Perfume Reviews by tspencer

Vetiver Geranium by Creed

This fragrance gives a crisp, vibrant, cool vibe and is excellent for hot weather. There is an almost metallic, high frequency citrus/apple top that slightly fades, but is still there hours later. I think this smells like a white wine/champagne plus vetiver grass. Much like the smell I get when drinking a chilled Pinot Grigio in a grassy park in the Spring. That's the place this fragrance takes me. A big thumbs up. I don't consider this to be a fragrance that should have an age-group put on it. This is a scent that can work in warm weather for men or women. This fragrance clearly uses old-fashioned perfuming methods that give a natural, high quality result.

Bay Gum by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

I'm a fan of all the Bay Rums from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements and I think their Bay Rums belong in everyone's fragrance enthusiast's wardrobe.

Bay Gum is a fun Spring-Fall fragrance and can even work as a Winter wear to bring a more cheerful mood. The Juicy Fruit Gum accord isn't the only thing going on in this fragrance. There is more depth in here once the fragrance settles. I think the Juicy Fruit Gum scent triggers good vibes because scent memory is pretty strong and this is a scent of just about everyone's youth from childhood through the teen years.

I highly recommend this one for bright days and vacations and beach outings, fun in the park, etc. A big thumb's up.

Blue Moon Bay Rum by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

I'm digging on this one. It's got a blueberry muffin batter thing going and has faint spices underneath that are thin and spread out in an airy kind of way rather than some direct punch of spice. I wouldn't call this a groundbreaking scent but it's definitely pleasant and isn't obtrusive or attention grabbing. I can't make up my mind if this qualifies as a gourmand or not. It threatens to be gourmand and holds that thin line between a regular fragrance and a gourmand in a way that tells me that the perfumer was agonizing over the proper balance and didn't want this falling over into either sphere in an obvious way. That character of balance here is why I like it and enjoy it. It tickles my brain and I enjoy the overall effect and scent throughout the day. Thumbs up on this one. Again, not groundbreaking or attention grabbing, but a very nice wear and I think better than a good number of the fragrances at the designer counter. I much prefer something like this over Paco Rabanne's "searing, high frequency bubblegum" One Million or even the chemical vanilla concoction of Versace Eros. This blueberry muffin batter spice minds its own business while being completely content within itself.

Le Piment de la Vie by Catie's Bubbles

La Piment de la Vie is a deep Winter fragrance delight. I love the scent and it's going to replace Creed Royal Oud when I eventually run out of Royal Oud. While La Piment de la Vie is in a similar genre to Royal Oud, it is still different.

I get a damp tobacco leaf accord (like a damp chewing tobacco of high quality), and wonderful accompanying spices, sandalwood and what seems to be a 'buttery' base note. Like a creamy note. It's as if Royal Oud were to merge with a shaving cream. Another fragrance in the same wheelhouse as La Piment de la Vie is L'Occitane's Eau des Baux. A moderately sweet dark spicy delight. So, if you're a fan of Royal Oud or Eau des Baux, you should put your nose on this one for sure. You will thank me.

Phoenix Lights by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

This one is one of a handful of PAA scents that I think is signature worthy and daily-driver capable. The tobacco is played in a very light-hearted, higher frequency way because of the citrus. The oak wood note, which is acquired by soaking oak cubes seems to "tune" the tobacco and set it up for the citrus to give this 'lift' to the tobacco and it's got a 'golden' tone to the whole scent. Like golden sunlight looks, but in a scent. At least, that's the color and feel I get from smelling this. It's clearly one of their best fragrances.

Bleu de Chanel Eau de Toilette by Chanel

A quality "standard" scent for the "30 something" year old. It's not-offensive. Relatively mature but not 'old'. Decidedly masculine. Works for all seasons. This one was clearly made to be a no-brainer gift scent and can work as a daily driver dumb reach.

Game Time by Alexandria Fragrances

I am pleasantly surprised with this one. Off my skin the sillage in the air seems to give an almost strawberry smoothie scent. If I put my nose up close to the spray site on my arm I can get some of the birch wood and incense. The sillage is more Baccarat Rouge 540 with a little of the pineapple and that gives off a strawberry effect from my skin. I really like it though. I'll give this a thumbs up. I will likely wear this in warm late-spring outings. In high heat it could be a tad much for some noses I think. I've been wearing this for 3 hours, so I don't have a good handle on the longevity, but the projection is arm's length and I get the sense it will last at least 6 hours.

