Apex

Okay, so. I went to a penhaligon's store in Covent Garden just before Lockdown, as I was just starting out on my fragrance journey. I tried out a selection of their samples, and Blazing Mr Sam really stood out to me. Not because I liked it, but because to my mind it was the very worst of the lot. Anyways, as time went by, my nose matured, and tobacco scents started popping up on my radar in the winter of 2023. I saw Ash from Gents Scents name check Apex, and thought I'd give it a go. Unfortunately, when the bottle arrived and I tried it, I really didn't like it. It was quite a mess, and very very synthetic. I tried it several times but just couldn't get into it Anyways, fast forward to this winter, and as I changed my bottoes over from Spring/Summer to Autumn/Winter, Apex was sat at the very back looking all sad and lonely. This evening, I decided after 2 years in the wilderness to give it a light quarter-spray on my forearm. I expected my usual olfactory response from 2 years ago, but colour me purple, I was shocked. The scent immediately took me back to that store in the West end of London, all those years ago. After 2 years sat in the dark, everything smells exactly where it should, and seems exceptionally well blended. The synthetic overtones are completely gone, and it smells like a very well dressed refined gentleman, sitting by the fire, swirling a glass of brandy. I've had it on for 5 hours now and it's still pushing very well. I can see this being a night time Christmas banger this year, although I will definitely be going light on the sprays as this is a total beast. To summarise, after a 6 years journey with this fragrance profile, I have completely fallen in love with something I once detested. Fragrance World have done exceptionally well here, especially for one of their slightly older releases. My tip. Buy a bottle, spray it a dozen times down the toilet, chuck it in the back of your wardrobe and come back to it a couple of years later. Your future, and slightly older self will most CERTAINLY appreciate your past self for doing so.

* Brilliant hybrid tobacco/fougere/gourmand fragrance * Smooth blend of sweet, tobacco, spicy, herbal, vanilla, woody and patchouli musk aromas * Fresh but deep and complex aroma * Niche quality for discounter price * A tobacco fragrance that is actually good for younger users * Good performer * Very masculine despite the smoothness * Good for outdoor activities and social occasions * Cool presentation * May lean too masculine for some female users * Not good for those dislike sweet fragrances * Not good for those who dislike tobacco fragrances * Herbals and spices may come off a bit sharp to some noses, especially the cardamom Fragrance World's Apex is a clone of Penhaglion's The Blazing Mr. Sam. This is a brilliant fragrance, combining a classic tobacco DNA with fougere and gourmand touches to come up with an incredibly smooth and cohesive whole. This is a smooth blend of sweet, tobacco, spicy, herbal, vanilla, woody and patchouli musk aromas. In fact, Apex will remind you of being out in a fresh tobacco field which is actually a very pleasant smell if you've ever experienced it and doesn't smell anything like a cigarette or a cigar which is what most people think of when they recall a tobacco aroma. Apex is quite fresh for a tobacco aroma, yet is still quite complex. This is a great tobacco fragrance for younger users, which is not something I'd ever say about any other tobacco fragrances in my collection. It does lean quite masculine, maybe a bit too much so for female users, but certainly is much more useable by women than many other tobacco fragrances. The herbal and vanilla notes soften it quite a bit, especially the sweet cardamom, though it may come off sharp to some noses. Performance is good, this is niche level fragrance for a discounter price. Presentation is cool with a metal embossed wolf head emblazoned on a glass bottle and a display style box. Highly recommended.

I have the Apex for more than a year and it's in the top 5 of my collection. I bought it after discovering The Bazing Mr Sam with a decant that I was given. I absolutely loved TBMS from my first experience and I freaked out because I couldn't bring myself to pay its exorbitant price (Very expensive, even at discounters). So, I looked for an alternative and decided to try the Apex. I was not disappointed. It is honestly very close to the OG. There are slight differences when comparing them side by side and if you smell them very closely to the skin. In the air, I find it difficult to tell them apart. The differences I perceive are the following: TBMS is a little brighter, fresher and I can identify the black pepper note more easily. Also, it seems to radiate slightly more from my skin. The Apex is warmer and darker. It seems more woody to me with the patchouli note being slightly more noticeable. In summary, I smell the same notes, but not at the same intensity. Both have a projection a little above average. For longevity, both have good longevity, but surprisingly, when I did the tests to compare them side by side, the next morning, I could not find the TBMS on my forearm while I could still smell the Apex on the other arm. Conclusion: although I always prefer to have the original fragrance in my collection, I can't bring myself to pay 10 times the price of the Apex to get the original.

