O'Fraiche

I'm delighted to have a first full wearing of O'Fraiche, the latest release from Gallagher Fragrances. It’s quite the interesting blend of notes that don’t usually work together too well for me. I sprayed a little on last week when the decant arrived and while O’Fraiche definitely felt a little odd / different / unique, it was certainly in a good way, and I had really looked forward to giving it a full wearing. Certainly the name and timing of the release (spring) suggested that it’d be a fresh, perhaps even light, warm-weather-friendly release, but that would be an oversimplification in my estimation. Fittingly, though, it opens with a fresh burst of bergamot (and perhaps the orange blossom and orris), but as far as the main harmonic trio of notes, the mix of tobacco, grape, blackcurrant foster a fun counterpoint between the dry, ever-so-slightly cigar/cigarette-like tobacco leaf presence and the sweet, grapey fruity notes. I estimate that that some of the other supporting notes surround the aforementioned clique, and those supporting notes include vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood, musk, even birch tar, among others, and these help round things out a bit to make the fragrance feel complete. Its tobacco is primarily not a burnt tobacco, so O’Fraiche pulls me in several directions—fresh, fruity, tobacco, and woody/earthy—with only perhaps the fruity standing out slightly more than the others as I’m enjoyably reminded of the grape and blackcurrant. In fairness, blackcurrant especially stands out to my nose (in Creed Aventus and Atelier Cologne Musc Imperial, for example). Still, I return the word “balanced” to describe how it feels on me, and to that effect, it might be the most complete of any Gallagher Fragrances offering to date. I also like that it feels versatile and sophisticated: versatile in that it doesn’t feel too serious or season-appropriate, as I’d be comfortable wearing it warmer weather but feel it would be just as appropriate in the cold, and that it neither feels too playful nor too serious for dressed up occasions or simply relaxing, respectively. In this respect, it reminds me of the limited edition original creation from Dua Fragrances, Prestige Noir (one of my favorites of that house), a fruity tobacco in its own right, different in composition but comparable in terms of versatility. I suspected when first smelling it last week that it would be an instant favorite and can now confirm as much, that along with Rose All Dae and Vanilla Silk, it’s among my favorites of the line and I’ll have to restrain myself from nabbing a bottle today, particularly considering that it does not resemble any fragrance I’ve smelled. Its performance is definitely above average for the type of fragrance it is (as it is not a wintery, heavy, dark, or gourmand type of offering) and the pricing, at $175 for 100ml, falls under the $2/1ml mark that I regard as a reasonable marker for independent/niche perfumery. Overall, a very nice, versatile entry, and a bottle that's likely on my list. 8 out of 10

I love this fragrance. DG made the best summer tobacco fragrance ever created. I imagined 2 different images in my mind. The first image was running through a tobacco field with menthol close by. My imagination evoked this first image because this fragrance gave me a feeling of freedom. I pondered on it for a minute, and the next image that came to mind was walking into a humidor with menthol crystals close by. I'm well aware that this fragrance doesn't have menthol, but the combination of something in the fragrance gives it a mentholated vibe. I reviewed it without looking at other reviews, and then noticed someone mentioned a burning campfire. Yes, it's there, but obviously a burning campfire isn't a summer fragrance, and this was intended to be a summer tobacco fragrance. I think the notes and the way it smells are totally different from what I'm seeing on other reviews. If I were to compare it to the closest fragrance I know, I'd say Alt-Innsbruck, but then again. AI is tobacco flower, while this is dried tobacco leaves. It's a refreshing fragrance, and to me the other reviewers are cheating by looking at notes. Mr. Miami Cuddles on Youtube.

Mmmmmm , I love this ! The initial blast , I get black currant and the concord grapes, which is a combo that doesn't exist in anything else I own or have tried . AS this hits the mid-the grapes and red currants are still present , but i start to get a bit of smokiness which feels like "organic" cigarettes on me . I do not get anything resembling menthol , grassy , or boozy . In the drydown I am still loving the grapes , red currants , and smoke with maybe a bit of the bergamot . This doesn't lean masc. or feminine-perfectly unisex , bold and original. This could be my first full bottle from Gallagher Fragrance .

