Fortis

This is one I needed to come back to and let develop on my skin. The initial test on strip was absolutely nothing representative of how it behaves on me. On strip, the initial spray was all about deep, near skanky oud and smoke. Nothing else. It kind of broke my nose, honestly. I liked it but I was kind of left indifferent, it didn't "wow" me. On skin, this is a completely different beast. The first time I tested it, it was humid out and that was a mistake. It pushed out like crazy, choking everyone out in harsh incense and wood smoke. It was overwhelming. I told myself this wasn't for me. I gave it a second chance on an unexpectedly cold rainy day and I that's when I had an epiphany. Yes, it's smoky. The opening oud note is slightly harsh, a bit like PDM's Haltane but to my surprise, it quickly faded and I was left with a deep, deep conifer smoke note (cypriol) with incense smoke and... vanilla? Sure enough, an hour two in, it became vanillic. Not overly sweet vanilla, just a grounding, almost sexy, very pleasant resinous smoky vanilla (guessing vetiver played into this as well). I was loving it. Later on in the drydown, it turned a bit ashier with sandalwood coming in gaining that trademark powdery quality sandalwood is known for. In total, I got about 7-8 hours wear time, which is good for LLI although it stuck close to skin after 2-3 hours, like many of the house's fragrances. So yes, to put it briefly: oudy cypress smoke then burning cypress, incense and vanilla and later on sandalwood. This is one I feel I will enjoy for meditation sessions. It's almost transcendental. It invites renewal. I'm not familiar with Black Afgano but I need to this change since if this is "Black Afgano" lite like I've seen it described as, I might enjoy that a lot as well.

Sampling Liquides Imaginaires Fortis, originally released in 2011, a dark, smoky, resinous, woody blend, with featured notes of oud, cumin, cypriol, saffron, mixed woods, vetiver, and musk, yielding a bit of a dark, funky, cannabis-adjacent concoction that, while reasonably intense, is not overbearing, though I imagine it would prove challenging for some that prefer only lighter/fresher woody/spicy scents. Despite its boldness, it’s smooth despite being a little sharp and heady. Its similarities to Nasomatto Black Afgano, which was launched two years prior, are palpable to me, with the main difference being that Black Afgano has more of a cannabis vibe than Fortis, though both are similarly smoky/ashy, resinous, dark, spicy, sharp, and somewhat funky. Concentration is EDP and official retail points of sale in the US include great boutiques like Perfumology, in which the pricing is $200 for 100ml. It performs very well, albeit not as well as Black Afgano, so perhaps there’s somewhat of a tradeoff of potency for pricing. Overall, I’m really impressed by this as a dark, complex, interesting but still wearable option, a slightly less extreme alternative to Black Afgano. 8 out of 10

Reviewing a bottle from 2024. Fortis was launched in 2011. There is a touch of leather and spiceness. The cumin is thankfully subtle. The focus is on aromatic woods and resins with some patchouli and vanillic musk to soften the rough edges. Very well blended. Yes, it is reminiscent of Black Afgano although softer and perhaps more wearable. I don't think this is a deliberate copy as others have suggested. My reasoning is that it takes years to create and market a scent like this and Black Afgano only launched 2 years prior ( it took 6 years to create BA) . Also, it took some time for Black Afgano to catch on so why take a risk by copying such an unusual scent profile. BTW, Terroni was launched in 2017 after Fortis and Black Afgano. Quality- excellent 4/5 Unisex- leans masculine performance- very good 4/5 Overall a fascinating dark resinous aromatic wood/oud fragrance for the adventurous out there. 8.5/10

For me, Fortis is a rich dark seductive strong scent. It's starts with a strong boozy accord, the oud is there but is not in your face, is more in the background providing support to other notes. It's spicy but not over the top, earthy but well balanced, woody but not in your face, all in all a well crafted fragrance. I like oud based fragrances, and I own alot of them. It does resemble with a few of them, such as Black Afgano(but smoother than it), Red Tobacco(but not as strong), Tobacco Oud(but more rounded than it), Oud Wood(but a little bit more spicy than it), Terroni(very close to it but more powerful). So, if you like all the above mentioned fragrances, you will like Fortis. This scent holds a very special place in my fragrance collection/journey, it takes me back to my niche beginnings so needless to say, I love this scent Longevity ~ 10 hours Projection ~ 2-3 hours Scent 10

