u/parataman360

Wassup Everyone!

Did the mistake of watching some of Vegas' videos this morning and I think I might be grabbing a few more additional decants at the next restock (date is TBD but rumored to be tomorrow?)

Here's what I was thinking of grabbing. I can't keep track with all the numbers. Stuff marked with a question mark is stuff I'm iffy on and would love to get some feedback from you guys about your experience with the scent/scent profiles.

13 - Y EDY
17 - Gris Dior?
55 - Town & Country?
45 - Mattsukita?
49 - Blue Sapphire?
Sun Song?
Stellar Times?
California dream
Neroli Oranger
Hacivat
Le Lion
Myslf EDP

Just got this as part of a trade. Fun story: last year around this time I was spending my fall months with my first 4 Montys: Afternoon Dive, La Nuit 2011, Pacific Chill, and Imaginary.

Rewind: I had gotten decants from Ayyb over at MontagneDecants before the website came to existence. Afternoon Swim may have been the first Monty I smelled but Imaginary was the first Monty that took me to outer space. I was like "Woah, what the heck is this?!?!" Up until then, I had not heard of Imagination. I knew something existed like that and it was hyped but had heard through some folks that Montagne had a really good clone/dupe of it.

People typically remember experiences like their first kiss, first prom, graduation, first time trying herb or psychedelics - I put trying out Imaginary for the first time up there. I remember continuously sniffing my wrist and smiling to myself as if I had just hit the jackpot of fragrances.

I had to get a bottle - and I did! I enjoyed the heck out of it along with the two others I had until one day I had sprayed on too much and the tea note (or other aromachemicals) became overwhelming. I felt weird and had to put the bottle down. Putting on Imaginary after that just wasn't the same....

I was always a freshie-lover at heart but had too much of this DNA and had to gift the bottle.

The person I had gifted the bottle to enjoyed the heck out of it and got another bottle earlier this year once the first one finished. From what I heard, he's planning to get it again by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.

So why am I holding this bottle now? Couple weeks ago, I found an old decant and reconnected with it - and it brought me back those same emotions I felt when I was starting my frag journey and my initial experiences with Montagne. Reading Palak's post the other day brought back those memories too and I just had to have this back in my possession.

Remember that scene where Gamora asked Thanos what his victory cost him and he responded "Everything" - well - luckily it wasn't that dramatic. I traded my bottle of MITH's Mystery for Him with a mutual friend of ours that is literally dope inside and out. Thank you so much! I'd love to tag him on this post but I think he enjoys his privacy. 😉

Ban 03 is awesome! That's the one frag from Banadir that I didn't have to consult the website to tell what it was. At the time when I had received the 10ml sample (totally by accident) - I was actively trying to stay away from the Imaginary DNA. I'm fairly certain I can get my hands on the 10ml decant at some point in the near future. Hopefully during that time, this new bottle matures and I can give a detailed review like Palak did on his. (Honestly think he does a better job than I do when it comes to describing actual scent profiles and note behavior!).

Thank you all for reading! What funny story do you have with a fragrance? Would love to hear about your experiences!

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Hope you guys are enjoying Labor Day Weekend!

Can't believe summer is almost over. As the fall season is coming around the corner and people are gearin' to sip on some pumpkin lattes, I had some time on my hands to write out this quick first impression of Banadir's 103 - their take on the Greenwich Village DNA from Bond No 9.

Some background: I first heard about Bond No 9 through Montagne Parfums' take on Scent of Peace. I had originally wanted to get a cleaner pineapple scent that didn't smell smokey like Aventus and someone from the community had recommended I check out Spirit of Peace. A 5ml decant soon turned into the full bottle. I wanted to checkout more from Bond No 9 and see what else was out there. Ended up ordering decants of Beekman Place and Greenwich Village (also later got a decant of the OG Scent of Peace and Montagne's take blew it out the water - but that's for another review).

