I've seen discussion about Drakkar Noir nowadays having weak performance, and I was thinking I was having similar issues. So I tried the following: about two dozen sprays covering the entire chest, neck, and arms. A little less than an hour later, I smell nothing, even putting my nose right up against my skin. Must be noseblind, right? Ask someone else if I smell like anything, and they also, from an inch or two away, say the same thing. Good grief...

You have $250-$275 to buy a single frag. What are you buying and why?

Continuing to explore and discover the world of fragrance with a popular offering from the UAE-based house of Lattafa, widely known for their affordable clones of high-end designer fragrances. Lattafa Asad is widely considered to be a clone of the popular Dior Sauvage Elixir. There is something extremely familiar in the scent profile that I struggled for hours trying to place. My first thought was that it smelled like the bubble gum that came in packs of baseball cards. Eventually I also remembered the smell of vanilla Cavendish pipe tobacco. Much later I also considered that I might be reminded of cotton candy. Dior Sauvage Elixir is notorious for being described as strong, and potentially overpowering. I had concerns about overdoing it with Lattafa Asad, but I did see reports that it was toned down compared to its inspiration fragrance. I conducted two experiments to try to dial in what is reasonable application. First, I sprayed about a dozen times and immediately went outside to go running in the rain. I continued to notice the scent for a few minutes, but thereafter the cool 60F/15.5C weather plus the rain likely deadened my sense of smell even further. After I returned indoors moderately soaked 15-20 minutes later and had a chance to readjust to room temperature, I could smell the fragrance on my skin, but only from an inch away. Second, after a good shower I reapplied relatively liberally. About 2 hours later, I had dinner with my wife, and after spending about 2 hours intermittently in her general vicinity, I inquired to make sure I hadn't overapplied (in case she was politely refusing to notice). She said she hadn't noticed any scent at all (which conformed to my own experience). When coming within a couple inches of me, and after having already been prompted, only then did she perceive it. Bottom line, first experience was positive. The scent subtly accesses old memories and is pleasant but for now seems not too overwhelming. While I did not pick up on the reported super-masculine nature of the scent, neither did it come across as overly sweet and feminine.

After trying a sample of Tom Ford Ombre Leather last week and discovering that both I and my wife are fans, I also picked up Maison Alhambra Opulence Leather (formerly sold as Amber and Leather), a more easily affordable clone. I put one spray of each, one on the right wrist, the other on the left, to compare. I was definitely able to tell them apart, especially at first. The Alhambra seemed less ... sweet? Drier? Not sure what people call it...and instead came with a greater smokiness, like you pick up on the edge of an autumn bonfire. I'm not sure how much of a seductive, crowd-pleasing scent that is, but it's actually one with lots of very positive nostalgic memory associations for me, so it was quite pleasant. Within a half hour or hour, I guess I started to lose confidence that I was keeping them separate, but they seemed to converge and become nearly identical. The Tom Ford seemed to get a little MORE smoky, while the Alhambra seemed to mellow out, maintaining the wood smoke feel, but becoming much more approachable. OK, date night coming up, taking the wife out in a couple hours...

Leather can go in so many directions - smooth, smoky, or sweet. When you layer, what do you pair it with most? - Amber - for warmth and depth - Smoke - for that dark, mysterious edge - Vanilla - to smooth it out - Woods - for a grounded, natural vibe - I don’t layer leather - it’s bold enough alone 💬 Drop a comment if you’ve got a combo that always gets compliments.