Had a mixed day today, helping arrange a funeral on one hand but testing fragrances with my wife on the other. The usual rules applied... loads of stuff tested on card, four standouts tested on skin. Here we go! 1 - Tony Iommi Monkey Special by Xerjoff. This has been on my wishlist for a good while, and a week ago my local stockist got a new tester. I applied a full skin wear then, but found it not as lovely as I hoped. Today I gave myself another spritz on the arm as a final check, and I'm happy to say that I loved it just as much as I have in the past. Treacley smokey woody leathery greatness. 50ml bottle on my horizon. 2 - Hibiscus Mahajad by Maison Crivelli. Took a wristful of this after enjoying a card. Floral fresh musk which is surprisingly light. I'm a fan of this house's heavier scents like Oud Stallion, but this one is something my wife enjoys too. Picked up the extrait discovery set plus a couple of extra samples to run it through the wringer. 3 - Alto Astral by Byredo. Another surprising fragrance that was pushed on us as we passed the counter. Lovely wet coconutty scent that leans heavily towards Creed's Virgin Island Water. If I'm honest, the VIW beats this, but it's definitely a decent offering from the house. Dried down intimate on my arm. 4 - Delphinus by Creed. Ended with my usual "just pop on something random", this time at the Creed counter. I liked the orange bottle, but I LOVED the wonderful almond top note. It's a great scent, a lovely vanilla gourmand that has a transerrence from Black Pepper through to Patchoili that is absolute fire. Another one to consider if the discount is good enough, but it's distant third behind Wild Vetiver and Virgin Island Water on my want list. I also tried some Davidoff Cool Water and some D&G Light Blue Pour Homme, as they were heavily discounted and I like their scent profile. As usual, marine aquatics said hi then pulled an immediate Irish Goodbye on my skin, so they remained on the shelf despite the savings.

I picked this one up, I think on @Lon Chaneyfield or @Ben E recommendation. This is a dupe of Argos Triumph of Bacchus, which I haven't had, but told there is no need to get he OG. I am addicted to this one. I get 6+hrs out of it, I don't know longer as this is always my SOTE and it still projecting when I go to bed, which I ain't mad at. It's like a Peachy version of Mancera Red Tobacco. I really enjoy Red Tobacco and Intense, but will take this one over them any day.