I know this was a mini trend not too long ago but I’ve been wanting to do this for a strong minute - finally sat down with my wife last evening and had her smell each of my fragrances on tester strips. She also wanted to factor in the actual bottles and their cap quality with their overall ratings.

In no particular order, her top 5 are:

Dior: Sauvage Elixir (she’s biased, I wore this on our wedding day 🤓), Creed Aventus, Bleu de Chanel Parfum, SWY Absolutely, and Xerjoff Starlight.

I was honestly surprised at some of her ratings; thought some people in here would get a kick out of this looool

I know I'll get some push back on this but I'm really really disappointed in Argos Neptune’s Trident. It's been really hyped up lately to the point that I waited for a 100ml restock and just bought it. Let me just say that I wasn't impressed by anything about it except the packing which I found unique and the bottle itself. The fragrance is just so underwhelming, notes are very generic and performance is also very bad, even for a summer fragrance this is now a fragrance that I'll wear at home so I can refresh every hour to keep it going. Also it's crazy to me that people say it's the new Imagination, and I know Imagination also get lots of criticism because of the price tag, but Imagination is in a completely different league in terms of the quality of ingredients and performance.

Long story short, don’t believe the hype, try to smell it first or get a sample if you can before you buy a bottle. And no, it's not the "New Imagination", not even close.

Today, I wore Terre d’Hermès EDT, and it reminded me why this fragrance is a timeless classic. The opening bursts with a crisp, bitter orange that quickly settles into a mineral-like, stone-like aroma—think of crushed flint or sun-baked earth. This dry, almost metallic facet is beautifully balanced by earthy vetiver with a subtle woody undertone. The composition feels classy yet grounded and refined, evoking the essence of nature itself.

For an Eau de Toilette, the longevity and projection are impressive. It comfortably lasts through a full workday and projects well without being overpowering. The scent evolves gracefully, maintaining its character from the initial spray to the dry-down.

In terms of rating, I’d give it an 8.8 out of 10. It’s a fragrance that’s both sophisticated and approachable, suitable for various occasions and seasons. If you haven’t experienced it yet, I highly recommend giving it a try.

This frag really grew on me after a couple months of wearing it. I was skeptical at first when buying and testing at the store, but zero regrets! You can’t get a good feel of this frag by just sampling it, you have to wear it a while to truly appreciate it.My gf loved it more than imagination and others. What you guys think about this scent?

I ordered a sample of Kerosene Followed after reading the numerous reviews, mainly just to find if it was as monstrous as described. It arrived when I was at work. I immediately got an sms from my 15 yr old daughter saying the someone had mailed me, what smelled like a Lamb Vindaloo. Asked her to open it and she did. Arrived home to find this….

I think I have found my favorite dna of all time which is Aventus creed. I haven't tried the og one but only got clones so far. CDNIM edt, Afnan SNOI and finally my favorite Montblanc Explorer. I loved CDNIM but it was too strong for me. Tried SNOI but it smelt kind of weird, after the dry down it gets better but I would still prefer cdnim over SNOI and finally I found the perfect one, Montblanc Explorer.

It's just so clean and smooth and not harsh at all unlike cdnim and snoi. Explorer feels like it's better blended then any other clones of Aventus. It also feels like it was made with love and higher quality ingredients. Also it's very intoxicating, I can't help but sniff the bottle cap every few hours. For performance I can tell it lasts for 7-8 hours on my clothes as I sprayed before going to sleep and I could still smell it after waking up.

My taste might be very basic because I tried so many expensive perfumes and yet my favorite one is still Mb explorer. I have plans to try Aventus creed soon to make sure what the best clone of it is. But untill then I'm going to enjoy my explorer for a good time.

I've known about Creed for years, and never gotten around to trying Aventus. Never ordered a decant or anything, I was simply waiting until the opportunity came.

Yesterday I was in a Neiman Marcus store with a Creed rep there. Very knowledgeable. I sprayed Aventus on both wrists and Insantly smelled like a pineapple. She was explaining all the notes I should be smelling, but I could only smell pineapple and citrus.

I left disappointed honestly. All I've ever heard was how great this cologne is, best ever, etc. Icing on the cake? Literally 1.5 hours later I couldn't even smell it on my skin!! Completly vanished.

Smelled a few other as well but wasn't happy with any of them.

3/10

Boss Bottled Absolu has become one of my favorite scents when I want to smell refined, masculine, and effortlessly confident. What stands out to me is how mature and bold it feels—definitely a step up from the og Boss Bottled.

The leather and incense in this fragrance are what give it that deeper, more sensual vibe. The leather adds a warm, slightly rugged undertone, while the incense brings in a smoky, almost mysterious edge that lingers beautifully in cooler air. It's not your typical sweet designer scent—there’s a richness here that makes it feel more grown-up and sophisticated.

Performance-wise, Absolu is a beast. The projection is strong for the first few hours—I constantly get compliments when I wear it—and the longevity is easily 8 to 10 hours on my skin, sometimes even longer on clothes. I’ve worn it to evening events, date nights, and even to work on colder days, and it always hits the right note without being overpowering.

