Escada Casual Friday

Stupid name but a remarkable fragrance - a complex, elegant blend of aromatic, floral, resinous, woody, coumarin, amber and patchouli - intoxicating in its beauty and uncompromising in its masculinity. The patchouli is so subtle that it enriches the composition without asserting its own identity Blind bought this years ago when it was heavily discounted (because of Magnetism for Men and Escada Pour Homme) and it lingered at the back of my wardrobe for years. It was only after my fondness for Escada Magnetism for Men was reawakened that I first wore Casual Friday and what began as a like rapidly became a love. Every single time I wear this, random strangers ask what I'm wearing. Maybe it's because it's almost Christmas and people are buying gifts for their loved ones, but today I had FOUR people ask me what it was. The only other fragrances that ever elicited so much curiosity are Magnetism for Men, Molecule 01 and Egoïste. The overture features a bold lavender that made me re-evaluate my feelings about a note I used to hate because it reminded me of unpleasant old women. In Casual Friday the lavender is rich and woody, totally different to every other iteration of that floral note with the exception of Mauboussin Homme. It used to baffle me why anyone would put a phytoestrogen (a botanical analog of the female sex hormone oestrogen) like lavender in men's fragrances. Until recently. In the old days, essential oils were sold at pharmacies, and, for my dilettante dabblings in perfumery I collect old essential oils. Earlier this year, bought a hundred year old bottle of Magnus, Mabee & Reynard American Cedar EO from the estate of an old pharmacy and the auctioneers included a complimentary bottle of lavender oil of the same vintage. The lavender was like nothing I had ever experienced- rich, woody, resinous, camphoraceous, more like a wood than a flower. It was this experience that shattered my prejudices about lavender. Apologies for the digression, the point I was trying to make is that Casual Friday is unconventional - a rich, sophisticated sensory experience that harnesses a sumptuous panoply of botanical notes in the style of Habit Rouge and Pontaccio 21, resulting in a complex fragrance that is unmistakably masculine. Not sure what Casual Friday means to others, but for me, the name "Casual Friday" has negative connotations - reminds me of being a corporate wage-slave in the heady days before the Global Financial Crisis, when obscenely prosperous investment banks would feign humanity by granting their serfs one day a week of illusory freedom from their expensively-tailored uniforms of indentured servitude for "Mufti Day". See how fun it is to work here? We have a gym and an espresso bar and on Fridays you can wear anything you want - so long as it's a button-down shirt and chinos. And brogues. No jeans, no cargo pants, no shorts, no t-shirts, no sneakers, no boat shoes. Margaretha Ley and Escada always marched to the beat of their own drum (eg Moon Sparkle ) but God only knows what they were thinking when they gave such a beautiful fragrance such a stupid name. In any case, Casual Friday is a real gem that seems to have eluded the iconic status of its more famous sibling Escada Pour Homme. Quite unlike anything else I'm familiar with - a seductive, multi faceted blend that combines the best aspects of its ingredients, aromatic-floral-coumarin-woody-amber with the subtle warmth of patchouli, and the dry down is sublime. One thing I admire about Casual Friday is its versatility - you could wear this to a job interview or on a date, to a wedding, a funeral or a big night out. Work or play, formal or informal - it works. It's intoxicating and even sexy, but it's so classy that the sexiness is present as an aspect of its beauty, like a blazer. Wear it with a t-shirt and it's playful, relaxed and sexy, but the same blazer with a shirt and tie looks sharp. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example.

Super enjoyable fragrance. It opens a little bit generic - if you've smelled a 90s masculine before, you'll probably recognize that telltale blend of lavender, bergamot, tarragon, and other vague aromatics. However, it quickly fades away to a delicious anise-lavender combo on a luscious bed of vanilla, spice, florals, and wood. Carnation is prominent in the mid, as is a light fruitiness that's almost reminiscent of something tropical - maybe even banana? As the fragrance develops, it gets spicier, woodier, boozier, and almost smoky. Smelled close to skin, it has kind of a "granular" texture, with the cedar, oakmoss, carnation, and patchouli very present along with the vanilla. In the air, though, it smells lush, soft, and "fluffy" as many have mentioned, a delicious mix of lavender, anise, vanilla, and spice. On smell alone, this is an absolutely wonderful scent that smells NOTHING (imo) like Le Male or Au Masculin. Performance is outstanding - 10+ on my skin with great projection. I also love the bottle. It feels heavy, weighty, and premium, plus how many ceramic bottles do you have in your collection? The design is weird, but personally I really dig that weird late 90s Taco Bell aesthetic it's got. Overall, the only real complaint with this is the price. $300-400 is simply ridiculous for a fragrance which probably cost around $30-40 when it was first released. It is a wonderful, even niche quality kind of scent by Dominique Ropion, but it ain't worth $300. I was lucky to get it for about $120, NIB, and that was a steal. More than that, I would honestly say just forget about it. If you can find it for an okay price, though...Get it. I don't agree with a lot of comments saying this is not special or only for people who wore it back in the day. I am 26 (going on 27) and I absolutely love this scent. My 26 year old girlfriend loves it too. So clearly there is something to it. Overall, this is yet another amazing discontinued fragrance that is lost to time. Pour one out for a real one. 9/10

