Il Mondo di Odore

  Aldehydes, Bergamot, Fruit Note, Orange, Pimento Carnation, Cedar, Cinnamon, Orris, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood Amber, Benzoin, Honey, Moss, Musk, Tonka Bean, Vanilla. In 2009, I did a review of the reformulation that was available at that particular time. Reading my own review, I felt there was no need to seek out the vintage since what I already had was very good. Enter the year 2013. My bottle from 2009 is gone and I pick up another. It's a different reformulation; brighter and more shrill with a phantom sawdust note. It's still good and I like it, but it's different. I still have a reference atomizer of it for comparison. If I had to choose between the one I had in 2009 and 2013, I'd choose the 2009. It simply was more robust and "full" I now have a vintage bottle from somewhere between 1990-1994. It wasn't a vintage-only purchase. I just happened to come across it while looking for a replacement and the price was right. Surprisingly, the vintage isn...

Passion Flower, Green Osmanthus, Gardenia, Calendula, Blue Rose, Tiger Lily. Heliotrope, Cyclamen, Jasmine, Lilac, Orchid. Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Cedar. I'm not quite sure why I like the bitterness of Marigold. "Bite" may not be the best word to describe what that note does for me, but Marigold always has an edge when I smell it. I own an old school masculine ( M de Morabito )  that has an obvious Marigold implementation. It's off putting and fascinating at the same time. At the very least, it keeps me sniffing away when I choose to wear it. Wings ( at least on my skin ) is a floral fest with a slew of notes jostling for attention. It has commendable blending for such a bargain fragrance, yet it is an extroverted scent by today's sensibilities. I've tried applying different amounts and have found when I over indulge by even a little, Wings is somewhat obnoxious and screechy. A deft touch however produces an enjoyable wearing. This is a floral woo...

I have read over twenty reviews of Red For Men, and not one of them is able to adequately describe what it smells like.  That's not a criticism of the reviewers, but rather a commentary on the nature of this scent. When Red For Men was released in 1991, its claim to fame was that it contained over 600 ingredients.  Of course, such a thick stew renders it almost impossible for a person to identify its individual notes.  To further complicate things, I don't find that any of the traditional fragrance categories - fougere, oriental, chypre, leather, floral, etc. - apply to Red For Men.  The two most prominent notes I smell in Red are leather and moss - everything else is a cement-like brew of spices, herbs, ambers, and wood notes, many of which are obviously synthetic. Two fragrances which are very similar to Red are Preferred Stock and Trussardi Uomo, though Red is not a dark scent and is less leathery than those two. It's a p...

Aldehyde, Mandarin, Green Notes, Cardamom, Bergamot. Sandalwood, Carnation, Rose, Cedar, Cinnamon, Orris, Patchouli. Vanilla, Tonka bean, Musk, Moss, Leather, Benzoin, Amber. This 1987 release came 3 years after the original Beverly Hills for Men. It is not misnamed. It is special. It's also served up strong, dark and long lasting. Those are special qualities in and of themselves, but V.I.P. takes  the original rendition a few steps further and the end result is an extinct masculine that kicks ass......but in a very good way. V.I.P. Special Reserve reminds me of Beverly Hills for Men condensed into a concentrated formula, then spun into an obsidian, viscous web of masculinity. This fragrance conjures up the color black to me and does so every time I wear it. There's carnation and patchouli here, just like the original, but the ratios are different and superior in V.I.P. When V.I.P. Special Reserve opens up on your skin, you are awash in an extremely rich aldehyde-ci...

Aldehyde, Bergamot, Fruit note, Orange, Pimento. Carnation, Cedar, Cinnamon, Orris, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood. Amber, Benzoin, Honey, Moss, Musk, Tonka bean and Vanilla. This review is of the reformulated version. What stands out to me from the initial blast ( and blast is what you get ) is the standout Carnation and Patchouli duo. The opening is citric-aldehyde with an already rising carnation and patchouli. There's a shadowy orange in here as well and the feel is very unique, powerful and with a definitive nod to the 1980's. Yes, it will be "dated" to some due to the tuning of certain notes and the power this still has. Giorgio for Men is not something you wear when the goal is to blend into the woodwork. Quite the opposite result will transpire. The opening lasts about 10 minutes on my skin before settling down in volume and projection. By this time, the patchouli is at the fore and accented by carnation and what I can only assume is the ambiguous ...