Continued with the Replica set from Maison Margiela. Today was Bubble Bath. It opens very clean and airy with a strong soap bubbles accord backed by a bit of bergamot brightness and a soft pink pepper sparkle. Quickly moves into the heart where lavender, jasmine and rose give it that fresh laundry and hotel spa vibe. The drydown is mostly white musk with a smooth coconut creaminess and a very faint patchouli base adding a bit of depth. The name makes sense, but not in a literal bubbly bath way. It smells more like stepping out of a hot shower, using luxury hotel soap and wrapping yourself in a fresh towel. Performance is mid. Projects nicely for around 2 hours before sitting closer to the skin. Around the 6 hour mark it becomes faint and disappears soon after. Nice scent, very cosy, but it feels too soft for the price which is a shame. I have heard ALT. Fragrances makes a near 1:1 version that lasts longer so i might look into that. Overall a 7.2/10. Clean, cosy and comforting but not the best performer, generic and leans feminine. They have to start making edp versions of these. Im one of the guys who prioritises performance as much as profile so MM is falling short here.

Hey guys, Joe A. here with another one for ya’! Today’s bit is one that pops up a lot in the fragrance hobby: “What discontinued fragrances do I need to get before they’re gone forever?” Listen, I get it! There’s something exciting about "The Hunt." A bottle gets discontinued, the price starts climbing, people start whispering about reformulations, backup bottles and “you had to be there” batch codes like we’re discussing ancient scrolls under candlelight. But here’s the boring-but-necessary truth: Before you go chasing discontinued fragrances, you really need to know what scent profiles you actually love!! Because discontinued does not automatically mean legendary. Sometimes it means the fragrance was underappreciated. Sometimes it means the brand made a bad decision. Sometimes it means the market moved on. And sometimes, gentlemen, it means the fragrance was standing in the clearance aisle for a reason... There's some absolutely great discontinued bottles out there. Acqua di Gio Profumo. Valentino Uomo Intense. Dunhill Icon. Certain Tom Ford releases. Older designer gems. Vintage formulations that fragrance folks still talk about like lost treasure. But “great fragrance” and “great fragrance for you” are two very different things!! Don't let FOMO grab you by the wallet and drag you into a $250 blind buy just because a fragrance now has “discontinued” attached to its name. My advice? Don’t chase discontinued fragrances first. Chase your own taste first. Once you know what you love, the hunt becomes smarter. You’re not just buying because something is rare. You’re buying because it fits your nose, your style and your collection. And let’s be honest, guys… there are still plenty of excellent fragrances available right now. Missing out on a discontinued bottle is not the end of the hobby. Sometimes the dragon you’re chasing is legendary. Sometimes it just smells like regret with a batch code!! What say you, guys? Do you chase discontinued fragrances, or do you usually let them go? What’s one discontinued bottle you think is actually worth the hunt? And what’s one that people hype up mostly because they can’t easily get it anymore? Love to hear from ya'!