Game of Spades Royale

Alright, one bottle, one nose, no biases. This opens hard and it opens right. Rich hazelnut and cacao straight off the top, warm, creamy, borderline addictive. To me, it smells like Nutella if you were smelling it out of an old but well preserved cedar bowl. There’s sweetness, but it’s not sloppy, the cedar keeps it upright and grown. This isn’t dessert, this is refined indulgence. As it settles, the moss comes in and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. It smooths the cedar, adds a slightly fresh, earthy edge, and keeps the whole thing from going sticky. This is where Royale earns respect. It smells intentional, balanced, and expensive. Cozy without being lazy. Sweet without being juvenile. Let’s address the obvious giant elephant in the room, yes, this is clearly inspired by Bond No. 9 TriBeCa. The DNA is obvious. Hazelnut, cacao, creamy warmth, soft woods. If you know the OG, you know this scent. The difference is execution. The Bond has a bit more depth, Royale is slightly sweeter and more approachable. Performance wise, they’re basically the same, and that performance is, to be honest, meh. Projection is moderate for about four hours, maybe five if you’re lucky. Longevity is six to seven hours before it fades into a skin scent. But here’s the thing, those first four to five hours are a straight 10 out of 10. Strong scent bubble, noticeable, confidence boosting. Neither this nor the OG are all day monsters, so you judge them on quality, not endurance. When do you wear this? Fall/Winter/Spring date nights at lively cocktail bars, winter/fall day trips, situations where you want people leaning in, not backing up. It leans slightly feminine because of the gourmand sweetness, but any confident and well put together guy can pull this off easily. Final verdict, elite opening, beautiful mid, average staying power, zero regrets. Score, 8.4 out of 10.

This was a blind buy, and I’m genuinely impressed. First, the juice (because that’s what matters most): Royale smells very, very similar to Tribeca by Bond No. 9. I can confirm that. For those who haven’t tried it, I’d describe Royale as BR540 with hazelnut, cacao, and coconut milk. There’s a distinct coconutty, creamy, milky element here in my opinion (not declared). The juice is very oily and the scent is pretty strong. I haven't had a change to give it a proper wear because I just got it, but I'm confident this will pull 8 hours, at least. Now, the presentation, which honestly deserves its own paragraph: The packaging is top-notch. The box is actual wood, not cardboard, and it features a beautiful raised relief spade emblem in gold. The attention to detail is insane. Even the outer wrap has a luxury golden tamper seal made of metallic foil that breaks when you open it. The bottle is heavy, the cap feels substantial, with a beautiful spade design. The atomizer is great, and everything about the unboxing experience feels premium. I truly value the whole experience of a fragrance, not just the liquid, and this house absolutely delivers on that front. Overall, I’m extremely happy with this purchase and definitely plan on exploring more from this brand.

I love this dna so much. I never want to run out of this particular perfume. I own both Tribeca and Royale and even Luxe Blanc. About to own Coconut Candy & Royal Gold. I'll say that the opening of Royale has more sweetness and coconut-y smell that shine the brightest in the beginning. There is also some earthiness & mintiness, likely the cedar and/or moss that opens up after a minute or two of the intial blast. Tribeca is more cacao/hazelnut/woody forward. On drydown, Tribeca holds more structure and Royale becomes a bit airier. Ambroxan in both is ever present ofc. My nose just perceives the aforementioned notes more. I like to layer both and touch it up with Luxe later in the day lol. That'show addicted I am 😭. In my opinion, Luxe is closer to Tribeca for its less prominent cedar/moss note & coconut-y nuance. This isnjust from memoryy though. Have yet to compare all along side each other. I feel that I didn't need Tribeca. It was more of an ownership of the OG thing. While I don'tregret owning both, I prefer Royale just a little more for the moss & cedar amplifying the sweetness of it. This is a dupe done right and better for me.

These Jo Milano Game of Spades are the best inspired by scents I have encountered. I have Wildcard, Full House, High Roller and Royale in which I share with my wife. They have nailed the Bond DNA especially and actually last much longer than the originals. Royale is a less soapy take on to Tribeca with a touch more density. So well rounded and high end perfumery with no untied loose ends like many middle eastern clones. Without the Jasmine note it would lean masculine but adding it it’s definitely unisex perhaps a touch feminine. That said I love to wear it myself with no reservations being a man. Smells rich, clean, relaxed and soft spoken. Does not offend anyone and really doesn’t give off that typical fragrance vibe. The bottle, atomizer and packaging are top notch as well. Lasts 8 hours on skin and 24 on clothes. Super high class scent !! 9/10

got this bottle in a retail store (60 usd) before the hype. now is more than 80 usd. this scent remind me the coconut candy i used to eat. the opening has coconut notes while the middle notes i smell cacao and nuts. has long duration and i would wear it when going to a resort or a buffet dinner with friends or family when a gourmand scent is needed to open the apetite