Green Irish Tweed by Creed

It's one of the greatest fragrances ever created. An artistic masterpiece. 5 out of 5. Timeless. It can never smell "old" in my opinion. This is already an historic perfume, not because critics made it historic, but because fragrance enthusiasts made it historic and legendary.

In my opinion/observation, this fragrance doesn't have any volatile top notes that burn off within 20-30 minutes. The opening of the fragrance stays for around 3-5 hours before the heart notes fade off and reveal the base. I think your skin chemistry will heavily determine how long the opening lasts, although this is one fragrance where I don't think your skin chemistry is going to dramatically alter how it smells. This should smell practically the same on anyone's skin as off the test strip as well. 'Maybe' the lemon verbena note could shift sour on some skin, but shouldn't be noticeable among the other more prominent notes.

The base of the fragrance sets a foundation of a white cloudy, fairly-dense texture with hints of synthetic-chalky-mint. The Sandalwood plays an integral supporting role even though it's not really detectable for me, I know it's merging with other notes in the base to create a very pleasing combination. The heart of the fragrance is a deep natural quasi-vegetal grass/shrub green that has hints of sparkling spearmint in it IMO. The green heart notes have some intermittent moments of that sparkling green effervescence. (This is what separates the 'fakes' and 'knockoffs' from Green Irish Tweed, and IMO, what separates Green Irish Tweed from Davidoff's "Cool Water"). The lemon verbena gives a nice atmospheric touch and isn't dramatically noticeable. You can detect it if you focus on trying to pick it up, but if you're not thinking 'lemon' you won't really notice it's even there.

I generally describe this fragrance as a white cloudy, slightly chalky, sparkling green fragrance with touches of what smells like ionized moisture in the air. An effect sort of like you're near a river or around water that permeates the air. The green in the fragrance fluctuates from a dark lush green to a sparkling spearmint green off and on, which is what you will only find in Creed's fragrance. None of the copycats or knockoffs have this multi-green dark/bright flux in the heart. So, if you want the highest quality experience of this scent buy the Creed, not Cool Water or any knockoff.

This is inarguably one of the most beloved fragrances among those who have perfume as a hobby. If there is one fragrance where you would pony up several hundred dollars, this should be one of the easiest recommendations.

Bay Rum by Gabels

Gabels Bay Rum has been around a long time. Gabels has been a barbershop supplier since 1932. The bay rum is pretty basic. Bay leaf, Rum and a very light woody tone. I love the stuff. It's a clean scent despite its spicy, medicinal focus.

It has a rather decent projection/sillage for a good 1-2 hours then goes to a skin scent and lasts for about 5 hours or so. That's really good performance for an aftershave.

A big thumbs up and in my opinion it's a 4-star scent despite being rather basic in its composition. The bang for buck in incredible as you can buy liters of this for cheap.

Coconut Bay with Lime by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

This is yet another exceedingly pleasant fragrance from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements. The scent brings positive vibes for me. I think this could work just as well as a bath-set fragrance where you just buy and use the bath products of this, or you could buy the EDP fragrance. Both would workout great with this scent. This is at least a 4 out of 5 start scent and I have no doubt there are some people out there who would really like this one.

Tombstone by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

According to the Phoenix Artisan website, Tombstone is a "take your there" artistic representation of Tombstone, Arizona in its heyday with famous historical figures like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. Playing with notes that would've been common in the town itself.

The aftershave/cologne hydrosol is handmade from White Lady Banksia Roses from the World's Largest Rose Tree in Tombstone, Arizona.

To my nose, the scent is mostly centered around a slightly Sweet Powdery Rose and Saddle Leather, very faint use of Gun Smoke, a hint of Aromatic Tobacco that is also faint and the Geranium seems to permeate to fill in the spaces and put some age and maturity on the scent to date it properly for the era it is trying to place itself in.

This fragrance is very obviously done with classic perfume making methods and does a pretty good job of making something wearable without getting too artsy about it. Admittedly, when I first read about it, I was anticipating more gunsmoke and tobacco, and I didn't anticipate the powdery effect on the rose.

But taken for what it is, a mostly Powdery Rose & Leather scent with faint accenting of other tones, this still works and it's grown on me over time to be a very enjoyable fragrance. This one focuses on the rose and the overall tone of the fragrance is clearly putting in effort to "age" the perfume to smell like a very old-world throwback.