There are a whole lot of fragrances out there that deserve to be discontinued, but certainly not this gem. I'm a woman and I love wearing it. It gets really sweet on my skin and the hint of aftershave keep people guessing. Top notes smell typically of men's cologne, but wait till you get to the dry down where the woody notes mingle with chocolate, creating something sweet, bitter and aromatic all at the same time. The perfect fragrance for when i want to be taken seriously ;)

hi Lucky me , finally i put my hand on this scarce masterpiece yesterday , i couldnt believe my self , why people say it is discontinued . This is a very sophisticated scent you just cannot stop smelling it , what a wounderful combination of bergamot,lavender and patchouli. very good longevity specially on clothes and sillage is also gr8. Really amaazing. This one should be a must have for any perfume lover. definetely it is one of my favourate.

I spray it to my arm and................WOW!!!!!!! it's just different scent for day and night times, it's a treasure. Good job Dominique Ropion. Update: C'mon don't make me dissapointed because I hear this fragrance Discontinued, I tell you, if you have a chance find this fragrance at online store or retail, pretty sure bring this home and take another bottle for backup, I guess you'll never regret it. Sillage 9/10 Longevity 8/10 Scent 9.5/10

My personal favorite fragrance of all time. Just bought 75ml for £300 after buying a 5ml bottle for £50. For fans of Prada fragrances. Clean, powdery and sweet. Lavender/Vanilla fougere that smells like marshmallows whilst being classically masculine. You can get pretty close by layering Mauboussin Homme and Lempicka Homme. Use more Lempicka though and spray it in the same places to prevent smelling the different profiles separately.

Fluffy heaven!! A true masterpiece and it break's my heart that this is no longer available. 2-3 sprays of this and it would fill your nose all day with non stop evolving scents of pure delight. Sometimes I want to give up on the frag game when I remember how good these scents of yesterday performed compared to today's sissys. The Ebay pricing on this is stupidly insane.

Yet another wonderful scent that got discontinued! Do scent makers ever listen to what people love and want??? It has everything I love in perfume: sweet, spicy and woody notes. Very versatile - good to be worn during the day as well as - contrary to what the name suggests - on very formal occasions! It's delicious! If only I could lay my hands on it..

While I don ́t like Escada Pour Homme, I adore Escada Pour Homme Casual Friday. It ́s one of those scents which came above its time. Casual Friday is a delicious fragrance. What I get is spicy vanilla. It might smell like a couple of fragrances but I couldn ́t find anything like it. If it would come out these days it would be a hit.

This is one of the understated and relatively unknown perfumes out there and it's a pity it has been discontinued (unless you want to pay a three-digit figure on ebay). It's subtle and fresh, while it has a comfortable and relaxed warmth - an ideal day fragrance in my opinion.

Hi UPDATE This is really OUTSTANDING fragrance i cant stop my self using it every day & night i think im in love with this one. I dont know why this is not so popular becoz its just far better from many other popular fragrances . Now i can call it a MASTERPIECE from SCADA.

My all time favorite, I was so sad when it was discontinued. This fragrance worked so well for me and I would always get complements. I’ve been searching for years for something to replace it but sadly still haven’t found anything like this one.

Amazing! I used to use when came out was really strong and long lasting and longevety! I bought again fews years ago by ybay but I can't remmember is smell the same or something different but original one when it came out was superb! Top one

Am desperate for this fragrance, but no way on Earth is it worth what people are trying to get, no wonder they haven't sold. Back to this tho, do I remember smells of Chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla?

I love it but Unfortunately discontinued.. :( I couldn ́t find anything like this, very sexy and lovely.. What do you think about something like this fragrance? Do you know fragrance like it?

To all you people reading it, whom are selling it online for a price +120 dollars a botle; ****You should be ashamed of your self!****

I really don't understand all the people comparing this one to JPG Le Male, it defiantly has it's own thing going on.

A masculine lavender scent. Just downright pleasant from start to finish. This goes to the top of my rotation. 7/10

It's a chame one of the best fragrance i ever smeld and discontinued :((((

Great fragrance , i have 2x 40ml for sale..