Bitter Soft

The opening of this beautiful juice is hypnotic raspberry, luscious and dark, and made all the more magical for its realism. Hany Hafez somehow captured both the aroma of fresh raspberries AND the green scent of the leaves around the berry. It's captivating, it's compelling, it's a little shocking, and I can't stop sniffing it. That "green scent" is slightly bitter, of course, but the bitterness never overpowers the sweet raspberry note, or vice versa. They remain perfectly balanced. After a couple of hours, the dry-down reveals a very realistic leather-and-suede accord that sits quietly underneath everything else. Pay attention, and you can even smell a bit of the lanolin used to treat the leather and keep it soft. The projection here is quite good for such a pungent and heavy aroma, and the sillage is still very potent even after four hours of wear. The scent will still be lingering on the skin for 8-10 hours. This is a quality niche scent at an affordable designer price, and to call it a "clone" would be to cheapen the experience. I am looking forward to discovering what else this house has to offer.

I don't care much how "like" any fragrance is to "another" (nor do I understand why that is important to anyone). Like with wine, music, art, literature, ideas.......... I appreciate it on its own merits (or I don't). I have a great appreciation for Shakespeare and Spinoza, regardless of how they are "compared" to other writers. Since coming upon Alexandria Fragrances, I have now ordered and received 3 "sample packs", of which I've "worn" 9 of the offerings, including this one. This fragrance confirms again, what I was feeling before about AF. Each fragrance is uniquely different (some more and some less different from another) but of the same lever of "quality" of artistry. With any of the 9 I've worn, I could joyfully wear any of them all day, any day or everyday, yet I'm excited about the one I "put on" next (tomorrow). I'm so pleased to have found AF and that I selected this fragrance. I recommend it (and Shakespeare, Spinoza and Harry Nilsson).

I just got home from serving on jury duty for 9 days on a child abuse case. It was grueling, a nightmare. I was jury foreman and we were deadlocked and unable to move forward. This morning I put on Bitter Soft instead of something safe for the jury room like Sung Homme, or something floral and safe. I wanted to wrap myself in leather and go to battle. We were able to get a guilty verdict and the children are safely away from the home in question. During this second full day of deliberation, when my energy was flagging, I would smell my shirt collar or wrist and that suede/leather scent energized me. This was an economy buy for me simply because I'm crazy about Tom Ford. It's close enough for me to enjoy that suede fragrance and it reminded me of staying strong when I needed it.

This is the Best Raspberry and Leather note combo that is put together and done right! It is a very seductive and alluring scent. I usually stay away from frags that have leather in it bc it usually doesn't mix well with my chemistry, but this leather note plays it's tune throughout the end. It projects very well within a 2.5 ft radius plus and lasts well over 8hrs on my skin and a few days on my clothing. You will def get noticed with this fragrance and it is a compliment getter. Hany certainly knows what he is doing when he put this fragrance togehter. If you can't afford Tom Ford Tuscan Leather, then I promise you can't go wrong with this one! You cannot tell the 2 apart!

This is an amazing leather manly frag. It opens with a sweet sour razeberry. Then settles into a fresh leather. Longevity is 8+ hrs on skin. Must buy if you love TF Tuscan Leather.