My gripe w/ Bond No 9: Outside of the hideous bottles - I don't get much longevity from them. 20 mints in and they're a skin scent. I don't like the idea of paying that type of money for 20 mints or less of a scent bubble only for it to become a skin scent. I can do that with Harry's body wash lol.

Back to the actual review:

Greenwich Village (the OG) is a nice enough DNA that kinda feels inspired by BKR540. It's sweet, playful, kinda got some musk and gourmandy vanilla thing going on. It's overall pleasant. The OG kinda starts off kinda slow and develops overtime and dips out near the 30 mint mark.

The Banadir take itself comes out swingin' right out the gate and you can get the get whiffs of the scent bubble clearly for atleast an hour. Granite, I haven't had much time to spend with this scent but I sprayed it an hour ago and its still comin' strong whereas the OG has become a skin scent that smells like a fruity moisturizer I just put on.

Update: At the 2 hour mark: getting faint traces of the OG while the Banadir has become a skin scent.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I like the Banadir. Its unisex and leans kinda fem. I think guys can rock it. I think its a dope budget fragrance because not many people rock fragrances plus nobody's rockin' a better version of Bond No 9. If you enjoy the scent profile, or want a stronger version of it, or don't want to shell out over $200 for a skin scent: Banadir's 103 is the way to go.

Buy it? Skip it? Sample it?

Definitely worth a sample - especially if you enjoy scents that are on the sweeter gourmand vibe to them.
Skip if you're not into sweet scents or looking for something old school.

This would be a great buy for someone that enjoyed the BKR540 DNA and is intrigued by a twist on the DNA. If you already have something like BKR540 (or Le Bonbon) in your collection - this might be redundant.

Thanks for reading!

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Here are my top 5:

Banadir - Blue Talisman or Aventus Abolu

Citadel - Immensity or Sedley

Montagne - Perceval, Hudson Valley, Ciel Elixir, Mystic Oud, Herb Garden, Tobacco Noir

Alexandria - Law of Attraction, Purple Haze, L'Invasion

French Avenue - Moonstone Bleu - recently smelled this and really nice!

Ok this wasn't exactly a top 5 but these above were some of my favorites. What are your favorites?

We're all gathered here because we legit enjoy fragrances and we legit enjoy the fragrances from Banadir Fragrances and find them worth our time and effort to grab em, smell em, wear em, and talk about them. With the current situation of the decants being OOS but majority of the full bottles available - there's a rare opportunity for decanters to step up in the market and provide supply to the growing demand from the growing audience. This can help alleviate some of the growing pains the owner is experiencing and create less stress around him securing a supply for his awesome sprayers.

Just thinking out loud. What do you guys say? Does anyone have any experience decanting in a semi-professional/semi-serious capacity?

Wassup Everyone,

Fragmail today! New Banadirs! Been waiting to try these out since they first got listed on the site. Really glad they sell 10ml decants of these.

Here's the game plan: Gonna share my first impressions and then let them sit for a week or 2 and start spending an entire day with each one and report back. LFG!

Btw, for real: some of these really smell like they need to sit in the dark for a while and might not be ready out the box. These are rookie impressions from a guy that has no idea what he's doing and offering his uneducated opinion on fragrances. Scent is subjective and there's a lot of factors that affect the whole olfactory experience - do you know what I mean?

61 - On the Beach - This definitely smells like it needs to macerate a bit. I got a Neroli Portfino vibe on opening and crossed into a LV Lovers type sandalwood thing? My nose is off. No idea what the OG smells like. Plan to revisit a couple weeks from now.

98 - Allure Homme Sport - I was really hyped about this after listening to the Vegas Scents review. I really see what he meant about a brighter citrus opening. Still a first impression but really diggin' the dry down here. I'm not a huge fan of the OG's DNA. I had a 5ml decant last year when I first got into this hobby and I've worn my fair share of Montagne's Alcantara Supreme. This is really nice and I can see myself using up the entire 10ml decant. I would definitely gift the full bottle to someone younger because I can see this be really mass appealing. Plan to revisit a couple weeks from now - hope it gets even better!

