I am probably going to piss off some clone warriors with this one, but so be it. I can say this because I have been there. I chased everything. I owned hundreds of dupes and clones. I chased every new “95% identical” release, every beast-mode version and every $30 alternative that supposedly made the original obsolete. But I also chased every inexpensive designer brand I could find. Rack-store bargains, discounted designers, cheapies that somebody on YouTube said were hidden gems — if it was inexpensive and getting attention, I wanted to try it. Then I started doing the same thing with niche. I chased niche brands, affordable niche, hyped niche and whatever house everybody happened to be talking about that month. For a long time, the hobby became about the next bottle. And eventually I had to ask myself a question: Do I actually love perfumery, or do I just love collecting bottles? Because those are not necessarily the same thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying affordable fragrances. There is nothing wrong with clones either. Some are excellent, some perform better than the original, and some are incredible values. But if your entire collection is built around copies of fragrances you have never even smelled, I have a hard time calling that a deep appreciation of perfumery. Especially when those same people turn around and say: “Why would anybody pay $300 for the original?” “The clone is better.” “It smells exactly the same.” “The original is a ripoff.” How do you know? You never smelled it. Watching a YouTube reviewer tell you something is 95% accurate does not mean you have experienced the original. And this is one of my biggest problems with clone culture. Somewhere along the way, price and performance became the only measurements of quality. If a fragrance costs $25 and lasts 12 hours, it is automatically considered better than a $250 fragrance that lasts seven. That makes absolutely no sense to me anymore. Perfumery is more than projection and longevity.

From the local pharmacy used testers sale: - Lattafa: Pride Ajwaa - $10 It’s considered an oriental niche scent profile, but people compare it with Penhaligon's Legacy of Petra (haven’t tried it) but definitely quite unique and beautiful. Review coming soon…

Sauvage Extrait - Really synthetic smelling and sort of dirty floral/green earthy note on strip. The smooth Lavender of the Elixer was toned down and I think an almost lactonic animalic leather note trying to assert itself. I think I'm going to have to give this one another. Try on another day as it may have just cooked my nose because it was too strong and I may need to spray it on strip and wait 30 minutes to even get to know what it's like. Again, it felt really jumbled and almost chaotic and again that might have been overspraying the strip. Given how aggressive and rough it was I didn't want to put it on skin unless I was going straight home. This one is getting a pass for now with a caveat that I'm going to smell it again on another day when it's not as warm. Armani I Will - This one seems intriguing. Smelled after the one above it sort of was washed out and again one that I think I'm going to sniff again. Maybe in slightly cooler weather because the woodsy vanilla got sort of washed out in the same way that BDX Vanilla Caviar is one I love in the winter but just falls flat for me when it's warmer. Again, another one that is getting a curious to try again. Ralphs Club New York Parfum - Of the three I tried today this one was the initially most pleasing, opened with a very satisfying, spicy warmth. This is the only one I kept the card from to get a sense of how it smelled throughout and my only critique is once that initial warmth and spiciness wore off as it was sitting in a fairly warm car while we ran errands. It filled the space quite nicely, but also in the base was sort of sweet caramel that reminds me of a lot of other sort of designer fragrances like the Most Wanted, etc. So in the end my initial take was it smells really nice and is very pleasing, but I'm not sure if I don't already have a few that smell just like this in my collection. I often say that though about Ralph Lauren fragrances, especially Polo 67. If it was my first fragrance. It's a banger if it's your 50th or 60th likely isn't going to move the needle. Much in the safe designer space. But like all the Ralphs club very well constructed for what it is. It's very smooth. And the sort of sweet caramelly base is probably one of the smoothest and best blended of all of the designer fragrances that kind of sit in the same scent space.