5 Fragrances You Should Try

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Hello ladies and gentleman! Sorry that I have not posted in a few days. I somehow contracted an infection and the antibiotics have been whooping my tail. So, I haven't been feeling well. I should be back to normal posting in a week or less. Depending on when I feel better. Today I have for you 5 fragrances that you need to try. Some of these have plenty of haters and discourage people from buying them and some of them are relatively unknown. These aren't fragrances in every collector's collection. They are not in numerical order. Let's get into it!


Honorable Mention: Anything from Genre Parfums, DUA, or Alexandria Fragrances

Hany, Mahsam, and Devin are doing work at creating these cones for affordable prices. They have many haters, but to deny the number of people who love these inspirations would be criminal. There is certainly a market for us po' folks who can't afford to drop $500 on 30ml of Roja Dove Amber Aoud. Also, for people who just don't want to spend that much on fragrances when they can get something similar at a tiny fraction of the cost.

Now, I have not tried anything from DUA yet, but I hear good things and he does replicate some of the discontinued and hard to find stuff. He is a bit pricier than the other two, but he does have more offerings as well.

Alexandria is one of my favorite houses. Hany does a lot of good work for the community and is a very generous man. Always polite to his fans and rewards them frequently. I only have Mr. Sillage from him, but I look forward to trying more.

Genre Parfums is the up and comer that I just did two reviews on. This would be my choice on the price alone, but I just like Devin's style more. $25 for 30ml and $45 for 60ml...You can't beat that for something that smells like a niche.

All three houses are good though, so order from the ones you like. Don't let the haters tell you that they make these fragrances in bathtubs. They don't. As far as the quality of oils used, I can't say. My nose is not developed enough to tell the difference. I can only tell synthetic versus natural. They smell good, that is what matters.


Number 5: Dsquared² He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood

I hear this one smells a bit like Mancera Wind Wood. I have not smelled Wind Wood, but it makes sense with the violet and cedar dominance in both fragrances. I don't often use the term "niche quality" like some others do, but this is niche quality. It's unique, dark, and relaxing. Dark and relaxing in the same sentence? Yep. Like a forest after a rainstorm while it's still cloudy out.

Rocky Mountain Wood Review

Number 4: Hollister Wave

This fragrance's quality surprised me. Being that is from Hollister, a company that is marketed towards teenagers and young adults. Its presentation is quite nice, along with the fragrance itself. Yuzu, driftwood, salt, bamboo, and lavender. Very fresh and uplifting. I don't think many people know about this one. Look at the juice level. I wear this one a good bit in the summer.

Hollister Wave Review


Number 3: Penhaligon's LP No 9

Source: www.fragrantica.com

A great fragrance for the holidays. This clove heavy fragrance is a thing of beauty if you enjoy cloves. Smells like Christmas and was my SOTD on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Not everyone know about this house and those that do don't really know about this fragrance, so it's very far from mainstream.

LP No 9 Review


Number 2: Lacoste Pour Homme

One of the better fragrances from a somewhat obscure house. Plum, vanilla, and rum with some apple and cinnamon. That is what you need to know about this one. It's a beautiful fragrance that is pretty versatile to wear all year long, except on hot summer days.  I have been talking about this one for a while now. This is the fragrance that made me start getting into fragrances.


Number 1: Paris Hilton Just Me

This one isn't unique. You will be able to tell the DNA right away. It's an ADG clone. However, unlike Perry Ellis 360 Red...This one has no added cinnamon note. It still has cloves and nutmeg though, but they are at the back, not the front. So, if you want a cheap ADG alternative and don't find the cinnamon in 360 Red to be a good fit, then try this one out. The performance is good, but not quite as good as 360 Red.

Thank you once again! Hit the blue follow button at the right-hand side to support my work. Hopefully I feel up to posting again tomorrow or later today. Until next time, I hope everyone has a great day! 

Genre Parfums Noble Soul Review

Devin told me he didn't care about credit for the picture, but here is me still giving him credit 😊

Greetings ladies and gentleman! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! Today I am reviewing the second Genre fragrance that was sent to me, Noble Soul. The one is inspired by By Kilian Black Phantom. Oh man, this is a good one. Buckle up folks, it's time to go!

Presentation 

It's the same as Irish Rainfall, so I won't go into massive detail here. It comes in the leather drawstring bag. It has the basic but aesthetic plastic cap. The atomizer works very well also.

