Hey guys, Joe A here with another one for ya! You know, I really wanted to like Zernell Gillie ROCK, but...... On paper, this had the makings of something with real attitude: a citrus-metallic opening, some sharp electric brightness, then a darker slide into resinous musk from the opoponax and olibanum. I was expecting stage lights, amplifier buzz and a little incense smoke curling through the chaos. Instead? Everything feels muted, tame and strangely neutered. For a fragrance called ROCK, this doesn’t kick the door open. It politely knocks, waits to be invited in and then apologizes for tracking dirt on the carpet. The lime, yuzu and metallic musk should have given this thing some edge, but they feel turned way down, like someone unplugged the guitar before the solo. The resins never really growl either. They just sort of hum in the background, behaving themselves like they’ve got a curfew. And that’s the problem. ROCK, as a concept, should have some rebellion to it! It should feel textured, loud, smoky, gritty, electric or at least a little dangerous. This smells more like a clean rehearsal space than a sweaty stage.... Not a terrible fragrance. Just a frustrating one. First sniff? Like a big hair metal band reunion tour where the guitars are quiet, the leather is pleather and the only thing still growing is the Rogaine bill!!

Having to replenish the summer stock - but on something of a budget. Have opted for these two, tried a sample of both - Amazon had a great deal on them! Would've been daft not too. Afnan 9pm Rebel - if you like pineapple, on the softer, sweeter end - thos is an excellent option! Rayhaan Imperia - very, very versatile, strikes me as a hybrid of Aventus and D&G Intenso. Much more subtle than 9pm Rebel, and more fresh/clean in overall style. Hope you all having an awesome Saturday!

Phew! Finally done building my new display shelves. They turned out OK, not great. I couldn’t get more of the same woodgrain tape that I used in my first set, so there’s a bit of a mismatch. But worse, as I was jamming the new shelves into the snug cabinet space, one of the cables tore out and now the bottom LED shelf won’t light up, which is kind of a bummer. That said, I think it still looks pretty good, and anyway I’m really happy that now I can have my full collection out - I’ve pretty much got the cold weather and transitional season frags on the lower shelves, and the year-round and warm weather frags on the top shelves. I might need to rejigger things a bit, but basically they’re pretty well organized. The new shelves give me space for just a few more bottles, which is good because I’ve set a personal goal not to get too many more. I’ve got a bottle of Oud Bleu Intense on the way and have my eye on maybe one or two more cool weather and one or two more year rounders. Then that’s it! I’m not gonna show the grab and go frags I keep on a bathroom shelf because then everyone will yell at me about not keeping them in the bathroom 🤪