u/iasmaybe

So, I wore the Coach for Men EDT to the office today.

I mostly am the first to reach the office. It had been over 30 minutes and i was just sitting in the office when my senior entered the section. As soon as she walked past me, she turned back and looked at me with a weird look and said, 'Bhyi bada acha perfume lagaya hai, konsa hai?'

I was just too awkward to tell which perfume it was and just said, bas hai ek, Naam nahi yaad. She smiled and once again said, 'Badi pyari scent hai' and went.

It made my day tbh.

Coach for Men EDT is such an underrated gem.

It's so addictive once you fall in it's trap. It's a very fresh Citrus and balanced out scent. It's very fruity in the opening and transitions to soft fruity woods with vetiver if that makes sense in the drydown. I am just so in love with this ever since I had a sample of this. For some reason the women just love this alot. My sister likes this alot and one of my flings loved this too.

Although the scent is just so good, the performance lacks big time. The projection is moderate for about 1 hour and the longevity is barely 3-4 hrs on skin and 6 hrs on clothes. However, it gives whiffs for 2 hours if over sprayed.

Also, the bottle is just absolutely gorgeous. This is one of those Designer frags that actually do justice to their branding. It's easily one of the best looking bottles in my collection.

The sprayer is just bleh tho. But I'm so in love with this. Banger. I'm just surprised that even tho it's so cheap, it's still so lesser talked about.

Also, the clone for this is Graphite by Bath and Body Works. Not exactly similar but the top notes for the first 10 minutes are almost the same in the Graphite.

Hawas Black 25-27 ml partial- Price 750 + shipping

The level is as per my understanding.

Source: Bought from Darsh for 900 for 30 ml partial.

Reason: Like others more than this.

Hawas Kobra 27ml decant in PDM style bottle- Price 650+ shipping

Source: Fellow Redditor swap.

Reason: Don't like it.

Can do f2f in Delhi.

Can meet at Rithala, Patel Nagar metro station.

YSL Myslf EDP Official sample- 9/10 ml or level as seen. Comes with air gap.

Price: 900 + shipping.

Box not available.

Source: Swapped from a fellow Redditor, end source Scentoria. Reason for selling: Purchased full bottle. This sample has macerated and has gotten better performance.

Ajmal Kuro edp 35-40/90 ml partial.

Price: 1000 + shipping.

Box available.

Source: Imran. Reason: Got bored, liked Modest Une more. Will get that in replacement of this.

Can do f2f Delhi.

Iso D&G Light Blue Eau Intense Pour Homme only the one made in France mid to high partial.

Pls i need the Made in France version only. A decant will also do the job.

If anyone has any leads for D&G Light Blue Eau Intense Pour Homme mid to high partial pls dm.

So, ever since I've sniffed Creed Aventus, I've been an Aventus Paglu. And even if I can afford it, buying it doesn't feel that worth it in my opinion, so I'm happy with the decant I have. However, the search for that closest, best clone of Aventus never stops. And in that process I've bought and tried so many clones and this is my honest opinion and comparison of them, I've written about them rank wise.

The better ones:

1. CDNIM PP: This has harsh, sour lemon opening for the 15 minutes but if you can survive that then the drydown is intoxicating. I love this even more than my OG Aventus decant. The transition man, it's just too beautiful. Too crazy, too amazing. If I could, I'd drink it. This isn't that fragrance that you apply 1 hour before meeting someone, you apply this 3 hrs before atleast. This radiates the scent off the clothes and i catch the most beautiful whiffs of my life every morning whenever I apply this a day before. Smells luxurious, just the best. Scent 10/10 (If you ignore the initial harshness, i don't mind it at all), Performance 10/10.

2. CDNIM LE: Hands down the best Aventus clone. This is perfection. Just as smokey as my smokey batch Aventus decant. It's very well balanced, better than Cdnim PP. Scent: 9.9/10, Performance 9/10. Although I'd never recommend buying this as it's not as much worth the money as Cdnim PP.

3. SNOI: Oh boy. The love hate relationship final boss. This had the most loud and noticeable opening out of all. One day my friend sprayed this while I was driving and man, I was so so surprised by how beautiful it smelled. One of my favs on some days, but the drydown irks me on other days at times. It's dry down is very dense, heavy. Not very close to Aventus but still, beautiful. Scent: 9/10, Performance: 10/10.

4. L'aventure Intense: If you like the sour, rotten Aventus batch, this is your go to. I love it on some days, and hate it on others. It resembles the official Aventus vial I have completely. And outlasts it by a mile! Scent: 8/10, Performance 8/10.

