First from the house. I thought of reviewing Side Effect but I had already worn a boozy fragrance today, so I went with OFG instead. I’ve heard great things about this one, so here are my thoughts. The opening is fantastic. If anyone still doesn’t understand the term “warm spicy”, this one will make you say “I understand it now”. Sweet saffron, spicy nutmeg, and aromatic lavender. Super high quality with perfect blend and balance. For the first 15 minutes I kept going 😗🥰. One of the best openings I’ve personally smelled. This is my also my first oud-dominant fragrance and I can say I still don’t fully understand it. It smelled like a mix of sweet, sharp, balsamic, woody, and fruity? A lot going on, but luckily it didn’t dominate until around hr 2. After that it was mostly the mids and base. The “oud”, sharp almost metallic patchouli, and animalic musk. Very mature and gentlemanly. This is where it gets super polarising. But my trained nose loves it. Many would probably be offended once the opening fades. Masculine and umbral. I really liked the opening but from there it slightly dropped towards the end of the fragrance. Also super reminiscent of Sauvage Elixir. Performance is where I heard the most praise about OFG. The first 2-3 hours were very potent. I did about five sprays, though it was a sample so around 0.12 ml. After the 3 hr mark it started settling, and once it fully dried down around hr 6 it became a proper skin scent. I expect it to stay like this for another couple of hours, so roughly 8.5-9 hrs of lifespan which aligns with a standard EDP. Not quite enough to sing praises about though. Maybe newer batches are weaker, or maybe it’s just the sample’s performance. Still a respectable showing. Price isn’t too big of a deal. I could get a 50 ml for £150 which isn’t bad. But I do have to say it left me wanting more. More importantly the main issue is that I think I’m not ready for this yet. This fragrance is very overpowering. It needs a lot of confidence or status. My career has just started, so I can’t quite project that level of boss energy yet. Maybe 5-7 years down the line when I’m in a stronger position, I could wear this comfortably.

We all know Domino's pizza. Is it fancy? Nope. Is it gourmet? No way. Is it hard to find? Absolutely not. But let someone walk in the house with it and you're smiling. That's basically what I went with today. My choice is Montblanc Explorer. Is it inspired by the Aventus DNA? Absolutely. But it's not a clone, it's found its own lane in that mindset. But you know what? They took the idea and made one that just works. It's an easy grab, sits well on the skin and is a compliment magnet. It just rolls up its sleeves and does its job well. I've noticed I very much lean niche now, but sometimes you just need a solid workhorse. That's Explorer in a nutshell.