Royal Equestrian

This is... uncomfortable. I have a review below, but I need to update it: I love Layton, I do. I even have a backup bottle, I like it that much. When I first got RE, I wasn't satisfied with it, it smelled to synthetic to really enjoy it. I regretted spending money in a copy instead of the original. Later I bought a backup bottle of Layton when I had the chance due to reformulations panic. Now to RE: I had this little guy inside a box macerating, forgotten for 3 years and today I tried it again. It blew my brains. In the opening, this one feels more fresh and a little bit more synthetic, but it lasts less than 20 minutes. Next, the only difference I can tell is that Layton is a little bit more floral, however this is really good as well. If I fanned the tester strip in front of my nose (outdoors), both smelled not only similar but pretty much the same! After 2 hours, there was no difference, I had to really try to get any and... It didn't justify the price difference. Next I tried them one on each arm. RE is sweeter, that may or not be your cup of tea, but after an hour, that's the only difference I can tell, one sweeter than the other, however it's not cloying or annoying, it's... good. That sweetness lives all the 8 hours that it lasts. It lasts just a little bit less than Layton but... who cares? I am writing this in the hopes that if you have a RE bottle and are not satisfied with it, send it to dagestan... I mean your closet for a year and forget about it. Let it go into secluded training and it will come back much better, let it macerate for 3 years and you pretty much have Layton's drydown which is I would say the longest lasting and most memorable part. Did I mention that it's a fraction of the price? Absolutely amazing. My rating: 9/10. I would still prefer Layton over this as it's more balanced and complete in the opening, but after an hour or two, I would need to try to delude myself to justify buying Layton again. And... If I consider that I have the backup bottle and 50 ml of RE. I doubt I will buy Layton ever again. This fragrance biggest strength or weakness is that it can get crazily close to Layton but, big but, it needs time. Mine needed 3 years.

Knowing the popularity of Layton, I bought this. I really enjoyed this scent, so I recently bought a 2nd one. I just got a sample of Layton, I tried it out having found mixed outcomes with clones. Layton is smooth, projects slightly less than RE, but in the final dry down RE comes out on top in my opinion. I get a powdery Amber and Vanilla, along with some spices. Now, price wise, if you only own a couple of fragrances than perhaps the real deal is the right way to go. If you find that you have MANY fragrances and want the Layton vibe along with a truly great scent on its own than RE is for you. It performs well, lasts a very long time, and Is not as “oily” as some of these fragrances can be. Price here is a bit of an issue, because per volume it is not a huge savings, you have smaller size options, and possibly require less sprays due to the performance, but if your heart is set on the real item and you know what your getting than spend the money there, it is just a slightly more expensive commitment at the end of the day. About clones...I believe they have a place in the fragrance community. We all can’t afford every item released, and so many fragrances borrow from other DNA that you will often get that “familiar” feeling clone house or not. They also offer up versions of scents no longer in circulation, and even release some original articles. I say it is viable while it exists in this very competitive market.

I use this to save a little bit of the OG juice when I’m at home but won’t be getting another bottle. Things you need to know: This is not Layton. Every fragrance tells you a story, transports you to different places at its different stages. Layton is an amazing feat, I don’t have a trained nose and don’t love challenging fragrances, however, I can tell it’s high quality, it is beautiful from its opening and changes so smoothly. RE is... alike but different. Yeah you can get an inspiration and say: it’s like layton, but... you won’t get the same performance, projection or the same beauty as with the OG. If you buy fragrances to pretend, yeah... this will give the mirage of Layton and you may be able to fool people. However... at what cost? You’ll need to overspray, reapply and at the end of the day you’ll end up spending almost the same as if you had bought the 125 ml bottle. Have I said you won’t be getting that initial kick on the opening? Don’t misunderstand, this is good but won’t get you layton for less nor the creamy spicy vanilla on the dry down. You’ll get something similar but less quality and you’ll notice it. As a layton clone: 8/10 As a fragrance itself: 7/10 You’ll do whatever you want with your gold but my advice is: sample Layton and if you like it, save your money and get the real thing. I’ll let it macerate for longer and update if needed.

There’s a refreshing citrus apple opening followed by a warm, sweet and spicy dry down, with good longevity. Royal Equestrian does nothing groundbreaking nor employ any unusual perfume notes, yet the end result is an exquisite fragrance; opulent, sophisticated and oozing sensual allure. I have never sampled Layton, so am unable to make a comparison, but I do think Royal Equestrian manages to smell expensive & very high end! Perhaps this is testament to the blending skills of Haney Hafez, the nose behind Alexandria Fragrances, or down to the use of high quality perfume notes. Or maybe this is a very good clone of a very good fragrance! Either way, I love Royal Equestrian, which is sadly no longer available on the UK website of Alexandria Fragrances. Update: After trying out a few small samples from EBay, I have grown to absolutely adore this fragrance. Was very happy to discover it for sale on the US website of Alexandria Fragrances. Update: I can now confirm it is a 99% accurate copy of PDM Layton and IMHO AF’s finest offering.

Wow!!! So I called myself playing it safe by only purchasing a travel size bottle just to see how close it is to Layton without grabbing a full bottle and being underwhelmed...And to my surprise this stuff actually smells better than Layton! Sheesh!! Tbh sometimes I have this thing about clones(inspired scents) that I can’t take them seriously, bcuz they lack originality, but when it comes to this scent right here forget all of that lol. RE is a hit!! It’s super close to Layton of course, but to my nose it’s a bit more smoother and pleasant than the original. I feel crazy for saying this but yes I actually prefer this over Layton, and I mean come on the price point adds even more to its appeal. Lasts a bit longer on my skin and projection is slightly better. Right after the holiday season I’m definitely gonna grab a full bottle of this juice. I’ve found my new signature scent folks. Well done Alexandria.

