u/jonnibag

Very recently dropped, Got mine yesterday for £23 delivered. Shout out SixthScent UK who also included a Risala Elite Fragaby sample.

Anyway, my experiences of Tuxedo go as far as smelling the OG in 2018, then Rochas Moustache, and after that Turathi Brown. To my nose, all three were quite different. Turathi being most distant and super spicy. Rochas being a lighter more barbershop type scent. I have never sniffed the Winsome OG clone from MA.

For full accuracy to the OG Tuxedo L'exclusif, I cannot say as I'm never going to buy it. Onwards then!

Winsome L'exclusif is not what I expected at all. Firstly this has none of the hallmarks of the OG, Turathi or Moustache. This opens Citric + Musky and as it dries down I'm getting doses of Amber along with a Sandalwood backbone. I could've sworn I smelt this profile before, and yea....BDC L'exclusif and Rayhaan Nocturno Elixir. Now my nose may be outta whack here, considering what's been up it and out of it there's a solid chance the signals be less than accurate. But I have the Rayhaan, and this is smelling like it's not far off.

And I will qualify this, it's a second wearing in 24 hours. Maturation yada yada's apply.

But Whutt...I dont know if Maison Alhambra are mugging people off here, or they poured the wrong juice into this batch (which is dated 2nd August 2026). But this is coming off as a Bleu de Chanel L'exclusif clone. I don't want to make a complete tit of myself here by saying it's definitely the case. But yea, 24 hours in....the smells like a BDC L'exlcusif clone. Musky citric ambery and pretty damn nice. A bit lighter and airier than the Rayhaan.

Longevity is 6 hours first spray, Sillage is on the ok side for an hour and gradually gets intimate. Will leave this a month or 2 and revisit it to see if there's been any changes. Peace!

Bagged some bargains over the last couple months, some leftfield some mainstream but no misses which is in part due to you guys being absolute legends posting descriptive reviews. I'll be concise here, as much as possible. Starting with:

Fomo Fraglovers Tea: Ozonic Fresh tea, a brilliant rendition of Gucci Pour Homme II. The official notes for it are somewhat misleading, what I get is Violet leaf, black tea and a dusting of musk. This is mature leaning to some but its just absolutely beautiful in high heat. This oozes class and calm, creating a zen like aura. Lasts about 6 hours with decent projection for 2 which surpasses the OG in my experience. Easily 9/10 (Paid £30)

Lattafa Dynasty: Sticking with the Tea vibe, had this for 3 weeks and wasnt overly impressed initially. This changed pretty quickly, with the citrus rapsberry and ginger trifecta in the opening became more pronounced through life of the fragrance on skin. The Rooibos note is here with a dusty suede that isnt too strong but amps the Rooibos a tad. I was on the fence but this is solid now, and...performance is no joke. 9 hours detecable, sprayed a shirt to test and it was filling the room the next morning. I'll go with 7.5/10 (Paid £17)

Lattafa Najdia Tribute: The Forgotten Najdia. This was absolutely disgusting when I first got it...no lie. Horrid. I sprayed it outside 10 times did a few hail mary's and put it away. Fast forward 4 months this is awesome. Ombre Leather Parfum, and it is the Parfum version theyre chasing with this. Dank black leather with the dark violet leaf of OL parfum. Here be masculine energy, hairy balls and no F's given. Will be the least mass appealing on the list but I love it now, the biggest change from first sniff ever. The reviewers who got this and panned it did so honestly. But they made the mistake of not letting this sit. But even then you gotta dig violet and leather. Top notch performance of 10 hours with hazard levels of projection for the first hour. From the starts abysmal 1/10 to a unique and not blind buy worthy 8.5/10 (Paid £13)

Lattafa Asad Elixir: This is superb stuff. Got it for cheap, 20 bones. My Boss Absolu looked on worried. Righly so. Instantly get Boss Absolu, but it's sweeter and less "thick" with a lighter frankincense and a dialled up vanilla.. It's an airier version of Absolu making it more versatile. Though the Boss is still the er....Boss when it comes to what I would use it for, I like this and appreciate what Lattafa have done here. 8 hours out the box with a decent projection for 2 hours. 9/10 (Paid £19)

Afnan 9pm night out: Was on the fence initially as there is something to this that came off as coconut to my nose. I dont gel at all well with coconut. So I left it and revisited this before deciding whether to keep or flip. It's a keeper. Very sweet from the fruity elements, I never tried Pitahaya before but when mixed with the boozy cognac top it pushes super sweet. Tonka and Ambroxan give it stupid amount of lasting power. I'm going to be wheeling this bad boy out for Winter. 9 hours from 3 sprays with STRONKK projection for at least 2 hours. 9/10 (Paid £28)

