Duty Free in Amsterdam

Dusting this blog off since the last time I actually wrote was way back in 2012. Been quite a while but hopefully I can keep it up a little bit here. So might as well share with you my Duty Free purchases this April 2013.

Duty Free is usually a good place for me to look at recent releases in the designer game. In duty free I don't really sniff out anything. I walk around and just look around and see which new releases are available. I usually pick 2-3 fragrances without sniffing and enjoy the blind buying segment and see how they do on my skin overseas.

This time around I had Issey Miyake Summer 2013 and Eau Sauvage Parfum on my radar. I already smelled Parfum and just wanted a bottle of it. Summer has a kiwi note in it that I find interesting but sadly duty free did not have it. Which really surprised me. Also another surprise was Versace Pour Homme Oud Noir. I really did not expect it to be available in Holland. When I saw that beautiful black and gold bottle as a tester , I quickly grabbed the box behind it. My first impression of Oud Noir is actually good. Good longevity on it already, it's tame in projection. Some say it's a disappointment for a EDP, I find it does well and no complaints here. The scent itself is closer to a M7 then the next big bold oud based scent. I kinda expected that, and felt it's actually one of the best oud's in the designer game at the moment. They did a good job with it, and happy with the purchase. To those who are huge into the Oud game, yea it's not bold and won't blow your socks off but to a newcomer to the Oud game it's perfect for you to give you a small taste.

Next I saw the newest Eros from Versace also. I decided it's been a while since I actually bought two Versace's in one shot , but what the hey. This one was probably the big disappointment in the three I bought. I haven't worn it on my skin yet, but initial sniff it really did not blow me away. It reminds me of a few designers already.

That's my haul ! Thanks for tuning in

Marc

Duty Free In Munich

I love the duty free in Munich. Case in point is they have a Hermes boutique in the duty free section. Every time I stop by I grab two new bottles of the Hermessence line until I have them all. This time I decided also to get Bel Ami since I always wanted to get a bottle. The two hermessence I decided to get since this picture isn't the best quality are Vanille Galante & Paprika Brasil. I now own 6 of the 9 of the Hermessence line. Rose, Osmanthus and Brin are the three that I am missing. That will be fixed next stop in Munich to get them all to finish the line. I love them all since the quality is superb.

The Return of Subscriber's Choice ! Your Contestants are here

M7 Vs VIW Vs New Haarlem !!!

An epic return to the subby's ! Two Niche vs one designer, who will rain supreme ? That is your choice. You can vote below and get a 2nd vote on your bottle. One vote on the blog, one vote on youtube, and yes another on the facebook group : Fragrance Guru Nation ! You can vote three times if you wish. The Winner will get a full review next week. First week of September. Keep it locked in and thanks for voting !

My Scent of the Day : Nejma's Puro

My Scent of the Day today is a sample sent to me from a friend in Germany. He sent me multiple samples and I will be testing them on my skin in the next few weeks. Today I tackle Nejma's Puro. I never smelled this before but when I went to my fragrantica page I saw I had it checked marked as I want it which means either someone requested me to smell it and I felt the notes interests me so thanks to my friend I don't need to blind buy it. Well that does not matter because it would of been a great blind buy because Puro hits you with a great dose of rum and cinnamon which is the first thing that hits me. I was sold right away when I smelled that. They list mojito in here, but the rum overpowers it. This is nicely blended, and it's not too dark since it does have some uplifting quality in the background like the mojito, I can feel some of the tobacco once it settles. It's mostly spicy with the spice, some woods, and that boozy and tobacco hits are really nice. This is a tobacco based fragrance but with the surrounding notes of cinnamon and other spices and rum and that uplifting mojito it really did wow me. It does remind me of something, like Boss Bottled meets Allure Homme. I might be wrong but it's familiar. Overall very nice and will be a future buy for me. 

