Cereus No.5

This is a really good fragrance. I don't really get the Terre d' Hermes comparisons. TdH is so chemically synthetic that I cannot stand it. It starts off with a sort of slightly spicy citrus from the bergamot. After about 10 minutes it starts turning into a lightly sweet vetiver and woods and smells similar to Vetiver Tonka but much more masculine. Also, front and center is the Fennel and Licorice Bark. This part is magical. I love the scent this creates. I cannot stop sniffing my wrist. The longevity is excellent and the sillage is below average to average. Perfect work or casual scent.

I find this significantly lighter than Terre d'Hermes. I also find it sort of soapy, in a pleasant way though. It reminds me of something else I've smelled, like an old YSL or something, but I can't think of what it is. Not something I'd buy for myself, but it's pleasant.

This is a slightly lighter version of Terre D'Hermes. Good fragrance but if you have TDH available to you, I would not buy C5 and go with TDH instead. The price difference is less than $20. If the price was below $60 I would buy C5.

I get no licorice here... which is what I really wanted. It's all Terre d'hermes and nothing else. Very sad.

This has a touch of TdH to it, but is not nearly as sharp or "chemical." I'd call it a light version of Encre Noire with a twist of lemon, at least for the first half hour. I don't get licorice, fizzy coke, soapiness, lemon cookies (someone on BN said that), etc. And if you like Vetiver Tonka, but won't pay the price, you can try this at current prices. It's certainly nowhere near a "clone" (due to some different notes) but it has a similar construction. UPDATE: After a few hours it seems to soften and weaken, but I don't get any kind of major change in the scent itself. This is quite nice at current prices, less than $20 total for 75 ml. I'm not sure I'd want to spend much more, though, since it's not my favorite kind of scent. However, if you want a really cheap alternative to Vetiver Tonka, you could buy a bottle of this and layer it with another scent to try and get it close.