Legion by Fragrance World: I've had this a while and still trying to figure if I reviewed this here or not. Either way, this is a Oajan by Parfums De Marly dupe. Not discreet about it either. I havent smelt the original, but what I can say is this is wonderful. What I get is Amber, Cinnamon, Honey and light dash of Scotch Whisky. This is seductively sweet and rich and reminds me of another frag I have, Shagaf Oud Asraq, by Swiss Arabian. This lasts 8 hours, medium projector making it a perfect date night or wintery scent. 8.5/10 (Paid £12)

Maison Alhambra Herules: If Fragrance World can churn out decent quality for 12 bucks, I gambled a paltry 13 bucks on Hercules. And I'm impressed enough to not regret buying it. That being said, Only had this 2 weeks and it hopefully can get more legs in projection. A PdM Herod inspired frag, I get cinnamon, dusty tobacco, light incense with a very light bit of sweetness from vanilla though not really pronounced vanilla. 6 hours with low projection, intimate but very nice and masculine. Room to improve, but a decent start. 7/10 (Paid £13)

Bonus!

4x L'homme Ideal Guerlain's Forte/Parfum/Eau de Parfum/Extreme. Got these on discount from Perfume Click and MyOrgines recently. All of these are stellar, as you might suspect. I've had dupes of the L'homme line and let me add to the choir. Nobody can get the Guerlinade right. Save your effort and cash and go right ahead and get the OG, it is well worth it. Briefly then:

Extreme: Sold it as was not a fan of the plum note, it's essentially the Eau de Parfum with the Cherry almond replaced with Plum almond. It is good but man, I wanted the Parfum and sold this to get it, the right choice though that may not be the same for you. 7/10 (Paid £64/Sold £60)

Forte: Classy freshie with Grapefruit, Almond, light incense and vetiver. A Deceptively punchy grapefuit citrus incense axis makes this resonate beautifully in high heat. Lasts a good 8 hours with medium to low projection. But you must like how the guerlinade gels with the top notes, try it first! 9.5/10 (Paid £74)

Parfum: Superb! Stripped of 50% of the eau de Parfums Almond note, with an old school leather added in to give this a more niche stance. The lighter almond makes this more Amaretto with Leather, and of course the guerlinade base. Not redundant if you own the EDP. This be darker and moodier but retains the L'homme signature base 10/10 (paid £66)

Eau De Parfum: Sublime. The glaze went to Extreme, but the EDP is the one to have in my opinion. Cherry Almond sweetness with a lovely but muted vanilla/incense/musk/tonkla hybrid that is so smooth you cant make it out individually. 10/10 (Paid £74)

Toy 2 Pearl Moschino: A random acquisition after smelling this on a woman for several aisles while shopping. She was delighted I asked hahaha.... anyway, this is down the middle blue freshie shower gel type stuff that's inoffensive. I would have sworn this a hybrid DnG Light Blue/Bvlgari Aqva flanker. Not quite as oceanic, more fresh up top with more obvious citrus. Reviews for this suggest its mid to abysmal, Oh well...I thought it awesome and dumb reach safe. Lasts a good 7 hours with great projection for the first 2. I got it on an insane discount though.....dont pay more than £45 for this. 8/10 (Paid £ 33)

Note: My ratings do take into account what I paid. I think it helpful to list prices as my collection is now reaching over 300 fragrances, I want bang for buck to stretch my experiences further as this is not a cheap hobby. In the mean time...keep smelling awesome you great folk of fragrance clones!

Picked this up on Saturday and didnt need much longer to reach a verdict.

A supposed clone of Amouage's Sindbad, Amouage saw good sense to re-release it under a different name after the prices on Sindbad went to the stratosphere(upwards of $5k). It's now called "Elsewhere" and retails at around 400 bucks. Needless to say, I have not sniffed either. However, This straight up reminded me of Guerlain's Tobacco Honey , and Dior Tobacolor. I'm a big Tobacolor fanboy so knew this would be right up my street.

Onto Ramad Earthy.

This opens Honey and cardamom. Unapologetically. It's not powdery Honey as the Guerlain, or the really thick syrupy honey like the Dior. It's kinda halfway between the 2, like a drier but still viscous Honey.

