Neroli
Czech & Speake (1981)

Another winner from C&S. Pleasant, summery citrus and photo-realistic blossom. Just enough longevity not to raise objections.

A nice, traditional citrus cologne. Spicy orange and bergamot on top of orange blossom and petitgrain, with soap underneath. Given a little time, it all melts together into a pleasant woody, citrusy soap smell that lasts a few hours.

It's worth noting that this smells like orange blossom, as opposed to neroli, and yes there's a difference. They're both from the flowers of the bitter orange tree, but are extracted differently and smell completely different. An orange blossom note smells floral, like the flowers on an orange tree (and that's what this smells like), while neroli is that sweet but masculine candied green orange smell you'd know from Mugler Cologne or Original Vetiver or many other neroli perfumes, and that's not what this smells like. That's not really a complaint, but more a commentary and a warning that this is quite floral, though the woody petitgrain does a good job balancing the floralcy.

Anyway, as compared to the many other citrus colognes out there, C&S Neroli stands out for its woody depth, and for its pleasant balance of soap and citrus.

Straight faced neroli. Feels like you rolled around in a neroli bush. Long lasting and assertive without being overwhelming. This is neroli reference. Look no further.

Genre: Citrus

Czech & Speake Neroli does what it says on the label, and it's all the better for it. It's a bright, straightforward neroli fragrance that grows increasingly spicy with wear, and it's absolutely beautiful. The indole, spice, and ethereal sweetness are perfectly blended and balanced, and the result is a remarkable olfactory illusion of living blossoms. Neroli is potent, with ample sillage and projection over a couple of solid hours' linear progression. It does not alter character in its drydown so much as fade away, expressing orange blossom in all its purity until the very end. A simple pleasure.

As you can probably tell, this is not going to be a long lasting one, owing to the light floral note that this encapsulates :)

That said, I consider it my benchmark 'neroli' scent. Originally a gift for my mother, I thought this was just too good not to enjoy it as well, so I ended up with a bottle for myself not long after. I can imagine walking in a field of orange groves in late spring somewhere on a Mediterranean coast, with the hot air blowing this heavenly floral whiff in my direction. You can bet that come summer I'll shower in this stuff and will not hold back on the trigger!!

I find it very refreshing in the summer heat, light and inoffensive and yet quite pronounced for a good 4-6 hours. I can still smell the dry-down beyond that time, which has traces of the top/mid mixed with the ylang-ylang in the base. Overall, it is a very linear scent so don't expect much mutation here.

Easily my favourite from the C&S line. 4/5 overall for me.

I love this smell, it's one of the most delicious things I know. Sadly, it fades extremely quickly for me, so I'm not sure if I can justify getting it myself.