5. MONT BLANC EXPLORER: The synthetic and refind, all rounder version on Aventus. It's smooth, and very light. You'll have to over spray this by a lot. The performance just sucks big time. Scent: 9.9/10, Performance: 5.5/10.

6. Mancera Cedrat Boise Intense: Ofcourse, it's a very different, matured, leathery take on Aventus and honestly, I love it. This is the only leathery fragrance in my collection that i actually like. It's so sophisticated and simple yet so flashy and loud. Scent: 9.5/10, Performance: 10/10.

7. RIFFS Prive Noir: I'll call this poor man's Cdnim PP haha. This is so so so similar to Cdnim PP in the opening, but smoother better, refined. It's very light as well. The only difference in terms of scent profile to cdnim PP is that this isn't that smokey. It kind of transitions but not as much as I'd have liked. But for the price, i won't even think of complaining. The performance is average tho. Scent: 9/10, Performance 5/10.

8. Nitro Black: I loved this the moment I sniffed it. It's a different still similar take on Aventus. It's better in the opening to the Cdnim PP, and is smokier in the drydown. But the smokey notes here are just a tad shade different. This is more masculine, rugged. It's proper smoke. Lots of it. And beautiful Citrus as well. Scent: 8.5/10, Performance 9.5/10.

9. CDNIM EDP: Sits right between PP and EDT in terms of everything. Feels smooth. Has the same harshness. Projects heavily. Lasts decently long. Scent: 8.5/10, Performance: 7.5/10.

10. CDNIM EDT: Harshest Cdnim in opening, Weakest Cdnim in performance, decent drydown. Has the best projection. Scent: 8/10, Performance: 6/10.

11. Nitro Instense: Reminds me of Nitro Black. But yes, this is not a proper Aventus clone but still very brave, very good kind of smell. I'll say it's for the black wear outfits kind of guys. Scent: 7/10, Performance:7.5/10.

12. Supremacy Collector's Edition: Not my taste. It smells very weird to me. Has a little resemblance to the Aventus dna, but as it's said, it must becloser to Aventus Absolu rather, i haven't smelled the OG so can't say. But this isn't it for me. Performs like anything tho, beastly. Scent: 4/10, Performance: 11/10.

The average/worse/worst ones:

13. Theoreme Matrix: It's supposed to be Aventus Absolu clone. And it does feel like that as well. And again for the price, you can't complain. Nothing too great. Just decent. Scent: 7/10, Performance: 5/10.

14. Hamidi Addicted Intense: Decent. Everything is decent about this. Smells nice, reminds one of Aventus but isn't too great or even good. Just works. Scent: 6/10, Performance 5/10.

15. Alhambra Avant: Too synthetic. Okayish transition throughout it's life. Scent: 5/10, Performance: 4/10.

16. Pendora Aventura: What is this even? Just mess in the name of Aventus. Scent: 3/10 maybe. Performance: 3/10 again.

17. Hawas Black: It's honestly one of the most long lasting perfumes in my collection, but it's not close to Aventus at all, and I know it's cloning Hacivat. This is the matured guys Aventus dream final boss. Scent: 4/10, Performance: 11/10.

18. Afnan 9 PM Rebel: This is raw pineapple. Yes, just the raw Pineapple. Scent: 2/10, Performance:8.5/10.

So, if you are looking to buy something till 1500, get Riffs Prive Noir. You can't go wrong with it if you can sacrifice on the performance.

Till 2500, Nitro Black is a good bet.

Above it, Cdnim PP/Snoi is a no brainer as per your taste.

Now, coming to the surprise, I got the opportunity to try and test some Aventus inspirations by a fellow Redditor(u/SurvivorNub69), and after he launched his brand, La Nuee Parfums, i purchased 2 of them.

Monarch- Boy. Oh boy. I'm not even kidding, this just bats Explorer out of the park. Man, this is so so good. Beautiful fragrance, I feel the blend could be smoother, but man, it's so good! I never thought it was possible to make Aventus dna so well without being a big fat ME brand but this is crazy stuff. I love this. Honestly, this comes right at the top for me. This doesn't have the harshness of Cdnim in the opening and transitions so well throughout, just that Cdnim beats it in the drydown by a slight margin. Scent: 9.5/10, Performance: 9/10. But fir the price, I won't even mind looking at anything else. This is it.

Monarch 01: Well, this isn't something they sell officially, but they did let me buy it on my request. This is just like Monarch but a little more smokey. It's really good, kills the Nitro black for me completely. Sometimes I'm really surprised that we've been served trash in the name of clones by some of the Indian brands when something like this can be achieved. Well it might sound exaggerated but trust me, these are just so dope. Scent: 9/10, Performance: 9/10.

