Desert

A niche quality and affordable typical tobacco accord ! Very masculine and this DNA is not new at all, but it goes against current trends in men's fragrances, while remaining warm and distinguishing itself from rather old and dated men's perfumes. Overall great all-year arround scent if you want to smell good without venturing into the niche territory of certain scents. Ultimately, this perfume would be a high-quality mainstream fragrance for me. Regarding the notes, I don't really detect the oud (which is a bit of a shame in my opinion), but the warm tobacco is absolutely delicious, accompanied by honeyed notes and a certain freshness brought by the bergamot and neroli in the opening. The base is almost vanilla, but it's definitely this masculine tobacco that dominates throughout the fragrance's development. The longevity is decent, around 6 hours, with a sillage of one to two hours.

I'm a girl!! And I love this!! Mind you, I crave oriental juices in general: oudh, patchouli, cardamom (but also lush whites like gardenia, jasmine, tuberose). Désert starts out somewhat harsh, but soon settles into a warm, slightly sweet woody delight. To me, it's very cozy/cuddly. That must be the tobacco and tonka. Like someone said, sitting in front of a fire in a puffy chair and feeling right with the world and calm. This might be nice layered over some of the Arabian fragrance oils (Swiss Arabian, al Haramain, etc.) to accentuate the woodiness or bring out the sweet notes in this. Like all Fragonards (to which I am currently addicted), excellently crafted with top-drawer essential oils with something a bit unique in each one. Gorgeous!

This is very nice honey-based floral citrusy fragrance. I was afraid because of the oud note but Im not feeling it at all (which is good). Aura is moderate and longevity is bit low (up to 2 hours) but I dont expect every fragrance to be in the beast mode. This one is for spring/fall and non-offensive, pleasant.

A steal at that price. I love it and always have a bottle. Intoxicating, smells delicious, to me it's a bit more of a night scent but works all the time. Performance are average to low.

Let's say that Desert is inspired by a number of fragrances (I get whiffs from Lanvin Avant Garde, Burberry London for Man, Fendi Fan di Fendi PH amongst others). It opens with a rich, if a bit screechy, citrusy note that spearheads a layer of sweet and rich cold-weather notes (tonka, tobacco), with some spiciness coming from saffron, which is just barely perceptible. The mandarin/bergamot combo with sweeter notes makes it a bit more apt for autumn than winter, as the sweet tartness refreshes a bit the overall scent profile. I don't get oud at all, while beeswax brings the creaminess of the drydown rather than the smell of beeswax itself (if all, I get more honey than beeswax). It's not a groundbreaking fragrance, the scent profile is very common and it does things done already by countless other fragrances, despite being quite versatile itself in having a fresher citrusy opening than most scents it calls its daddies, making it suitable both at day and night. It projects well but the performance is rather weak, although all in all it smells nicely and it's quite affordable. Most fragheads would pass, but if you happen to be anywhere near Grasse and don't mind a deviation to tour the factory and the shop, it could be a nice, inexpensive present for family and friends. It's a like for me.