Invictus Intense by Paco Rabanne

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More samples have been acquired and thus more reviews will be on the way. One such entry, is a 2016 release from Paco Rabanne and a flanker to the original Invictus. Invictus Intense takes the original and attempts to ratchet the power up and give the cologne a new experience. How does it rate? Does it last? Continue reading below for my full review of Invictus Intense.

What does Invictus Intense Smell Like?

Notes include: orange blossom, black pepper, malt accord, wood, black amber, ambergris

Click here to try: Paco Rabanne Invictus Intense Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml/3.4oz

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Invictus Intense seems less sweet than the original. There is an immediate sensation of a warm amber note with a salty marine element hanging around. It definitely takes the Invictus name in a new direction, it feels darker, and has a boozy quality provided by the malt accord (think whiskey).

After a few minutes of settling on my skin, the orange blossom emerges which provides a softer sweetness that is reminiscent of the original Invictus. On my skin, up to this point, the booziness retains the strongest spot in the composition. 

Intense maintains the freshness of the original (the bay leaf) but does away with the citrus notes (outside of the orange blossom aroma). I always find it interesting how these brand’s change notes around or eliminate them entire while still maintaining the overall essence of the original scent.

As it moves along, Intense becomes more of a darker floral (almost unisex) fragrance with woody notes plus black pepper and the ultimate takeover of the composition by the ambergris.

The sweetness in Intense is almost muted, with how restrained it is. when compared to the original Invictus. Much more spice here, within the context of an amber-laden fragrance. 

The final dry down consists of amber, marine notes (sea salt), and a woody base. The wood isn’t too noticeable, but it is there. Anything that remains from the other notes, just seems to blend together, on my skin. It all seems much deeper and richer than the original Invictus does. 

As a whole, Invictus Intense delivers a warm, slighty spicy, and fresh mix of mostly amber and floral notes. The malt, wood, and black pepper play a supporting role in balancing it out and preventing it from becoming a ‘women’s’ scent.  Though, at its heart, you can still sense the spirit of the original.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, I’d say it’s somewhere between moderate and mildly strong. You can obviously overdo the sprays with it but it isn’t super pungent. It’s kind of funny how this ‘Intense’ version of Invictus is still weaker than the regular 1 Million also by Paco Rabanne.

The sillage will pretty much be in a 5-7 foot radius around the wearer, for the opening act, and then move towards the skin gradually. It’s not an absolute bomb, but again, it can be over-sprayed. 

Longevity is also really good but not great, think I’m getting about 7-8 hours with it, at a still solid projection. Plus, maybe a few more hours as a close skin scent. The longevity on my skin isn’t amazing, but this will go on forever, on clothes.

Don’t spray fragrances on anything that you actually care about keeping high quality, but with a t-shirt, Invictus Intense is very long-lasting.

One nice aspect about Invictus Intense is how versatile it is. It’s so balanced and can seemingly be worn in any season and not feel out of place.

While I cannot test it in the high heat of summer in the middle of October, I think it would hold up nicely. Though, that would be its worst performing climate.

In the colder weather, Intense works very well. The whiskey and amber combination are an ideal fit, in autumn/winter, and just seem to hang around beautifully in the crisp air. 

It also can be worn casually or out on the town or out on a date. Intense is quite pleasant and has a certain sexiness to it that girls should love. It still feels like a younger man’s cologne, but less so than the original. I’ve never worn it to an office environment, but I couldn’t see why a light application, wouldn’t work. 

Overall Impressions of Invictus Intense

Overall, is Invictus Intense worth a buy? I honestly like it. If you hated the original, I highly doubt you’ll like this one, so go ahead and skip over it. It’s not an amazing scent, in my opinion, BUT I think that it is quite good.

Update: this one is now discontinued.

It doesn’t do a bad job at anything, has a nice aroma, and has great versatility. For the price, one could do a lot worse, and I would lean towards wearing Intense over the original Invictus.

This is one that I have a mini bottle of. I put it on every once in a while, when I am in the mood to do so, and just enjoy. I love amber, orange blossom, and whiskey. Plus, I am not opposed to the Invictus DNA, that inhabits all of these colognes. 

Actually, after trying all of the Invictus scents including the newer Invictus Legend, Intense is my favorite. I have grown somewhat fonder of the original, but I still would rather wear this, over any of them. 

The Scent of Peace by Bond No. 9

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I recently got a hold of about 10 Bond No. 9 fragrance samples, so, now I will be posting proper reviews on each over the next little while. The first up to bat is a highly popular fragrance for ladies, The Scent of Peace.

In this post, I’m going to explore what’s in it, how it smells, how it performs, and whether or not it is worth a buy.