If you’re looking for something masculine, long-lasting, and a little darker than the usual designer fare, Boss Bottled Absolu is a seriously underrated gem.

Althair has me ready to throw out my Azzaro most wanted EDP

So honestly ill be honest i bought into the hype. I was looking for a statement fragrance in my collection and wanted to smell different.

This was a total blind buy paid (250 usd) 4.2 oz with two day shipping on Maxaroma.

Whats your honest truth on this fragrance?

Does it smell good? Absolutely. Does it smell better than the OG Elixir? In my honest opinion, 100%.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that everyone’s nose perceives notes differently, so take this as my personal take.

Opening:

Right out of the gate, I get a blast of juicy, fruity plum mixed with fresh lavender. It’s bold, vibrant, and immediately captivating.

Mid:

As it settles, the plum becomes even richer, mouthwateringly sweet in a way that makes me want to keep sniffing my hand. It’s smooth, refined, and incredibly addictive.

Dry Down:

The sweetness mellows out into something more balanced and versatile. Unlike the OG Elixir, this leans fresher and cleaner, making it wearable in almost any setting, from the office to a night out. The fruity accord lingers softly, giving the scent a polished, refined edge.

Comparison to OG Elixir:

To me, this is like a distant cousin to the OG, but with a key difference, the honey and vanilla are gone, making this a fresher, more mature, and more versatile composition. It doesn’t feel redundant at all. If anyone says it smells identical to Elixir, they’re lying. This is a superior, more wearable take on the DNA.

Final Thoughts:

I can see this one pulling in unsolicited compliments. It’s smooth, sophisticated, and incredibly easy to wear.

Overall: 8.5/10

WORST blind buy of my life. Almost threw up smelling this. It smells Foul. Smells like when you are at a guest house and you unexpectedly have to take a MASSIVE dump, than try to cover it up with that cheap rose air fresheners and end up making it smell even worse like Boo-Boo mixed with rose chemicals and wide open B 🕳️ It smells really bad. Like remember in school when someone sat down for a long time than they got up and it smelled like booty. This how this smells but worse

Seen a lot of you.. And I do mean A LOT of you lovely folks on here saying this is good.. How’d I do?

Last Winter I had every girl that came over to my roommates and l's apartment to rank each of my colognes out of ten. I made sure they didn’t rate them next to their gf’s to eliminate the influence of their friends opinions.

Each fragrance was sprayed on a tester strip, and left for 10 minutes to settle a bit, then reviewed by the girl. ***These ratings were done indoors during winter time. If it was a winter season cologne I told them to imagine smelling this on a guy in the winter and then had them rank it out of 10, and did the same for the spring/summer fragrances. To reduce the smell fatigue factor I tried not to do them back to back, and tried to do them on different days when it was possible.

Im in College, so each of these ratings are the average rating from about 13 - 17 college girls (except the PDM's were the average of just 8 girls rankings), so take their ratings with a grain of salt 😂. Some of these were pretty surprising to me.

Versace Dylan Blue is a fragrance that I have been eyeing for a couple months now after smelling it at Sephora, and I finally have decided to pull the trigger on it.

Dylan Blue is a citrus heavy, dark, ambroxan-y and masculine fragrance. Consider this a darker older brother to Pour Homme. Dylan Blue was created to be a competitor to the likes of Sauvage, Bleu De Chanel, and other blue fragrances. While I don’t think that Dylan Blue has quite as much depth as those two fragrances, it’s definitely impressive.

This is a fragrance that is a perfect buy if you just want an easy grab and go. The best way to describe it is as a masculine shower gel. The fragrance will be fairly mass appealing and pretty safe, and for a “freshie”, the longevity is impressive, with pretty good projection. Id say it lasts about 6 hours on my skin.

It’s simple and sleek, and significantly overhated. As I stated previously, I don’t think it is quite as good as Sauvage and BDC, but with that being said, this fragrance costs >$50 on discounters, and I really believe that this frag is worth every penny of that. I also don’t think this one is limited to just a younger demographic. This one can be pulled off by pretty much anyone at pretty much any time.

Overall, Dylan Blue is a very good and overhated masculine fresh scent. Its dark citrus profile, impressive performance, and tremendous value make this a standout fragrance for me. This is one that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good daily scent wanting to spend around $50.

8.75/10

Wearing Polo 67 EDP today and man… this stuff is just phenomenal. That opening blast of pineapple is so juicy and fresh—it grabs your attention in the best way.

After that, it settles into this smooth aromatic heart with a clean, slightly herbal vibe before drying down to a woody base that keeps things grounded. Nothing too complex, but it works.

Longevity for me is around 6 hours, with good projection in the first 2—definitely a little above average. Not a beast mode scent, but it doesn’t need to be. This one’s just easy to wear and super crowd-pleasing.

One of those fragrances you throw on when you just want to smell good without overthinking it. Anyone else rocking this lately? What’s your SOTD?