So, this was my honest take on all the Aventus clones I have and have ever tried. And also now I feel it's a high time for me to stop the search. I like where we currently are and it's satisfying haha.

Edit: My cdnim PP batch is 10/2024 and 11/2024. I'd kept it in the cupboard for about 6 months after making some decants out of it for use. And it became better.

Also, Yes, you can go for the Monarch under 1500. It's beastly. It's not my brand, you can dm the guy I've mentioned for any questions you have.

I just wanted to know, do I stand a chance this time around?

I am a upsc aspirant and I have filled the form for Rbi Grade B 2026 as well.

I'm fairly good at aptitude and after a little brush up of my skills I'm confident of clearing the sectional cutoffs and even score decently well in English, Reasoning.

I just wanted to know if GA for this can be done in 15 days now? What sources to follow. I just want to score 25-30 in GA.

I had scored 63 in 2024 and 70 in 2025.

So if anyone can guide me on scoring well in GA I'll be very much indebted.

Plus, how much should a safe score be for 2026 given the incredibly low vacancies?

This is interesting. Option B is supposed to be correct.

I'm a big Aventus dna fan boy and even after collecting over 30 bottles, Aventus dna is still my absolute fav.

I have tried over 10-12 clones of Aventus dna and even have the OG and always found something or the other missing with the clones. L'aventure and Cdnim LE/PP are my absolute favs and i thought nothing can get better than these, until I tried a couple of inspirations made by a fellow Redditor and I'm honestly, genuinely just so surprised.

He sent me over 5 of his Aventus inspirations and i heavily tested them against all the dupes and the OG I have. I always thought it was so difficult to clone Aventus but boy, he did so damn well. Out of those 5 i found 2 to be just absolutely unbelievably good.

This is a short review of me comparing 2 of his takes that i loved (Pineapple forward and Aventus 01) vs the gem clones available right now.

Opening:

Pineapple forward:

This was just love. It's literally a 9/10 on closeness in the opening. None of the clones come close to this opening, now obviously this might sound too fake or exaggerated, but even I'm surprised how this even is possible! It's so on point to the latest batches of aventus in the market rn. I have a decant from Scentoria and it's really really very tough to differentiate. The opening does feel synthetic

Cdnim LE and L'aventure Intense are a far 2nd in the opening as compared to the OG. Cdnim LE is better than other cdnims and L'aventure is just a tad more bitter. Still great picks tho. L'aventure's opening feels the most natural and the best quality. 8.5/10 for both.

Aventus 01:

This has been a better opening than the Pineapple forward even. I'll rate it 9.5/10. It does start with a nice touch of Pineapple and the Citrus is the perfect amount. Just calms the sensations down. Just so beautiful.

Drydown:

Pineapple forward:

This is so so so close to the Aventus drydown. Absolutely smashing. Perfect smoke and fruity fix. I just love this. 8.5/10 in the drydown.

Cdnim LE/PP: Although Pineapple forward has a better 1:1 drydown compared to the OG, I like the drydown of Cdnims a bit more. I love that intoxicating and addictive smell of birch tar mixed with the sweetness of Pineapple. This is heavenly.10/10 in the drydown.

L'aventure Intense: This has again almost the true drydown as compared to the OG. But still it retains that rotten bitterness a bit, I dig it still. But I like the others just a shade more. 8/10.

Aventus 01: Again, heavy in smoke. I love this as well. It's so good, smells more like Nitro black in the drydown tho, strays a bit away from the OG Aventus. But boy, this is just so good again. 8.5/10.

Performance:

Pineapple forward: 9/10. It's a very very good projector. It competed so well with my cdnim PP which I found to be the best among all. It stays long, about 7-8 hrs on skin. I thought my cdnim will put compete this easily but nope, it gave a tough fight. My mom complemented me while I was wearing this. Although I was also wearing a spray of Cdnim on the other hand as well.

Cdnim PP: It just stays. Like, really stays. 12 hrs on my skin. And projection is really a beast. 10/10.

L'aventure Intense: 7 hrs on skin. Sillage and projection is good as well. 8/10.

Aventus 01: This performs almost like the Pineapple forward. Easy 9/10.

I didn't like the other 3 versions he had made much. They were bitter much and not as good as these.

Conclusion: I am really impressed that it's possible to actually come so close in terms of the smell profile to the original Aventus. My review might sound a little too good to be true, but damn, I'm just in love with these recreations so much, they were absolutely beautiful! Btw, u/SurvivorNub69 is the perfumer. I also loved the clone of Viking he made, perhaps a review on it later maybe.