Infatuated

Incredibly interesting fragrance! I found this brand in a massive (niche) store and decided to give it a try as I've never heard of it before. After smelling a bunch of them and being kind of iffy with them, I decided to try this one and loved it. The opening is quite overpowering and strong, which initially put me off a little bit, so I dismissed it as kind of too strong and weird. I walked away but then completely fell in love with the drydown. It's woody and reminds me of the Le Labo offerings. Dusty, musky, dry and woody. A bit of fruit in there but by no means a lot of it, and the Oud is barely detectable. It reminds me of back alley niche perfume stores, hotel lobbies and malls in the Arabic states. Very clean, not funky at all. The idea of contradictions and actively encouraging layering of these fragrances is nice too and the fact that you get a poem and a layer suggestion in the very pretty box only contributes to an overall nice experience. This stuff is very potent, other offerings of this brand are not so much, so when choosing be careful. All of these (as far as I know) are Extrait concentration and last for quite some time, although when I talked to another person who was spraying some of these, we both agreed that Infatuated indeed seems to be the most potent, masculine and "in your face" offering, if you choose to call it this way. I still find it very smooth, subtle and friendly - a very comforting, dry and unique scent that feels more like a bookworm scent, rather than a clubbing one. I could definitely see someone in the library wearing this with almost slightly nerdy glasses, a formal style and clothes/accessories from brands that are either cruelty free or just overall indie and unknown. if you find a good deal on these, they are definitely worth to try - even the 134 euros for 50mls seem okay for Extrait concentration, good presentation and excellent performance. This has quickly become a new love and will definitely be worn a lot!

I'm not gonna lie, the first time I tried this I hated it. However, I like to give fragrances a few tries before I decide whether I really dislike them or not. With Infatuated, I'm very glad I did. It's a multi-faceted gem. The opening is akin to taming a wild stallion. Lots of rubber and pepper. She will square up to you for a fight to the death and she will win if you back down and give up. Sometimes it pays to be stubborn and this is one of those times. After about 10 minutes it begins to settle. It's more of a spicy wood. Quite enjoyable, but once you get to around 20-30 minutes she begins to shine and this fragrance does transform into a very beautiful pear and ginger crumble. It's quite unbelievable after such a challenging start but my word it is glorious. It does remind me of Side Effect as others have stated. This is the moment when the stallion named Infatuated lowers her head to you in respect and allows you to experience her at her most exquisite. I thoroughly enjoy this fragrance because it is such a shape-shifter. Many will call it "a scrubber" and that's okay. There are plenty of other fragrances out there that are an easy wear. This one likes to evolve and is exclusively for the patient olfactory explorers amongst us. I love her because she is never boring and that's why she is full bottle worthy. Longevity and silage are both strong. Starts off masculine but is unisex at her heart and base. She just needs you to take your time with her. She's a slow meander across a challenging yet beautiful mountain. Many try to climb her but fail. Those who reach the summit can see for miles.

So interesting. Bought the little 2ml sample from their website. Never had so many compliments Women go mad for it. Would like to smell it a woman too tbf. Definitely one to invest in when payday comes!

the only way to describe it is: men's locker room after everyone took a shower and sprayed their AXE. Lasts forever and is potent as heck. Depends what you're into it might be your jam but probably will give it to an older man in my family. The one I don't hug very often.

Unfortunately, my skin did not project the interesting nuances this fragrance promised. On first spray, it was overwhelmingly masculine smelling, pretty much what you would expect from a male body spray you'd get from the supermarket; the black pepper and rubber were the most prominent. Over the next hour or so the rubber and the black pepper calm down and the woody notes come out accompanied by a touch of the florals a bit later -- although you can only notice the florals if you're looking for them. A little bit of sweetness develops and the cheap body spray aspect is gone, but still masculine to my nose. By the hour and a half mark, it sits close to the skin, in fact by this point I wasn't sure if it had disappeared off my skin completely and i was only smelling it on my shirt. Regardless, it lasted for most of the day. All in all, I would definitely recommend this to a male friend, but on me, I didn't get any of the "pear and ginger crumble" wafting on the breeze as promised. Less of a lovesick teenager daydreaming about a teacher and more like a certain brooding vampire who disappears into the woods after watching his stalking victim sleep lmao.

I wish I liked this one. Maybe it's just my skin, but it really started out smelling like cat pee. The rubber, musk, and frankincense really dominated the scent at first (meaning for about 2 hours) and as a combination were extremely unpleasant. Sometimes enjoy scents that take time to reach their peak, but this one just wasn't it. Once it fully settled, it took on a warmer rubber scent, more frankincense, musk, and rubber, but this time the rest of the base notes really start to jump out. If that alone was the scent, I would consider giving it a better rating, but even then, it's quite noxious. The intense sillage also makes the dry down process difficult to bear. It took over my entire kitchen and overpowered the burning toast I had going on. The idea behind this one is great, but it's just too chaotic and not well thought out.

I love contradictions in Ilk but this smells like someone wearing Versace eros got tarred and feathered.

Please don't listen to the negative reviews below and take my word for it .....this is a criminally underrated unisex gem that is office friendly and non-offensive. You should get 6+ hours of longevity with the first 2 hours of projection being slightly above moderate. Not exactly eternal beast mode but she gets the job done. The dominant notes are the pear/custard combo, rubber pencil eraser, dry lavender, woods, and a touch of grass. All the other notes are just background dancers but listen closely and you can feel the saffron and pepper. This shit is like liquid crack, so alluring. Also a massive compliment getter. First time I smelled this was in a 2ml sample vial and the first few sprays were VERY strong with the rubber, however, I purchased a full bottle and no longer have this problem. I guess the more concentrated smaller spray bottle amped up that particular note for the first 20 seconds before calming down. This is prob why people had a "Whoaa" experience on first application. The full bottle sprayer covers a wider area upfront so all the notes shine equally without any one overpowering. If you got the sample too and really like the scent, but thought it was too strong at first .....buy the full bottle. You're welcome America.

Oh my - another favourite. The story is a fun one (School crush/obsession. We've all been there once upon a time!) and the scent is again very unexpected. It both typically masculine and feminine too - a real 'gender neutral'. Lots of dark woods from the oud with nice rich peppery-ness, reminds me of school libraries and halls! But the freshness from the wet grass and almost astringent quality of the rubber pull this into a different space. I feel really confident when I wear this, and I'm infatuated with my left arm because I can't stop sniffing it!

Another fragrance ruined by oud. I don’t know if it’s my skin, my nose, or both, but I can’t get on with it. I saw the notes of custard and rubber and thought ‘this one looks interesting’, then I saw the oud and thought ‘oh no!’. Two quick sprays from the sample and the oud is overpowering. It does smell of rubber, and it does calm down after a couple of hours. An interesting fragrance but not one I’d want to buy or wear.