Island Dreams

This one surprised me, and I really do not have enough good things to say about it. I sold my first bottle to my brother because he loved it so much and I wasn't wearing it often, but that made me miss it so I had to buy another. This one shares the opening combo of ginger, grapefruit, and bergamot that is also shared between Tygar, Vibrato, and Ingenious Ginger, but all in different ratios. The entirety of this fragrance is most similar to the opening of Maison Asrar Majesty, so if you like this but want something less linear, that might be your next pick. Despite the linearity, this one is a banger. Grapefruit is the star in this one, with the ginger and citrus being rounding notes to give it more character. It's clean, fresh, fruity, and sweet in a somewhat realistic way without being too sweet. The musk and ambroxan ground it out and keep it from being too fruity or sweet while giving it a surprising amount of body. The grapefruit has an almost aldehydic nature to it that comes off as cooling, which I love. This thing is FRESH. It's playful, inviting, and vibrant. And the performance was absolutely surprising on this one. This thing lasts forever on my skin. It creates a very nice strong but inoffensive scent bubble that will be noticed. The musk and ambroxan give it a natural body type scent which keeps this from having a traditional "cologne" smell while having it last. This lingers as a skin scent into the next day every time I wear it. No brainer, fantastic freshie.

Awesome citrus fragrance that lasts me all day. If you're not a fan of grapefruit or any citrus, DONT buy this fragrance. I can understand where people are coming from when people say it smells like lemon cleaner, but to me it smells like more than just that. It's a signature summer fragrance for me, and gets me PLENTY of compliments. I once put this on around 8 in the morning, and I got a compliment from someone 3 feet away after 7 hours. This fragrance does require maceration, but it only took me around two weeks to get an amazing punchy grapefruit scent. It opens bright, with a heavy ginger note which pairs really nicely with the bergamot and grapefruit. As it dries down, it get more of the grapefruit with a sweet, musky undertone. This scent is amazing if you enjoy citrus, you really won't be disappointed. I was told multiple times that this smells like a tropical island, and I honestly can't disagree. Blind bought this, and it became my signature scent. Lasts around 8-10 hours after 2 weeks maceration, and projects up to 5 feet for the first 3 hours on my skin. Wouldn't describe this as beast mode, but DANG, for a grapefruit heavy fragrance, it sure does feel like it is.

I really disliked this fragrance at first but I've really come around to it. As with many middle eastern dupe fragrances, I'm not a fan of the openings and they require a bit of time to fully flesh out. Out of the box, the closest comparison I could make is the original club de nuit, not because of the smell, but because they both give off citrus floor cleaner vibes. Both me and my girlfriend were iffy, but the dry down seemed promising. After some more time with it, I find myself reaching for it pretty often. Its a no brainer scent that I cant get enough of. While the opening is still a bit synthetic, its become way less harsh. Fresh zingy opening that dies down to a grapefruity scent with a nice clean musk. Very simple, I know, but there's something really elegant about this one. I feel it falls into the category of those "fresh clothes" type scents. If you're willing to look past the so so opening, and give the bottle some time, you absolutely cant go wrong with it. Now that its matured, the girlfriend approves, and says its one of her favorites. I've also had a good handful of compliments from wearing it out. Great scent, great cost, what's not to like?

Longevity is surprising. That fizzy, fresh, grapefruit, musky, combo lasts a long time maybe 8 hours. This is a really great scent. I don't know how anyone can spend $600-700 on the LV if they have this and it's already this good. The first 5 mins are slightly harsh but after that this thing is wonderful. I don't know if LV Symphony smells like this but if this is the more masculine version of it, there's no reason to get Symphony if you're a man because this is quite unisex already. I definitely understand how to the wrong nose it can come across as a cleaning product but I think that's only if you overspray and only during the first 5 mins. The atomizer is wonderful. This just makes me think of a beach day or a hot summer day with a white shirt. Strangely I would agree with others, go easy on the sprays, it can overwhelm in an unexpected way despite it being a light fragrance. This one unfortunately makes my eyes water though so be ware of that if you're sensitive to certain ingredients. 8.5/10 Really great!

Symphony is my favorite LV scent but I don't find any value in the premium that the bottle and sculpture cap command otherwise I would have the OG. Island Dreams is one of the closest dupes I've experienced but it is a very simple, linear scent. I find it to be a little bit sweeter and the musk to be different in a way I can't quite put to words. For those who haven't smelled it before, it is a sweet candied grapefruit and not at all the photorealistic/tart/juicy citrus you might expect from peeling fresh grapefruit. I also don't really get any ginger from it (same as the OG), but I typically associate ginger with an earthy, spicy notes. Scent is very bright, clean, and unisex. For me it is a very good light and natural musk that I prefer for the gym or to layer with other fragrances to add some sweetness. I don't personally have any issues from mixing with heavy sweat but your body chemistry may vary.