102 - Vanille Planifolia - I see what they mean by a spicy vanilla that leans on the masculine side. Could be a nice fragrance but there's a note in here that isn't working for me. I think it might be the opoponax? I've noticed this note giving me issues in the drydown for Amouage's Interlude. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Anyone else getting issues with opoponax? What do you guys think of vanillas? I hope to check this out a couple weeks from now to report back. No idea how it compares to the OG. Call me old fashioned but there's no way I can justify spending $40 a ml for the OG let alone over $300 for a full bottle of a vanilla dominant scent. Btw, I think its a lot more than just $300. Hope this gets better with age. In the meantime, feel free to check out Divine Vanille from Essential Parfums! Great masculine vanilla scent minus the headache lol.

112 - Cedar Chic - Heard a lot about this fragrance recently. Smells kinda nice. Been exploring clean girl scents lately (long story!) - Opening reminds me of a feminine take of Creed's Royal Oud...then drying down to a fresh girl Narciso Rodriguez type scent (have no idea how accurate this statement really is but thats what I'm getting at the moment). Not bad. Waiting for it to develop more and revisit later.

There's a few more that I want to go through but my nose is getting tired. Planning to share more first impressions in the next post. Spoiler alert: Greenwich Village, Blonde Amber, BDC L'Exclusif, and one unnamed scent...that must remain unnamed!

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

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I had introduced Montagne Parfums to a buddy of mine almost a year ago. Met up with him yesterday and he showed me fragrance collection. I was super impressed by how concise and well thought out it was compared to mine. Just for context: I'm at 28 bottles and sometimes struggle with deciding on what I want to wear (first world problems, right?)

Dude legit had only 5 Montys:

1. Imaginary
2. Hudson County
3. Ciel Elixir
4. Ambre Musc
5. Tygr Cologne (now known as Tigris)

I was legit pleasantly surprised. All of these started as decants that I had shared with him and he know exactly what worked for him and what didn't.

I'm pretty sure there's a lesson to take home here - atleast for myself. Just wanted to share this this morning as a way to think out loud.

In case anyone's curious: he passed up on Gentle Silver, Percival, and Torino 21.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to drop a quick note that I noticed that my review of the 2 Gissah frags last night wasn't as well received as I was hoping. Originally I thought it was because I had dissed Dior Sauvage (jokingly) but that truly wasn't the case.

Honestly, I hate using AI generated artwork. Its a slap in the face of actual artists and I honestly don't want to be a guy that peddles AI generated slop. There's absolutely no reason for me to use this nonsense that gets thrown down our throats in every corner of the internet. If I can help push back against the tide in any sort of way - I will. That's who I am and its disingenuous of me to use something that's really dehumanizing nad has a negative impact on society.

Some context: I had gotten the impression this sub actually enjoyed it but now that I've had a chance to spend more time and interact with the awesome folks on this sub - my first impressions were incorrect. My apologies to you all for using that crap. I'd rather focus my energy on smelling nice things and reporting back in the more descriptive way possible.

Even though I tagged this as a Discussion - it doesn't need to be a discussion. Just wanted to share this as a friendly memo that I've learned this lesson without you guys having said anything directly. Thank you all for reading! If you would like to chime in please feel free. Talk soon. Cheers!

Got a chance to wear this in the morning and its definitely gotten stronger over the last week.
Planning to wear it outside today and will report back.

Honestly the scent profile / dollar per ml value is great on this. I think its a fresh scent anyone can rock regardless of age plus you get to skip the tacky trophy bottle of the OG with a bottle that's more elegant and respectable. Cheers!

Hey Everyone, question for the group:

Is there any inky note in Banadir's take on SMW?

