Alexandria Fragrances A-to-Z: Alexandria Port (2017)



This is a recreation of Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino, and it is entirely accurate, in all of the right ways and in all of the wrong ways. As far as the aroma goes, it's stunningly precise as a match for the original Tom Ford, but the original Tom Ford is a light and airy scent that lacks performance and is rather one-dimensional.

The main actor here is the neroli note, accentuated by the orange flower, mandarin orange, and bitter orange notes. That's a lot of orange and orange-related scents combined, and it creates what many people have called a "soapy" scent. Personally, I don't think of this as soapy at all, but I get the comparison, because many hand soaps feature orange as a central note.

One of the best hand soaps in all of history? Fast Orange. It's amazing. It cleans like nothing else, but notice what the scent is: orange, baby, orange. Somehow, orange aromas got linked to hand soaps, and now this beautiful top-shelf, private blend perfume is easily dismissed as "soapy." What a tragedy.

Think of it instead as a stroll through an orange grove, or an orange-blossom garden. It is light and fresh, and wonderfully free of tart citrus notes like lemon and grapefruit. This is the right kind of fruity clean scent, and it's one that should be pleasing to the masses.

The Alexandria version lasts longer than the Tom Ford original, which always suffered from poor longevity, but the bar is set pretty low here. I'd give Alexandria Port high marks for lasting 5-6 hours, which beats Tom Ford's 3-4 hours, but is still fairly low performance in comparison to other offerings from the Alexandria brand.

Overall, I love this scent, and I'm glad to get moderate performance out of it, because most orange-centric fragrances don't even give me that much longevity. But if you're used to Alexandria's reputation for having scents that last for 8-10 hours, this might be a bit of a rude awakening. There's only so much you can do with orange accords.

Notes: African Orange Flower, Bergamot, Neroli, Mandarin Orange, Amber, Bitter Orange, Lemon, Lavender, Rosemary, Angelica, Jasmine, Ambrette

7/10 stars.

Juliette Has A Gun: Moscow Mule (2017)



File this one under "interesting concept, terrible execution." The brand page says this scent is supposed to evoke the feeling "as if it were inviting everyone to share, over a glass of something," presumably a Moscow Mule cocktail. 

But there's no substance or punch here. You get some sharp citruses (lemon and bergamot) in the opening blast, made a little harsh initially by the perfumer's alcohol, but this almost immediately dissipates and fades into ginger and some darker woods notes (it's nearly oud-like, but not quite).

Within 10 minutes, I can no longer smell the scent unless my nose is 2-3 inches away from my skin, and what remains there in this extremely tiny scent bubble is a bit of apple and a slightly dank amberwood and ambrette combo. If this were amplified to the point where I could smell it even just from the basic distance of my hand to my nose, it would be a scent worth considering.

But it's not. There's nothing here but air. I could probably get a more potent Moscow Mule scent on my skin by spilling an actual Moscow Mule on myself.

Notes: Bergamot, Ginger, Woody Notes, Hedione, White Musk, Lime, Lemon, Amberwood, Ambrette, Apple

3/10 stars.

Maison Martin Margiela: Replica Sailing Day (2017)


Let's go sailing! 

Well, or maybe not. Sailing Day is more like the day you intended to go sailing, but then got to the water's edge and suddenly remembered you had other things to do, so you went home.

I'm speaking of the performance on this fragrance, or the complete lack thereof.

The opening 15-20 seconds is beautiful blast of blue, bright "sea notes" and aldehydes, with some green notes thrown in for good measure. The next 30 seconds takes a turn into something slightly bitter and a bit spicy, no doubt the seaweed, red pepper, and coriander. It's a very nice mixture.

And then it's gone. Entirely, completely, absolutely gone.

I press my nose up against my skin and inhale as deeply as I can, and there's barely anything there. It's hardly believable, but this turns into less than a skin scent in under two minutes.

I'm glad I only bought 10ml in a decant, because at $125 per bottle, this would have been an absolute waste of money.

It's too bad, too, because the opening had a lot of promise.

Notes: Sea Notes, Aldehydes, Seaweed, Iris, Amyl Salicylate, Juniper, Ambergris, Cedar, Red Pepper, Amberwood, Coriander, Rose

2/10 stars.

Maison Martin Margiela: Replica At The Barber's (2014)



As the name of this fragrance indicates, it is a scent intended to evoke and replicate the aromas of a traditional barbershop. As barbershop scents go, this one checks all the required boxes: it's got the lavender, the moss, the musk, and it's got the herbal notes (basil and rosemary in this case). And of course, there's the necessary hint of leather.

To add a little extra dose of nose tingle, there is an opening note of bitter orange sprinkled with some black pepper.

The end result is a clean fragrance that is plenty smooth and creamy, spicy, and fresh. Because it contains the typical combination of notes so common to the barbershop genre, it shares some similarities with other barbershop scents. You may be reminded of Rive Gauche, Azzaro Pour Homme, Sartorial, and other fragrances in this family.

At The Barber's has just a hint of something that resembles ambroxan as well, although ambroxan is not listed in any note pyramid I've seen. Perhaps that's just the dynamic of the bitter orange and herbs interacting with the lavender in a particular way.

All in all, it's a decent barbershop fragrance, even if it doesn't necessarily have a "wow factor" that sets it apart. It's easily worn as an everyday-and-anytime scent because of its inherent versatility. The projection is moderate, so it's safe for office use, and the longevity is fairly average as well. It clocks in at around 4-5 hours on my skin.

