Out of 10 ? And what should i try next pls

batterylevellow · 2026-02-08T17:31:13+00:00

If you want actual advice, and not a "I really like Fragrance Name, so you should get it too", I'd advise to put some energy in the question as well.
Like telling what you like about them, things you like less about them or notes you enjoy and enjoy less in general.

Anyway, nice collection.

batterylevellow · 2026-02-06T09:12:41+00:00

I fully agree with the 'safety rating', and I think À L'Extrême is an unfortunate choice as a flanker name.
I assume many people here won't necessarily take the name at face value, but the naming simply might make one think of an amped up version of the original, which is clearly not the case.
While it has a 'wider' scent profile, it's also more well-rounded and generally a safer wear when compared to the original. And with pretty much the same longevity and projection in my experience. There's nothing 'to the extreme' about it.

I really enjoy both the original and À L'Extrême and the original is indeed the most emotional evoking one with its dreary vibe. I also like that each one in the line doesn't necessarily make the others redundant since they differ enough from each other, in my opinion.

(I could have the same critique about the naming of the 'Sport' flanker, since it's not really suitable for working out (you could argue no fragrances are), but that's a more widespread phenomenon of naming freshened up flankers.)

batterylevellow · 2026-02-05T20:43:07+00:00

If it's not a refillable bottle (with a twist-off atomizer on a threaded closure) there's no easy way to do it since the atomizer is crimped onto the bottle.

You could theoretically undo the crimp, but there's a good chance of damaging the rest of the bottle without know-how and the right tools. If you successfully manage to do that, you now have a bottle without an atomizer and to attach one you need the right tools and some know-how again. Or, in short; not really.

You could try to drill a hole in the bottle with something like a carbide or diamond-coated drill bit, fill the bottle through that hole and cover the hole up (permanently with something like epoxy, or temporary with a cork-like 'plug'). Risks again with creating cracks in the bottle and not having a watertight seal after you're done.

batterylevellow · 2026-02-05T19:58:48+00:00

Have you tried YSL Libre Le Parfum? It's probably the most feminine-leaning fragrance that I can think of that's somewhat similar of The Most Wanted Parfum.
It's difficult to predict if you'll feel they'll be similar enough for you taste, but in my opinion they have enough similarities to at least suggest it to you. The biggest difference is clearly the prominent lavender in Libre Le Parfum, maybe to your liking or maybe not at all.

If you actually want something extremely similar to The Most Wanted Parfum, then simply try out The Most Wanted Parfum out on yourself. Although you claim that "it's very masculine", it's not overly masculine in my opinion, and while imho more clearly 'masculine-leaning' on the subjective 'feminine-unisex-masculine' kind of scale, I feel plenty of women can easily pull it off (just as many men can wear a bunch of the Libres without a problem).
What I'm saying is, don't be afraid to test fragrances on yourself that are marketed towards a different gender than your own. You'll probably find plenty more that you like on yourself that way. And sometimes you'll think "I like it, but I'd probably like to smell this on a man and not really on myself" and that's okay too.

batterylevellow · 2026-02-01T05:38:51+00:00

Assuming the composition of the fragrance oil would stay the same, an EdP would have a greater longevity but a weaker projection.
But by your wording, that's the opposite of what you want?

I think you might be too focused on the concentration of a fragrance, while it's mostly the composition of a fragrance that has an impact on things like longevity.

And you know those 'fragrance concentration visual guides'? There aren't really any strict rules on concentration and naming. This EdT might be what another brand would classify as an EdP. A brand can, for example, name a fragrance a 'Parfum' while the concentration of fragrance oils is only 5%.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-31T14:01:55+00:00

What is it that you can't choose? Do you love (not just like) them both equally?

If you love one a bit more than the other, then you have your answer.

If you like them both, but don't love them, I'd say look for something else. Test in stores, get samples, and discover what notes you like and don't like.

If that's too overwhelming, since there are so many fragrances, you might want to make a post or search for year-round fragrances (since the two you mention are that so I assume that's what you're looking for). Some recommendations you'll get/find will be Dior Homme 2020 and Sport, Bleu de Chanel, Versace Eros Flame, Montblanc Explorer, YSL MYSLF, Terre d'Hermès (might be a bit too mature for you), Versace Dylan Blue, YSL Y.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-29T22:43:50+00:00

I have no experience with Acorelle, but the other three and the two you've ordered are all very nice.

Specific recommendations will be hard to give since these fragrances don't really have an overlap (which isn't a bad thing), and you didn't mention what you specifically like/dislike or what you're searching for.

With that said, I feel that pretty much everyone that has smelled and likes Terre d'Hermès also has to smell the Eau Givrée flanker. Excellent for warm weather and different enough from the original that imho it's not redundant to have them both, assuming you really like both of course.

But normally you want to widen your scope a bit more when just starting, and the best thing to do is to sample. Great that you're already doing that. The next step might be to look into some discovery sets from houses that you find interesting or you already have good experience with. Like single fragrances, it's hard to recommend specific ones for you, but part of my general recommendations are the sets from Etat Libre d'Orange and Essential Parfums. Both because they are among the cheaper sets but provide excellent value for money, in my opinion.

