I present to you the very humble beginnings of my collection. I started my journey in January, and through ordering many, many sample decants, spraying testers in stores, and watching way too much content, I’ve learned what I’m really looking for and what I like best. This began with the Explorer and Dylan Blue, as “starter” fragrances that I liked very early on. I found they were pleasing and easy to wear anywhere, and really got me used to wearing a scent every day. Bonus that my wife compliments them both all the time. They are still very reliable workhorses. My wife really expressed her love for the Light Blue eau intense, and it was very lucky to order one at $60 the week before it was announced to be discontinued and they shot up to $90. This will be my scent of the summer until I get Paradise Garden. The latest addition is Polo 67 EDT that I plan to use for work, mostly. I enjoy how classy it feels while still feeling fun and refreshing. They really did a good job with this line. Any suggestions for what I should add down the line?

I'm in New Orleans today with a very rare Sunday day off. It's also kind of the last weekend of the busy wedding season and the start of summer slow down for me. This was the craziest week. It started at the Grand Canyon and is ending in New Orleans. I met John Williams (yes, THE John Williams), shot 2 weddings in less than 24 hours, stayed awake for over 30 hours before finally getting to pass out in my hotel, and got to eat at three of my favorite restaurants in the entire world. It's been a good week. MY SOTD for the most part was alternating Andrea Maack's Dual and Acqua Di Gio EDT. It's been very hot and extremely humid (at one point yesterday, I had sweat so much that my hair was soaked), so I needed something that would get me through the day. ADG was the better choice of the two - it holds up really well to high heat and sweat and kept me feeling refreshed and like I wasn't stinking up the place. Dual was better for travel and being indoors. It was light and delicate and refreshing on it's own, but fell apart in the high humidity. I see that it's been discontinued, and I only have one 2mL sample left. I see it available in a few places, but it's too expensive to buy a full bottle. I may get a large decant at a more reasonable price to have for those summer days indoors where light and delicate makes more sense. Others I wore on the trip: ATH Daddy - worn for dinner with the family celebrating my parent's 56th Anniversary and our trip to the Grand Canyon. JPG Le Male Elixir - worn for dinner the last night in Grand Canyon. I'm still getting to know this one, and I love the scent profile, but it disappears very fast to my nose, and I'm surprised at how bad it's performance is, especially for an Elixir. Andrea Maack Zing - the next of her summer citrus fragrances. Worn to Dat Dog for dinner with my friends in NOLA last night. Like all of Maack's fragrances, it is absolutely beautiful and a true work of art. But the scent profile is too similar to other citrus musk fragrances, and at the price point, it's hard to justify a bigger purchase. Will enjoy the sample and move on.

Just saw a video that was released this weekend. Ironically, it's a collaboration of the men we had live chats with in the past couple of weeks, courtesy of @Antonio O. Centeno , so the timing for this release is perfect. It definitely gives a different perspective, watching this after getting to chat with them recently. https://youtu.be/d0yyvbE8u9I?is=_6DsO62bX93Z0cIi

The scent for right in my ballpark of. scents. The sharp citrusy wood off the top gave me a professional clean type feel. It settled in nicely with a leathery, woody, and musky finish. I really enjoyed this scent and found it to be invigorating. 8.5/10

After hearing Sebastian talking about fragrances today and me being in this brotherhood, and reviewing several videos by @Antonio Centeno and Sebastian, they both have a love for fragrances and also have a wide respect and demonstrated knowledge for what they like, whether it's Niche, Designer, Clone, etc. As a member of this brotherhood, my takeaway and some knowledge for the brothers is this. The more I watch fragrance debates, the more I notice every group has its favorite defense. Clone warriors hide behind price. Niche snobs hide behind artistry. Designer loyalists hide behind safety and compliments. Clone warriors always bring up price because that is the strongest argument they have. They will say, “But it only costs $25 or $40,” as if a lower price automatically means it is equal to the original. I understand saving money. There is nothing wrong with value. But value and quality are not always the same thing. A clone can be a good deal and still not have the same smoothness, depth, transitions, or refinement as the original. And notice how clone warriors usually run straight to Middle Eastern clone houses and act like that is the whole clone world. It is not. There are better American and European clone-style houses that often do a better job with smoothness, balance, accuracy, and wearability. Houses like Montagne and Alexandria may cost more than some Middle Eastern dupes, but many times the blending, quality, and closeness to the original are better. The reason some clone warriors ignore them is simple: they do not protect the cheapest-price argument as well. A $45–$60 clone forces a more honest conversation. Now you cannot just say, “It only costs $25.” You have to talk about accuracy, quality, materials, smoothness, and how it actually compares to the original. That is where a lot of the hype starts to fall apart. Middle Eastern clones can be good. Some are excellent for the money. But a lot of them are also louder, sweeter, harsher, more synthetic, and less refined. Many chase performance and projection more than balance.