Rating : (✭✭✭✭)

Working on this review today: Tonka Imperiale by Guerlain

Alright first post back .. it's been a while so I hope some of you are still following. I will be doing random updates here on my blog. Today is a day off for me and that means I am tackling some sniffing. First thing to do is start working on future reviews on youtube. I posted I believe 9 full review this time home and that means I need to replenish and keep working on new ones. I have over 37 full review done testing and just waiting to be posted on youtube but that does not mean the testing and sniffing is over. Tonka Imperiale is some major juice. You guys know I love this stuff ever since I first sniffed it. It's a masterpiece ! These kind of reviews are hard to make , just like Chergui & Rose 31 which I finally posted on youtube. These are fragrances that I feel are worth the high price tag, but reviewing them is hard because you need to make sure to really evoke the full picture to what someone would think when they first smell this to the fine detail of what each note gives in a fragrances. These are the kind of reviews that I relish and challenge myself to do. They do take more time to do, I believe Chergui and Rose 31 took me two full years of testing to really get the full approach. Tonka Imperiale is at the tail end of testing and it's time to put everything I wrote down into words and that is what I am working on today. Looking into how many sprays where the best, what season this one did the best for me. The occasions you can wear it, what notes stand out and which ones are in the background or the one that do not show up. What makes this worth $250 a bottle against other fragrances. Is it versatile ? Can something replace it that is much cheaper. These are all things I do when working on a review. It's Tonka Imperiale's turn today to get my full attention.

SOTD : Serge Lutens Chene

Chene has a strong oak and rum note, very warm dark woody fragrance which is well balanced. I would consider this a great man's man scent, I really don't feel this would be worn by a woman (it could) but the strong woody note in here really makes it manly. The rum fits in well and it just a great composition by Lutens yet again. I love his line which is so warm and great for fall and winter. They almost never disappoint .

Overall Score : (✭✭✭✭) Future Purchase for me

Working on this Review

It's that time again to start new journeys and old journeys alike overseas. I do the bulk of my testing here, I call this the lab. I bring decants of my current fragrances that I am testing for a future review, I decant old favourites and bring new samples to test out some new things that I might purchase in the future. Overseas is the lab of testing out everything out there. Today I am working on an old favourite from the house of Creed called Virgin Island Water. 

I've had my bottle of VIW for over a few years now. I remember fondly when I first sniffed this fragrance, my eyes grew wide and I don't think I ever smelled something so perfect for summer before. I was excited. This fragrance now since I've been testing this one for well over 2 years now, and probably has had the longest testing phase out of any Creed I've reviewed previously (it's actually one of my most used niche bottles at the moment). This one is coming to an end, I am almost done testing this one out , come April my journey with VIW will be over and the review will be ready for the small screen waiting in line with other fragrances to be fully reviewed on youtube and to be judged. I'll tell you this VIW has made quite an impact on me in the past few years, actually a few great memories came with this one. I remember I brought a decant on this to Aruba with me, and what a perfect juice for this type of trip, now every time I smell this fragrance it brings me back to that place, the sand, the wind, the sea. The coconut filled alcoholic drinks. It takes me on a journey, and isn't that what scent should do to you ? It's a great feeling and I can't wait to share this journey with you. This is by no means a perfect juice, I don't think that really exists but this is why I test, some fragrance just never get me in the mood or get me excited to wear it... this one does and does it well.

SOTD : Andy Tauer's Incense Rose

A jammy Rose (yes rose can smell like jam) with a tons of incense; backed with spices and resins. Overall pretty good, oh don't be scared of the just for women tag, it's unisex, more manly then you think. I like this one quite a bit. Not my favourite from the Tauer brand. Smelling my hand does make me think this is a great creation for the right person, it's so complex and well done but sadly for me did not knock my shoes off and could be a possible buy in the future but at the moment it's a pass for me and it will make my future buy list. 

My Final rating : ✭✭✭

Duty Free in London

Duty Free in London (Heathrow) was sub par. Nothing exciting just the same old stuff that we all see basically everywhere. Usually when this happens I purchase fragrances that are new to the market which I did yesterday. I picked up Dolce & Gabbana's The One Sport and V&R's Spicebomb. Needless to say with first sniff I am happy with both purchases. D&G will be good for the warm weather that is approaching and Spicebomb will be perfect for the cooler weather we are having at the moment. My initial impressions are the Spicebomb is a good designer scent which I think is worth a purchase and The One Sport is just another typical freshie which is lost in the sea of the same genre all over the world. If I had to pick one Spicebomb would be the winner. I can't wait to wear these for the next coming months overseas and see what they give me.

What to wear ???