Its not exact, but in the same vein as Memo Irish Leather, La Yuqawam Ambergris Showers and Happyland Blue Fire. It does have a noticeable concord grape opening note that makes it more stand out from the others (the same way Blue Fire uses strawberry) but they all have a vibe of a fragrance being worn by a smoker. It's actually fun to wear. I have a FB and am loving it.

It's so freaking fresh. The opening is very robust, but the drydown is fresh, clean, invigorating, but herbal and interesting as well. There's nothing like it. It's not an every day perfume for me, but I do just love wearing it once in a while.

Gallagher currently has a special running until January 12, 10% off all bottles (no code required) so I thought I should try and make my way through a few more samples before I pulled the trigger on a couple I have been pining after. I looked at the notes before I sprayed O’Fraiche and thought this would not be workable. Most of the time tobacco is a miss on my skin, but this lives up to the description “ wearable tobacco fragrance fit for Spring”. And how is that possible? I will try and explain why it works. There’s a freshness in the opening, with a mint-like note, citrus and vetiver. Tobacco is here, but it’s a clean tobacco note, and even though this may not make sense, I think it’s due to the cannabis note (a note that often smells medicinal on my skin). I tested this on a mild winter day and the opening lasted for more than an hour. Drydown brought out more complexity and the scent was fuller, with tinges of patchouli and black currant. I see that grapes are voted high on the note list and I’m not sure why, I can’t distinguish them from all the other notes rounding out O’Fraiche. I got about 3 good hours with this perfume, and though initially I thought it was too masculine I grew to like it the longer I wore it. I can also easily imagine this scent working in Fall. In conclusion, I think it’s intriguing and worthy of consideration. I’ll need to wear it again, but I like this a lot.

Close to photoreal grape. Sweet but not sticky grape juice. Very juicy! The off-put smell ppl talkn bout is the best example of robust. Robust is the dense, slight sharp green but powdered down, slight soapy, faint irish spring green, fresh, zest and clean. Keep in mind black currant make cat piss. Cat piss green. Robust to me borderline barbershop vibe. I love it! Juice from grape mix with tobacco make herbal smell. Ambergris (aquatic vibe) in background at start and come out more in dry down. Smokiness from tar come out more in dry down. Tar make me feel barbeque ribs and its powdered down to a smooth creamy buttery hickory smoked leather. Leather vibe come out more in dry down. Orris butter kinda dominate, it powder down every note except grape. Orris butter mix with tar make wallet smell. Grape and leather.

Smells good. Doesn’t last. That being said, I bought this as soon as it was released. Maybe it needs a few months to mature. It’s possible. I’m no expert, but I have rose all dae and it is tenacious. Days. This is hours. Just doesn’t seem right. I’ll give it time and reevaluate.

Such juicy grape bubble gum (but not dense or syrupy) mixed with just the right amount of fresh & mentholated herbal cannabis! Quite interesting & long lasting.

very green like grass and hay and oakmoss and smokey vetiver with some citrus in the top

This fragrance defies laundry. It’s literally the only thing I’ve ever tried that I can still smell on clothing after a full cycle. I honestly can’t decide how I feel about the scent. It leans heavily masculine for me. I would recommend very few sprays and good distance when testing. It’s not detestable, but at the same time I’m not sure when and where it fits in my collection.

Once you hit the dry down it turns into a decent scent but the opening just isn't for me, too strong and obnoxious.

boozer is right when he mentioned this being a mentholy Dunhill Icon. The opening of this is over the top. It's very loud and screechy as orange blossom overwhelms my skin. After an hour or so there is more fruit and dirty smoky notes. At that moment this scent just downright smells like somebody poured a 2 litre of Grape Crush into dirt filled with cigarette butts. Unfortunately this stinch lasts for several hours until the drydown actually occurs which is about 4-5 hours after application. Then it smells like a fruity summer scent with vetiver. Performance is stellar but who wants to wait that long for the magical drydown?