Irish Rainfall Review(if you want to see the full presentation)

Notes

Rum, Sugar Cane, Dark Chocolate, Coffee, Caramel, Almond, Heliotrope, Sandalwood


Scent

I am not going to do the opening and dry down of this one since it's such a linear scent, which is one reason I love it. I have never smelled Black Phantom before, but all I know is this fragrance is amazing/ I have been addicted to it since I started testing it. To me, it smells like a sweet slightly salted caramel candy spiked with rum. The coffee note isn't that strong, but it's there. There isn't any type of salt listed, but I get a slight vibe of it. This is a gourmand fragrance through and through. The rum note makes it lean more towards grown-ups, but not mature. The chocolate and caramel are the main players here. Just sitting here talking about it makes me want to go buy some candy. Seriously, it's delicious.

Longevity

This is one of the best performing fragrances I have. It lasted around 11 hours on my skin and projected for 4. It leaves a gorgeous sillage trail that will captivate people around you. I had a female friend ask me what I was wearing and she agreed that it smelled delicious. Also, a stocker at Publix greeted me and asked how I was doing, then she proceeded to tell me that it was "amazing". I have never received two compliments on a fragrance in such a short period of time(3 days of testing). So, that speaks volumes about this fragrance. Just don't go #FullDoug on this. I know most of you are like "FullDoug? What is that?". Well, if you joined the Genre Facebook Group you would know 😆

When to Wear it

Cool to cold weather. This fragrance is sweet and seductive. You could also get away with it for a night time date in the spring. It's not for hot weather though. Speaking of which, this is an excellent date fragrance. It leans more towards night time wear, but you can wear it during the day as well.

Overall Impression

This is a beautiful gourmand. I am seriously addicted to this one. I rate it higher than Irish Rainfall, which is also absolutely gorgeous as well. Devin really outdid himself with this one. I will be wearing it a lot...I am still wearing it even though I am done testing it. A fragrance that smells this good and lasts that long for $25...I am telling you folks, Don't sleep on this house. Devin is doing work and has a lot of releases and plans coming up soon. Join the Genre Facebook Group to see what is happening.

Thanks for stopping in everyone! I hope you enjoyed this review and it shed some light on some of these outstanding fragrances, especially for the price. Be sure to hit that blue follow button to support my blog. Everyone have a great day!

By the way, Devin lets his juice macerate before selling it. So, it is ready to go when you get it. There is no need to put it in dark, cool spot until it matures.


Devin's Facebook (message him directly and he will take care of any orders/.questions that you have.)

Genre Parfums Facebook Page (throw him some likes if you'd like to)

My Irish Rainfall Review

Dior Sauvage EDT Review

Hello ladies and gentleman! I hope everyone is doing well this evening. Tonight I have a review that I have been putting off for forever, Dior Sauvage. Due to its popularity and hate, I have steered away from reviewing it...Plus every other reviewer has a review of it. That's okay though. I do have it, so I might as well review it. Let's get into it!


Presentation

I really like the bottle on this one. The dark blue fade on the front looks gorgeous. I really love the magnetic cap as well. I have often times just sat here and played with it...Yeah, I know I am a kid at heart 😆. This atomizer on this is the best one that I have ever seen. It shoots a ton of juice out and makes a hissing sound. That's pretty awesome.

Notes
Top
Pepper, bergamot

Mid
Lavender, Geranium, Sichuan Pepper, Elemi, Vetiver, Pink Pepper

Base
Cedar, Ambroxan, Labdanum


Scent

Opening
You get a fresh dose of bergamot, lots of spice, and ambroxan in the opening. It's aggressive, forward, and unbashful. It tells you what it is right from the start. The pepper is very strong. If I smell it too much in the opening then I go anosmic to it shortly after.

Dry Down
The woodiness comes into play in the dry down. The ambroxan acts more like an amber now. It's still strong and peppery. So, you end up with a spicy and woody amber with some sparkling bergamot at the top.

Longevity
I get around 10 hours with it at least. I go anosmic to it because of the pepper. My nose is very sensitive to pepper. I have had people comment on it 10 hours after I applied. It seems to project for a good 3-4 hours as well. It also leaves a pretty massive sillage trail.

When to Wear it
This fragrance is super versatile and can be worn year-round and for almost any situation. I personally think it's too aggressive for formal wear though. It can be used for dates, clubbing, casual, work or whatever else you want to use it for. the EDP is slightly better for cold weather, but the EDT does fine in that as well.

Overall Impression

It's not a particularly great smelling fragrance when you smell it on your wrist. It's okay though. However, what you smell on yourself is not what others smell. I think this one might be popular because they might have put pheromones in it, There is no evidence to support this, however, Eau Sauvage was the first fragrance to have pheromones in it and I wouldn't be surprised if this one did as well, given its popularity with women.

