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.

For those looking for comparison...you will be happy that it smells like Tuscan Leather. Opens with a fresh sweetness with leather notes in the background. On the dry down, the smooth leather notes come to the forefront. If you enjoy leather, you will enjoy this pleasant refined DNA. Longevity is around 6/7 hours. Projection is average. I’m used to AF’s offerings lasting longer as well as projecting better...but this is sufficient. Grab yourself a sample and check it out yourself...but for those that like leather DNAs, don’t pass this one up.

Great scent Potent longevity and sillage Starts with an oily gasoline note ala vintage Dior Fahrenheit, but gets tamed with the raspberry fruitiness The leather accord is dark and strong 95% like Tuscan Leather by a trained nose. The raspberry is probably more prominent. A great scent, just not for kids, for real men or women although I think it leans towards the masculine side but could be pulled off by a strong woman. Overall smell : not even Tom Ford will be able to tell the difference lol Sillage 9 Longevity 8_10 hours on the skin, 24-36 on clothing

While Bitter Soft is most definitely a great smelling fragrance, it’s only a relative of actual Tuscan Leather and not a “Dupe”. It’s a much more powdery fruit note in the opening versus Tuscan Leather’s wet cough drop-esque fruit note. The funny thing was when I first smelled Bitter Soft I recognized it then realized the first decant of Tuscan Leather I bought off eBay was fake and was filled with Bitter Soft lmao! They are easily distinguishable. I wondered why my bottle of TL smelled so different from that decant. Now I know!

I dont know what Tom Ford Tuscan leather smells like. I wanted to get a rough Idea so i bought this based off the site saying it is a impression of Tuscan leather. I like this scent it is pretty unique to me. I smell raspberry smashed up inside ashes with some leather. Definitely berries and ashes for sure. Maybe the leather cause I know the name of the impression it is supposed to be. I likes a lot.

The opening creates a shift in perception, like a drug. I guess its the thyme playing off the raspberry. I have never experienced TL all I can tell you, if its like this, then its great. I find that this frag is sorta formal, however I am perfectly fine wearing it out anytime. It is a solid performer without being to loud. I like it and plan to wear it to some holiday parties.

Tuscan leather watch out I smelled a decant of this and I'm ordering it now. The notes in this composition is mind blowing the raspberry is bright the sweetness is mild yet flavorful & the florals compliment the leather nuances and it last all day.This is much more enjoyable to wear than Tuscan leather which is a favorite scent of mine.Get this is you enjoy Tuscan leather!

I've worn Omerta for a while now and Its awesome! Love the whiskey note to complement the tobacco and vanilla...gets me alot of compliments at work. Great job Hany! 7 more fragrances on the way ☺☺, I can't wait.

95% identical to La Yuqawam pour Homme--Bitter Soft just has the tiniest bit more raspberry, making it slightly less dry than LYPH. I prefer Bitter Soft because of that very mild sweetness.