Riviera

English Laundry Riviera is my third from this house and it doesn't disappoint at all. I might actually go so far as to say it is my favorite from the house and if I were to replenish any of the three, this would be it due to its uniqueness. I found Riviera in a TJ Maxx and to date is only the second I have bought from there since my local TJ Maxx's aren't that good with selection if not, pricing. Riviera was the cheapest English Laundry find I found at $15 for 100 ml while my signature was a $27 for 100 MP and Oxford Bleu is a decant. Riviera's scent is basically Chanel Allure Homme Sport but with some YSL L'Homme spice to it and Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme sweetness. It is a little bit unique and not a total clone which is what this house is mostly known for. Riviera opens woody but has some strong citrus in it with the lemon turning to mandarin orange. The wood is supported by the nutmeg and pepper mid. The base has some Tonka and more woody. This scent is very creamy and nearly aquatic. Performance is nice. An hour to hour and a half of moderate projection and about 4/5 hours of being a lingering skin scent. From what I hear of Allure Homme Sport, it is about the same but nearly five times the price for the same sized bottle. Can't go wrong with that. Wearability may be a problem though. It is very much a summer spicy scent. You can wear it outside in spring and even fall. It can be worn in the office all year and casually, but it is only OK for dates (especially if your date knows frags) and it isn't an active scent to me due to the spice and sweetness in the base. Don t wear this dressed up. Overall I give English Laundry Riviera a 8.4 out of 10. I love it, but it isn't a skeleton key all time all occasion scent.

Soft & Wearable, Clean WOODS, CITRUS & AMYRIS. Opens with a woody-citrus burst of cedar supported by a trio of citruses (bergamot, lemon & lime). There's a lot going on here in the heart, but you get some spicy aromatics with pepper, nutmeg & lavender, and a near-fruity sweetness that slowly emerges from mandarin & a grape-leaning jasmine, supported by multi-faceted coumarin & vetiver that bring some sweet, warm and grassy touches. This all rests on a shades-of-wood base with amyris bringing some piney-balsamics with a citrus nuance. I particularly enjoy the amyris here - the longer it's on the skin, the sweeter it gets and nearer to fruitiness. This has the English Laundry men's DNA, which for me is an enjoyable, soft, wearable, faintly-soapy & woody vibe. This isn't a beast mode performance, but that's one of the things that I like because it never overpowers. This is targeted to men, and does lean masculine, but anyone could wear it. Has average performance for a spring-summer wearing experience. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

This is my first English Laundry fragrance and I love it. After initially seeing English Laundry Signature and Arrogant at TJ Maxx and noticing they got fairly good reviews plus were generally around $12 so I decided to keep my eyes open for one that was a fresh scent. I saw this one today boxed and wrapped at Burlington for $12 and decided to jump on it since I had never seen this before. I am getting down to the last few squirts of my discontinued Kenneth Cole T-shirt (which I do in fact spray on my t-shirts) so I badly needed to find a replacement. I saw others complain about the longevity of this frag but I gave it one test spray on my shirt 5 hours ago and it's definitely still there. It is probably due for another soon. I would say for work purposes, longevity is just right. If it's anything like KC T-Shirt on skin, yeah, it will disappear quite quickly. Well, I definitely lucked out on this frag, just in time too. Certainly worth $12 on clothing.

I get a little bit of La Nuit De L'Homme for the first 20 minutes; probably from the spices and brighter aspects of the citrus creating a cardamom-y illusion. Other than that I get a very fresh, tangy citrus blend on top of mowed grass. Reminds me quite a bit of Sauvage EDP, kind of a candied lemon vibe. Hmmm. No detectable ambroxan though Gonna need to think this one through, it's sort of a mess but also very pleasant. My brain is still trying to make sense of all the notes. Right now it's a solid "like" for me. I'm just on the cusp of loving it. What’s confusing is the heart; I get a bit of Jergens lotion under the aquatic citrus scent.Slightly creamy/oily and just a bit smoky/medicinal. Florals+sandal+guaiac perhaps? **edit** at the far edges of the drydown, I get jasmine and woody notes+vetiver. Interestingly, this final phase reminds me of a very toned down Mugler Alien.

I love the English Laundry clothing line, so I'd decided to try out some of their fragrances and heard a lot about Oxford Bleu and Tahitian Waters. This one starts off with a fresh blast of citrus. The acidic scent is pleasing and it quickly dries down into the sweeter, woody scent while keeping its freshness. This fragrance certainly projects and the longevity is up there with some of the longer lasting EDT's. If you want to be a different kind of fresh-smelling and stand out, give this one a shot! It's got the power and projection to get you noticed in a social setting. 7/10 for me! Cheers!