This smells very expensive. All the notes come together there’s no clashing of notes, or over powering scents. I’ve smelled Penhaligons Mr Sam and that was the only one I liked from the collection. Let me tell you as soon as I smelled Apex it was gorgeous. It’s smooth very manly. This is my style so I would wear it all day anytime of the season. For most people it’ll probably be more of a date night scent. If you don’t like fruity scents or smells like soap and appreciate men scents this is the one. This is a good blind buy not offensive at all. I do get the smell of body wash I don’t remember that from Mr Sam so I have to revisit. But I’m sure if you like this you’ll love Mr Sam. Last thing the presentation is nice for this price almost luxurious you don’t even see that in $200 perfumes. It doesn’t perform very well probably about 1 hour of projection and like 6 on skin the most. After revisiting Mr Sam I can tell you it’s the exact same fragrance. You’re not missing much, if you are I couldn’t tell the difference. Mr Sam might last long because Apex has pretty poor performance on clothes it does alright. After revisiting Mr Sam, I can tell you right now it’s the exact same. And that is coming from two noses.

If you love spice and tobacco and you're on a budget, give this one a shot. This fragrance is a total hidden gem that I blind bought. At first before maceration, it smelled like gasoline. Now, when spraying the opening is boozy/warm spice/tobacco BLISS. I'd say this one would be a great purchase if you're on the fence about Blazing Mr. Sam. This and it's more expensive brother don't last that long, I'd say 2 hours working and skin for 6. Projection just meh. I'm a sucker for this scent profile for the cooler months, so I can guilt-free reapply as needed. For the 30+ crowd. Pro-tip, layering this with His Confession by Lataffa for chef's kiss combination. No gatekeeping over here. 9/10 scent profile 6/10 performance

Blind buy banger. I bought this because my favorite fragrance (Blazing Mr Sam) has been out of stock for a while and I really wanted to see how close this was. It is incredibly close but maybe just a touch sweeter. For literally a tenth of the price I don't know how you could go wrong. My wife smelled it literally as soon as she walked in our room and I was 10ft away and had sprayed it 15-20 minutes earlier. Another price and performance BANGER! If you like Mr Sam you will LOVE this. It's not even just because it has a very cheap price tag (I paid $27) it's because it really is very good.

I can only echo what most have said. Apex is an excellent creation by Fragrance World. It's extremely close to Penhaligon's The Blazing Mr Sam. To me, it's very similar to its sibling, Penhaligon's Halfeti Cedar. HC being the older more boozy mature sibling to the younger brighter, sweeter Apex. Both are wonderful scents and solid choices for the evening and autumn/winter time. Unisex, Warm, Cosy, Spicy and alluring. Great projection and silage. At £30 Apex is superb value for money. I've not heard much buzz about this fragrance, so I hope FW don't discontinue it.

I have had Apex for many months on the shelf and decided to finally try on skin today since the temperature got cooler. It's about 10 degrees over freezing point. This is a beautiful warm and mild spicy tobacco. It's got a light vanilla base which keeps it from getting too heavy. I really like this as it's not harsh past the initial black pepper opening (2 minutes) nor sweet. It's a great 4 hour scent! As a 40 year old guy, I could wear this in most cool weather scenarios like parties, dates, and office settings. Amazing value.

Oh man this juice is nice. Very matured, sexy, spicy, elegant. It leans more formal but can be pulled off with smart casual. Weather it does or does not smell like BMS, it really doesn't matter, its a nice fragrance. It is similar to Ferragamo Leather, its in that style. I love it. Performance though is not the best, it is average therefore i go very heavy on the trigger. Overall for the quality and scent profile, it is a good purchase.

I got this before I got Penhaligon’s Blazing Mr. Sam. I really liked it and eventually bought the original. It’s very close, about 90% close to the original. I find it a little sharper and brighter. The tobacco in the original is deeper and smoother. Apex is a little less refined. Blazing Mr. Sam lasts longer and projects better for me. But for a fraction of the price, definitely worth it.

Liking this, spicy, warm, little bit of freshness, bit earthy, woody, sweet tobacco, I can see why people smell tiger balm but I like that about it, its bit herbal medicinal but for me not in a bad way, performance is ok, wished it projected better the bottle is nice too, id pay a higher price if they made it last longer and project more, love the scent dna tho

Just bought this after trying a sample of Penhaligon's Blazing Mr Sam and it is identical to me, and I would even say a bit stronger and projects more. Really nice smell, reminds me a bit of boss the scent elixir, but maybe not quite as strong. For the price an excellent purchase.