Cigarette tobacco, orange blossom and grape? Not digging the cigarette 2nd try - opens with a sheer fizzy red grape w a touch of orange blossom (smells like a caudalie fragrance) layered over cigarette tobacco (birch+tobacco is giving this?). I love tobacco scents but unfortunately this smells like stale cigarette ashtray.

I love a lot of Daniel's creations, but this one didn't work for me. Way too menthol-y...had to wash it off after about 10 minutes.

I don't write reviews unless something really bothers me.I have a sample of this that I bought straight from Gallagher Fragrances a year ago.The sample opens with the fresh smell of grapes and a hint of smoke and stays pretty linear.I love it.Projects 3-4 feet for 4 hours then becomes a skin scent after that where the grape and smoke evens out. Still smells delicious.Fast forward a year later.Finally bought a full bottle.What a let down......So excited to try it and get that same beautiful fresh grape opening but instead I get a lot more smoke and black current and barely any grape smell.I bought this fragrance pretty much for the grape smell.Then on top of that it lasts for only an hour before becoming a skin scent .This is either a bad batch or has been reformulated all ready.Came out in 2019.Tired of having a sample of something and then buying a full bottle and have it smell different or not lasting as long.What a waist of money.Wish I had bought a full bottle a year ago.😔

My least favorite from Gallagher. It's a celery stick in business casual attire.

I was exited to try this new one from Daniel. I have worn this 3 days in a row for testing and I think I have at least the mid/drydown nailed for you guys. It starts out a little like Bergamust(which I own and love for summer) but during the mid/dry down is where it smells very similar to Creed Original Vetiver(which I also own and love year round). If you like Creed Original Vetiver, it smells almost identical to that mid/dry down. Performance is quite good from a projection standpoint for at least 3 hours, as far as longevity I can't say yet since I have only been testing it at nights before showering. At this point, this is just a few days worth of testing with only like 4 hours per wear so for me to give a full review would not be prudent but I can tell you it dries down into Original Vetiver on my skin within 30 minutes and stays there for at least 4 hours with good projection. I think this is Unisex, I don't understand the below comment about being this being feminine, I don't get that on my skin. Personally I think this is much better than his last 2 releases FIneapple and Rose all Dae which I did not enjoy that much. From his house I love Bergamust, Iloren and Carpe Cafe. 2 of those 3 are now vaulted and I want to tell Dan that he is out of his mind for axing Carpe Cafe and Iloren, if it was my house I would keep them in the lineup, both are great, sad to see them go. I will update this review as I get more testing done but so far, if you like Original Vetiver or maybe even Mugler Cologne, you will like this. This is mainly a grassey vetiver bomb to my nose so far. Initial impression: 7/10

I really dislike this. It has a ton of quality but it is very strong on the cannabis, tar, and tobacco creating an intensely bitter, strong profile. It’s herbal in the way taking a straight dropper of an herbal tincture under your tongue is. It’s acrid and harsh. But, I also happen to not like these notes so keep that in mind.

Smells quite grape-y and winey/boozy at first but the dry down is so nice. Its patchouli, vetiver, and musk with a little purple grape but not manly. The wait is worth it. I feel like I like this one most of all the Gallagher sampler set. They all seem to have separate initial smells and dry downs. Each one is an experience.

All I get when I smell this is a fresh cigarette. It kind of reminds me of someone who sprayed on a fresh perfume that just finished smoking a square. Is that really worth $150?

The quality is definitely there, I get a peppery mentholy Dunhill Icon sort of a vibe. Very good. Good performance.

This was an instant scrubber, just didn't work with my skin chemistry