7 de Loewe
Loewe (2010)

The combination of pepper, incense, and cedar in this fragrance bears a resemblance to Azzaro Visit. It can be considered a slightly higher quality version of Visit, but it falls short in terms of its intensity and strength. The scent comes across as a bit too light and soft.

Fruity opening – smells like bergamot with apple highlights; there is even a semi-solid pineapple note coming through. Despite these shades of Aventus, the aromatic nature of the opening makes it seem more fresh that fruity. After a half hour or so, the bergamot wilts out and then collapses as the opening moves into the floral / patchouli heart. This patchouli shows why patchouli is classified in the wood category – this patch smells resinous-woody as it provides the dominant aspect of the heart note… the rose and jasmine are barely available to my nose. This patchouli accord is very well done.

The base is adequate but disappointing. It is mainly patchouli and what I assume is a raw type of ambergris. The pyramid cites musk and vanilla in the base but I think they come through quite minimally. Lack of “sweet” if I remember correctly, may be a characteristic of Mazzolari.

If Nero is an interesting fragrance, (and I don't think it is), it's the patchouli that makes it so… which, come to think of it, also reminds me that Mazzolari is noted for a few excellent patchouli offerings. All things considered concerning Nero, it has a competent progression of accord and quality materials, but the entire fragrance comes across as a bit boring.

A shameless copy of Zagorsk CDG, Cacharel Pour Homme and Bang ( Marc Jacobs ) . But I like it !

A nice pepper-cedarwood-incense with a transparent quality that counts way too many older siblings to properly standout. From Comptoir Sud Pacifique L'Eau Du Gouverneur to Kyoto, via Zagorks, Monocle Hinoki, Cacharel Pour Homme and several others.

Again, nice and with a good persistence too but a bit too late to the party. With that said, if found heavily discounted, it might be worthy to check it out.

At the first sniff, Loewe 7 seemed to me impressively similar to a couple of "green" incenses by Comme des Garçons, e.g. Zagorsk and Hinoki, and to a lesser extent, Kyoto. Tons of Iso E "pencil" wood, a whiff of incense and balsamic notes with spices. The only difference is a lot (a real lot) of pepper and cloves, and slightly more woody "warmth" which makes Loewe 7 smell cozier, more generic and with a broader appeal, less cold, abstract and openly "synthetic" than the abovementioned scents, also with a bolder medicinal side. But the substance is quite the same. I also get quite clearly the similarity with Cacharel pour Homme, as other fellow reviewers have already noted, and I agree with that although Loewe 7 smells to me a bit more contemporary, synthetic and "colder" than Cacharel. Not as cold as the CdG's, but still colder and sharper than Cacharel, which I recall being more a nutmeg bomb if I am not wrong. In short, however, I would place 7 exactly halfway these fragrances. Still, taking into account these similarities which are quite clear, Loewe 7 is undoubtedly pleasant and nice to wear, an office-safe, modern, elegant scent you can't really go wrong with. It's generic and derivative, but it does not look they (at Loewe) pretend to be something better or different, so... Plus it's less dull that other "office scents", mostly thanks to pepper and spices, which make it quite a "statement" scent - I mean: if you're unfamiliar with the scents it smells so similar to, it may even smell original and cool to you, even "daring" perhaps, since it's quite bold in fact. Anyway, once it warms up on skin it even emerges a whiff of difference, which is a sort of azure-rose breeze halfway floral and iodine, a touch of "something" silky and clean that provides a sophisticated sense of coziness - and incidentally, gives Loewe 7 a spark of personality for a while. Undoubtedly unoriginal, but undoubtedly pleasant too.

6,5-7/10

this is Davidoff Silver Shadow Altitude boosted with more pepper and ginger..basically they are the same, the first with poor longevity