I know I promised @Henry Clay and @Thomas Chavez that I'd get on board with their posts about Mancera Red Tobacco (which I love), but I'm just not up for anything involving tobacco or incense or anything too heavy tonight. TBH, I got things on my mind, and it's not going to be cooler than 60 tonight, and I need something refreshing, and easy, and a little mindless. French Riviera checks all those boxes for me. I CAN'T be the only one who feels like this is a vacation in a bottle. Yeah, I know... People accuse it of having a sun tan lotion smell to it and I get it... In fact, I get it and kinda like it. The only thing I'm missing is the sand and the ocean. You can't GET any easier than that. Is it appropriate for night?? Um, uhh... No, but who's in charge here? It's MY bottle and I want to spray it tonight! In fact, if I wake up in the middle of the night and the scent is gone, I'll douse myself in it just for fun. It may piss my wife off, but what the hell... Her birthday celebration is over. (I'll regret that one...) Just a quick summary of the notes: The opening is a sharp, photorealistic (smells like the real deal) burst of tangerine, orange, and lemon along with some ginger. The mid is where the "Riviera" vibe truly comes in. I get a salty, sea-spray accord. The florals aren't feminine and it gives me that "luxury suntan lotion" vibe. The dry down is a clean, sea salt, with maybe a little amber. It smells like a day at the beach. For a freshie, its performance is exceptional, and I'm expecting 7 to 9 hours. Mancera does it once again. They make some of the best values in the niche market out there. I give it a: 7.5 / 10.0

This is it gents! This one marks the last purchases of 2025. Quite frankly, I feel I'm pretty set, and expect very few adquisitions next year. Have a huge amount of decants to go over, and can no longer see finishing a bottle again, despite my collection being tiny! Full Bottles: - YSL La Nuit de L'Homme Le Parfum - Prada L'Homme L'Eau - Brioni EDP Intense Decants/Samples: - Day Three Discovery kit (I actually think I'm NOT going to use the $60 voucher, unless somethign really blows my mind. Anyone know if it's transferable?) - Gift 5ml PDM Perseus decant courtesy of Fragflex - By Kilian Angels' Share Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - Tom Ford Noir Extreme Parfum for Men - 2ml - Amouage Search Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - Maison Francis Kurkdjian Gentle Fluidity Silver Edition Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme Eau de Parfum for Men - 2ml - Parfums de Marly Castley Eau de Parfum for Men - 2ml - Bvlgari Aqva Amara Eau de Toilette for Men - 2ml - Brioni Eclat Eau de Parfum for Men - 2ml - Giorgio Armani Stronger With You Sandalwood Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - By Kilian Smoking Hot Eau de Parfum Unisex - 1ml - By Kilian Black Phantom Eau de Parfum Unisex - 1ml - Emporio Armani Stronger With You Tobacco Eau de Parfum for Men - 2ml - Roja Parfums Burlington 1819 Eau de Parfum Unisex - 2ml - Amouage Interlude Black Iris Man Eau de Parfum for Men - 2ml I'm actually on the fence on keeping the Brioni. This is the only oud-ish along Versace Noir that I have REALLY liked, but while waiting for it, I had been heavily wondering... when would I use it? I'ts already on the heavier side of my fragrance-preference spectrum, but add the usual warm weather here... don't know. But... it's just so good... I do have a Ralph's Club Elixir on order at Jomashop, when it came out at an awesome price. When I placed the order, ETA was 1-2 weeks. That was almost 2 weeks ago. I'll just wait it out, am in no rush. Jomashop things...