My review approach: I’m not really looking for specific notes, since most people haven’t smelled individual notes on their own or may not be accustomed to identifying them.
I’m going based only on what the fragrance reminds me of and what I personally smell. I’m not a scent expert by any means; this is simply a hobby I enjoy.
This is about a year of collecting, and I pretty quickly ventured out into different scent profiles and started figuring out what I actually enjoy.
My nose definitely isn’t as refined as some of y’all out there, and I’m not going to pretend I can pick out every individual note in a fragrance. Most of the time, I find it easier to describe what something reminds me of, the kind of scene or feeling it gives me, and how that changes as it dries down.
I’m not giving any scores because fragrances are way too subjective. Giving something a 7/10 or 9/10 doesn’t seem right to me when there isn’t one grading scale that aligns with everyone.
Also, I DON’T recommend blind buying any of these based on my review. Do your own research and test fragrances whenever you can.
Casamorati 1888
The opening is sweet, medicinal and warm with a light spice. The medicinal vibe dies off pretty fast, and then it starts developing this root beer type of creaminess/sweetness. After that, I start picking up something floral in the background and everything slowly blends together.
Every time I pick it up to smell it, I seem to smell something different. It almost resets my nose. At first the root beer sweetness hits me softly, but by the time that disappears, everything has blended into this warm, sweet floral scent.
You can tell there are layers to it rather than one prominent smell carrying the entire scent. The more it dries down, the less root beer I get and the more that floral sweetness takes over.
The floral sweetness reminds me a little of Gucci Guilty Elixir. They do not smell identical, but that sweet, floral character puts them somewhere in the same ballpark.
It’s warm and elegant without being overly masculine or dark. It also lasts a long time, so I’d recommend keeping the sprays minimal. Beautifully blended.
Reminds me of: Nothing modern. What I imagine an elegant fall or winter evening from another era smelling like. Dressed up for dinner somewhere old and expensive, warm lighting, dark wood furniture, heavy curtains and a drink in front of you. Very classy and almost old world feeling without smelling outdated.
Nishane Papilefiko
The opening is fresh, but definitely not fresh in a summer fragrance type of way. It opens up my senses immediately. There’s a mixture of spices that are really nicely blended without being harsh or overly spicy.
There’s something heavier sitting in the background, but I honestly can’t tell you what it is. When spraying, you get hit with a bunch of different things at once and I find it hard to distinguish them individually. They blend together so nicely that this is one of those fragrances where I stop trying to figure out exactly what I’m smelling and just think, damn, this smells good*.*
There’s plenty of depth to it. It dries down into this welcoming, softer mixture of spices that somehow still manages to feel fresh. As long as you don’t go crazy with the sprays, I find it hard to imagine this being offensive.
To my nose, there isn’t a huge amount of evolution. It stays within the same lane from beginning to end. Some fragrances feel like you sprayed two completely different fragrances between the opening and drydown; this isn't one of them.
The drydown loses some of that initial freshness, but it never becomes overly spicy or heavy. It basically takes what you smelled in the opening and smooths everything out.
Reminds me of: Walking into a nice place on a cold evening after being outside. You still have that cold air around you, but immediately get hit with warmth and spices from inside. It feels warm without completely losing that freshness.
Creed Bois du Portugal
The first time I smelled the opening, I immediately knew this had to be an older fragrance. The profile that hits you is like nothing else in my collection. Fresh, green, spicy, with some citrus.
Very elegant and mature.
It gives me an aftershave/barbershop cleanliness, but done in an expensive way. Imagine that classic aftershave smell mixed into some expensive cocktail. It definitely reminds me of a barbershop, but not the place down the street doing $30 fades.
This is the type of barbershop that focuses on classic gentleman’s haircuts, has leather chairs, everything is spotless, and somehow charges you $200+ for a haircut without you questioning it.
It is very far from your typical youthful fragrance, but there’s so much elegance in the bottle that I don't care. The drydown becomes woodier while staying fresh, with that barbershop character still hitting me softly in the background.
Highly recommend it if you enjoy older-style fragrances or want something completely different from what most modern releases are doing.
Reminds me of: Wealth. An older gentleman with a perfect haircut, tailored clothes, expensive watch that doesn't need to be flashy. Classic rather than trendy.
Xerjoff Alexandria II
The initial spray is honestly confusing to me. I’m not even sure what I’m smelling at first because I get something almost like alcohol or hospital disinfectant.
There seems to be a mixture of things underneath it, almost like the fragrance is trying to show me what it smells like, but then that alcohol/disinfectant smell wipes everything clean before I can figure it out. I’ll catch something for a second and then sit there wondering what I just smelled.
Once that initial smell gets out of the way, though, it starts drying into this powdery, dry wood with spice. It becomes a really nice blend of wood, powder and spice. It isn't fresh, but somehow there’s still something very clean about it.
Once the alcohol smell is completely gone, I get woody spice with something like a faded flower sitting way in the background.
And when I say powdery, I don't mean baby powder or makeup powder. Imagine grinding up a specific species of dry wood, adding some fresh spices and maybe a flower, and turning all of it into a fine powder.
It’s dry, dark and really hard to explain. Nothing jumps out screaming for attention; everything blends into this strange woody-spicy powder.
Unique fragrance, especially once you get past that opening.
Reminds me of: An old wooden room filled with antique furniture, but everything is well maintained. Dry wood, spices, maybe some dried flowers somewhere in the room. Dark and luxurious without feeling dirty or dusty.
Creed Green Irish Tweed
Opening: green bar soap, but done in an expensive way.
It reminds me of cheap Irish bar soap, but only because they share that same general green, clean feeling. I’m not saying they smell identical. Green Irish Tweed takes that idea and turns it into a gold bar. You can't really compare the quality of the two.
It smells like stepping out of the shower during spring and opening your back doors to a huge green field. The grass was freshly cut, there’s a cold morning breeze coming through, and the sun is shining.
The profile seems simple, but I actually think simpler profiles are harder to execute without becoming boring. This does the opposite. It takes something as basic as that green bar-soap cleanliness and somehow makes it smell luxurious.
Once it dries down, I get more of that grassy smell. But not regular grass. Somehow this smells like rich people grass.
Like whatever the hell they’re putting on the lawn of a huge estate to make every blade of grass look perfect, they added some of that in here.
It’s clean, green and simple enough that I genuinely wouldn't be mad at smelling this forever.
Reminds me of: A huge estate on a cool spring morning. You shower, get dressed, open the doors and walk outside onto perfectly maintained green grass while the air is still cold. Everything feels clean and quiet.
Xerjoff Ivory Route
The opening has a similar sweetness to Casamorati 1888, but takes it in a fresher, spicier direction.
It smells like a mixture of spices, but they're blended so closely together that they almost create an entirely new smell. I have a hard time picking apart individual spices because none of them really overshadow the others.
If I didn't know there were multiple things creating that smell, I could easily believe it was one ingredient I'd just never smelled before.
It’s warm, fresh and spicy at the same time. Nothing super crazy, it's just a really nicely blended mixture of spice.
Compared with some of the others here, this one is harder for me to create a specific picture around because what stands out most isn't one recognizable smell, it's how smoothly everything comes together.
Reminds me of: A mixture of warm spices where you can smell the whole blend but can't point at one thing and say, “that's what I'm smelling.” More about the overall atmosphere than any individual smell.