Clown Fruit by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

This one is a fan favorite among the Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Private Facebook Group. It's a Halloween seasonal and appears for 3-4 months a year staring in October.

The main base/heart notes are the Woods, Sweet Tobacco, Burnt Sugar and a touch of Absinthe. The Neroli and Elderflower florals are accenting notes and the Elderberry & Amyris form the "fruity tone" within this fragrance. That fruity tone is a twist that will make or break your liking of the fragrance. It's obviously an artistic choice to give a juxtaposition or counter note in the fragrance. I enjoy it. I think without the berry/fruity tone this would have been a woody/amber/tobacco fragrance with a burnt sugar note.....which might have been good but it wouldn't have the personality of a clown....which is what the berry tone does in this. So, IMO, the "clown" aspect is the berry tone.

Love it or hate it, this is a clown fragrance. And I love it. I own the Clown Fruit mug and Clown Fruit t-shirt that Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements sells on their website.

Tapestry by American Perfumer

This is one I bought in December 2022 after getting a sample included in a sample order from American Perfumer for another fragrance I wanted to try. Luckily I really liked this included sample. It's an amazing fragrance. This apparently is only done around Christmas time and 50 bottles are made and I had to get put in a drawing in which I then could buy a bottle for $150. I got #23 out of 50.

In my opinion this should be a year-round fragrance. Such a crime to withhold fragrance like this to such a narrow number of people. I feel lucky. It smells like a cross between Maison Margiella Jazz Club and Chanel Egoiste. I really like it alot. The note breakdown doesn't do it justice. It's got a boozy element and a aromatic tobacco smoke similar to Jazz Club, but also has certain herbal and spice notes similar to Egoiste. This one certainly has a few other notes that make it stand on its own as its own fragrance. I referenced those other fragrances so you all could have a ballpark idea of what it smells like and the type of genre its in.

The fragrance opens with the scent of what seems like a whiskey bourbon and aromatic tobacco. When it settles there are a number of warm notes that come in. The overall base begins to smell initially like Chanel Egoiste, but then no, there is more.....like what smells like baked bread and knitted fabric(?), almost like the air of a home in a holiday season, which is exactly what the perfumer herself described as her aim in making this.

This one is a "Love". 5 out of 5 stars. I adore fragrances like this that bring you to a place and it's obvious to me whenever I smell a fragrance that 'means something' to the perfumer who made it. This fragrance brings comfort and a safe feeling. I recommend it.

Spice and Wood by Creed

The best fragrance I ever smelled.

Classically composed with opening, mid and dry down that changes and is an experience.

Opening is bright, sparkling apple with a zip. Classy and beautiful like an apple spice meets champagne sparkle.

The mid has a more mellow apple and slight sweetness. The clove and angelica root are really wonderful players at this mid-stage.

The dry down smells like a warm baked apple meets outdoor campfire as the birchwood takes the stage and the apple is no longer crisp and zippy, but rather has a cinnamon touch.

This fragrance is a masterpiece and everything that perfumery is about as an art. No modern fragrance at the mall counters is in the same category as this wonderful perfume. This is what the fragrance hobby is all about. This has to be experienced before you can understand.

Safari for Men by Ralph Lauren

Safari for men is my 2nd ranked fragrance overall in my wardrobe. It's an incredible creation based around Sandalwood as the central note. The perfumer, Annie Buzantian, created a timeless masterpiece here. The fragrance can be worn year-round in any weather and seems perfectly made to be a masculine signature daily fragrance fitting a 30-something year old, strong, old-fashioned family man who is a father and a provider.

Although Ralph Lauren promoted this fragrance as a "scent of adventure" and trying to capture an African Safari motif.....and it does that, but I can't shake that when I smell this, it's how I would have wanted to smell in my 30's and 40's everyday.

The scent surrounds a beautiful soapy Sandalwood basenote with leather and a slightly medicinal Eucalyptus. There are very lightly applied supporting notes of Lavender, Vetiver, Oakmoss and Patchouli within that give the fragrance a masculine, mature mood and shape.

The original vintage bath products (bath soap and shaving soap, even the deodorant stick) are now discontinued and only found in scarce quatities on ebay. These soaps have a much more rugged and masculine tone on them that isn't even found in the vintage fragrance and I've found these bath soaps layer on top of the Safari fragrance in a spectacular way. The soaps have heavily amped up leather, patchouli and vetiver notes that after a full bath really sets the fragrance experience apart.

