Coup de Foudre Eau de Parfum

I got a 8ml x 3 fragrance bundle of Bortnikoff from Maxaroma containing Coup De Foudre, Vetiver Nocturne and Triad and out of all 3, this was my love at first sniff (no pun intended considering Coup De Foudre means "love at first sight" in French). It was surprising since this was what I had the least amount of confidence in from all 3 after watching the limited number of reviews of it on Youtube. It is an exotic blend of florals, citruses, green notes and more resinous sweet and woody base notes that give off a truly unique and beautiful scent that evolves and keeps you completely engaged from start to finish. Like most Bortikoffs, it smells very natural and is expertly blended making it difficult to pick out individual notes. I can agree to a certain extent that it is a Citrus-Gourmand as advertised but the amount of depth and complexity this has is unlike any citrus gourmand I've ever smelt. In that sense it behaves like how a complex Chypre would act, but since it lacks Oakmoss, it doesn't give off an old-school vibe (like a Chypre would) and it feels more modern. Similar to a Chypre, the ideal time to use it would be during the daytime in transitional seasons like Spring and Fall (though you can pull it off on cooler summer days too). My only knock on this would be the longevity of it which is rather fleeting. I get around 1 hour of moderate to light projection and it's a skin scent for 2 hours more before it completely disappears (total longevity is around 3 hours). Due to this performance issue, I really cannot recommend buying a full bottle of it but it's a scent you must try especially if you're a fan of sweeter Chypres (like MDCI's Chypre Palatin). Having said that, once my decant runs out I might consider buying a full bottle since that's how much I love this short-lived beauty. Scent: 9.5/10 Projection: 5/10 Longevity: 3/10

Update: wearing this late Spring morning; I thought it needs to go in my top 5. The orange, cinnamon, tea open is great. Lots going on with this one, spices, pine, florals. Yet not too busy, just well blended and very enjoyable. This was a great surprise, blind buy. I saw a decent price on a partial bottle with the wooden cap. The older bottles of Bortnikoffs seem to always be better. This is not the extrait, so I'm glad about it. As we are in late Spring and warmer weather. This is a unique fragrance, and very well blended. Some say it's their favorite Bortnikoff. I can see why. It remindes me of the great discontinued classic "1962" Floris. Pine is a favorite note. So I can identify it better than most. It's a strong player in this, as cypress is in 1962. This is citrus fresh, with the orange and cinnamon accord, and some great spiciness. A touch of oud. The florals are great and fresh, but don't dominate at all. I found that most Bortnikoff fragrances are blended for mass apeal. This is one that goes against the grain, some. The spiciness is unique and a bit daring. The turmeric and black pepper accord. That's why I would say it's one of his very best fragrances. It has an edge and character. Yet it's balanced with a good amount of natural sweetness, that will make it overall appealing to most. Rating: 9.5/10 God bless. John 3:16

An excellent floral citrus gourmand fragrance. This one is similar to the original. Opens up with a spicy floral citrus combination and leads into a floral woody base. Although it is of weaker concentration compared to the original (edp VS the original Extrait) the basenotes are more prominent lending the drydown a more woody and almost smokey quality at stages. It also feels lighter and is more airy in its cologne concentration. Those who missed out on the first one have an excellent opportunity to experience this fragrance. For those who have the original this version is different enough to justify having both releases. Projection is moderate and longevity is good.

I don’t know anything about the original, but this version is gorgeous. Citrus and cinnamon, then sweet florals. I easily pick out champaca—one of my favorite and seldom used florals—and it makes me so curious about the reviews below, stating that the original extract composition had a more pronounced champaca note. Coup de Foudre’s opening projection went past the hour mark, then the dry down brings out more florals and wood. I’m satisfied with the 4 plus hours of performance I’m getting. It’s a mild Pacific Northwest day, so I’ll need to wear it again in warmer weather.

A lighter more easily wearable version of the original citrus gourmand scent that launched this house. The perfume opens with a variety of citruses, tea and pepper. The heart is floral with a nice selection of white and yellow florals. The perfume settles into a powdery base of resins and woods along with vanilla, labdanum, and turmeric. Overall a nicely blended composition that feels light in spite of so many heavy notes, especially in this Eau de Parfum version. Not the best offering from this line, this unisex scent with moderate projection and longevity will appeal to more adventurous perfume lovers and those looking for slightly more dense summer colognes. Enjoy!

This smell’s surprisingly similar to some of the other citrus based Bortnikoff’s. I love it... but I’ll probably test another sample in the future before considering. Update: big pass on this one now that I smelled the extract version... which I MUST HAVE! Wonderful and so much deeper an experience than this one.

Smells somewhat intriguing but at the same time forgettable, sillage poor, longevity poor, massively overpriced. Which fortunately means a massive pass for me :(

Disclaimer: I have not tried the original. This opens up a dark floral on me and some of the darker notes seem to go away after a minute or two to reveal a sweet orange melded with florals (mostly champaca) on a resinous base. I get more benzoin than cinnamon. Longevity of this is on me is not very long (2-3 hours). I think this may be one of the samples I will finish and eventually buy a FB of. As with most Bortnikoffs, I do recommend trying a sample first.

this one is quite different from the extrait version... i get mostly balsamic resin, bitter tea and the citrus, which for me is quite a departure from the extrait version... not really speaking to me, i must say, but it is worth noting that it shifts and changes quite a bit... overall, worth a shot, but not my fave from the line...

The notes are different, very different but this smells like a less animalic MDCI Chypre Palatin. They're very very similar, like 80-90% similar