I haven't gotten my nose on Banadir's SMW but I have tried the OG and Montagne's version and wasn't a big fan of the inky note on those. Was wondering if the Banadir version has that or if it bypassed it all together.

Appreciate any input/feedback. Thank you!

Wassup Everyone!

I think its awesome that Banadir offers 10ml decants of other Middle Eastern fragrances from different brands that might not be exposed to outside of the typical Rasasi and Lattafa stuff. Up until a couple months ago, I had not heard of Arabian Oud but it looks like its a higher tier company that legit makes high quality fragrances and are actually well regarded amongst the actual Middle Eastern community and fragrance enthusiasts alike. Arabian Oud is behind a lot of heavy hitters like Amiri, Sultani, Nobles, and Ramz.

A buddy of ours (and fellow Banadir enthusiast) recommended I check out Sultani. Up until this time, I had not had a chance to smell anything from the house yet and I couldn't find any decanters on reddit that had it in stock. The solution: I reached out to Salim Bhai and he was kind enough to stock up 10ml decants of Sultani. (Thank you, Salim!)

What's the fragrance like?

Sultani is one of those nice, clean, sober scents. No boozy or gourmand elements in there. It coms off fresh and clean. For some reason I get a little leather in the background but nothing overpowering. Im thinking the leather might actually be the berry note. Also - the fragrance is kinda musky. It has this elevated take on Bvlgari Pour Homme going on. Also kinda get a small tinge of screechiness that was present in the early releases of Dior Sauvage EDT - minus the lavendar. The screechiness of not overpowering or anything but its there and my nose can sense it - I wonder if its the pink pepper?

I do find myself going noseblind to it and after an hour it wears more like a skin scent. I wonder if I just need to spend more time with it since I just got it the other day. YMMV. There's been a lot of times that I didn't like a particular fragrance only for it to grow on me over time.

Who's wearing this fragrance?

Someone that can afford shelling out $100 for a 50ml and appreciates smelling different from others. Its a clean fragrance and its definitely different from the Sauvages and Valentinos of the world. Its not syrupy or cloying. There no overbearing sweetness or booziness. Clean and sober. That's what you're getting with this. Plus its unique enough to where it stands out but also hands the keys over to you on how you wear the fragrance. If you command respect at your workplace, this can help you feel confident in it while wearing it. But if you're casual or enjoy fun loving time casually with the friends or family - this really isn't it and there might be more fun options depending on your personality.

Buy it, Skip it, Sample it?

Definitely worth a sample. Really glad Banadir offers a 10ml of this and hope they continue to do decants of other brands because its something that's hard to find in a marketplace saturated with Rasasis and Lattafas.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading and found this informative. Thanks for sticking around and reading through it!

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Wassup Everyone!

Got the 10ml of Banadir 106 yesterday. Banadir's take on the Invictus Aqua DNA from 2024. I've heard the 2016 (or was it 2018?) formulation is the holy grail from the Invictus lineup since it had that sparkly yuzu note. Unfortunately never got a chance to smell that version of the DNA.

My first impression of this fragrance was that it was pretty spot-on of the general Invictus lineup without being too sweet, cloying, or extremely loud. I use to have decants of the Hawas OG and Hawas Ice that I ended up gifting because they were too sweet or too loud (8 hours of the same loud techno song stops feeling nice after the first hour).

I do have other takes on the general Invictus DNA... most notably a decant of Montblanc's Legend Spirit (which I enjoy) - as well as 50ml bottle Citadel's 119. Both are really nice and like them a lot. I can't comment on how accurate they are with the OG nor can I hone in on all the peculiar lil' nuances because I'm honestly not that experienced in the world of frags... I just know if I like it and if its wearable.

Banadir's 106 is likeable and wearable. It's definitely full bottle worthy if you don't have anything else that covers this DNA. Had I not had a 50ml bottle of Citadel - I would totally get a full bottle of 106.

Hope you guys found this informative. Thanks for stickin' around and reading! 😄

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