I highly recommend that if you are a Safari lover that you take the time to browse ebay, find the bath soap (for men, don't accidentally buy the women's Safari) and possibly the shaving soap too (the shaving soap and deodorant stick are very expensive and very rare). The experience you get from taking a bath with the bath soap and the fragrance together is a treat. The scent really reinforces how I feel on days where I am more in my masculine frame. It's hard to explain but I highly recommend hunting down the bath soap. You won't regret it.

While the vintage 1990's Cosmair fragrance is superior, I think some vintage fans exaggerate the quality difference. My 2016 modern vintage smells really good and is 98% close to the vintage. Enough where I can barely say it's worth the premium of the vintage 90's bottle. For real fans of this fragrance you should get the vintage for special wearings only.

Safari is, in my opinion, the greatest designer fragrance ever made for men and one of the best fragrances in any genre ever. I could wear this as a signature scent for the rest of my life if given an option for only one fragrance.

I wouldn't really recommend this for a young man in his early 20's unless he's already very rugged and mature in nature.

Giving this 5 out of 5 stars is pointless. This is one of the fragrances by which you judge other fragrances for wearability, artistry and broad general masculine nature. This fragrance would be fitting for men of all time periods and cultures. For me the scent carries the sense and strength, calm and stability. The best traits in men.

Rustler’s Ridge by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

I typically don't like those mall counter vanilla gourmands that smell like a vanilla factory, overpowering my nose and choking me out with overly sweet vanilla. Ruster's Ridge has a generous vanilla on the opening, but doesn't choke me out and then the magic is in the dry down where the vanilla retreats and reveals the Spruce and Sage notes that almost seem to impart a wispy smoke-like note. The cedar and vanilla seem to marry into each other and that cedar note makes the vanilla not smell like a scented candle, which is smart perfuming by Douglas Smythe. This is almost not a gourmand, and is very careful with the edible notes as not to be sickly or annoying. This is gourmand for men done right IMO.

This fragrance is only available only during the Fall and Winter times and is a "seasonal" scent.

Blu Mediterraneo : Ginepro di Sardegna by Acqua di Parma

I consider this a hidden gem. Very "mass pleasing", and I think that's why it's got some mediocre reviews from the frag snobbies. Peering deeper beyond it's nose-pleasing construction, it's much more. I thoroughly enjoy wearing this and it invokes a positive mood. I prefer this in colder weather, but it's oddly marketed and placed in a Summer lineup. That is clearly why it didn't sell well. This is a beautiful merge of a gin fragrance and an oriental spicy fragrance. I don't think it's breaking any new ground, but it's exceedingly pleasant.

I don't think this fragrance got the proper marketing and placement it deserved. It frankly doesn't even seem like it should be an Acqua di Parma fragrance. This smells more like something that would be bottled by Tom Ford or YSL's Le Vestiaire Des Parfums line or the Dior Privee line. It's a very well constructed classic Spicy Oriental fragrance. And it deserved better than it got as a release.

This is most sadly discontinued. If you have the means to buy this in the gray market I recommend it. It's a beautiful perfume. 5-stars for me

Harvest Moon by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

This is a niche scent which, for me, invokes a sense of a field of wheat, earth and natural essences like you would catch on a breeze. I think it's very original, and like so many other PAA original creations, there isn't anything else like it on fragrance counters. This one is yet another example of the real perfuming talent of this little shaving business. I highly recommend this be sampled by fragrance enthusiasts as it will undoubtedly match someone's fragrance palate. It's a well done fragrance.

Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger

A masterful fragrance made up of notes that are Americana. This was my signature fragrance in my 20's in the 1990's. It's still among my favorites.

Son of Honeysuckle by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

This scent is simple. A dead-on hyper-realistic Honeysuckle flower. Nectarous and vibrant smelling. Excellent scent strength and sillage. I initially tried a sample and it really, really impressed me. I enjoy this one a lot. At the time of this review this scent is a Summer Seasonal (only available in the Summer months). I give this a 5 out of 5. This is what perfume traditionally is all about. This smells like a perfume transported out of 100+ years ago. Very old-world and traditional in its vibe, and very beautiful. This is a completely unisex scent. This floral scent can be worn by men or women without any particular vibe of masculine or feminine being invoked. I highly recommend this one. I frankly didn't expect this one to be this good, but it is.