Why is it so popular besides my thoughts on possible pheromones? It's very synthetic and messy. Its aggressive pepper, strong sparkling bergamot, and in your face ambroxan...Because it just works. On paper you look at the notes and think that it couldn't possibly work...it does. Love it or hate it, there is no denying that this works if you are seeking compliments.

It's not my favorite fragrance by far, but I do wear it when I am looking for compliments. Its good at what it does do. which is getting compliments.

Also, on a side note...if you use more than two sprays you might kill someone. I ran into a guy in a grocery store that was wearing like 8 sprays of this and it was nauseating to me smell him 3 aisles down from me. I am not sure if it was 8 sprays, but he oversprayed for sure. Please don't be that guy. Have pity on those of us who are sensitive to pepper 😆

Thanks for stopping by folks! I hope you enjoyed my take on Sauvage. Hit that blue follow button if you want to support me. Until next time, be well and smell fantastic!


Buy Sauvage here

Blogging: Why I Chose to Blog Instead of Youtube

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Hello ladies and gentleman! I am back with another one for you today, possibly even two. I am going to start a new series on blogs on here. A series about how to use them, their strengths and weaknesses, how to start your own, and how to support bloggers. I think it will help us all understand blogging better since it seems like an almost archaic thing to blog now, but it is far from that. With everyone citing Youtube reviewers nonstop, why would I choose to blog instead? Let's get into it



Personal Expression

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I am not as great on camera as I am in the written word. Writing is a form of art for me. It's like a blank canvas waiting to be filled. I express myself much better through writing. It gives me time to compose thoughts into a clear structure of what I mean. Plus the reader can go back and re-read what was written to get a better grasp on what I was saying. I am not camera shy and eventually, I will try my hand at Youtube, probably. I don't see that happening any time soon though.


I Enjoy It

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I enjoy writing and look forward to writing about new things each day, so that is why I upload every day and sometimes twice per day. I am just excited to bring you folks my content. I try my best to bring you folks an original concept at least once per week. I spent a lot of time researching fragrances to try to come up with new ideas. I want my blog to stand out from the standard Youtuber hype video.


The Money

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Yes, Youtube typically makes more money, but you can make money blogging. I don't care about the money though, I am more about doing this for passion. I did recently put ads on my blog. As just a little compensation(and I mean very little. I think I have made $.04 since putting them up) to get back and possibly invest it into fragrances to review in the future. Other than that, I don't get any money for doing this. I do get stuff sent to me for reviews though, but I don't get paid for it.


The Challenge

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I am always up for a good challenge. Being a blogger in a community that commonly adores Youtubers and being able to stand out from them is a good thing. It would be nice to be known as a respected reviewer, regardless of what platform I chose.


Social Media

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I can't take credit for most of the success I have had. I have had plenty of helping hands along the way. Shout out to Mark, Devin, and Nathan for them helping me to get stuff to review. We have an absolutely outstanding platform on Facebook that allows me to share with you folks. So, it's your clicks and your willingness to follow and believe in my blog and me that has gotten me this far. I am truly grateful to all of you for reading my posts and helping me out. Every single click helps and I am thankful for all of them.


Verdict

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In closing, you all made this possible. Your interest in what I have to say is why I keep doing this. As long as just a few support me then I will continue to do it. That is what keeps me motivated. Seeing the new comments and followers that I get. Reminds me that people do enjoy my content and that keeps me in the right frame of mind.

If I came off bitter against Youtubers that was not my intention. I love Youtubers and the community. I was just trying to make a point that every time "favorite reviewer" or "worst reviewers" are mentioned, it never has a blogger on there. It's always Youtubers. I want to be known as someone who provides original and unique content. I just hope I never land in the "worst reviewers" section, but hey, everyone has an opinion and that's fine. My goal as far as that goes is to bring light to the bloggers and expand our community even farther than Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram.

I hope y'all enjoyed this one! As always you can hit that blue follow button on teh right to support me. Have a blessed day!

Feel free to look at my homepage to find more articles you might find interesting:
https://musingsofafraghead.blogspot.com/

5 Fragrances for Clemson Fans(Orange)

Image Source: www.ESPN.com

Hey guys and gals! Today is a great day! I thought I would do something a little different today. In honor of my team, the Clemson Tigers, winning the national college football title by beating Alabama 44-16. I am going to do 5 decent orange fragrances to represent the school's main color. Not all of these have orange as the main note, but it plays into all of them. They are not in any numerical order. Let's get into it!


