Cleopatra

Cleopatra vs. Aventus for Her. Now, a little back story is needed for this one. It wasn't until about a month ago that I first got my nose on Aventus for Her. To be honest, the reviews have always been quite bad, and my expectations for it were extremely low. I happened to wondering through Neiman Marcus, spotted a bottle, and thought I would give it a try. Man, was I completely blown away! The opening was so gorgeous. I was immediately in LOVE. I left that day and came home with a few samples for the wife to try. I defiantly felt that it was bottle worthy, but I wanted to try Alexandria's Cleopatra before committing. So I ordered Cleopatra and held on to the samples until it arrived. Opening: At the opening Aventus for Her and Cleopatra are noticeably different. Cleopatra opens nicely with a recognizable Aventus for Her vibe but it lacks the beautiful, bright, bubble gum, sweetness that makes AVH so damn appetizing! Like all Creeds the opening is beautiful (most likely due to the quality of their ingredients). Don't get me wrong, Cleopatra is a decent opener, but it just doesn't shine like AVH and it is not quite as feminine or alluring. IMO AVH would be the shockingly, gorgeous 20 something, and Cleopatra (the not so hot) groupie friend. :) Both fragrances had similar strength and projection. Winner – AVH The Dry Down: For the first hour AVH and Cleopatra were shockingly similar. I would say almost identical. They kept their overall sweetness with just a hint of smokey Aventus DNA hidden underneath. Honestly, the mixture is quite pleasing and interesting. I don't know if I would classify this as an ordinary woman's fragrance. It becomes edgy, artistic, and different as it dries down. My wife didn't care for the dry down nearly as much as the very feminine opening, but it wasn't a deal breaker by any means. I think it is important to understand that this fragrances changes a lot. This is a perfect example of why you test drive fragrances before purchasing full bottles. The opening on AVH hooked me in the store, but the dry down is very different. No Winner - Tie After the first hour, I have to say there was only one horse left in the game... Cleopatra! What Cleopatra lacked in the opening it more than made up for in the dry down. AVH took a sour, musky turn and only kept getting worse with time. Thankfully, Cleopatra remained rather linear from the first hour on, and stayed a pleasant and alluring scent. After hour 4, AVH all but gave up the ghost. AVH is not a strong performer, but Cleopatra hung in the game deep into the 7th hour with the base note remaining very prominent on the skin. Cleopatra would be a safe evening fragrance or good for just about any special occasion. Overall, this is a mysterious fragrance. When I smell it I picture a confident woman, who's alluring, edgy, and adventurous. I think it takes a special woman to pull of this fragrance, it is definitely not for everyone. Winner – Cleopatra. Overall: WINNER CLEOPATRA! I have to say that I was quite worried after the opening, but in the end this really wasn't a contest. Like many of Hany's fragrances, I wouldn't call Cleopatra a clone of AVH. Sure, it is very similar, but it has enough differences to stand on its own. IMO Cleopatra is a much better fragrance than AVH. After testing, my wife would not wear AVH, but she did enjoy Cleopatra and is glad to own it. If your interested in Cleopatra I would recommend sampling it first. This fragrance is very different, and you have to be able to pull it off. This one is not for everybody.

The initial spray smells like the scent of a woman getting a heated perm. But after it settles a couple of minutes later it turns into a very bright and youthful fragrance. I would not categorize this one as anything other than a casual day scent. It isn't a banger and too playful for work. It is unisex in my opinion. My wife likes it okay, i like it more than she does but nothing spectacular.

I really enjoy this on my wife year round. My wife loves it...becoming one of her most frequently used fragrances. Sweet off the top with citrus (apple/pear). Dry down brings forth mostly musk and patchouli. Start to finish is extremely pleasant and makes it extremely versatile. Longevity is above average while projection is average. Get a sample and check it out.

I ordered a sample and I don't know how Creed Aventus for her smells like, but this is a total "no" for me. It's overwhelmingly sweet, like those oriental El Rehab gourmand fruity florals. It has this cheap and right to your face synthetic odour. Fades to some musky ambroxan...

I've not tried Aventus for Her, so I'm reviewing Cleopatra on its own merits. What can I say... The musk is strong with this one. The opening is quite unpleasant, almost fishy (yuck), but soon it morphs into a fruit salad on a musky base. Allegedly the fruity notes used in Cleopatra are apple and pear - and this scent does remind me of a drugstore cheapie called She Is... Cool by Turkish company Hunca, which I used to wear some 15 years ago. She Is... Cool contains the exact same notes and smells nicer than Cleopatra ('cause it doesn't have the fishy opening), although it costs under 5 euros. So, in this case even Alexandria is overpriced; and I wouldn't be caught dead paying Creed prices for such a trivial scent.