Five Squared

Sampling one of the more recent releases from Fzotic / Bruno Fazzolari, Five Squared, a re-envisioning of one of his original releases, Five, with a greater focus on the orange blossom note at its center, along with amber, incense, neroli, oakmoss, and tonka, a great blend of natural freshness, resinous qualities, sweetness, and spice. The original Five from a decade ago has more of the air of a traditional cologne, whereas Five Squared is stronger, more modern, and a bit more apt for cooler weather (while also being fresh), really an outstanding and versatile blend, on par with the original Five in terms of how much I like it. Five Squared is priced at $145 for 30ml in EDP concentration, consistent with the rest of the line, and is sold through the house website, Ministry of Scent, Luckyscent, and other boutiques in the US. 8 out of 10

for people who've used sunscreen and off deep woods as fragrance on dusky september evenings, still warm from august, pre-club, post-sweat, circa dinnertime on a fancy restuarant's upwind patio. something naive about the dominance of the orange: perhaps no one will love you like an orchard.

This is just so enjoyable to wear high quality and well blended. The type of orange blossom note here and the degree and level that is blended is the star. The inscense is great addition to the profile.

Starts like a nice neroli not too soapy, finishes with metallic, animalic and coriander notes that I wasn't the biggest fan of.

For me the neroli and the amber accord are so strong in the opening that they overpower everything else, making it hard to enjoy the other elements. I can sense hints of mandarin and the lovely tonka bean, but the neroli dominates and drowns them out. And at one point my nose started to picked up a bug repellent kind of smell occasionally:( Thankfully, the dry-down was much more pleasant: it’s hard to explain, an animalic grapefruit scent, giving „your skin but better” kind of vibe.