Since I was wearing profondo this weekend, today I decided to continue with the line. I have a travel sized bottle of this one and I've actually only worn it once before. Definitely has a more old school perfumery vibe to It. I never tried profumo but I Gear this is the closest to it. To me, it smells like a darker version of the OG. The olibanum and patchouli definitely give it a heavier base and though I may not wear it for peak heat outdoors, it's otherwise a solid year round signature scent worthy fragrance. I still like profondo just a tad better, but this has it's own sophistication that I haven't smelled in an ADG fragrance.

Match #9 kicks off the first full round of my 40-fragrance tournament, and we're starting with a heavyweight matchup: Burberry Hero Parfum versus Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir. Not exactly a summertime pairing, but with gray skies and steady rain today, it felt like the perfect time to compare them. Burberry Hero Parfum (2024, created by Aurélien Guichard) is the fragrance that started my collecting journey. It's all about wood—cedar, amyris, cypriol, and incense—and it has a warm, confident character that I never seem to tire of. Le Male Elixir (2023, created by Quentin Bisch) goes in a completely different direction. It's a rich blend of lavender, mint, vanilla, honey, tonka bean, and tobacco that somehow manages to be both sweet and sophisticated. This one really came down to mood, because I'd happily wear either on a date with my fiancée. Today, though, I'm giving the edge to Le Male Elixir. It feels just a little more complex and keeps revealing new facets as the day goes on. Burberry Hero Parfum certainly made it a battle, but Le Male Elixir advances to the next round.

So, I had some luck last year with a shower oil, but there was one significant issue - it had a distinct scent of its own. For working from home days, this wasn't a big deal, and I did like the convenience of applying the oil to my body at the end of my shower, letting it sit for a couple of minutes, and then rinsing off the excess. I noticed little difference in my chest, arms, and elbows between this and applying traditional moisturizer after showering. However, because of the scent of the shower oil, I ended up abandoning it after that first supply ran out and going back to the traditional routine. Of course, this also meant that certain parts of my body were getting as much moisturization as they could, since applying lotion is a more tedious process. A few days ago, though, I started a new moisturizing routine... I ordered some organic, fractionated coconut oil off of Amazon to try out as a shower oil. As it turns out, it seems to work just as well as that 'proprietary' shower oil blend - as a full-body moisturizer. However, people weren't kidding about the fragrance benefits. I've noticed a significant improvement in both longevity and projection over the last few days. I'm still, of course, applying an extra layer of face moisturizer to my face as well as body moisturizer with SPF to my head and neck after I shower, but I no longer have to take 15-20 minutes once a week (being generous with how often I actually did it) to apply body moisturizer to my entire body. Instead, I take an extra ≈3 minutes at the end of my shower to apply the fractionated coconut oil and the end result is both improved moisturization for my whole body plus increased fragrance performance. What about you guys? Do you use fractionated coconut oil as a moisturizer, or elsewhere in your fragrance routine?