What does The Scent of Peace Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, black currant, cedar, lily of the valley, hedione, musk

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 The Scent Of Peace Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Fluid Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The Scent of Peace gets a lot of comparisons to Light Blue by D&G. With Light Blue, you get: apple, lemon, and musk. While with this Bond No. 9 fragrance, you get: grapefruit, black currant, and musk. So, while they share the musk note, the juicy fruits within the composition are different but create a similar effect.

Which one is better? I think that The Scent of Peace gets it right. The grapefruit note with the delicious smelling back currant is a much more enjoyable aroma than the already nicely scented Light Blue.

Anyways, the opening of this fragrance, is all about those vibrant and juicy fruits. It is a very fresh and bright aroma that has me smelling the spot on my arms I sprayed, again and again. Just catching a waft of this stuff is quite and enjoyable experience.

The black currant is the leader of the pack, without question. Obviously, pairing this note with further citrus, can make the beginning of the scent quite sharp. Some might find it to be too much, though for me, it’s not bad at all and actually enjoyable. 

As it moves along, the floral notes begin to emerge, but never really seem to take over the scent. At this point, I am fully getting the summer’s day vibe from The Scent of Peace. Lily of the valley is the floral note of choice, but it really remains light, and flanked by the musky ingredient. 

With the underlying cedar note, the lily of the valley, creates a ‘green’ outdoorsy aroma that is undeniably beautiful when blended with the fruit. It’s fresh, clean, bright, with a bit of a biting sharpness. 

The whole wear isn’t all that complicated. It’s an easy to put on scent, with minimal development, but an attractive and refreshing smell. 

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, this one is pretty light to moderate, which I think is a good thing in this case. This perfume doesn’t need to be an absolute bomb and would take away from how good it already is.

It is light, yet noticeable, before turning into a skin scent that sneaks up on you, lest you have forgotten that you were wearing it.

Longevity, is good, however. Around 7 hours of solid wear and maybe a few more, where it is still detectable on my skin. It could probably go longer, in the right circumstances. It does its job for a daily wear or casual type of scent. It could be a bit better, but it’s certainly solid. 

I would say this is an ideal spring/summer fragrance. As a casual daytime wear or one that is worn to work or school. It has an upbeat but not overly youthful vibe, it doesn’t have that ‘teenager’ super sweetness, but seems right for women in their 20s and up. Think beautiful but not necessarily sexy.

It’s a really nice and refreshing sort of wear, that will sit beautifully in the temperate or warmer climates. Once the black currant settles in a bit, things still feel a bit crisp, but The Scent of Peace is an altogether smoother experience. 

Overall Impression of The Scent of Peace for Her

Overall, would I recommend The Scent of Peace? Yes, this is one of my favorite Bond No. 9 fragrances for women. It is delicious and oh so pretty.  It is great for those who are looking for a casual scent that will garner complements, be enjoyable to wear, and won’t overpower a room.

Obviously, the Bond No. 9 lineup can be pricey. However, this is one that I think is worth the purchase. Not everyone will be enamored with it, it will mostly boil down to the grapefruit and black currant combo. Though, I think that most, will find this to be a very nice perfume to spray on during the spring and summertime. 

Burberry London by Burberry

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British design house Burberry is famous for its distinctive check pattern and its long history of high fashion. One thing that this firm does extremely well is to create fantastic fragrances for men and women.

One such fragrance is Burberry London. Burberry London was one of the first colognes, that I bought while I was in college, and it is one that I truly enjoy wearing.

There have been plenty of colognes which I have worn since but I don’t think that any of them were as masculine in their essence as London.

As such, I thought that I’d do another review and give my impressions on London. What it contains. How does it smell? How does it perform? Is it worth a purchase?   Top Burberry Colognes

What does Burberry London for Men Smell Like?

london

Burberry London Notes: bergamot, cinnamon, pepper, lavender, port wine, mimosa, moss, tobacco leaf, leather

Shop on Amazon: BURBERRY London for Men Eau de Toilette, 3.3 fl. oz

My Full Wear Review

What I love about London is its depth and complexity as a cologne. It’s notes blend together to create a sexy and masculine scent full of spice. It is a rich and full scent with plenty of character and woodsy charm.

Tobacco is a major player here, it’s a rather sweet tobacco note which is a nice play off of the leather and cinnamon to give it something rather unique.

Something that is a bit smoky and aged just right like a cask of whiskey, but without that type of boozy element. It does have port wine, instead of whiskey.

The opening is a blast of that tobacco note, which is flanked by the super warm spice duo of cinnamon, and pepper. Oh yeah, plus that wine note.

Tobacco, booze, spice and leather! That start can be quite heavy and bold, but I really enjoy how it hits, with just enough bergamot to keep it from being overwhelming.

As it moves along, the spices fade somewhat, and are replaced by a rich leather note that helps to smooth out the composition.

