This isn’t a fun story to share at all, but I hope it helps you guys avoid making the same mistake I did. A few days ago, I asked the community whether it would be a good idea to trade my Hugo Boss Bottled EDP 200ml for an Azzaro The Most Wanted Parfum 150ml. Original post for reference: https://www.skool.com/bos/my-first-possible-trade Most people thought it was a solid deal, so I told the guy I’d go ahead with it. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out well at all. We had agreed to meet up 9 December to make the swap. He showed up two hours late and didn’t even bring the fragrance with him… Since I know him pretty well, I still handed over my bottle and trusted him to bring the Azzaro the next day. That didn’t happen. Three days later he told me he no longer wanted to trade for the Boss (not exactly fun news to hear). He showed me his collection, but nothing in it appealed to me or added anything new to mine. So I suggested he either buy it from me or just give it back. After some back-and-forth texting, he agreed to buy it for 90 euros. But the story doesn’t end there. For about two weeks he barely replied to my messages, and eventually he admitted he didn’t have the money to buy my bottle. Yeah, that was another great message to receive (being very sarcastic here btw). Still, I arranged another meet-up and waited again. For the third time, he decided the deal no longer worked for him - this time because of money. I have a lot of patience, but things were starting to get ridiculous. Even so, we finally reached an agreement we both liked: 50 euros plus his Afnan Supremacy In Heaven. He transferred the 50 euros and promised to drop off the Afnan the next day. Three days later, however, we still hadn’t closed the loop. Once again, he claimed I was ripping him off by asking too much (even though he had suggested those terms himself every time). By that point I was so fed up with all the time and effort I’d put in that I just said 70 euros would be fine too.

Might be my longest post so far, so bear with me. Had high hopes after how much I loved Monkey Special. As promised, @Paul Bartnicki , I tried this one out and let’s just say I’m glad I saw your post. Here’s what I think. It opens with crisp and (sexy?) apple, warm saffron, and an amazing rose. Very reminiscent of Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land Absolu. That rich, warm, syrupy rose. About 10 minutes in, the saffron softens a lot and the rose gets deeper. The apple is still present, but now it turns more crystal-sugary, almost candy-like. The leather is super minimal, which is perfect for me since strong leathers aren’t my taste. Close to an hour in, it’s mostly a rose syrup and papyrus fragrance. Super reminiscent of Byredo Eyes Closed, minus the carrot accord. At this stage, the fragrance becomes a bit boring. The addictive appeal dies down slightly. Around the 4-hour mark, it has fully dried down. It’s almost like the fragrance heard my complaint and toned down the rose sweetness. The leather stops being shy and finally shows up, almost like a rockstar leather. Very fitting for Tony Iommi. The leather reminds me of the hard leather cases guitars are transported in. Patchouli and moss support the leather, giving it a dark, almost dirty feel. I didn’t expect to like it this much. I rarely say this, but if there were a fragrance that embodies me, this is the closest one yet. As it stands, this is signature scent worthy. To me, it feels like a great combination of Byredo RONML Absolu and Eyes Closed, leaning slightly masculine. I wish I could layer the two Byredos to see the outcome, but my girlfriend has RONML with her, so that’s not happening for a while. Contrary to what many say, the performance wasn’t a 14-hour beast mode scent. It’s a solid 8-10 hour fragrance, with the first 2 hours almost filling the room. Then it projects strongly within 1-1.5 ft for the next 3 hours. It’s been 6 hours now and it’s around 6 inches and slowly settling into a skin scent. For context, I did 3 sprays.