Perfume Reviews by GreyChypre

Passion for Men by Elizabeth Taylor

In a world suffocating under sickly sweet, fruit basket colognes (more aptly called 'perfume') Passion for Men is an anchor. It doesn't try to be young or trendy. Thank God for that, because it seems like colognes these days TRY DESPERATELY HARD to be interesting, but end up smelling like a bottle of something you'd find on your teenage daughters bathroom counter.

Passion doesn't have that desperation.

It opens with a classic blend of lavender and bergamot. Midway is cinnamon, sandalwood and very slight, soft edged cedar. It dries down into rich amber, tonka bean, and a deep but not cloyingly sweet vanilla. It has an actual depth that's missing from today's boring designer fragrances and their 500 equally stupid flankers.

This is a rare instance where I prefer the modern formulation over the vintage. I have both but paid around $50 for a VERY small bottle of the 1980's vintage, while picking up a big bottle of the newer formulation for under $20! The vintage has a sweetness due to the loss of the top notes that's not bad by any means. But I just don't prefer it and I have a feeling most 'grown ups' wouldn't either. The modern formulation has the dry heft I like in men's colognes without the extra sugar. This is also true with the women's version, so why pay extra for either one? You get a real bang for your buck here and that means a lot in this economy.

Before some 17 year old idiot leaves a string of "god grandpa so old like for real ugh" whining about it: YES this leans mature. But let's be honest here. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone under 40 these days that doesn't smell like a makeup bag. And while the other brands are releasing dozens of Intense, Elixir, and Mommy Issues versions of every fragrance, Passion has managed to stand on its own FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS. Now THAT'S saying something.

Any way you slice it, this is one hell of a masculine classic. It's inoffensive, unobtrusive, and I'd say work or any occasion appropriate. And for the cost, it's absolutely blind buy safe. You really can't go wrong here.

Elizabeth Taylor knew exactly what she was doing when she created this. Between the men's and women's versions, she created a very memorable power couple.

White Linen by Estée Lauder

I truly don't understand how anyone could dislike White Linen. Even to modern noses trained on sheer, synthetic skin scents and bakery smelling nonsense, it's still anything but offensive.

The opening is the smell of a brutal, unapologetic clean. It's a cold dose of aldehydes that immediately snaps you to attention. Imagine a starched white shirt, ironed by someone with a grudge against softness and the 12-hour civilian clock. It can come across as aseptic and unisex.

But if you have the patience to let it develop, that serious opening melts beautifully into a soft floral musk. It's the absolute antithesis of cloying. It loses the brutality and shifts into warmth and a soapy bouquet of abstract white and pink florals. It's a very comforting fragrance.

The real brilliance of White Linen is its versatility. It is perfectly appropriate for any occasion. You can wear it casually with jeans and a t-shirt, or you can pair it with formal wear for black-tie. It never suffocates. It simply presents itself as proper. You absolutely cannot go wrong with this timeless, structurally perfect masterpiece.

J'Adore L'Or (2023) by Christian Dior

Disclaimer: I have the original J'Adore, but no experience with any other iterations of L'Or, so I can't comment on reformulations.

Frankly I was annoyed with myself for dropping $200 after tax on a 1.7 ounce bottle of anything, and almost turned my car around to return it. While I absolutely adore Dune, most Dior perfumes have an irritatingly short lifespan on me, maybe two hours if I'm lucky. So unlike other brands, I buy them with caution. Holy moly, this one was an unexpected surprise.

After I got home and begrudgingly opened the box, I gave myself two sprays and went about with my life. Folks, it was still very noticeable 12 HOURS later and it was still projecting enough for others around me to notice. This stuff has monstrous staying power. I bet it would last weeks on clothing. For those of us who love old-school powerhouse fragrances, this is an absolute gem.

Scent-wise it reminds me of one of my absolute favorites, Diamonds and Emeralds. L'Or is very syrupy, almost obnoxiously so. The opening is a heavy jasmine and a thick, buttery ylang-ylang that feels almost too much. Underneath is a warm amber and vanilla base that anchors the sweetness. But the true star here is the rose in the dry down. It's just the right amount without screaming ROSE, if you know what I mean. It's noticeable without smacking bystanders in the face.

Yes, the price is way more than I want to spend on a small bottle of perfume, but the quality is definitely here. So for that I don't feel bad for buying this. It's a bit loud for an office environment, but I can get a lot of wear out of it anywhere else. I got a few compliments on it the first night I wore it out, and the restaurant was relatively quiet with few people inside. So needless to say, I'm in love with this stuff.

J'Adore Intense by Christian Dior

I admit I haven’t been the biggest cheerleader for Dior’s releases for the past few years, and I thought the original J'Adore needed another flanker about as much as I need a pair of skinny jeans after forty.

I stand corrected. Folks, J'Adore Intense is nothing short of fabulous.

Scanning the note pyramid beforehand, I fully expected to roll my eyes. But J'Adore Intense is the PERFECT amount of sweet. Usually I consider anything this sweet to be juvenile and tacky. And while I know that perfectly describes the aesthetic 'some' of you strive for (side eye at specific people), this manages to pull it off in an old-school powerhouse kind of way.

The apricot in the opening is heavy-handed. When the ylang-ylang and jasmine make their appearance, the sweetness hits a peak before settling into just the perfect balance of honey and sandalwood. The vanilla is there, but it seems to take a back seat. It all blends perfectly.

Not only is the fragrance beautiful, but the quality is impressive. My body is a furnace that burns through most fragrances in a few hours, but this one stays with me the entire day.

But it's not all perfection. While it is pretty, the bottle is shockingly CHEAP. The glass is PAPER THIN, and there's no way I'd pack this in a suitcase or carry it in a bag. You tap the side and it feels like a Christmas ornament. Yes, it's THAT thin and if you drop it once or knock it over, it'll be a goner. I'd recommend only buying the smallest bottle available.