Number 5: Hugo Boss Hugo Iced

This one is iced black tea with orange and mint. Very cooling and refreshing, just like winning two titles in 4 years(sorry, corny, but I had to. Don't hate me). Seriously though, this fragrance is underrated in my eyes. the performance isn't great, but it's a good scent.

Number 4: Azzaro Chrome Legend

One of my favorites for the summer period, but I think apple and green tea play more into it than orange does, so I put it here. It's very refreshing and uplifting. It has a somewhat metallic vibe to it. Performance is also outstanding for a freshie type fragrance.

Number 3: Armaf Derby Club House Blanche

This one plays more off green tea and blackcurrant than orange. This is like a more refined and classy version of Azarro Chrome Legend to me. They are not that similar, but this one still has that metallic vibe and the green tea note. Performance on this one is decent.

Number 2: Perry Ellis 360 Red

Okay, so this one is more of a mix or a few citruses together with cinnamon and cloves. The orange is in there and this one is really good. The best Acqua di Gio clone for the money. More synthetic, but still very pleasing. Performance is outstanding on this one.

Number 1: Bvlgari Aqva Amara

This was my scent on the night for the game. A very prominent orange note in this one, with some salt and incense, plus the water note in it. I love this one in the summer. it's very beachy and versatile. I think this one goes good casually and with a suit and tie. This one has outstanding performance as well.

Thanks once again, folks. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I thought it would be a little fun post to do. Until next time, be blessed! Hit the blue follow button if you like my content. #TheTideGotRolled

My 5 Least Favorite Fragrance Notes

The skunk: Super cute, but the scariest animal on earth to a fraghead!
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Hello ladies and Gentleman! Another doubleheader today! I have a lot of content coming out here soon, so I will be posting every day and sometimes twice per day! This one is on my 5 least favorite notes in fragrances. Some of them I dislike any form of them, some I only dislike a certain type. Let's get into it!


Number 5: Castoreum

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Castoreum comes from the castor sacs of a beaver, which is located around the hindquarters of the animal. At least it used to, I think most of it, if not all, is synthetically produced now. It gives out a urine smell to me. While it can be okay mixed with some other notes...it's just not what I seek to smell like. So any fragrance that has this in it as a predominant note is usually not my style.

Number 4: Oakmoss

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Now, I don't dislike oakmoss as a whole, but the super dry mothball smelling oakmoss from the 70-80s smells bad to me. Most of this was banned in perfumery as an allergen, so it's synthetically produced now. I like the dry oakmoss with spice in old-school barbershop fragrances, but some other times it just smells like an old attic. That's not something I wish to embody.


Number 3 Suede

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Suede is the bad side of leather to me. It just smells funky. I don't know how to describe it properly, but I just dislike suede very much. It smells dirty to me. Luckily, not many fragrances have this note in them and they opt for leather instead.



Number 2: Blood Orange

Image source: www.pixabay.com

Orange is one of my favorite fruity notes in fragrances. However, blood orange is not. It just smells like a bad grapefruit to me. It's dark, piercing, and just unpleasing to me. I can handle it in small amounts, but with a fragrance like Perry Ellis Night it's just bad. Even though that fragrance is slowly growing on me...I am still not a huge fan of the note.



Number 1: Licorice

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Anyone who knows me will find this as no surprise. I can handle licorice in the background, but as a major player...I hate it. Anise isn't much better, but they are similar so I decided to only put one on this list. I can't stand licorice candy or smells. I just don't like it. I avoid any fragrance that has these notes as a dominant note. Azzaro Pour Homme has anise and I like that one, but I also have Avon Today which is licorice dominated and I dislike it very much.


I hope everyone enjoyed this one! Be sure to hit that blue follow button to support my work. Comment on which fragrance notes you dislike below! Have a great evening everyone!

Genre Parfums Irish Rainfall Review

It was a rainy day, so I figured it was a fitting picture day for this fragrance.

Hello ladies and gentleman! I hope you all are having a blessed day! I have an exciting review for you today from a fragrance house you might not have heard of, Genre Parfums. I am excited about this one, folks. Let's get into it!


Who is Genre Parfums?

Genre Parfums is a fragrance company based out of Louisiana in the United States. It is owned by Devin Breaux. He is a very cordial and kind-hearted gentleman who works in the oil fields and runs this fragrance company on the side. He just so happens to love fragrances as well, so he started this company. I won't go too far in depth with this because I am going to do a house review after I review the two fragrances he sent me. Yes, he sent them to me. I did not pay for them.