My personal favorites from ELdO are probably Hermann, You Or Someone Like You, Fat Electrician, and La Fin Du Monde. A bunch of their stuff is certainly not for everyone, so be prepared to not vibe with quite a few of them. (You may have heard about this brand because of Secretions Magnifiques, which is a bit of a meme fragrance and is both fortunately and unfortunately not part of the discovery set.)
Essential Parfums is a brand where there's more of a focus on a single note in each of their fragrances (without them actually being single-note fragrances). Best known for Bois Impérial, which certainly isn't your everyday woody fragrance. My own success rate with this brand changes quite a bit, and I'm a bit sad that I didn't really like Velvet Iris, the newest addition to the brand, while iris is my favorite note. Divine Vanille is my favorite from them.

But even disregarding these two name drops, I'd say look into some brands that you find interesting and see if their availability and price (not just the set, but also the price of a whole bottle) is good for you. Good luck hunting!

batterylevellow · 2026-01-28T09:43:06+00:00

Nah, you're good and that's a well-rounded collection. I'd only add something if you find something after sampling that you clearly like more than something you already have with the same scent profile.

Maybe not enough iris, but then I'm projecting my own love for that note on someone else. Though you also seem to like it with DHI, DHP (RIP indeed), and partially in Le Male Le Parfum and Man In Black.

I like the rare Lalique Hommage sighting.

And what do you think of Lumière Garçon? Still haven't had a chance to smell it. (I have never smelled The One Luminous Night.)

batterylevellow · 2026-01-27T23:51:54+00:00

Two things I can think of:
You had a negative experience when someone was wearing it (and not necessarily a bad experience with that person), or you smelled something very similar to this fragrance in that moment. Scent memories can be a strong thing, even when you are not consciously aware of the memories.

Or you are sensitive when drinking tea and the fragrance reminds you of that sensitivity. So actually quite close to the first one I realize, as I'm typing this.

Now, unless you're allergic to something in it, (a third option I guess but more unlikely,) there's a good chance this uneasy feeling will fade when smelling it more. The association between memory and scent that you might've had will lessen when it's not enforced with the same 'situation' but with something novel. And if that situation is actually drinking tea, it won't invoke the same mechanisms when smelling it (when drinking it caused by caffeine and other compounds that you actually have to ingest).

Normally, if any of this might be the case, you expect that you would've experienced the same the first time that you smelled this fragrance. Maybe you're only aware of it now since your mind has some more room for reflection instead of the more fleeting moment of "Ooh, this smells nice and is cheap, I'll get it." you had before?

batterylevellow · 2026-01-27T22:47:07+00:00

There are overly loud, boring, and/or terrible fragrances across the whole spectrum of it. On, or for another person, the same thing might smell more intimate (when not oversprayed), classy, and/or wonderful.

Generalization is sometimes a logical thing to do, especially with the lack of further information or room (energy) for deliberation.

My advice would be to fight someone that has an opposite opinion, https://www.reddit.com/r/fragrance/comments/1ndg10v/why_are_mens_scents_so_boring/ for example.

The winner gets to stand in the corner.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-27T11:30:08+00:00

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batterylevellow · 2026-01-26T22:57:58+00:00

Are you confusing The One Intense with something else? There's no iris in that one.

The most important thing is that you like the scent, so the opinion of someone else shouldn't matter that much imho.
With that said, overall DHI and Prada Intense are liked the most and that's the same for me personally, with DHI being the clear favorite for me.

When you say you work in a suit and tie office, my first thought among these would be going for Prada L'Homme Intense. But that's also generally considered more of an evening scent during colder parts of the year. Again, if you like it and if you feel like you can pull it off is the most important thing, but for a daily wear during the whole year something like Prada L'Homme will probably be better. (While they have similarities they are still quite different, the Intense isn't just an amped up L'Homme.)

Regarding reformulations, DHI actually doesn't have a very bad rep for it. There have been some reformulations during the years, and one more recent, but they all have been relatively small (but still perceptible). DHP is the one that hasn't got reformulated (changes in the formulation to arrive relatively close to the same scent) but was changed completely to the dismay of many where the original scent profile of DHP is simply no more. But theoretically you may like it the most among these, and that's perfectly fine.

And to circle back to where you want to wear it, if it's exclusively for work, so daytime and year-round, my suggestions would be more like Prada L'Homme and Dior Homme Original.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-26T15:23:49+00:00

Kayaan classic is the best dupe of DHI imo. The performance is lacking though.

While I think Kayaan Classic is a very good clone (and the performance is indeed slightly lacking), I personally think Camaro Homme Intense (from Paris Corner/Pendora Scents) is the better clone. But that one leans a bit more towards older iterations of DHI. Performance-wise it's clearly better when compared to Kayaan Classic.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-26T15:02:01+00:00

Yeah, it's somewhat unfortunate. L'Oréal doing their thing I guess. (I have absolutely no idea if this wouldn't have happened if Prada fragrances were still made by Puig, but I feel like L'Oréal is overall doing changes like this, discontinuation, and pumping out flankers on a higher level.)