The port wine present in the opening, is pretty much gone at this point, and woody/forest notes begin to emerge from the base.

It very dry and mossy, with bits of calming lavender coming through. It all comes together as tobacco, leather, cinnamon, woods, with a dry and slight sweetness. Lovely.

London is a scent that is great for guys with a certain level of presence and maturity. The scent almost has a confidence of its own and if the man wearing it doesn’t, it almost seems in-congruent that he is wearing this cologne.

The kind of comments that I get while wearing London are phrases like “That’s sexy”, “You smell really good”, or that it is “manly”.

Many other colognes that have a spice to it like to blend that spice off of citrus based notes or only floral notes. London as you can see from the ingredients adds spice to woodsy scents as well as floral ones to help create a different take on spice.

Sillage, Longevity, When to Wear

Like the other Burberry scents, this one is a moderate in how it projects and moderate in its longevity also. The opening act can be fairly powerful and intense. Though, that will settle down, along with the spiciness and boozy qualities.

It lasts for a long time on fabric, but on skin it’ll usually fall into the 6-8 hour range. Every time that I have owned a bottle of London, this is the longevity that I get. No more, no less.

In my opinion, Burberry London is a scent made for the Fall and Winter months, when the air is crisp and not weighed down by the humidity.

I’ve always liked to wear it in the evenings but it works well in the daytime also. Not a summer scent at all, so don’t expect a year round wear.

It’s good dressed up or with a more rugged look, at a bar, or something of the sort. I think Burberry for Men is probably a more moderate option for the daily wear, while London is a sexier bet.

It works for younger men, but has enough maturity to be a solid option for older guys as well.

Overall Impressions of London

Overall, is Burberry London worth a purchase? I’d say yes. I love to alternate between this, Brit (London vs Brit), and Burberry for Men during the autumn and winter.

London is the most masculine of the three scents and is for those who want something spicy/woodsy/refined and who happen to really enjoy the tobacco note and/or leather.

I definitely fall into that camp and London had been close at hand in my collection for years. It’s a very good scent and does almost everything well. Yet, it still flies under the radar somewhat nowadays.

Bois du Portugal by Creed

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Another one of the fragrances that I revisited upon my excursions to the Creed boutique in Las Vegas was Bois du Portugal. This men’s cologne takes a different turn than other scents in the Creed family and offers a much more woodsy scent.

It can also feel much more formal than even the other luxury fragrances offered by this boutique brand. In this post, I want to give my thoughts on this cologne, how it performs, when it should be worn, and whether or not it is worth a buy.

Check out: Creed Tabarome Review and List of All Reviews from this Site

What does Bois du Portugal Smell Like?

bois du portugal

Notes include: cedar, sandalwood, bergamot, ambergris, lavender, vetiver

Click here to try: CREED BOIS DU PORTUGAL by Creed EAU DE PARFUM SPRAY 2.5 OZ

My Full Review

I retested Bois du Portugal for one day with a few sprays on my arm. The opening is a familiar bergamot note from Creed which is similar to the one found in Green Irish Tweed as well as Silver Mountain Water.

This opening blast of citrus blended with the sandalwood, is just a phase for perhaps the first 20-30 minutes or so; before it begins to transition away from something familiar to a more refined and mature cologne.

There is this interesting, but very slight spice, during the opening act. Not very overt, but it is there.

As it wears on a bit more, Bois du Portugal takes on more of the cedar and lavender notes and the bergamot begins to take a back seat. This is where this cologne begins to shine, in my opinion.

At this stage, its a smooth, woodsy, and warm aroma that somewhat recalls the spiciness of Tabarome. Sitting underneath, is that famous Creed ambergris, which isn’t all that prominent in this perfume.

This scent is so wholly classic and doesn’t feel the same as many more modern fragrances for men. At the same time, the sandalwood and lavender provide a touch of sweetness, that doesn’t allow Bois du Portugal to stray too far in either direction.

Like most other Creeds, this one is blended superbly. I do enjoy getting bursts of aroma, from individual notes. A sharper cedar here and there.

Then, you get a nice vetiver, emerging from the creamy sandalwood. It’s got enough depth to be interesting, but never feels overly complicated, just refined.

Sillage, Longevity, Versatility

Projection wise, it feels pretty moderate. It isn’t a complete sillage beast, but it isn’t weak either, which allows it to be a completely safe bet. Decent amount of power, up top, but that fades into something much more middle of the road.

Longevity is also really good on this as well, I think I got 8-9 solid hours out of Portugal and a couple more when it was in a much more weakened state.

So, the performance is very good as a whole, just not an extreme or ‘in your face’ sort of fragrance.

The woodsy scent, lends itself well to the cooler months of the year. Luckily, it isn’t too heavy, that it cannot venture into slightly warmer weather. However, I probably wouldn’t wear it during the summertime.

