Speed Legends Le Mans Classic

First off, this and Essential Parfums - Bois Imperial are the exact same thing. Just the latter is a 1/4th the price. Its so close its crazy, I now own both. When I smelled it in the department store I thought it smelled similar but I'm such a sucker for this scent profile I wanted to believe there would be differences. There are differences, BI projects slightly better and has slightly longer longevity. I will say the scent of SL is of higher quality but not by 4x. With that said, here is my thoughts. The citrus and black current are much more of a flavor for an aromatic sweet sage than anything else. It melds beautifully with the tonka and ambers they have going on. Its not syrupy, grassy, or citric. Its very light, super aromatic, and just an all around easy to enjoy scent. I would describe this as a masculine leaning floral aromatic. In the same execution style as reflection man, but not similar smelling. This scent profile is beautiful and mass appealing, definitely very well done. Pretty linear after the first 10 minutes and struggles to project without heat. The longevity is right were you would expect any fresher aromatic type scent to be, but it is not a freshy. I'm not upset I own both of these VERY similar scents, also Ganymede does a lot of the same stuff as well, just different notes. I will however re purchase the Essential Parfums bottle when I run out of both, not the Ex Nihilio, and I will have to run out of both to repurchase anything. They are the same thing, and I hate the "reminds me of" section. Beautiful scent though.

I was a bit hesitant with an Ex Nihilo. I think the house creates beautiful incredible high quality perfumes but often too beautiful for me. I like my fragrances real, somewhat unpolished and masculine. Speed Legends goes quickly to its core of black current / clary sage and vetiver. Not persé beautiful or very nice but clean/bitter, manly and self-possessed. I think it suits confident mature men, 35 - 65. The house could have added notes to make this fragrance more suitable for more people or even unisex. I am glad though that they didn’t. They would have created another generic fresh men’s fragrance of which there are already hundreds or perhaps thousands made. I love the racy opening of SL and then how SL soon settles down to that seemingly simple core of black current / clary sage and vetiver. I find it absolutely fantastic but I also know that many people won’t understand. This opening reminds of Le Galion’s Sang Bleu, the original formulation. The opening shares that kind of strong piercing raciness. The Le Galion kept that going for hours. SL settles soon to a grounding and confident kind of core of black current / clary sage and vetiver. That’s it. Perfect. *I just noticed that I have and reviewed the new Ex Nihilo Speed Legends. It is slightly reformulated. The first (limited edition) release had indeed eg sage which is now replace by clary sage etc.

Now this is nice. An excellently executed citrus, fresh and woody fragrance that’s classic without feeling dated. It manages to balance an old school gentleman’s fragrance but with a contemporary vibe. The top notes sparkle with the bergamot accompanied with the sage that adds a herbal element. The blackcurrant adds a touch of fruity depth but, fortunately for me, it’s not overbearing or too obvious. All of this is underpinned with the woody elements, slightly sweetened with the amberwood and tonka. There’s an almost aquatic element without it being an aquatic fragrance. This was a very pleasant surprise as the scent wasn’t what I was expecting, looking at the listed notes. It’s much fresher and brighter than expected. It really feels like high quality ingredients have been used here and unlike some other Ex Nihilo offerings, this smells more natural. It’s very well balanced and blended. Performance so far seems okay with above average longevity and a nice amount of projection although this does die back. I also think this is very versatile too and could be worn in various seasons and for different occasions. Classy presentation finishes everything off beautifully. I really can’t fault it. I have a number of Ex Nihilo fragrances but this will, I’m sure, become my favourite out of those I own. Well done Jordi Fernandez and Ex Nihilo. A massive hit for me.

This is my introduction to the house, following Jordi and Bisch here to sample their offerings in a different house. I have to say that I bought this one due to the bargain price I was able to get it at, but I did want to purchase the Extrait version of Outcast Blue, as well as Venenum Kiss, both which no doubt I'll acquire. This is what I assumed Masculin Pluriel by MFK would smell like, but didn't. This is simply amazing, there is nothing new about it, yet it's still unique. It's a very subtle smell, nothing loud about it, yet it's gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. The price point that it's at makes it quite a pretty penny due to it' performance, but I'd gladly pay full price. It's got a hint of old barbershop smell, definitely lavender in there, or an accord. It is blended to perfection and there is nothing about it that's cheap or not worth its price point, just shame about its performance. It's extremely versatile, any where any time, anyone although id' say a tad masculine leaning due to it having a barbershop hint. A lovely introduction to the house and I've already bought their new Chandigarh Express and eyeing up their Outcast Blue. Enjoy and God bless :)

This one, though. I am so glad I blind-bought this. Let me start off by saying this disappointed me on the initial spray. It immediately came off as a fluffy-musky laundry detergent. Pretty soapy, but very detergent-like. I chose to wear it yesterday, and it kind of blew my mind. While it still has that laundry detergent vibe, it has such an amazing late vanilla, masculine touch. It is like drinking something that tastes pretty good, but leaves a weird aftertaste. Only in this case, the aftertaste is SO good. It is quite simple, nothing groundbreaking, but it is done unbelievably well, and I am honestly thinking this might crack my top 5. Don't come in expecting anything out of this world. But, seriously, don't judge this on the first spray. Give it time.