Il Mondo di Odore

Black Pepper, Haitian Vetiver, Juniper, Agarwood, Indonesian Patchouli, Atlas Cedar. I can say that this release has an extremely fancy name and decent bottle to go with it. I made the statement on a fragrance site that I believed this to be mundane and naturally, as is expected, there are those who disagree. That's fine since the cliche "it's a subjective hobby" holds water. Now, Oud Vetiver Royale isn't a bad scent. It is mundane on this wearer  however and if you are expecting any semblance of the "wow" factor, you will be disappointed. I suppose my biggest beef is that projection is low on me and the "noticeable" longevity is only a few hours before morphing into a veritable skin scent. For those who like the earthiness and woods of this genre, you'll probably enjoy this. Oud Vetiver Royale never changes from the initial spray and at least to me, smells exactly the same in the extended drydown as it did the first few minutes; ...

Lemon, Muguet, Amber, Labdanum, Olibanum, Incense, Patchouli, Vanilla Bean. Grit & Poise goes on a bit oily for starters. I just thought I should point that out. The vanilla is prominent from the initial application. There's also some balsam and resins in there for good measure. The opening accord is actually very nice; not overtly sweet and to me, gender neutral. Like others from this house, there's not much in the way of transitions and goes on fully developed. I'm not sure if Poise & Grit separates itself enough from the many others in this genre to grab hold of the wearer. It's a pleasant wear, but so are thousands of others. This has the base to accommodate some interesting things for a prelude, but it chooses not to. The base is "safe", yet sometimes making no waves is as bad as making the wrong ones. I suppose Poise & Grit feels "incomplete" to me and at the same time smells nice. Suffice it so say that if you like your V...

Bergamot, Clove, Cinnamon, White Pepper, Rose Petals, Geranium, Saffron, Oud, Smoky Wood, Cedar, Sandalwood, Animalics, Leather, White Musk. For all the listed notes in The Aoud by Mancera, it comes out of the sprayer almost completely developed. The interplay between Clove and Cinnamon is very "sniffable" and lends a slight burnt quality to the accord. With the exception of Musk, all the culprits are blended very well and interact in such a way as to smell as "one". However, If you put your mind to it while sampling, you can pick out all the contributors. The Oud is easily detectable, but is restrained from completely dominating the composition. I like this more each time I wear it. What's not to like about slightly smoky woods with floral and leathery accents? For whatever reason, the Musk doesn't integrate, on my skin, like I would anticipate. It may develop better on yours or it could simply be that I can't detect it. After all, there's...

Spices, Rose, Patchouli, Amber, Leather, White Musk, Sandalwood, Guaiac. Indeed, the Rose-Oud-Sandal combinations have pretty much run their course.......or have they? When you sample numerous ones in this genre, there's a commonality to be expected and the whole category can make you indifferent. Some, however, have that little something-something that's hard to put your finger on, but it's just loud enough, comfortable enough and blended well enough to make you take notice in spite of all the other contenders. This is how I interpret my wearings of Black Line. Personally, I find the category of "niche" rose releases to be somewhat overloaded and because of this, it doesn't seem special to me anymore. I suppose it's run of the mill these days, but that doesn't mean there aren't standouts. Black Line, on my skin, doesn't come across as either feminine or masculine. It just is. Rose is featured here with complimentary appearances and c...