Karl Hamburg Alster

What you see in the notes is what you get. Great notes separation. Mint and Sage hit strong in the opening, mandarin supports them without stealing any attention. It's not a juicy citrus smell, nor it is sour. It's mostly a quiet, bitter rind of mandarin that blends Mint, Sage and Lavender together. Sage and mint are really "realistic", very herbal and as complex as their true inspirations. After opening goes into drydown, mint hides into background and Sage takes over the scene where it stays until the end, with Lavender in supporting role. This fragrance is all about the Sage. Some people may report that it smells like "cucumber" during first few minutes of the opening but it quickly goes away (combination of mandarin, sage and alcohol seems to give such impression, if someone is not discerning their individual notes). Projection is in my opinion above average - 3 sprays create a surprisingly large scent bubble that can "spice up" the room if you stay indoors for a while. With few more sprays you can stretch it to 2h and make sure that everyone smells you from the other side of the house. Lasting power - After 1-2h it smoothly loses its strength, which takes around 5-6h, eventually giving you a "fresh out of shower" projection. On skin you can smell it until morning. It's a simple fragrance for someone who wants a freshie that's not a yet another citrus. It's really herbal, as if you dropped on the ground and rolled around in fresh summer herb garden.

Having tried hundreds of fragrances, I can safely say that this is my favorite mint-forward fragrance of them all. But it isn't just the mint - it is how the soft mint (which is substantial enough to cool the eyes for a few hours) is blended with a juicy mandarin, airy lavender and freesia (which I usually dislike but truly appreciate here). Nor does this very affordable fragrance stay linear or fade quickly. A candy apple scent (I believe from the sage) joins in with some white musk at about the 30 minutes mark. At an hour, vanilla, rosemary and geranium begin to provide a nice counterpoint. Still later, a modern fougere element including a delicate anise joins, providing a touch of Platinum Egoiste accord. Several of the current KL offerings are modest in their longevity so I like to do 8 sprays of this. The result is that you will still get consistent wafts of this even after 3 hours while those around you will experience a soft, aromatic, fresh scent without necessarily knowing that it is coming from you. That works great for me. This one is hardly known, but it is a worthy companion to KL Mercer Street and several of the Bois De ___ line (especially Yuzu and Amber). Bottom Line: Excellent mint-forward fragrance. Non-linear and longer-lasting than expected. Unique but universal overall scent at a crazy-low price.

**UPDATED REVIEW): The truth is that I’ve been looking for a good summer office fragrance for quite some time. This isn’t exactly my ideal, although in its own way, it comes close... this is the right fragrance for entrepreneurs determined to take on the world, just as it was in its day - the already old, decidedly vintage - Platinum Egoiste by Chanel; perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that this fragrance was launched in homage to Karl Kagerfeld, who raised Chanel from bankruptcy and led it to absolute success during his time. In any case, let it be very clear: I’m not saying that Platinum Egoiste users like this fragrance, probably on the contrary... ok? KL Hamburg Alster is fresh-minty-clean-sweet-woody-musky and expect average duration (for a freshie) with moderate projection. It’s just a modern fresh smell, nothing more and nothing less... but it has that “bold attitude” I’ve looking for. It smells great on me, it's addictive and most important: It isn’t boring, because I would bathe every morning in it. if I have to define this fragrance, I’d label it as “a forward-looking aromatic fougere”: The scent of an immaculate future of white buildings and pristine glass walls. So this is simple like business: adapt and enjoy it.

Nose Note #463 Another spectacular one from Lagerfeld I've found at the rack store besides Vienna Opera. I like this one even better. It goes more in the direction of Creed Himalaya, more soapy, more like modern detergent, but in the best way possible. A bit stronger than Vienna. So I'd say it performs just like 80% of stuff on the market. Smell fantastic. Sage and lavender lead the game. Mint adds cool to the soapiness of lavender. Mandarin is barely there, just for initial interest. Great. Super easy to wear and easy to like. Has some sweetness. Just like Vienna - great value for money. Nothing cheap about it. I love Creed Himalaya and this scratched the itch a bit. 8/10, wonderful hamburger

This is sweet and woodsy, subtle and refined. The balance of sweet, herbal and wood accords is ideal. Although not as memorable as the New York perfume, it is an ingratiating fragrance crafted with care and taste. The bottles in this Lagerfeld line of fragrance are attractive and designed for ease of spraying. They fit well in your hand. I read a lot of disparaging comments about Lagerfeld fragrance but they are not true. Lagerfeld has always produced high-quality products that smell wonderful but may not be as popular as others, hence their assumed second-class status. As the cliché says: The quality goes in before the name goes on. I have always loved Lagerfeld perfumes.

Initial thoughts on this right after blind bought it was it comes across somewhere in between Y edt and edp. Some light hearted Y Edp let's say. Very good price value, full bottle worthy. I also had another flanker, New York which smelled fresh and nice but for the price it's much better choice. Edit: scents itself undoubtedly great but the longevity only goes about 2~3hrs... overall rating 7.8/10

Refreshing, uplifting. Citruses, a little bit green with floral touch. However soapy element is the player that dominates. Longevity on skin 6+ hours. Projection for the first hour on the length of the hands. Price unbelievable.