20 mins in the dried fruit elements come out to play and similar vein to Dior, joined by a very subtle tobacco note. The dried fruits are different though. I cannot for the life of me put my finger on it, but probably Apricot and Ginger, I get no mango even though it's listed. There are very decadent wafts of Honey's, Fruits, Cardamom, and Tobacco. For a good hour or 2. 2 hours in, the honey takes bit of a break and the patchouli starts making an appearance in tandem with a Tea note. The tobacco not is slightly more prominent here too.

If it's sounding different, that's because it is. This thing changes like a Chameleon. Not only do the notes change, but the literal type of scent. Gourmand is predominant, but then it flits between aromatic, fruity and spicy...and when the tea note appears it's got fresh elements even though it intrinsically isn't a freshie at all.

The changes here are NOT like a 5 piece band doing solo's through a single song. It evolves from drummer centric into guitar centric then into vocal centric and finally Piano centric, all while the baseline keeps thrumming along (9 hours out the box, Longevity is very good).

I did a thing where I sprayed one wrist first thing in the morning, and the other 4 hours later, and of course there are huge similarities but the nuances have shifted and keep shifting.

Final thoughts(TLDR): I absolutley adore this juice. As a Tobacolor Flanker this would command a 300 dollar price tag. Performance isn't as beastly as the Dior, but it's 5 days old and got 9 hours with a decent amount of sillage. And, I tested this in 30 degree summer heat...not the Chameleon's natural habitat. This is the first "clone" type frag I can say is as good as the high end niche/prive in terms of blend quality, and complexity.

I CANNOT recommend this to everyone, as it's not an easy wear. But if you like the kindred fragrances I have compared it to, I reckon you'll love this. If Honey isnt your thing avoid it as it is a Honey forward frag. For me though, this is a 10. Amazing stuff by Arabiyat Presitage and a massive improvement on other offerings I have tried of theirs.

3 more for the collection,

Starting with Maison Asrar Rey, a hybrid clone of Myslf EDP/Parfum. From the top I get the fresh Citric opening with a ton of Geranium. It then transitions into an aromatic musk that keeps some of the opening elements of freshness. a dash of Vanilla sweetness that isn't prominent but definitely adds to the pleasant aura this gives off. I really like it, definitely not avant-garde and out there but very safe as you'd expect given it's Myslf underpinnings. I get 6 hours with mid projection for about 90 minutes before it's a skin scent but have only had this 3 weeks. 8/10 and about as blind buy safe as you get.

El Dorado by French Avenue: Had my eye on this for some time, but stocks seem to have been replenished and prices have come down making it viable to try out. In the Ganymede wheelhouse, I already own Zimaya's Stallion which I absolutley love. With French Avenue I was expecting great things. The opening is hectic, I get the Cumin/Saffron/Mandarin opening which has a very light almost metallic saffron leather cherry like vibe. The Ganymede influences are there because of the Akigalawood but it's not as heavy as it is with Stallion. Also, the leather "texture" I get from this is surprisingly feint, and not suede like as per Stallion. I feel this is more far removed from the OG that it should be viewed as a twist rather than a clone. And I have read reviews saying it's Nuclear.... well, the most recent batch most certainly is not. 8 hours at a push. Not Blind buy safe but worth a sample if you like Ganymede inspired frags. 7/10 for me.

Velixir Ares: The Hype Beast. I have not tried Chanel Allure Homme Superleggera but consensus says this is near identical to it but worth noting the following is not a comparison, but thoughts on this as a standalone. From the rip this is a citrus bomb. Lemons, Oranges etc... then within 5 mins you get the musky citrus vibe Chanel is famed for with AHS line. I have Allure Homme sport and there are some definite wheel house similarities. To a very brute point, this is Allure Homme sport with less blue and more citrus and a creamier musk. There is a passing resemblance to Versace Pour Homme too, but it is feint and not nearly as aquatic. The issue I am having here, is there is just no wow factor. It's good. But forgettable. I have seen many say the same of Superleggera itself. I also had the ignominy of someone saying it smells of lemon pledge, though this was immediately after 6 sprays. And yes, you will get that from the opening...but when the musk arrives that does thankfully make an exit. Tough one to rate, because it's actually not bad and pretty good....I just personally have no love for this as I do something like AHS/Versace Pour Homme or even Missoni Wave which are more aquatic in nature. I'll go 7/10 with the view I've only had it for 3 days and wanted to get the initial thoughts out on it as there is none of note at present. Thanks for reading! 😄