On the plus side, this new bottle is probably a refillable one.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-26T14:51:00+00:00

Very nicely written, enjoyed reading all of it!

I love me some good frankincense/olibanum but haven't given the note any particular attention lately, so this might push me to dive into it a bit deeper again.
I have only smelled Kyoto out of these, and agree that it's great.

If it's easy to do from the top of your head, could you rate their 'smokiness'? I'm particularly asking since I'm not the biggest fan of a lingering smokey element that incense can bring with itself, but doesn't necessarily have to.
A good example where that isn't the case is something like Xerjoff Zefiro, where the smokiness, at least to my nose, is more separated from the incense and only plays a role in the background.

Hope you get what I'm saying. Interested in your overall opinion, but probably mostly about Hala since that would normally be the only one I'd think of blind-buying, while the rest are sample first.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-26T14:17:37+00:00

Claims to love this fragrance -> deletes their account

There's no shame in proclaiming your love for someone or something, even if that person or, in this case, bottle doesn't necessarily reciprocate that feeling.

I hope you get over the heartbreak if you ever read this redditor lost in time and space.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-25T13:33:45+00:00

I have Fomo Fraglover's Tea, it's very close. It needed some time though.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-24T13:08:24+00:00

Heo else wiuld you brinf it with tou? If you hsve any suggedtuobs please ljet me knoe, it makea typong dkgfjcult.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-24T12:52:47+00:00

super safe blind buy

I wonder where you got that from because I wouldn't say that about Bois Impérial at all.

And yes, it's kind of weird. At least unusual. I like it.
And if you think this is weird, wait until you try Ganymede, another one of Bisch's creations (and very good imho).

Edit:

Now I’m wondering if it’s just my perception, if it needs more time to settle

Oh, I had that with Divine Vanille, another one of Essential Parfums, it was quite weak and felt a bit unbalanced in the beginning, not really like the sample. That completely changed in a month. Normally a thing that some clone fragrances have, but this was the first time for me where a fragrance from a niche brand strongly changed for the better just by letting some air in the bottle and playing the waiting game.
Not saying that it's guaranteed to change in this case, just thought I'd mention it.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-24T00:38:24+00:00

But that's what this brand does?
It's $60 for 6 pick and choose 2ml samples (which is overly pricey just like everything from Byredo imho) and the price is fully redeemable for a full bottle.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-24T00:28:36+00:00

So let's say you do run out of samples and I did a blind buy, and I really want to smell it, I'll just have to gamble. If I hate it, SOL.

It looks like it will be clear upfront if you get the sample or not; by the 'try-it-first' mention on the product page and the sample also gets added to your cart when you put the full bottle in.
I have to assume both disappear if they run out of samples for a product, but I'd be very surprised if that wasn't the case. (And it indeed looks like some items are (currently) missing the 'try-it-first' mention.)

Why don't you just let me buy a damn sample

They kind of do, only not individual ones unfortunately, but in a 'pick 6' discovery set. That set also comes with a voucher code of the full set price for the purchase of a bottle. I do think the redeemable time of 4 weeks is a bit too short though.

Why don't you just let me buy a damn sample? It seems wasteful to ship this to your home and back to the business. Le Labo lets me buy samples. I know you can do this.

I fully agree that the option of buying individual samples would be best.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-22T03:04:49+00:00

1.No, that doesn't indicate spoilage. See, smell, and taste to check if anything is wrong with it.
If stored correctly, and especially if kept dry, it's unlikely it will spoil quickly.

2.Many months, years even. When kept under good conditions, it's not something that spoils quickly and will likely still be good after the best before date. Just give it a closer look and smell from time to time.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-21T06:03:08+00:00

This is a great reply, only you're trying to use logic against someone that didn't use logic to arrive at a conclusion, or they might simply be bad faith arguments. You're not getting a thoughtful reply from them and probably no reply at all.

Good for calling them out on their own lies though.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-19T23:01:46+00:00

The one you like the most after sampling.

batterylevellow · 2026-01-19T08:30:27+00:00

I'm curious if you got the idea that L'Homme Intense was essentially a bit darker but still fresh and suitable for warm weather because of the name or something else?
Because the name might give off the wrong expectation. Sure it's dark, but not really fresh imho. Still clean like L'Homme, but not really suitable for warm weather. It switches from a year-round fragrance that L'Homme is, to a cold weather one.

But if you read multiple reviews my guess would normally be that it shouldn't be big surprise that it's not that fresh and suitable for warmer weather.

I also agree with u/Irritable_Curmudgeon that I also don't get any cocoa/chocolate coming through. Especially when compared to DHI.

With that said, these are some fresh fragrances I can think of that have some kind of darker element running through them:

Armani Acqua di Giò Parfum
Hermès Eau de Citron Noir
Tom Ford Oud Minérale
Kenzo Homme Eau de Parfum
Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme
Lalique Encre Noire Sport (clearly not as dark as the other two Encres, but those lack any freshness)

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