The most frustrating thing about a fragrance hobby is the infinite amount of fragrances available for you to try.. and buy. This is one industry that is extremely difficult to ‘stay on top of’ as house after house is constantly releasing new creation after new creation. While all this is happening, you may discover a ‘hidden gem’ of a fragrance that someone on a forum has stumbled upon or you may hear discussions of your favorite fragrance’s earlier formulations being unequivocally better.. forcing you to peruse the forums and online auctions for a bottle. Noise, noise, noise that tells you to buy, buy, buy. I am pretty sure one could have a wardrobe of well over 5,000 bottles and still not be satisfied!
With that said, I will look at 5 fragrances that have really caught my attention right about now. Some I have tested and some I have not. What these fragrances all have in common is an unbelievable amount of hype and glowing testimonials from gleeful enthusiasts who feel honored to possess them. Most of you will notice that virtually all of them are niche fragrances with sky high price tags. That’s why they are on the wish-list as buying these at the present time would mean financial suicide.
The packaging just screams ‘EXPENSIVE’ doesn’t it?
1. Pure Distance M – At $200 for a 17.5ml sample sized ‘bottle’, Pure Distance M is prohibitively expensive. For that you get a lovely aluminium atomizer with a potent leathery-spicy concoction inside. This is a fragrance that has supposedly left many a fragrance enthusiast speechless over its unadulterated beauty. It also possesses stellar sillage and longevity as one would expect from an extrait strength scent. If it’s THAT good, I wouldn’t mind the £400+ 100ml bottle! Do you hear that Mr Roja Dove? I said I wouldn’t mind the 100ml bottle! Thank you!
Looks like vintage Avon packaging. Unimpressed.. but the fragrance is supposedly divine!
2. MDCI Invasion Barbare – A gentle creation with classic notes of lavender, violet leaves, musk and vanilla, Invasion Barbare has slowly but steadily been amassing a loyal following on the authoritative Basenotes forum. Some have even gone as far as to say that it is the ‘greatest male fragrance ever created’ (a tad overzealous perhaps). Those are some pretty strong claims and we would definitely like to judge this for ourselves. However, at $250 for a 60ml bottle, this is a fragrance that will maintain its exclusivity for a long time!
Dear Mr Montale: I’m your long lost nephew. My birthday is coming soon. I like Black Aoud.
3. Montale Black Aoud – Just this weekend, I sprayed the last few drops from my 5ml sample which I had kept for well over two years. It was the end of a long running love affair. Now that she’s gone, I long for the day she returns and caresses my nose with that lovely arid rose note. Montale’s Aouds are actually some of the best value fragrances on the market. Their fragrances are prohibitively strong. 1 full spray of their potent Black Aoud can really ‘take over’ the room and last well over 16 hours on normal skin.
For around £80, or the price of a full bottle of Dior’s Poison, you can get your hands on a 100ml bottle of the stuff and the nice folks at Montale will even add a bit more strength(!) to your scent or give you a 20ml mini of any other Montale Aoud of your choice. Ain’t that nice? Pierre Montale I don’t speak French but you know, they say the more you give the more you receive. I’m just sayin’. Your other montales are supposedly nice too. Wouldn’t mind having a look at ALL of those *AHEM!
Creed Marketing: A full review on my (massively) popular blog could mean more sales. Just a thought… Holla at yo boy.
4. Creed Aventus – Okay, so maybe I am being a tad hypocritical here. In my review, I described Aventus as nice and likable enough though it wasn’t quite special enough to justify £160 for 120ml (let’s be honest, what fragrance is?). Thing is; those who smelt it on me have not been able to forget it. Additionally, I lost my sample and since then, even I can’t stop thinking about it. So if you work at Creed and you are reading this; errm, sorry for bashing your fragrance and all that as it is quite special. Wouldn’t you mind going through your thousands of bottles in the stock room and picking out a giant 120ml bottle for me? That way I can review it properly! I’m sure it’ll go unnoticed 
!
This stuff is obscenely strong
5. Byredo Pulp – Yes this stuff smells like rotting fruits -it’s fizzy, sour, sickly and INTENSELY strong but I don’t care. I’ll probably never get the guts to wear it in public but I still don’t care. I have a 1 ml sample and every time I open it, the whole room stinks. It’s a nuclear bomb. I STILL want it. This is what niche is about to me. Left field, unusual, strange and of course, expensive. That being said, PULP isn’t actually too bad. It’s around £100 for a big bottle!!
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