Genre Parfums is like Alexandria and DUA. They mostly take inspiration for other fragrances, although Devin does have some original creations coming out later this month or early next month. The difference is that he only charges $25 for 30ml bottles, besides MM Extrait which is an extrait de parfum not an eau de parfum, so it's $30. Okay, I will go into more depth about the nuances when I do the house review 😊


The Fragrance

Presentation

I believe Genre has the best presentation of the three houses. The fragrances come packed in a little drawstring leather(not real leather, but still nice quality) bag(image below). They even come with a little Genre Parfums cleaning cloth to wipe the smudges off of your bottles. What a thoughtful little touch!

The bottles themselves are clear glass, with a black label with the fragrance name on the front and the Genre Parfums insignia. The cap is plastic. Nothing fancy, but it's simple and it works with the aesthetic of the bottles. Sometimes the cap needs a little "oomph!" to come off, but it's not that big of a deal. It's not that hard to pull off. The atomizer is black and works well. Sprays out a good amount of juice.

The leather bag and cleaning cloth. Sorry, I had to use the flash in order to get the detailing on the bag.

Notes

Top
Iris, Lemon Verbena

Mid
Violet Leaf

Base
Sandalwood, Ambergris


The Scent

Opening

Irish Rainfall(IR from here on out) opens up very green with some lemon and beautiful violet and iris. Very relaxing and pleasant. One of my favorites to smell the opening on. Much easier to handle than Tres Nuit.

Dry Down

When IR dries down the lemon verbena, violet, and iris tame themselves and it goes into a more refined state. They blend wonderfully with each other to impart the feeling of being in Ireland in the spring. It gives a somewhat ozonic feel of a green field after a rainfall.

Comparisons

Irish Rainfall is a fragrance inspired by Creed Green Irish Tweed. GIT has a good number of clones, including the ever popular, Tres Nuit. IR takes more of a GIT approach than Tres Nuit/ It's well mannered, not harsh like the lemon verbena and violet/iris in Tres Nuit. The violet in IR is a bit softer than in GIT. IR is blended very well and nothing stands out too strongly. the greenness and lemon verbena work side by side to round this one out. They are not clashing like in Tres Nuit. It's very gentlemanly and soft-spoken. It's soothing and clean.

I really like this one. It's as close to a GIT clone as I have smelled. IR is only very slightly synthetic to my nose. I would say it's about 85-90% close to GIT with the major difference being the toned down violet/iris. Considering the price he is asking for this...That is amazing.

Longevity

I am tracking around 7 hours of longevity with about half of that being projecting. 7 hours is fine with me, especially at this price point. Plus it gives me an excuse to spray it and smell that gorgeous opening again. It's a softer fragrance and I did pull one compliment from a cashier at Publix(A grocery store) about 4 hours after I applied 4 sprays. One to each wrist, one to my shirt, and one on my neck. It seems to leave a pretty good sillage trail for most of its life as well.

When to Wear it

Spring and summer. It's best in the spring, but it goes well in the summer as well. You could get away with it in the fall/water as well because it's a clean fragrance, but it's not suggested. You can wear it casually or with a tuxedo. You can rock this bad boy any time. It can fit into any wardrobe. Rock it with pride.

Overall Impression

Devin threw down the gauntlet when he sent me this. He knew GIT was my all-time favorite fragrance and he wanted to put his creation up against it. I will be clear though, this is not GIT, but it's very close and a spectacular rendition of it for the price. I certainly won't buy another Tres Nuit after smelling this. I might not even buy a GIT after this as well, which pains me to say. My GIT is currently relegated to special occasions only because of its price. I can wear this one every day and not worry about using precious juice for a trip to the grocery store. Yes, you get more juice with Tres Nuit, but this one is much higher quality. This smells like a fragrance that would cost $150. It's pretty astonishing for $25. When he starts making 60ml bottles I will be sure to pick this one up.

You can order 3 5ml samples for $12. try this one out. if you don't like it feel free to fuss me out for it. If you like GIT, then you will like this.

The next Genre I review was my favorite of the two that he sent me..."Wait, how can the other one be better than an inspiration of your favorite fragrance?"...Well, tune in next time to find out my friends.

Thank you for your time as always and I hope everyone has a blessed day! Keep smelling great and hit that blue follow button! Thanks!

Genre Parfums Facebook Group (Devin gives news and updates on here, plus members talk about Genre fragrances)

To order from Genre Parfums message Devin on Facebook(His name is a link to his Facebook).