Really good clone of The Blazing Mr Sam Penhaligon's I bought this first and liked it so much I bought the original. Really wish I did not get the original as I think this is better. With a warm, spicy, and woody profile, for the price you can’t go wrong.

I just got this and I immediately sprayed it and of course it didn’t smell so good. But it’s been a little less than a week and boy! I pick the cinnamon, the tobacco, the vanilla. This is good! Yes it’s masculine but I’ll rock this, easily...

Idk how I became in love with the scent of Mr. Sam however this is a 1 for 1 so save your money buy this. If I was super technical its 98% on point I approve this message

not a safe blindbuy fragrance. a polarizing scent. the performance is so bad. the scent is good is not well blended. sometimes the tobacco is so harsh and a bit linear.

Very close to original. Good longevity, average sillage. Very highly recommend for late fall. Getting quiet many compliments.

Apex by Fragrance World is, overall, a pretty good fragrance, though I wouldn't call it exceptional. It's essentially a clone of Penhaligon's The Blazing Mr. Sam, which it replicates with a notable 85% similarity. The notes are practically identical, but, as expected, it lacks that final "spark," as well as the original's longevity and projection. I like the opening, despite a slight synthetic initial touch. It presents an intense spice that quickly blends with a very subtle tobacco note. Unfortunately, the evolution is almost non-existent; it's a rather linear scent. That said, over time, the spice softens and a pleasant —and also subtle— vanilla base emerges. On my skin, I can't clearly distinguish the patchouli or the cinnamon; the latter is perhaps hidden within the initial spicy accord. Performance is its Achilles' heel. In my case, the longevity is short (after 3-4 hours I only catch it if I smell my skin up close) and the projection is generally weak. Although it's decent for the first 30 minutes, its sillage fades after 1-2 hours. To compensate, I find it more effective to reapply after 2-3 hours than to douse yourself with numerous sprays from the start. In summary, it's a solid, characterful scent, though not an overwhelming one. I would recommend it for serious or formal occasions, though personally I'd also wear it for city walks in cold weather. My personal score: Scent: 8/10 Projection: 6/10 Longevity: 6/10 Versatility: 6/10

As you can tell from the rating and reviews, this is high quality, solid stuff. But I just discovered something that I wanted to share with everyone. Not only does it compare to BMS, but also to Chopard Oud Maleki, Paris Corner Killer Oud Death by Oud and Lattafa Mohra. Mohra has the largest dose of earthy greenness, if you like that, but be aware that this element can begin to get a bit tiresome after 10 hours (Yes, it lasts that long easily). There is a copa/coconut scent that comes in for all of these during the drydown, and that is also strongest in Mohra. Apex leans more into cedar, Death by Oud goes the sandalwood route. Chopard is a bit brighter, a bit less intense, and doesn't last quite as long. In the air, you would be hard pressed to tell these apart. All of these have a significant saffron, patchouli and amber accord, with slightly different wood profiles. This one has more tobacco in it, which I suppose could be interpreted as a "twist" instead of a clone. They all have a decent sweetness level to them, but it works. If you like this profile but want something less sweet, Lalique Ombre Noir is your jam. In the end, all of these are high-quality, relatively complex and of a dna good enough to be replicated by a lot of manufacturers. You can't go wrong with any of them, but you also don't need more than one of them.

I'm wearing it today to the office. I have let it sit for about 2 months and I'm enjoying it more now. I have to admit I bought it because the notes sounded great but when I first sprayed it it came across kind of medicinal. I put it on this morning after a shower and my wife's comment was "you smell spicy" then I got to work and a female co-worker said "you smell nice" I kind of needed that because honestly I'm not completely sold on it yet. It's not a bad scent I just don't think it's a type of scent that I'm normally drawn to wearing. It does project and I'm only 4 hours in right now and it seems to still be going strong. I have an 8 hour work day so let's see if it lasts the whole day. ***note*** I have a similar scent/dupe that I really really like by Maison Alhambra called Hercules. It's a PDM Herod dupe and it smells similar but better to my nose. ***Update*** I just went to lunch and I can honestly say the scent lasted a good 6 hours after that I couldn't smell it on me anymore. I'm an oversprayer so I did 15 sprays this morning.