Aristo

First wearing so I will edit later after I've worn it a few times. Initial thoughts: The ginger opening reminds me slightly of Jean Lowe Immortal; it's just that this Aristo fragrance is done better. Much better. I think the opening is the best part of the fragrance. I'd almost say it's beautiful. Very nice ginger opening, obviously mixed with orange, but there is another spicy note in there that I think is Cardamom. It's a little sexy and the vanilla isn't overdone like you might think, especially with Middle Eastern frags. Instead, this starts drying down into a subtle lemon cake, but not spun sugar, ethyl-maltol dripping cake. (The first sprays I did earlier had some very rough earthy notes on the drydown, that literally smelled like dirt). But these next round of sprays are what I'm talking about in this edit, and 99% of that earthy smell is gone. I'm getting patchouli shortly after the topnotes fade, and sitting upon this somewhat creamy base of patchouli and "sandalwood" is a subtle ginger/lemon cake. But don't worry, it's not a patchouli bomb, nor is it a screaming ginger-lemon cake, think subtle. It's well balanced. The opening is the best part, in my opinion. As it dries down further you get some amber (see below) and I get a little powderyness. Have not smelled the OG so I cannot comment on the comparison. I will say that if this is what it's clone smells like, then Ingenious Ginger really is a good frag. So far, a like, but I think it may suffer a little in performance. It feels a little too soft and drawn close to the skin. after a relatively short time. More: Once it's settled, a little bit of amber comes out, and NO, this doesn't smell like Imperial Amber (the clone of Blond Amber) BUT that nuance of amber is also found here. That subtle dry-woody tone. Here it's just to a much slighter degree. Will edit later after more wearings, but so far, ok. (I know some men avoid overly vanillic scents because they can come across as feminine, but this definitely isn't like that. I will say that the drydown is a little lackluster compared to the opening as the longer it sits, the flatter it becomes. It just doesn't have a lot of complexity.

New Review: I have an old review somewhere in here but I'm too lazy to find it. The point is I've worn this a lot more over this past couple of months. Now, some people are kind of picking on the guy below, Polterghost. He said it smells like a vanilla ashtray, and honestly, my bottle smelled like that when I first got it. In the old review, I mentioned it smelling earthy and bitter. And maybe if you put your nose right up to it, you will still get that after letting the fragrance mature. But the more I wear this, the more I enjoy it. It has great longevity (which is normal for most sticky vanilla perfumes). The wife loves it. Don't forget that most Middle Eastern perfumes smell totally different in the air than on skin. Its a nice powdery, vanilla- ginger with a beautiful opening. It sticks with you for hours and hours, and I think I was going noseblind before. In any case, what I like about this is that it doesn't really smell fem to me. Even though it's vanilla, it doesn't have that sugary vibe going on; it still maintains a masculine edge. It's also quite uniqie, but yes, this is suited more for winter/fall/cool evenings. Changed my review from a like to a love.

Aristo has been getting a lot of hype lately, and honestly... it earns it. Right off the top, you get a beautiful burst of bright citrus mixed with a spicy, slightly zesty ginger. It’s fresh, energetic, and immediately grabs attention. As it settles, some soft floral nuances come through, smoothing things out without taking away from that signature ginger kick. The dry down is where it really shines. You get a clean blend of vanilla and cashmere woods that adds a smooth, slightly sweet warmth while still keeping that fresh, spicy character intact. It comes across elegant, refined, and very easy to wear. Performance is solid for this type of fragrance. Expect moderate projection with around 4 to 5 hours of longevity. It’s not a beast, but that’s pretty much in line with the original. This is also one of those scents that could improve a bit with maceration over time. Overall, this is a really well-done clone of Ingenious Ginger. If you like that clean citrus and spicy ginger DNA with a soft sweet base, this is an easy pickup. I’m definitely keeping this one in the rotation... but I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for this DNA.

To my nose this is very close to the original (ingenious ginger by Goldfield&Banks) it’s a little more spicy to me in the open, when you first smell I get this ginger citrus with a hint of vanilla, but as your nose pull away it’s a vanilla after smell. When it drys down it gets more smooth and the vanilla becomes the most prominent note to me. On my skin it gets three hours of good projection, like two feet, and then it becomes an intimate scent for the next three hours, and then finally the last two hours are a skin scent. I think this is a very well crafted scent, I loved the original so I had to try this one, and it didn’t disappoint me. I would say a good summer, spring, signature scent, and definitely unisex, but if anything male leaning. Separate note the bottle, box, and cap are very high quality. It also has a pretty solid atomizer. All in all like a 9/10, I really enjoy this one.

Lovely fragrance. I have not tried Ingenious Ginger, so I don't know how close this is as a clone. I do know that it is a very, citrus and ginger focused scent on the opening and dries down into something that's still citrus and ginger but with more and more vanilla as time goes by. Haven't paid attention to how long it lasts, but I'm pretty sure I go nose blind to it long before it actually stops projecting. Nice bottle, decent atomizer (a little underwhelming compared to other Arabiyat bottles, but still good), and a great price. Edit: this has quickly replaced Marwa (which replaced Jo Malone Sage & Sea Salt last year) as my go-to for warm/hot weather days. I LOVE this fragrance. I'll still mix in Marwa, Sage & Sea Salt, and a few others to keep things interesting, but this is The One.