Africano

I used to feel bad about buying fragrances ‘inspired by’ something else (i.e. blatant rip-offs), but not anymore. I mean, many niche (and designer) houses are ripping us - customers - off; and if they don’t feel bad about charging ridiculous money for weak, obviously synthetic scents, then why should we worry about their wellbeing? If Hany Hafez is capable of making something as nice as Bal d’Afrique, but actually stronger and more durable, not to mention much cheaper, then I’d rather support his business. I buy fragrances because I want to smell nice, not because I want to emulate a certain lifestyle or show off. As to Africano, it’s a very potent fruity-aromatic scent. Normally I’m not a fan of fruity fragrances, but this one is very well done, with blackcurrant and citruses nicely balanced out by vetiver, musk, violet and jasmine. Luckily, orange blossom is barely there and doesn’t bother me. Africano lasts 8+ hours and projects beautifully. It’s quite a linear scent, so if you like the opening, rejoice - it stays pretty much the same until the end. :)

I used to have a sample of Byredo's Bal d'afrique and I fell totally head over heals with it. I never invested in a full bottle though. Now I have a sample of Africano and if memory serves, Africano smells pretty much 99% the same as Bal d'afrique. I don't have a side to side comparison though, but this smells exactly the way I remember it. Only even slightly better if that is even possible. Longevity is absolutely outstanding and sillage is amazing as well. I think I can say for sure that I will be investing in a full bottle this time around - 10/10.

I don't know how close this one is to the OG because I've never sampled it, but this is a really nice uplifting perfume, clean and fresh without being soapy, one of the best I've sampled from this house, worth a full bottle.

Orange graham cracker-scented shaving cream.

After getting a sample of this it actually pushed me to buy the original Bal D’Afrique. This was not sunny Joy in a bottle like I find BdA to be. I find the house of Alexandria to be hit or miss. Some are incredibly close and have the same “feeling” as the originals, like Amber Night, Dark Knight, Fructis Virginis, and China Affair. I love those. I was also disappointed however by Retro Flare Gold, which lacked the fluffy texture in the vanilla though the notes are similar enough. I think those where I don’t care about the texture difference are hits but to me, it’s a defining feature of Bal D’Afrique and the citrus used in Africano takes over in a bad way.

There is no similarity with Bal d’Afrique. This is lighter and smells more of lime and bergamot. It doesn’t have that velvety richness of bal d’afrique.

I just received my order straight from the manufacturer. Upon first spray, I worried this was a weak watered down dupe that lacks the good notes. After 10-15 min I realized this fragrance was actually just taking a few minutes to “develop.” Once it develops fully about 20 min after spraying, it is almost an exact dupe for bal d’afrique. After showering, I applied BDA on one arm and this dupe on the other. Initial verdict was that I like Africano more. It’s about 5% sweeter and not at all in a cheap way, and at least 15% “richer” or less watered-down-smelling than BDA. Africano basically smells exactly the same otherwise. I’ve always had a sensitive sense of smell and own a large frag collection, I would never know the difference if I smelled this vs. the real thing on anyone. I can only tell the difference on myself in that this smells better, and BDA smells like the knockoff. After 2 hrs, BDA vanished from my arm and Africano still was going strong. This lasts for HOURS. If I spray before bed, 8 hours later I can still faintly smell this on my tee shirt & hair. I also realized this is an Extrait de Parfum, so that’s why it smells better and lasts longer. Plus I use fewer & smaller sprays. I live in a hot dry climate and the dry heat evaporates perfumes rapidly. I recommend this over BDA 100%. I am not adverse to buying really expensive scents, I just couldn’t justify the price for performance with BDA - I am too busy to be reapplying perfume every 2 hrs. This is worth the $50 /oz - it seemed a bit steep for a dupe house but the quality is outstanding, completely worth it. I ended up ordering a backup big bottle and am very happy with it. For those who aren't familiar with Bal D'Afrique, to me, it's a semi sweet slightly fruity musk scent that's very unique. I know there are more florals than fruits in the listed notes, but it ends up smelling like an exotic fruit you've never tried - something between a cantelope and a nectarine, only less sweet. It smells warm summery and musky, somehow is also a "clean" light scent I love wearing fresh out of the shower. It almost smells like an exotic expensive soap you'd buy from an artisan gift shop. I'm not usually a fan of "fruity" scents, I hate fruity bodysprays, but this is different, and special. Its a great palate cleansing-scent, as it is very different than other scents in/around your home, yet it isn't an overpowering beast scent that announces itself from across the room and never comes out of your clothing.

Honestly, one of the few samples that I tried (without trying the original) that I knew from first sniff that I was going to pick up the bottle. It's unique, I would say it's unisex down the middle with any sex being able to rock it. It's something that isn't too serious but isn't youthful playfulness either. Highly recommended if people are interested they should sample. Good longevity, decent silage and quality juice.