The temperature was frigid (low 20s) which is very cold for us here in Pensacola. With temps that low I decided to go ahead and try Happiness Oud from French Avenue. Happiness Oud is an uplifting take on oud (not real oud) that balances warmth with freshness. It opens with a very bright and noticeable citrus and spicy ginger, which makes it feel kind of energetic with an almost sparkling start. The opening almost makes me think of a fresh fragrance and this definitely isn’t, although I think this could be worn in warmer weather by being easy on the trigger. As it settles, you start to get some of the smooth woods and the sweetness (not sure if this could be from the licorice but it’s there. During the dry down you actually get a lot of the vanilla, herbal notes and the musk. All there and all very discernible even to my untrained nose. The oud here is very wearable, it’s not harsh at all, It actually leans slightly sweet and woody with a very comforting vibe. Performance is very good! And projection in the first few hours is strong. The longevity is also very good as well. It was still prominent 8+ hours later when I showered and washed it off. All in all this is a very good fragrance and from what I can remember from the decant of the OG that I had a couple months ago this gets very very close but I think that the OG was smoother all the way through. Thanks for the recommendation @Jonathan Ventura !

If you’re looking for a fragrance on the luxury side without actually costing a fortune, Al Areeq Silver by Lattafa is one of the top entries in their Pride collection. It was a struggle in the begining, needed quite a while to rest, of maybe my nose required some experience. Initially this was like wet elephant. But over time my first leather fragrance became palatable.It comes in a heavy, premium bottle with a stylized horse-head cap that feels significantly more expensive than its price tag This is an Oriental Woody fragrance that balances bright citrus with deep, masculine base notes. At the top you get, Apple, Cardamom, and Lavender.It opens with a crisp, slightly spicy freshness. The cardamom gives it an immediate "niche" feel rather than a cheap alcohol blast. Moving on to the heart with notes of Jasmine Sambac and Orris. As it settles, the Orris adds a buttery, powdery texture. It’s not "floral" in a feminine way; it’s more about providing a smooth bridge to the base. And finally the base notes include, Leather, Vanilla, Musk, and Oud. This is where the magic happens. The leather is suede-like, soft and refined—while the oud is clean and medicinal rather than "barnyard" or funky So its marketed as unisex, but its more of a masculine scent, definitly not a safe blind. It performes quite good almost 7 hours for me. Projection is quite good for the first 2 hours, before it settles into a consistent "scent bubble."That said, if you are looking for a strong Leather scent cwith a touch of green, this might be for you. But dont take my word for it, go try ot for yourself. My Rating 7.5/10 Scent 2 Longevity 2.5 Sillage 2 Y/N 1

Heading to a UCF Basketball game tonight (Go Knights!). It's cold in Orlando so I decided to wear a fragrance that has a little bit more depth to it. An Oriental Woody fragrance launched in 2025. The nose behind this fragrance is Francis Kurkdjian. Top note is Vanilla; middle note is Sugar; base notes are Smoke and Cedarwood.

#sotd...Esquire American Novelist by Michael Malul... American Novelist opens with a fresh clean minty smell to it. I could actually pick up the mint from start to finish on this. Has some green and some Leather undertones here and there. Seem to come and go as the fragrance wears on. Very nicely done. Good overall performance. I went 9 hours before refreshing and at the time I was still picking it up. Mostly a skin scent but definitely still there on my clothes. I give this a 9 out of 10. This is very versatile and could be worn all year round. As with all of Michael Malul fragrances, this is office save.

I just want to say thank you to all of you who reached out after my dad‘s passing. Needless to say, it’s been a difficult few weeks, so all of the positive interactions have been a godsend. With that being said, we’re getting back to the daily grind. Today, I am wearing this Bond No. 9 Lafayette Street dupe. While I like the scent profile, I don’t like it enough to pay the niche price tag the OG commands. However, I will say, it is a compliment magnet! Everybody around me seems to really enjoy it.