Today, thanks to @Sean Kavanaugh , I'm wearing Cyprus and Grapevine. It's under consideration for FBW. He also shared South Slope, which I like enough to consider it FBW ... if it weren't so similar to Profondo, which I already have. But two wins there. The next day I received a great package from @Jeffrey Plotka with four gorgeous decants. Of them, I'd say Wild Vetiver, the new Creed offering, is my favorite. A couple weeks before that, I got a nice selection from @Stephen DeMent with a good variety. Manhattan Midnight and O, Unknown were definitely my favorites of the bunch. My profound gratitude to each of these fine men for sharing their fragrances with me and allowing me to try ones from across the spectrum. The Brotherhood is certainly alive and well.

Released in 2012, Eros remains one of the most successful men's fragrances of the 21st century. It was created by master perfumer Aurélien Guichard with the goal of capturing Greek mythology through a bold, Mediterranean lens. It belongs to the Aromatic Fougere family. If you had to describe it in one word, it would be Loud. This is not a fragrance for those seeking a subtle skin scent. It was a hugely popular clubbing scent back in the day, but during this time my clubbing days had been traded for raising a young family, so I missed out all the hype. The opening is an aggressive blast of synthetic freshness, with Mint giving the signature cooling icy blast & Italian Lemon Zest with asharp, citrusy brightness, it finishes up with a green apple & a crisp, fruity sweetness. At the core or the fragrance, Tonka bean adds a creamy, almond ike sweetness. Whilst Ambroxan takes care of that slightly metallic, blue freshness. The addition of Geranium flower adds a subtle floral touch that bridges the gap between the fresh top & warm base. The drydown takes a completely different turn, it's a mix or rich, earthy & Wood notes. Madagascar Vanilla continues the sweet theme with a combo of Atlas & Virginian Cedar for that shift to a woody structure. All grounded with the earthy depth thanks to the addition of Vetiver & Oakmoss. If you have a newer bottle, post-2020, you might notice it feels slightly more citrus-forward than older batches. This is due to minor reformulations to meet updated ingredient regulations, though the core DNA remains somewhat the same. Despite common reviews giving it great performance, it only goes for about 4hrs on my skin, but then again citrus never really works well for me. It project ok for the first 90m then fades away. This kinda put me off exploring the line any further with the exception of Najim which although a beautiful scent, was also a letdown in the performance dept. However it is a rather popular fragrance to this day. My Rating 7/10

I want to take the time to pause today and thank every one of our veterans who have elected to serve in one capacity or another, and to remember those we have lost. Thank you for being among the brave men and women who put their lives on the line for us. My SOTD today is Honor. I thought it might be fitting, and it's also a great scent that works well for the weather today. I hope everyone has a great day, grills some great food, and has a dip in the pool. I'm stuck in the office editing all the weddings and headshots I've done over the last month, but will get to have some fun tonight.

Gloomy and rainy today so I’m going with Mancera Aoud Lemon Mint. Really nice citrus that is more lime than lemon. Really great scent with great performance.

Going with Chanel Platinum Egoiste on a warmer day today. Really enjoy the classic fougere profile this brings but the performance is not great. Oversprsyed, so let’s see how this works out.