Pic of the top shelf of my fragrance curio #1

My SOTD Today

Agonist's Infidels is my Scent of the Day Today. The weather is warming up here in Canada and it's time to try out one of my newest acquisitions from my January haul. I felt this one would be a great Spring and Fall fragrance and it's not disappointing me yet.  Lots of people online say you pay the big bucks for this for the bottle only with average juice. I disagree and I think yes part of the purchase is the bottle and presentation and being one of very few to own the juice. I believe this fragrance is unique enough to stand on it's own and could very well be one of my favourites for spring.

My Top 5 most anticipated blind buy purchases (January 2012)

I decided to give you all a small taste of what is to come in my January 2012 fragrance haul. These are the top 5 fragrances that I am anticipating to open the most since they are blind buys never smelled, never tested, never sampled fragrances. Some I purchased because I felt the notes seemed interesting enough to take the plunge or some are from word of mouth. Either way these are the top 5. I have not included the 3 mystery bottles that I have purchased that will be most likely be my top 3 niche fragrances for winter 2011/2012. Those bottles will also not be included in the haul video, they will be introduced on youtube (yes I will be first to mention them) as number 3,2,1 on my top winter list. As you know I am full of surprises and hope that you enjoy the month of January. Here is my list , excluded are many purchased that I have already smelled like Royal Oud, Amouage Epic , Fumerie Turque among others which I feel might be the best purchases of this haul.

At number 5 we have Thierry Mugler's limited Edition (unless it sells then it will come back a year later as another limited edition) A*men taste of a fragrance (chili). TM has decided that chili powder may go well with chocolate,tar, caramel. It might give this a spicy kick and might just work. I have heard two sides of the coin with this one. I'm not sure what to expect with this one and I am excited to bring my nose to this one. The only designer in this list, TM knows how to get my excited about a release.




At number 4 we have Huitieme Art's Sucre d'ebene. A gourmand that was brought to my attention oh about 4 months ago on our facebook board (FGN) . It's easy to get my attention to blind buy when you talk about a gourmand. This is my first purchase from this brand, and usually there is extra excitement from blind buying in a brand new fragrance house because you really have no clue what to expect. I hear lots of good things about this one and not too many bad things so this could be an easy blind buy for me.



In 3rd we have Nasomatto's Pardon. I remember first sniffing Black Afgano oh a good year or two ago and been blown away from the fragrance, once purchased I never really felt the urge to look deeper in to the line. I felt this was a one and done house, well perhaps I was wrong or maybe I am right. We will see with Pardon if this house is worth looking into some more. This may make a strong case to crack the top 10 winter niche for 2011 if it makes a good impression but BA is a hard act to follow .






In 2nd we have the hyped up Puredistance M. Yes this thing has been pretty hot lately on youtube and on boards. Puredistance even did a timely release of a 100 ml bottle this month. I blind purchase this little 17.5 ml (looks like a nice decant bottle) to see what the hype was about. I'm sure I'll be getting some solid juice for the price. Sometimes I even jump on the hype bandwagon and most of the time it's a safe bet knowing people won't hype something horrible. I really can't wait to sniff this one.






Invasion Barbare is my #1 most anticipated blind buy purchase of this haul. It is also the most expensive (price point not per ml) . Some would call me crazy purchasing something like this blind but it's in my nature for not waiting on something like this. I can already hear the rumblings about this one all over message boards on how great it is. Comparisons to le male & fahrenheit have me shaking my head in enjoyment hoping they are right. This could be either the worst blind buy that I have ever done or the very best, either way it's the one I can't wait to sniff the most out of the 46 bottles of this huge fragrance haul.

Returning in January ! What to expect

First and Foremost I would like to thank every single one of you that have supported me in the past few years with this hobby. You have made me your #1 source for men's fragrance information on youtube and I will continue to keep you all informed on this hobby that we all share. The past few months I have pondered how I can upgrade my youtube channel to give you the best information and give you the best presentation for fragrance reviews. Today I will inform you on a few changes that will transpire in the next few months on the channel.

I felt the first of many changes was to be the presentation of my reviews. I felt that I needed to upgrade how to shoot my reviews, hence I have purchased a Canon T3i which will produce a full 1080p HD video for all you hard core fragrance heads that would like to see as much detail on the presentation of the bottle and the box before shelling out your hard earned cash on blind buys. I felt this will be a huge step since only a small handfull of reviewers have this kind of quality and I felt you as my subscribers deserve a better presentation. I have also dedicated some of my budget to get proper lighting , lenses and equipement to make the whole presentation much neater.