Extremely pleasant fragrance 👍 pretty much close to Y by YSL edt & edp😀 but you can smell great without breaking your bank account! Great deal by all means 👍😀 love it ❤️

Fresh and clean scent. Easy to wear. To me, it's more unisex than strictly for men. I can still smell it on my shirt the next morning.

The most underrated freshie! Fabulous green variation of YSL Y, with a decent performance. Two thumbs up.

I love it, it's a bit citrusy and so good smelling. I want to drink it, but i can't :D.

we gotta gatekeep this shi, because it’s so fucking good🤤

As someone that likes fresh blue/citrus fragrances this is good but not great.. Very inoffensive nothing special, nothing too strong but I feel universally likable. Its one of those fragrances that's quite simple and one dimensional yet pleasant for any situation. Refreshing and clean and a bit minty but also blended very well and clean for the price, actually what it reminds me alot of is K by Dolce & Gabbana it pretty much smells the same as that so if you like that then you will like this. Perfect general public shopping/cafe wear or office fragrance but probably not going to blow the hair off anyone. Performance and projection is pretty average 4-6 hours with decent projection. I feel like this would be one of those fragrances that almost anyone will find pleasing and no one will dislike yet at the same time almost no one will absolutely be like "What is that you're wearing?" just smells fresh clean and a bit minty. For the price for 100ML its a great value buy and a good dumb grab in hotter months. Edit: actually now I smell it again its pretty fresh and nice its very in-between like/love for the smell rating but performance is average though. Smell wise overall its a like but if you account for the price per ML its a love. As a fresh high ML/$ dumb grab its worth picking up. Edit #2: Actually this is quite good for those times when you're in a rush and want something fresh but dont know what, this is a safe bet that everyone will like. Not unique enough for a signature scent I reckon but extremely pleasant Edit #3: after about a month wearing this on and off the longevity is pretty decent especially for the price its just project I think it may lack a bit so will revise my ratings. Such a well blended easy dumb reach fresh clean fragrance Edited after using for a month Smell 7.5/10 (7.8, such a fresh easy dumb reach I even wear it in winter honestly) Longevity 6.7/10 ( 7.2. After wearing it to the office I do get hints of it on my clothes the next day) Projection 6.5/10 (6.5. probably its only weak point of this frag, first couple hour it projects decently then after that its within arms reach for the next 3 then fades into a skin scent) Value 9.5/10 (for summer or hotter months) (Have not smelled a frag this well blended and balanced for this price at 100ML before this is great stuff. If you want a little bit of a step up from nauctica voyage price range for something a bit more well blended and fresh and citrus then this is a great grab.

Hamburg Alster is a lavender clary sage fragrance with green, minty and citrus at the top. To my nose, the mandarin orange smells more like bitter orange or grapefruit, that intertwine with the softness of the mint green note. The mint note in Hamburg Alster isn't cooling or pungent, and thank goodness it's not the bubblegum mint scent. The oakmoss definitely lends to the dry down of this fragrance, so I would say that Fragrantica describes this scent correctly--Citrus, Minty, LAVENDER-CLARY SAGE, oakmoss scent--a green, minty aromatic FOUGERE scent that's perfect for work, daytime, night, spring, summer, and fall months specifically...and it does break the bank for a great scent!! I would recommend this Hamburg Alster as a work scent, but this is all my opinion.Take opinions and reviews with a grain of salt. Everyone has an opinion regarding smells. Some people love a specific fragrance. Some people hate it. Some people lie regarding reviews and opinions. Some state the truth. My advice is for you to GET A SAMPLE OF ANY FRAGRANCE BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO BUYING IT. That way, you can assess it for yourself and have your own thoughts rather than strictly going off someone else's thoughts and opinions.

Quite masculine, aromatic fragrance that is rather heavy.. yet somehow refreshing. A nice scent choice for a calm, zen gentleman

This is really nice for the low price, but it is essentially just a mossy orange-mint. Nothing too interesting happening.

Ridiculously similar to YSL Y. Okay performance so far!

This line of Lagerfeld scents dedicated to the boutique locations is made of transparent, evanescent 2-3h warm weather scents. Here with Hamburg we have a mint opening fading fast to a mandarin and clary sage mid which provides a sweet core surrounding a freesia note. The moss note I cannot smell at all but the ISO-E and white musks' overdose yes. I like this one better than NY Mercer St. They're versatile and inoffensive and for 20€ you can't complain, but honestly I'd never waste the opportunity to wear something better.

The citrus notes in the fragrance were in my opinion overly bitter on the initial spray. This problem seemed to go away with time, even though the bitterness did come through to my nose occasionally. On it's own, without the bitterness, the scent was fairly good.

Very citrusy, fresh, and floral but the feminine type of floral. I think it's the freesia note but to me this leans more feminine and smells nothing like the YSL Y line. I would pass on buying it.