I am probably going to piss off some clone warriors with this one, but so be it. I can say this because I have been there. I chased everything. I owned hundreds of dupes and clones. I chased every new “95% identical” release, every beast-mode version and every $30 alternative that supposedly made the original obsolete. But I also chased every inexpensive designer brand I could find. Rack-store bargains, discounted designers, cheapies that somebody on YouTube said were hidden gems — if it was inexpensive and getting attention, I wanted to try it. Then I started doing the same thing with niche. I chased niche brands, affordable niche, hyped niche and whatever house everybody happened to be talking about that month. For a long time, the hobby became about the next bottle. And eventually I had to ask myself a question: Do I actually love perfumery, or do I just love collecting bottles? Because those are not necessarily the same thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying affordable fragrances. There is nothing wrong with clones either. Some are excellent, some perform better than the original, and some are incredible values. But if your entire collection is built around copies of fragrances you have never even smelled, I have a hard time calling that a deep appreciation of perfumery. Especially when those same people turn around and say: “Why would anybody pay $300 for the original?” “The clone is better.” “It smells exactly the same.” “The original is a ripoff.” How do you know? You never smelled it. Watching a YouTube reviewer tell you something is 95% accurate does not mean you have experienced the original. And this is one of my biggest problems with clone culture. Somewhere along the way, price and performance became the only measurements of quality. If a fragrance costs $25 and lasts 12 hours, it is automatically considered better than a $250 fragrance that lasts seven. That makes absolutely no sense to me anymore. Perfumery is more than projection and longevity.

Good morning gents! A couple of weeks ago I was asking around for direction, trying to find a bottle of South Slope at a good price. M.Malul had it for $89, which is a good price, but knowing that it got to $29 at rack stores made it still difficult to swallow. Then a brother stepped in! @P. Andrew Sandlin kindly offered his pretty much full bottle to me. Just arrived! I was looking for a bottle of this rather blindly. I know it has considerable comparissons to the Y line, which I like, but don't love. I find it bland, in general. South Slope I've seen considered as Y but with more character, which definitely peaked my interest. Just a quick test, I immediately get the Y vibe. Not sure if I get more EDT or Eau Fraiche, which is a nice suprise. Eau Fraiche I found great. More testing to come! Thanks again @P. Andrew Sandlin for your kindness!

Well gents, im gonna end up wearing whatever I want anyways, but i do appreciate the collective wisdom of the group. I have a 1st date with a very attractive 28 yr old university student tomorrow. She's more of a country girl, than city. She asked me out because "the city boys dont get it, and she prefers a country gentleman". Shes from my area, but temporarily living away for school... this is the 5th attempt Lots of wild fire smoke in the air. Temperatures around 32C (89.6F). Most likely a patio dinner, drinks, walk, etc. Eventually i will get called to work and it will end. So which frag to choose (i honestly haven't decided yet)