Picked this one up yesterday in my local Lidl, never seen it before, no surprises where the influence for this came from. It's an aromatic Fourgere, in the vain of the classic Le Male, and to be honest for approx €5, it ain't half bad. G. Belini is the German brand that do the Lidl range of fragrances, some are clear misses, but then Some are super good. Their versions of boss Bottled and Jazz club are tops, and Saylor fits I to this category. Released around 2021 as a buget friendly alternative. Saylor closely mirrors the classic DNA it aims to replicate, focusing on a blend of freshness and warmth. In the opening, you are greeted with a sharp, invigorating burst of mint & lavender, accented by a hint of cardamom that provides an immediate cooling sensation. As the fragrance transitions into the heart, the aromatic profile deepens with a spicy touch of cinnamon & orange blossom, to add a creamy, floral sweetness that bridges the gap between the fresh top & the heavy base. The dry-down is where the fragrance truly settles, dominated by a rich and comforting base of vanilla, amber & tonka bean. These base notes work together to create a powdery, slightly gourmand finish that feels smooth on the skin. For an edp of those price, performance ain't half bad. Ove gotten a solid 5hrs on my skin. Projection is moderate but noticeable; it radiates well within an arm's length for the first 60m before settling into a consistent scent bubble that is pleasant without being overpowering. Best suited for cooler seasons like autumn and winter, though its minty opening allows it to transition well into spring evenings. It is a versatile choice for casual daytime wear or the office. I'll be keeping an eye out for a back up bottle of this, I'm really impressed with this one. My Rating 7/10 Scent 2.5 Longevity 2 Sillage 1.5 Y/N 1

#sotd... Amazonas Avalanche by Atralia... If you enjoy the scent of Iris with that powdery vibe, then you will like this. Yes it has the same DNA as Dior Homme Intense but I do feel it is different. Maybe close to a 90% similarity. Avalanche has good projection in the opening. I went 6 hours before refreshing. The powdery vibe does fade away during the dry down. That is where the woodsiness comes into play. I give this an 8 out of 10. If it performed better, I would have given it an 9 out of 10.

Continuing my Maison Margiela discovery set. Still going in order, so the next one was Lazy Sunday Morning. I thought it would be funny to try this on a Sunday, but I didn’t want to ruin the order, so here we are. The opening is yet again very nice. Clean aldehydes, green and floral lily-of-the-valley, and sweet pear. In a few minutes you get the trio of florals: rose, iris, and orange blossom. Rose is the dominant one. The base is just musk and ambrette for me; I don’t get the patchouli. It’s a high-quality floral fabric softener on a clean, fresh-out-of-laundry linen sheet. Definitely not how my lazy Sunday afternoon smells 😂 but would I want it to smell like this? Heck yeah. Just when I thought I found my next purchase, the performance shut me up. It performs like an EDC with about 30 mins of projection and roughly 3-4 hrs of total lifespan. My skin is optimal today and, despite that, the performance sucked. I reapplied after a few hrs thinking I went nose blind, but nope. I’m noticing a pattern with MM and their fragrance performance. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt purely because this is a 2 1/2-year-old discovery set. If I don’t get good performance on any of them, I’ll be retesting with a new discovery set. I’ve not yet smelled something clean floral like this. Closest was Byredo Blanche. It’s so comforting and fuzzy. If I could wear something at home, it would be this DNA but with better performance. Assuming it’s a faulty sample, I’d give it an 8/10. I have nothing to complain about the profile; all my complaints are about the performance. There’s bad and then there’s unacceptable. Again, it could be that the samples expired or were stored incorrectly. Have you tried anything similar? Let me know.