This fragrance is honestly just as good as Layton. There is one caveat, and this is that Layton is a bit richer and a bit deeper. Not enough for anyone to notice unless they are really trying. As far as sillage, longevity go, RE is actually better. I am beside myself with this one honestly. When I first sprayed Layton on my body last year, I fell in love. I thought to myself that this is what pure magic smells like. This is what love must actually smell like. I was, and still am in love with PDM Layton, and I will always have this in my collection as I have formed precious memories with it. When I saw that RE was a Layton clone, I thought, "how dare something claim to be as good as my precious Layton". So I decided to evaluate it myself. I am blown away, and I am being honest here, Royal Equestrian is as good as Layton...if not better due to the price point, sillage and longevity.

Damn this is pretty close to Layton! Easily 90-95% similar. I love them both and believe it or not...when I wear them both side by side after about 10-15 min it’s very hard to tell the difference! The opening on RE is basically the drydown of Layton! RE on me is mostly linear the whole time. Projection and longevity on me anyway is 6-8 easy. I could still smell it the next morning. It actually lasted a little longer than Layton on me but not by much! Both amazing fragrances! I am a niche head...quality over quantity for me so I was skeptical about RE as it is a clone of Layton, but I gotta say it’s a damn good one! Def worth the purchase! My top 5 in my collection right now! Xerjoff-1861 Naxos Xerjoff-1861 Renaissance PDM-Herod FM-Portrait of a Lady Diptyque-Oud Palao Edit: 3/18/18 I’ve actually had a few compliments since purchasing RE! Great everyday fragrance if you choose!

It's not often that I actually prefer a clone, but it's happened here. I prefer the smell of Royal Equestrian to Layton. Layton is deeper, more complex, spicier, and smells more niche. Even so, I prefer the scent of RE. The apple is sharper and the vanilla smoother. I'm not a fan of the cardamom note in Layton, and it's not present here. The apple in Layton is sweeter and more realistic, but I prefer the sourer synthetic apple in RE by a long way. Performance of this is really good, and every time I wear it it seems to garner compliments. It's more of a crowd-pleaser than Layton. Have sampled over 200 frags, mostly niche, and Royal Equestrian is in my top 3.

apple, vanilla, woods,spices, and mass appeal....sounds like layton or simply put that Royal Eq is an amazing frag. This frag is not a budget alternative scent. this is equally as amazin as layton.budget or no budget, im glad that i added royal eq to my roster. this scent seems to work year round but go very lightly on the sprays in the warm months. i dont feel this scent is business appropiate but for a date,clubbin,and every other situation.....U GO BOY!!!!!!

Got 2mL of Alexandria's first batch for $45; best purchase I've made in a while. Here's my comparison to Layton. The opening of RE is detectably more synthetic, but the silage is practically screaming and stays at that 'volume' hours after Layton settles down. As for scent character after the first hour, it's identical as far as I can tell. Cheaper, better longevity and projection, and nearly identical smell after the first hour. Great stuff.

Compared this side by side with Layton and was pleasantly shocked with how nearly IDENTICAL RE is to Layton. RE actually projects slightly better and is slightly brighter. Extremely well done. Just getting into Alexandria recently, purchasing 14 samples and 3 full bottles... it’s been a great experience so far from both fragrance quality and service perspectives.

Opens with apple and a sharp spicy pepper note with sweet vanilla and woody accords in the background. On dry down, the fruity and spicy notes smooth out and the vanilla and cardamom comes though more. The florals are very light and deep in the background. I love the way this smells and performs. Longevity is good and projection is decent. Bottle worthy for sure.

I finally got my nose on this thanks to a friend that got a sample pack. this is better than Layton, and I've smelled that too. This has a much better open and it projects better. I split a 60 mL with my buddy. This will be one of my spring summer scents. There is no apple here but the way the notes play it makes you think there is apple.

Hands down, one of Alexandria Fragrances best! Vanilla, spicey, fresh, musky, aromatic and sure to please any crowd you're in. Own the crowd and night with this juice. Smells exactly like Laytons, last just as long, cost 1/5th of the price. 10/10

Alexandria always nails the PdM Fragrances they go after. This is an almost exact dupe of Layton, which I love. This is a great fragrance for the office as it isn’t overpowering or too spicy, just a nice bit of citrus, lavender, and apple notes.

A fresh and sweet version of Layton (imo better), I got it in a sample pack just to try it out and ended up buying a big bottle, smells so damn good. Definitely a sexy fragrance, easily made it in my top 5, and saved me $200+ dollars

More dense than layton, has all the best parts of layton I actually like it more than layton sometimes. Its more of an inspiration rather than a dupe it seems. its like 80% similar to my nose. My new signature scent 9/10

I bought this blind as I'm pretty new to the niche scene. All I can say is "Wow!" If this is close to what Layton smells like, Layton must smell incredible x2 because this just smells so incredibly fucking good!

The only difference I get is a slightly sour apple opening for Layton vs. a sweetly smooth apple opening with Royal Equestrian. Hany is damn near spot on with this clone. One of my favorites from the house.

Absolutely perfect balance of sweet, spicy, fresh. I prefer this over Layton and for the price can’t beat it.