I felt since I was upgrading on the presentation of the videos, it was time to brush up on the format. I have stuck with the same format for over 2 years now which I know most of you love since you all know where to go in the video to find the information you need. The main reason for this is I feel that I needed to cut the fat and start fresh and see what information you all needed and the information that was not necessary. First I wanted to take out the google images in my videos, which will be replaced by my own pictures of the bottles and box. I have also found a local talent that will help me with music for that introduction (the music will be a later addition) . Overall the information that you have come to me for will always be there including the smell, my reaction, age group, how many sprays and where, buy try or pass. I will be adding a segment on longevity and projection which was usually kept for the end of the video in the rating system. I felt they needed to be touched upon in more detail. The rating system will continue to be at the end of the video but less time will be spent on it. I will also be introducing a timestamp feature on my video which will be in the description box under the video and give you a timeline of what time a feature is being spoken about which if you are looking for one specific thing in a review you can just go to that timeline to find out the information. I also will be adding a few new features in the full reviews which will be discussed at a later time.

In other news I will be in New York City on January 14th for a meetup will fellow fragrance heads. I have Al (frangrancefanatic1) & Ed (frunkinator) working on the details at the moment which we can all meet and speak about fragrances. I am very excited to meet a handfull of you. My very 1st review back will be on Hot Water by Davidoff which has been touched by only 2 reviewers, so I am very excited to give you all the details on this fragrance.

I wish you all a happy holidays and a happy new year , and please stay smellin' great !

Marc

Duty Free in Dubai : What I wanted I got !!

Well this is where the fun starts. It's that time to fly and what that means is I have a chance to look at Duty Free sections all over the world and try to find some jewels. This time around it was in Dubai that I set my sights on the prizes. I was really surprised to see not many new designer releases were available in Dubai duty free. Talking about the new JPG and the new YSL's were both no where to be found, nothing from Thierry Mugler. I did find a few exciting designer releases such as SWW from Dsquared. I did not sniff it but I did almost purchase it, perhaps next time. I came across the Tom Ford section which is always a treat to see what they have, usually they only have the lower end of the brand (the non private blend) which include Tom Ford for Men and Grey Vetiver. I was surprised to see Tom Ford extreme on the counter. I decided since I did just review Grey Vetiver and also already did a review on the original Tom Ford for men that I would pick this one up. I had my eye on this fragrance for quite some time and was wondering back when I purchased the original Tom Ford for men to get the extreme. I heard great things about it, so with no samples or tester available on extreme in duty free I decided well this what I do (blind buys) so I grabbed the last box for the extreme happy to start off my duty free purchases. First impression since I only worn it once since purchase is this is a good one folks!!! I really enjoyed it, it's dark and well balanced great for fall and winter. I have not taken a look at the note breakdown but I'm sure it's as simple as the original Tom Ford for men but also as the original does the job very well. I smelt a little bit of spice and woods . Longevity for a first wear with it came out disappointing which gave me around 5-6 hours but projection was well into 3-4 hours into the wearing still going strong.


Next was the buy that I knew I was going to do when I first heard that I was going thru Dubai. That's the Amouage house. Epic was next on the list and this one was a no brainer. I found the Amouage section and knew exactly where I was going and what bottle I was going to get. Epic in a sense is Epic !! I've sniffed this one before in Duty Free (never worn it) but for the past 2 years I overlooked it over purchases with Reflection, Memoir and lastly Honour Man in duty free. It always came in second and finally it was it's turn. I knew it was gorgeous and I knew it was only a matter of time that I snatched that bottle up. The incense in these Amouage bottles is just insane and so well blended with the other notes that I just get floored every time I smell one of these. This one has Oud in it and of course some spices and usually these Amouage Fragrances just invoke where I wear them that I am some important Sultan and I demand attention. People this brand is the only brand that I will not blink and spend 300 dollars on a bottle . I know what I get from these scents and they are terrific. For the record this is my 6th bottle of Amouage after Memoir, Reflection, Honour, Jubilation XXV and Dia. Stunning just Stunning