Sélection Verte by Creed

This is a seemingly simple, yet very enjoyable citrus fragrance. The citrus leads the opening with a burst that is airy, fresh and invigorating. The classic neroli does what it always does in playing perfectly with citrus notes. My love for this fragrance is the dry down and the magical masculine bend the Black Pepper note gives this concoction. There is a kind of manly confidence the dry down brings me.

Creed should never have discontinued this wonderful fragrance and I think Creed should do a batch/release every 3 years so that the old Creed faithful can replenish their stores of this great scent.

This is a 10/10 Summer fragrance for me.

Bracken Man by Amouage

Best Fougere I ever smelled in my 6 years in the fragrance hobby. It's a classic Fougere base with spicy oriental notes sprinkled in. It's my favorite Fougere and is now easily a recommendation by me for anyone looking to buy something to stand alone to represent this genre in a limited wardrobe. It smells so good that I don't think you need any other Fougere. Yeah, I said it. It's that good.

Cold Spices by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

According to PAA's Douglas Smythe, this scent is an "homage" to the original vintage Shulton formula. The main play on this theme is the 'Cold' menthol in the shaving products that also comes across in the opening of the scent. After the quick menthol fade this scent is a very nice, classic Oriental Spicy scent that indeed hearkens back to the days of the knock-off's of Old Spice. This particular scent has a punchy floral section that strikes a different balance than the vintage Shulton.

In my opinion, this fragrance has better quality floral materials in it than anything you'll find at the store from Procter & Gamble. The scent is more substantial and dense from Cold Spices than even from my vintage bottle of Old Spice. The floral notes in this just smell 'alive' to me and instead of being smeared with other notes like in the various Old Spice versions of the past.

I really enjoy this take on Old Spice. Cold Spices reminds me more of Shulton's vintage Early American Old Spice, which is the women's version. Although Cold Spices is not precisely the same scent as Old Spice, it's the same species and what's mostly different is the 'effect', which for me is 'density/thickness'. Cold Spices is more 'dense' than Old Spice or any of the knockoffs I've smelled.

I contacted Douglas Smythe through his website to get more information on his work on this product's scent. Seems he went really in-depth and actually attempted to resurrect the original formulation using more costly essential oils and resins. The aftershave has rose hydrosol (water carrying essential oils) and I think it adds to the fluffy/alive florals. I actually enjoy this Cold Spices more at times than the other versions. I love all the versions of Old Spice, even the P&G ones of today.

I give this fragrance a top rating because of the work, effort and quality that went into it. This isn't some cheap wanna-be. It's a carefully crafted, elegant interpretation of a classic with a wonderful menthol note in the opening and the matching shaving soap has a "cooling" effect on skin due to the menthol in it which gives my Summer shaves a nice clean and invigorating feeling.

Solstice by Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements

Unconventional. Pleasing. A sweet breath of the weedy Southwest. This is not like anything you will smell at a fragrance counter. It's natural. The use of resins here is the real story. Not very apparent when first applied, but when the nose has time to settle in and get the nuances, you will get green grass, pine needle in the middle of white clouds of chalky sweet peppermint and the inference is one of 'cool' temperature in the scent. It has medicinal tones in it. So, the whole motif given by PAA's website description of ritual/ceremonial scent tones is fairly accurate for me here.

This is not just some silly scent. It is, for lack of a better description...."niche" but also pleasing. If this were bottled and sold by Clive Christian or Creed or Armani Prive, etc, I think it would get seriously good reviews, especially because nothing else on the counters smells like it......But.....it's from a small, wet-shaving company with sci-fi comicbook art......and, frankly, this originality is refreshing. For a brand that clearly is having fun and not trying to take itself too seriously, they have, IMO, some serious fragrances worth your attention.

I suggest allowing this brand to be what it is and that you like it for what it is. I have made a mistake in my own head of trying to put PAA in a box of a stuffy classic perfume brand that should have serious bottles and puffed chests of elegance. But that betrays the brand and its true charm. Instead of crystal chandeliers and tuxedos, it's some mustached, salt of the Earth, comical personality with a big imagination and every-man look who has a nose much more talented than anyone would assume. He's also got a fragrance savvy but more reserved partner who contributes some solid scents of her own.

Solstice is an underrated scent. Sweet, rich, potent with a heart of ancient ritualistic magic.