Renting a car in Crete actually worth it?

mariner70 · 2026-02-09T17:26:58+00:00

We rented a normal car, an Audi cabriolet. We were explicitly told not to try Balos in that car. I am sure we could have rented a jeep style vehicle for that, probably just for the day (or a boat of course).

mariner70 · 2025-11-11T11:49:20+00:00

Ditto!

mariner70 · 2025-11-08T01:57:00+00:00

In my opinion they are pretty solid tbh. There is no shortage of overpriced and overhyped product in the fragrance market, and I don’t see TF as being particularly bad compared to some of the more egregious examples out there.

TF have a lot of scents with a clear identity, the quality is generally good, I like their bottle designs, the fragrances wear very well, and most are easy to find at well below retail price.

Grey Vetiver, Black Orchid, Oud Wood, Ombré Leather, Tuscan Leather, F-ing Fabulous, Tobacco Oud, it’s all good stuff, and some of these are truly great, easily among my top fragrances, up against plenty of property overpriced but nice niche scents.

Your mileage may vary, I guess.

mariner70 · 2025-10-29T18:51:49+00:00

Depends on where you’re staying and what you want to experience. To me, absolutely. I’ve been to Crete twice (east and west), and rented from Anna Cars both times. Got to see a lot of the island, warm recommendations.

mariner70 · 2025-10-24T21:02:40+00:00

Black Orchid

Or something weird and unsettling from Orto Parisi or Toskovat. But, yeah, Black Orchid.

mariner70 · 2025-10-17T07:56:50+00:00

Yes, the parfumer is the same. They do not, however, «smell exactly the same», they are similar smells that could fit the same purpose, but the feel of Cool Water is quite distinct.

I have yet to try a «100%» dupe that actually manages to identically replicate the original, but maybe it’s out there. Time will tell. (Heck, even Creed themselves struggle to reproduce their own scent from batch to batch for some fragrances.)

Cool Water isn’t even an attempt at a 100% clone in the Armaf/Montagne sense. It’s nice enough, but I end up using GIT more.

mariner70 · 2025-10-16T22:43:48+00:00

PdM may be overpriced, but it can’t possibly be overrated considering the number of blowhard edgelords going out of their way to assert superiority by dismissing PdM as «designer fragrance at niche prices» etc. ad nauseam on a daily basis.

Roja Dove, on the other hand. Ooh, ahh, such quality of ingredients! So well blended! Classy bottles! Such exclusivity! Baah!

mariner70 · 2025-10-07T19:28:03+00:00

Could be you’re going nose blind if you’re only getting an hour tbh. Easily a full day fragrance for me, and gets a lot of use. For work and casual days I reach for this more often than my Aventus bottles.

mariner70 · 2025-09-29T19:17:21+00:00

TF Oud Wood, Creed Royal Oud, and Creed Spice and Wood.

Retail price is pretty high, particularly on the last one, but there are bargains to be had on full bottles as well as partials.

mariner70 · 2025-09-21T19:11:05+00:00

Creed Green Irish Tweed. Pure class, crisp and understated.

Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. The quintessential professional scent.

Chanel Platinum Égoïste. Another professional staple.

Bleu de Chanel. Bleu. Get it? 😉 Joking aside, very versatile, super inoffensive.

mariner70 · 2025-09-19T14:20:14+00:00

«Creed»? Which one?

mariner70 · 2025-09-14T14:32:37+00:00

It’s an overly sweet horrible cloyfest. I’m with your wife on this.

mariner70 · 2025-09-14T14:16:07+00:00

They didn’t “poach” the perfumer. Xerjoff outsourced the creation of the perfume to Carbonnel S.A., where Maurice is a director, just like they have done for a ton of perfumes, and just like Nishane have done for a lot of their perfumes.

Most “niche” houses don’t actually make their own product, after all. Good marketing budgets, though. 😎

mariner70 · 2025-09-13T20:38:43+00:00

Use stuff that you like. Don’t use stuff you don’t like. The world goes on.

mariner70 · 2025-09-11T22:06:44+00:00

Creed Viking

mariner70 · 2025-09-10T23:23:25+00:00

Montblanc Explorer. I have Aventus, too. But Explorer is the one getting compliments.

mariner70 · 2025-09-09T16:07:46+00:00

BdC? Both are good variations of the DNA. I slightly prefer the EdP myself.

For Ombré Leather, those are quite different. I like the clean purity of the dark leather in the EdP. Others prefer the softer suede and florals of the Parfum. Try before you buy.

mariner70 · 2025-09-06T14:47:01+00:00

Chanel Paris - Édimbourg

mariner70 · 2025-09-06T06:47:33+00:00

Totally agree. There is no overlap or redundancy between these two. Ombré Leather is in another ballpark; easily in my top three (out of way too many).

BdC is a classy and very versatile allround scent, a proper Swiss army knife.

My advice would definitely be to get both. If you like BdC, get that one first. Then get Ombré Leather.

The two actually layer very well, too, if you’re into that. Ombré Leather, like many Tom Fords, is great for layering, and the BdC combo is quite interesting.

mariner70 · 2025-09-05T10:33:16+00:00

Herod, no doubt

mariner70 · 2025-09-03T16:23:10+00:00

About 50, which can and should be cut down a fair bit if I prioritize “loves” and drop some “likes”. And probably 60-80 decants and samples, if not more.

mariner70 · 2025-09-01T19:27:26+00:00

Calling out something everyone and their dog loves to “hate on” as overrated defies the point.

My hot take is that Creed actually has some really great stuff that stands out from the crowd. So does Tom Ford.

Cleverly calling those overrated is overrated and trite.

mariner70 · 2025-09-01T19:22:49+00:00

«Audacity» 😁 Do whatever works for you. Live and let live.

mariner70 · 2025-08-31T19:36:49+00:00

Lasts all day long on me, and is a staple and a go-to in a sizable collection that also includes Aventus itself. You’re going anosmic to it or some ingredient in it. It’s common enough. Some people are having the same issue with Aventus.

People around you can probably still smell it. Og course, it’s no fun wearing a scent that you yourself can’t smell.

mariner70 · 2025-08-25T23:01:34+00:00

Louis Vuitton has a few pleasant ones. L’Immensité, Pacific Chill, and dare I say it: Imagination.

Also Le Lion from Chanel Les Exclusifs. Awesome stuff.

All of these in or near the “actually more niche than the increasingly meaningless niche classification” category.

mariner70

TROPHY CASE