Also, it fits for office, casual, and dressed up events. Though, not so much for clubbing or going to school. I don’t know that there’d be a large percentage of younger guys, who’d be into this scent. It is mature, professional, but never feels dated to my nose.

Overall Impressions of Bois du Portugal

Overall, would I rate this a buy? Yes, it is one of the best options for Creed. However, one needs to understand that, it comes off as a mature and more serious type of cologne.

Younger guys should probably stay away, unless you have a very refined style or go to lots of upscale events.

Bois du Portugal is a classic and should be treated as such. It is a really great scent for those who enjoy woodsy and elegant fragrances.

The bergamot opening is fine, but this scent really comes into its own, during the dry down. The wood notes are the stars here.

Each of them brings something to the table, for a really great cologne.

The performance is solid, just not extremely bold. If you want a refined woody fragrance, Bois du Portugal should be on your list to try out.

6 Best Smelling Lanvin Perfumes

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Lanvin Paris has a very long history in the world of fashion, thanks to its founder, Jeanne Lanvin. She passed on, a long time ago, but the brand that she created still lives on today.

During that time, the house has released a ton of fragrances, some gone forever and others new. Heck, some have been reformulated, based on an older original and are available once again.

In this post, I want to select six perfumes for ladies by Lanvin, which can be considered the best. I have only chosen ones that are still available, as most of us aren’t going to be able to smell something that was for sale in the 1930s. Nonetheless, this should provide folks with a place to start, in order to find something of interest from this brand.

What are the Best Lanvin Perfumes for Her?

Most Popular

Lànvȉn Eclȧt D’arpȅge Perfume for Women Eau De Parfum 3.3 fl.Oz– Probably the best selling fragrance from Lanvin, at least in recent years. Eclat d’Arpege is a wonderful floral fragrance with a light and airy composition.

While it includes several flowers, lilac is the main attraction here, with peony being the secondary lead.

This one is a daily wear, that is safe to put on for work or school, as it isn’t going to fill up a room. Rather, it is subtle, and freshly beautiful with a dash of green tea to add a slightly different feel from most floral perfumes.

Top Fruity Sweet

Lanvin Jeanne Perfume for Women 3.3 fl.Oz Eau De Parfum– Jeanne Lanvin comes back with the peony note, like the previous entry, but it sits underneath an array of fruity notes. It does have some pear, but it is mostly, blackberry and raspberry taking charge here.

It is sweet and upbeat, with a lighter musk appearing in the dry down period. The sillage and longevity here isn’t crazy, but it is a really great scent, for when it gets warm outside; to just spray on and enjoy.

Classic Lanvin Fragrance

Lanvȋn Arpége Pẻrfume For Women 3.4 oz Eau De Parfum Spray – This one dates back to the earlier decades of the last century, but it has been updated and reformulated, a few times since then.

The current version is a lot of floral notes, with a powdery aroma from the iris, sitting on top of sandalwood. It’s actually kind of a powerhouse, when compared to the others on this list, and while it is pretty heavy it does have a certain cleanliness about it.

You get a good amount of jasmine and ylang-ylang, but Arpege is pretty well mixed. Maybe not the most universally appealing scent on the list, but one that ranks up near the top, for a selection of the population.

Unique Powdery Perfume

Lanvin Oxygene Perfume For Women 2.5 oz Eau De Parfum Spray – Oxygene has a nice spicy opening of black pepper, which conveys a fresh energy. That settles down, in favor of a creamier/powdery floral fragrance, with iris and gardenia which is much smoother.

The spice of the pepper is present throughout, but Oxygene is light and relaxed, with a bit of sweetness in there. A very clean perfume, with a nice musk and sandalwood base, and good performance.

Summertime Rose

Rumeur 2 Rose Perfume for Women by Lānvîn 3.3 fl. oz Eau de Parfum– Rumeur 2 Rose has a great citrus top, that isn’t too tart, even while being led by lemon. You get grapefruit and orange in there, as well. Obviously, the name tells you that your main floral note is the rose, and it works very well with the citrus.

The whole thing is light and doesn’t take on a heavy rose personality. This fragrance is energetic, but not overbearing, and can best be described as quite pretty. Very easy to wear and will be well-liked.

Jasmine Bouquet

Marry Me Perfume for Women by Lanvin 2.5 fl. oz Eau de Parfum– The opening is a blend of citrus and peach, which is deliciously sweet. However, a few minutes into the wear, it begins to shift more towards being a jasmine dominant floral fragrance.

You get some freesia and magnolia also, as it moves along, but the jasmine and peach stick out the most. The citrus pretty much falls by the wayside after that opening. Marry Me is a lovely wear for the warm weather months, particularly springtime, and while simple is a joy to smell.