My favourite fragrance by a country mile. That 80-year-old Oud is tempered with a delicious spicy sweetness. This stuff lasts for literal days, even at one or two sprays. Not blind buy or office safe. I’m WFH today so I get to wallow in the decadence. 100ml bottle was a gift from my amazing wife.

Finally found a bottle in a store so gave it 1 spray on the wrist. Opens up like a coconut leaning Gris Charnel with a clear designer level quality and mass appeal. Creamy, cosy, nicely sweet and very wearable. Projects strong for a Valentino. Quality is good and the blend is clean, but nothing here feels groundbreaking. The closest market competitor for this would be Le Beau Le Parfum and to me PM is a dumbed down vibe, similar crowd pleasing DNA, and LBLP still comes out on top in terms of character and overall profile. I would argue that this would be a massive hit in the mainstream. Its more smooth and more wearable tha LBLP and 25 and above usually avoid jpg as its a “teen fragrance“. My prediction maybe wrong but many of us weren’t impressed with paradigme but the numbers dont lie. So the hype to me was not justified. My initial score would be a 7.5/10. If i get a sample from a purchase i might give it a proper wearing.

Following with the poll series, I decided to go with this one. (https://www.skool.com/bos/reaching-out-for-hidden-gems-on-my-shelves?p=d371a24d) It’s a clone of Armani Code Profumo (I don't have it). In general, Surf Secret Code it’s an aromatic, sweet, spicy and ambery scent. Well blended, very delightful and alluring, with average performance. For the price, this is a banger!

This has been on my wanted list for almost a year now. Yes I'm a big Joop fan and this is one of the few bottles I was missing from the collection. Wow represents a massive pivot for the brand. If you know Joop for the nuclear strength, pink, candy-sweet bomb that is Joop Homme, you will find Wow! to be a completely different animal.The bottle tells you everything you need to know before you even spray it. It resembles a vintage whiskey flask or an apothecary bottle, filled with amber liquid.Where the original Joop! Homme is a loud club scent, Wow! is a "jazz bar" scent. It is mature, boozy, warm, and sophisticated. Ironically, this is one of the most subtle, refined, and polite fragrances Joop! has ever released. It is classified as an Oriental Fougère, but it behaves like a woody-spicy fragrance with a distinct "boozy" character. It opens with a very brief splash of citrus (bergamot) that immediately gives way to a warm, spicy cardamom. The violet leaf adds a slight "airy" or ozone quality, which prevents the spice from feeling heavy or dusty. It smells expensive and niche-quality right from the first spray. This is the best part of the fragrance. The fir balsam creates a resinous, pine-like sweetness that mimics the scent of an oak barrel or aged whiskey. It’s not a literal alcohol smell, but it captures the warmth of a dark spirit. The vetiver adds a dry, earthy woodiness that keeps it masculine. As it settles on the skin, it becomes creamy and powdery. Cashmeran is a synthetic note that smells like musky wood and feels "velvety." The tonka and vanilla add sweetness, but it is a dark, roasted sweetness rather than a sugary candy sweetness. As an edt my only contention is the longevity which is moderate at best. Unlike the OG, you can expect 5 hrs at best with this. Projection is moderate to Intimate. It projects well for the first 30–60 minutes, then settles closer to the skin. It creates a polite "personal space" bubble rather than filling a room. Unlike other Joop! scents, you can wear this to work without choking out your colleagues, so it's completely office safe. Additionaly, I picked this up yesterday at the Chemist Warehouse for a measley €29. It smells significantly more expensive than it is. If you put this juice in a Tom Ford or YSL bottle, people would happily pay three times the price. It lacks the harsh, metallic "cheap cologne" smell found in many budget fragrances. The spicy/woody profile needs cool air to shine. Perfect for Date nights, semi-formal dinners, or office wear in the winter. Wow! is an underrated masterpiece of the budget category. If you want to smell classy, masculine, and warm without spending a fortune, this is a blind buy worthy of consideration.

A luxurious pears and floral opening that gives a calming to your nose and in heart Jasmin and tuberose are so balanced and finally at dry down Abmer and musk with patchouli is key player. For me it is a complete oriental package and longevity projection is beast mode.