Christian Dior

Decided to open it up and try out Dior Homme Intense in Holland. Wore it for about 8 hours and still going strong. Went outside with it , went for a walk and also some chilling in my bedroom and a small 2 hour nap. First wearing impressions is that it does really feel like the original. I really felt that floral woody feel to it like I felt in the original. I also feel that lipstick feel that others get in the original, well it's still in this one folks.

Apparently this is a limited edition fragrance which I was not aware of, so I feel like I had some good luck with me finding this. I really feel like this one has a warmer quality to it, almost like comparing l'homme with la nuit de l'homme and this one and the original dior homme. It feels like I can wear this for fall and winter which is perfect for me.

Overall experience with this one I would say it came off as a quality fragrance, I would say it's very well done and I enjoyed it. It won't be one of my favourites of all time but it will compete vs the la nuit de l'homme's of the world. I enjoyed it and I think you should take a look into it too.