Notes: Lavender, White Musk, Basil, Rosemary, Moss, Leather, Geranium, Bitter Orange, Black Pepper, Tonka Bean

7/10 stars.

Alexandria Fragrances A-to-Z: Acqua Immortale (2019)


There was a time when Calvin Klein ruled the world of men's fragrances, or so it seemed. Those who lived through the 80's and 90's will recall it well, the endless string of hits: the original Calvin for Men (now discontinued), Obsession for Men (long since reformulated into oblivion), Eternity for Men (ditto), Escape for Men, and the ground-breaking unisex fragrance CK One.

Acqua Immortale recreates that 1990 vintage formula of Eternity for Men, with mostly successful results. The opening is a point-for-point replica of that vintage original, with bright citruses and spices like sage and juniper creating that classic "clean" scent that somehow -- likely because it was tied to the core CK DNA of lavender and amber -- managed to at once feature citrus notes without being confused for a typical citrus freshie.

Make no mistake, it's that lavender core that provides the foundation for this fragrance and takes it nearly into barbershop territory.

My only complaint with this recreation is that the floral elements at times seem to get a little too floral, and start to overpower the fresh citrus accords. The vintage seemed to hang onto those bergamot, lemon, and orange notes just slightly longer.

Once everything settles down into the full drydown phase, though, we are firmly back in vintage territory, and if you were lucky enough to experience the 1990's original scent, this will certainly be a fun trip back through the mists of time.

Notes: Lavender, Lemon, Bergamot, Sandalwood, Sage, Juniper Berries, Mandarin Orange, Geranium, Vetiver, Coriander, Musk, Basil, Jasmine, Brazilian Rosewood, Orange Blossom, Lily, Amber, Lily-of-the-Valley

7/10 stars.

Alexandria Fragrances A-to-Z: Accent (2018)


As of the time of this writing, I have very little experience with the Sospiro line of fragrances, so I can't do any kind of comparison between this recreation of Accento and the original. I can only speak to the composition of this scent as it stands.

Quite honestly, I don't like it, but I'll try to explain that in broad enough terms that I don't let my subjective tastes prevent you from experiencing something you may well enjoy.

On paper, the notes look very good. Pineapple and musk sounds like a nice combination, and the addition of vetiver, pink pepper, amber, and patchouli sound very promising.

But the opening mixes pineapple with hyacinth, and the result is an olfactory mistake, at least to my nose. The hyacinth adds a bitter dimension to what should be a pleasing interaction with sweet pineapple. You have to wait for the drydown to lose the floral overtones and start to experience the pineapple dancing in sync with the musk, and that's when things start to get interesting.

The musk, along with a bit of the earth-grass vetiver, serve to dirty up the fruity pineapple note, creating a sort of "skanky tropical" accord. I'm just not sure that what you want to do with a tropical scent is to smudge it and make it skanky.

After a while, the pineapple recedes quite a lot, leaving you with a hint of fruit hidden behind layers of vetiver, musk, and some pink pepper.

It's not a bad scent. It's just not great. I would have preferred that the pineapple hang around and keep things fun.

Notes: Pineapple, Musk, Vetiver, Pink Pepper, Hyacinth, Amber, Patchouli, Jasmine, Iris, Vanille

6/10 stars.

Alexandria Fragrances A-to-Z: 69 Fahrenheit (2018)

Photo Credit: Mohamed Mostafa Photography

Back in the earliest days of my fragrance collecting hobby, dating to the first part of the 1990s, Christian Dior's Fahrenheit was one of my first ten purchases. I think I first picked it up in 1993 or 1994, when the formula was still in vintage form. But before that happened, I bought a cheap knock-off version from a dollar store, one of those ultra-low quality clones that gives you a hint of the original scent for a few seconds before it vanishes in a cloud of alcohol and dissipates into the air.

That initial brush with the clone was enough to make me interested in getting the real thing, though, so I'm grateful for the experience.

Fast forward some 25 years later, and we've come full circle: the original, vintage formula of Fahrenheit is long gone, unless you pick up this anything-but-cheap clone version of the scent from Alexandria Fragrances. 

This is a jaw-dropping recreation of the vintage formula. Everything is here: the brilliant violet leaf, the bits of citrus, the strange floral mixture that -- on balance and in full blended mode -- produces that famous and elusive "petrol note" that everyone who owned the vintage remembers.

In short, sniffing this recreation is an instant trip down memory lane. I suddenly feel like pegging my jeans, watching some early Seinfeld, and listening to a few Ace of Base tunes.

The drydown is a lot of fun as well, once the cedar, musk, and spicy patchouli start to add their voices to the conversation.

Quite the experience, this scent is. It may not appeal to those who sit outside the Nostalgia Circle (or maybe it will?), but for those of us who remember the original Fahrenheit, this fragrance is an absolute delight.

Oh, and the projection and sillage are every bit as good as the 1988 original.

Notes: Leather, Violet Leaf, Nutmeg, Vetiver, Lavender, Cedar, Musk, Sandalwood, Chamomile, Mandarin Orange, Amber, Patchouli, Honeysuckle, Carnation, Hawthorn, Tonka Bean, Bergamot, Jasmine, Lemon, Lily-of-the-Valley

8/10 stars.
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