I've spent a decent amount of time with this fragrance, been meaning to do this review for a while. Let's go! ----- Perfumed by: Francis Kurkdjian Concentration: 49.75% per Dior ----- SAUVAGE The line is absolutely iconic. Every flanker is great in my opinion (except Eau Forte, we don't talk about Eau Forte). ----- Presentation: Size is 50ml. Designers are getting pricey these days, it retails for $205. The bottle is nice. Dark enough to look inky, light enough to be able to see the juice level. Seems like they might've drawn some inspiration from the ADG Elixir bottle. ----- Scent Profile: It's a room filler. Immediately. Extremely woody/oudy, smoky, and slightly animalic. I'm no oud expert, but it smells like real oud to me. Quality is very high. It smells like it has a little tobacco and incense as well, even though those notes are not listed. I love it! It's not my usual or favorite scent profile, but this is nice! It gives me the vibes of pouring blue shower gel all over a layer of burning chips of oud. That blue ambroxan DNA mixed with that smoky oud is to die for. It has a dense, thick bergamont and lavender that works great with the other notes, but the bergamont goes away within the first 15-30 minutes from my experience. It's a damn shame, because that dense bergamont note works so well. People say that it smells in the same style of Amouage Royal Tobacco and Creed Oud Zarian; I haven't smelled either, so I wouldn't be able to give any thoughts on that. It definitely has the bones of Sauvage Elixir though in my opinion. And also what it reminds me of, is Layton Exclusif. I think it's the way the oud comes across. --- Performance: As somebody who usually over sprays, I have to warn y'all, do NOT spray this more than 3 or 4 times MAX. 1-2 is enough for most people. The rumors are true. Performance wise, this makes Sauvage Elixir look like an edt. This projects loud for 5+ hours and lasts until the next day. Officially beast mode. ----- Layering ideas: I was watching ATH's review on this, and he mentioned how he feels like there isnt't really a top note to this fragrance. I would agree, but instead of a missing top note, I find it to be more like the other notes completely drown the top notes. The oud, the cedar, etc.

1. Spray the back of your neck. This creates a scent trail behind you and helps with sillage without constantly putting the fragrance directly under your nose. This is one of those little tricks that can make a big difference, especially with a fragrance that has decent projection. When I spray the back of my neck, I’m not putting the scent right under my nose where I’m constantly smelling it all day. That helps cut down on nose-blindness, which is one of the main reasons people think a fragrance has disappeared when everyone else can still smell it. The other thing I like about this placement is the scent trail it creates. As you move around, the fragrance comes off the back of your neck and follows you instead of just sitting in front of you. People walking behind you or passing by can catch it, so you get better sillage without adding a bunch of extra sprays. For me, it’s a better way to use the fragrance you already put on instead of just overspraying because you can’t smell it anymore.

Well, my birthday is Saturday, and I originally didn't have anything planned, but then my really good friend told me that Nordstrom's is having one of their fashion shows as part of their Month of Beauty program. Lot's of store discounts, showcases, tips, presenters, raffles. it's going to be a blast. If you're in Austin or the surrounding area, I'm going to go from 9 to about 11am or so to see what they have and maybe take advantage of the sale. I have yet to spend my birthday perfume budget, so I may try to pick up something nice if they have a good discount. Hit me up if you're in the area and planning to attend. They're doing a similar one at the Nordstrom's in the Domain Friday night, but I have a wedding and can't make that one.

With the temperature dropping, some of my favourites are back in rotation. Most are staples but perseus is new and victory edp is a retry. After a PDM heavy 10 days, I think its safe to say the althair DNA got boring to me and now Oajan sits comfortably on the PDM throne. My only gripe is that my 5 ml is almost done and the newer batches are supposedly watered down. Cant imagine a lighter version of DNA that would suck like it did for me with 1M lucky. Perseus was actually very nice. To my nose its just a twist on TDH Eau Givree that makes it more wearable and versatile. But I associate this DNA with work/professional setting so the versatility is not really important. Easy to recommend and gift citrus lovers. Nothing groundbreaking but a very good refinement of Eau Givree. Couldn’t fault anything except the price. 8.8/10. Im also starting to enjoy simpler fragrances now. Victory edp is objectively inferior to elixir but on the days you want something simple and cozy it delivers. Kinda reminds me of Code EDP. Might get a larger decant after i give code another try. Hero edp is now tied with edt as my fav from the line. The resinous nature grows on you. @Jonathan Ventura was right about it. Never thought about layering them but might do soon. Drop some layering suggestions for me to try in the next couple of days.

Finally made it to Denver and got the fragrances on the shelves. Love my wife for building a great area for my craziness.