My Latest Purchases

Frapin's 1697 is a limited edition fragrance and I felt like snatching this one before it was too late. Hopefully it's a good one
As my previous post stated this fragrance is the one I wanted to buy in 2011 and once I found out it was for sale I snatched a bottle up. Can't wait to sniff this
Fig tea is my 2nd bottle of PDN , it is a woman's fragrance but figs are so light I'm pretty sure anyone can wear them.
At the beach 1966 was a fragrance I was interested in since I still need more summer niche fragrance to round up my collection. This might go head to head against Fire Island from Bond.
Sel de Vetiver was a purchase that was a long time coming. I love this fragrance since I first sniffed it a few years ago.
Oranges & Lemons is a fragrance I bought because of a facebook challenge . Can't wait to see what's in store
L'eau by Serge Lutens is a fragrance I was interested in because it's totally the opposite of what SL usually does. I think it's well done IMO.
L'eau by Artisan should be another great addition to my ever growing collection

Most Anticipated Release for 2011

This is the fragrance that I will blind buy right away when it's released. This is my most anticipated release for 2011 called Amouage Honour Man. I love the bottle already and the notes look tempting. This is by far the one fragrance house that I don't mind spending the money.

3 New Purchases

I'll start with the one I've been trying to get a good price for a long long time. Ever since I got Tobacco Vanille I knew the 2nd bottle I wanted from the line was AA. I believe that was a year and a half ago and two other Tom Ford purchases later I finally got my 4th Tom Ford bottle and it's Amber Absolute. This is a blind buy, but hey I trust my nose and the reputation of this fragrance to know I will love it. I can't wait. This is my 3rd Private Blend purchase in 3 months. I am starting to enjoy this brand a little more these days.
Next I wanted to get this one. The Original Penguin fragrance which is another blind buy for me. I can't wait to see what it has in store for me.
Last is Armani Code Summer 2010, I bought this one overseas where I am. I noticed the freshness of this one right away. I believe it was a good purchase for reviewing since Armani Code Sport is out now and it's always nice to get the whole line together. We will see how this one works out for me.

Story

Hello fellow fragheads,

Once in a while when you test hundreds of fragrances sometimes it just gets too boring perhaps or too easy. But once in a blue moon a fragrance just blows your mind. Today , minutes ago I was working on my fragrance review on Timbuktu from Artisan and this fragrance just blew my mind.

I remember when I first got it (I believe I have a video of me hating it on youtube) I hated this stuff. It was too much for my nose. This is why I test and test and test and test until my nose has wrapped itself around the scent, because hey when we buy a fragrance we don't want it to smell good to us for a few days or weeks. We want to experience it perhaps for years and decades. To really review a scent I go through the good and the bad. Initial impressions with a scent can last over a week perhaps a month but after long term use you will either get bored, hate a note or two in it, learn to love it , or just grow with the scent. Timbuktu just woke my ass up today and said hey ! I'm a masterpiece !!! Yes you are. If your a scent head and enjoy scents that challenge your nose then Timbuktu is something that you MUST try. It's not something most people would wear as a day to day fragrance but it's a work of art.

Wow

Announcement

I'd like to announce today that I have decided after months of thought that I will return to youtube in September of this year. I will enjoy my break off of youtube and come back stronger then ever. I am planning to have at least 100 full reviews done and ready to shoot once I am back and hopefully the videos will continue to flow once I am back.... thank you for everyone's support and I can't wait to continue our journey together

Luckyscent Haul !

Hey guys another fragrance niche haul at luckyscent. First and foremost let's take a look at my first fragrance I bought which is Artisan's Premier Figuier. I just love figue's and the cooling sensation they give so I decided to get the very first figue based fragrance in the game which is this one. We will see if I love this one just as much as I do with Philosykos.
Next is the reason why I did the haul in the first place. I have been searching high and low for Black Afgano ever since I got the sample of the black juice. It's been rumoured to be discontinued and it was off the market for so long. Well it's back and I snatched the bottle right away. I can't wait to add this to the arsenal. Costly tho, for 1 ounce it was 150$. Much better then the ebay cost at the moment for a bottle going for 200-400.
Next is Frapin's L'humaniste. I can thank my youtube friends for this blind buy. So much hype and so much love for this fragrance so I decided to see what the fuss is about.
Talking about youtube hype. How about the Cereus line ? They are getting tons of love on youtube and I decided to blind buy number 4 and see what I can get from it. A summer scent that I am really interested to see what it gives me .