Liquid Brun
Eau de Parfum, French Avenue (2024)

LIquid Brun Is really really hyped. And for good reason. If you like PDM althair you probably wont notice a difference in the air. Like many UAE fragrances this is not one you buy, spray on your arm and then bury your nose in it. All of these similar DNA fragrances from Dubai get better with a little age.

I am not a huge fan of Althair. I think its a decent scent and mass appealing but to me its a designer scent profile all the way. But even that scent is not one I would spray on my arm and bury my nose in it. This is a fragrance that projects and pushes really hard. Putting your nose right up to it might give you an almost fresh bubblegum vibe when you smell it up close and you can pick out the individual notes with that underlying bubblegum sweetness.

Back off a bit and smelling it in the air is actually what this fragrance is about. I own a lot of NIche, designer and a few clones. But its only when the niche company does such a poor job at formulating a fragrance that smells good but simply isnt worth the price of the OG I will buy it. And IMHO Althair is not a composition demanding 10x the price of French Avenue Liquid Brun.

Can it be synthetic? Sure. But that pretty much where we are headed. Small amounts of naturals with a lot of synthetics. But honestly spray this on (2-3 for you people who think every fragrance needs a 10ml application) and smell it in the air and it takes on a completely different personality. You almost get a chocolatey experience whilst not smelling like a chocolate bar. I think many niche fragrances are worth the money. Others not so much.

If you want PDM Althair, I would still suggest buying Althair. Because if you are someone who loves that scent and it is your signature you may be more disappointed. But if you like the DNA and just refuse to pay that much for something that in all reality shouldnt even be half the price Liquid Brun is a solid choice. Give it a wearing, put it back in the box. Wait a few weeks or even a month rotating your other fragrances and come back to it and it should be smoother and even better. But right out of the box it performs better and smells better than anything you are going to get with CK logo on it. Will you smell like $300? No. But PDM doesnt smell like $300 either. But you will smell good. That is what is important.

I found it to be too strong, even with a light application. There is supposed to be a sweetness to it, but I did not detect it. It just seemed very heavy to me. In fact, it seemed to have so much going on that I found it impossible to really make out any of the notes.

Sweet vanilla, but light and somewhat airy, not heavy. There is a thinness to this that feels cheap to me. Something older, more mature too.

Smells very similar to PdM Athair, and the bottle color matches, so this is meant to be a clone. For me, this has better projection and longevity than Athair. That said, Liquid Brun's projection is light compared to most other modern scents I own and I do feel the need to spray more than usual. Longevity is disappointing for me as well. It doesn't seem to last much beyond 4-5 hours.