So last fall I got my hands on ATH’s Hombre and man, I hated it - it’s got a clary sage note front and center that really didn’t appeal to me. I sold my 50ml bottle and moved on. Then earlier this year, I got my nose on Penhaligons The Cut, which also has a prominent clary sage note - but I kind of liked the Cut. Got a decant and it’s grown on me. Could it be, I’m starting to like clary sage? To find out, I umm required a 10ml bottle of Hombre and tonight I’ve got it on my left arm with the Cut on my right arm. I’m sitting in a cloud of clary and… not hating it. Hombre opens much much brighter, with a citrus zing that makes that clary sage just vibrate. The Cut opens warmer, I get maybe a bit of mint to give it a little brightness but I’m mainly getting some woodiness and definitely some aromatics to round out that clary sage. Let’s see how they develop, 20 minutes in and Hombre is louder for sure. I seem to be enjoying both but right now I’m preferring The Cut for being more rounded and aromatic. But I think the Hombre bottle is a keeper this time. Who knew???

On my PDM streak. Today it’s their fresh release of 2025 Castley from Parfums de Marly. Here’s what I think. It opened bright and spicy: bergamot, pepper, ginger and grapefruit. It has a slight fizzy aspect to it, like Sedley. The mids are where the pepper is doubled down with the addition of neroli, petitgrain, timur and rose. It gives a herby, soapy nuance, but ginger is still very prominent for me. After a couple of hours, akigalawood, labdanum, benzoin and leather show up. Very soft and smooth, nothing sharp or strong. The soapy herbal nuance sits on top of this base. It’s different from Sedley. To me, this smells like a ginger kombucha that later turns into a luxurious herbal soap. Quite unique and not something I’ve smelled before or on someone. Performance is great. It’s been about 9.5 hrs and I can still smell it on my skin. Seems like a 10-12 hour fragrance, and that’s surprisingly good for a freshie. Although longevity is good, the sillage is rather weak. The first two hours were the best and then it becomes more of a skin-close scent. Today was a cold day though, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. It does have similarities to some fragrances I’ve smelled, like the obvious one Sedley, Boss Bottled Beyond and Marwa. I’m still not a big fan of this herbal, soapy fragrance style, but I think I’ll eventually grow into it. I do wish it had a bit more sweetness. Overall, I’ll give it an 8.2/10. Better smelling and performing compared to Sedley. As of now, I’m still not impressed with the scent profile, but it could grow on me. Up next, I’ll complete the PDM trinity by testing Greenley.