Straight up, this is to my nose a very close sibling of Black Afgano wow! Even the juice color is similar. That being said, Fortis is unique in its own right, in that it dries down into something distinctively spectacular. Though it bears semblance, it doesn't have that intense earthy and pleasantly animalistic vibe you get straight from Black Afgano, everything else is just the same. Suffice to say that Fortis is a slightly softer (and like I said unique) version of Afgano no doubt. Sillage and projection are quite good but could be better. Scent is just beautiful - the oud, spices an woodiness are just very well blended. Very niche. Oozes class. Smells expensive, and is VERY masculine! I fail to see how this could even be considered unisex in any way. One of the well respected fragrances in my collection. impressive 9/10

Sonia Constant you have this uncanny ability to capture the men I love. Guys have you ever had a crush on a frag, thinking if only the human it embodied could materialize! Fortis represents a man with streamlined dark sides who's in the habit of drinking, but in moderation, mind you. He's got sweetness and dirtiness as well, but mature enough to be perceptible rather than being over the top. Fortis is not exactly an oud-heavy fragrance but its mood is oudy enough to provide depth and darkness, its initial booziness promises good company and I can pick up saffron right off the bat (the booze, saffron and wood reminded me of Idole by Lubin, another masterpiece) and there's also this savory-ness which is yum. I mean sexually yum. Yes, in sum, I love this frag.

i really do love this one, not only because of the smell, but also because of the memories it invokes. a professor of mine would wear this or rather he would douse himself in it, sometimes even during class. everyone in the department was traumatised by the scent as it's appearance signalised his arrival. some student started wearing it at some point also, raising a fake alarm every time. i tried finding out what this scent was, but with no luck and then somebody i knew just happened to be trying out a sample and i had to get a bottle. these are strong, with great projection and pretty good longevity. the scent is deep and might seem heavy, but later it actually turns into something very clean, sort of evoking clean laundry.

Love this stuff, nice dark, gothic vibe that is balanced enough to be worn 3 seasons with summer being the exception. The oud comes across nicely just a hint animalic, creamy and slightly sweet. The cumin is a subtle nuance that adds character, but is light enough to not smell like body odor, and as it dries the saffron comes out tempering the animalic notes a bit. Longevity is eternal for me I wore from 5am took a shower at 5pm and I still smell it over the fragrance I sprayed after my shower. Projection is strong but not brutal, it projects enough to be noticed but not so much to become cloying. Overall I give this a 9.5 as it's nothing that hasn't been done before, but is probably the epitome of the DNA it uses.

I may buy a bottle. I like it very much! Nothing new here. It's the bigger brother of Carner Barcelona Cuirs And the smaller brother of Nasomatto Black Afgano Which I like both of them but neither was suitable for me because BA was too much and Carner Cuirs was not enough. Fortis has the best parts of both of them making it the best choise IMO. Needless to say anything about its smell, it's not new for me. The oud is very woody and safe. I doubt if this has real stuff. To my nose it's a good quality "oud". Longevity is very nice for my taste, around 8 hours and sillage is moderate. Projection is heavy for 1-1.5 hours.

ok yes, I admit this does remind me a little of Black Afgano, but so does about 100 other fragrances. This is still its own composition and to the trained nose one would defiantly notice the differences more than the similarities. On skin after about 5 minutes I already see the differences and they are wonderful. I favor this fragrance more. I like the musky sweet oud qualities and this stuff is amazing! Great longevity and it projects good enough. If you like black afgano you are missing out if you dont smell this. Its amazing! overall I give it 8.5/10 and highly recommend it

Basically what everyone else has said, this is “inspired” by Black Afghano but is essentially just a clone. It’s a softer version that is just as complex and is very strong. Simple advice, if you enjoy extreme dark, dry and bitter scents this will work for you. It lasts forever, projects more than 10 feet and has massive sillage. This is very well blended and a well-done fragrance that is more like a clone than a fragrance of its own merits. Limited wearability, use only 2 sprays in the middle of winter! Recommendation : Sample first Rating: 4.5/5

Opens up with a lot of woody oud mixed with heavy patchouli and more herbal undertones winding down into a more powdery and sfot sandalwood/vanilla blend. The dry down is definitely way different than it's opening giving less green and more soft wood/musk. Came into this expecting a really close black afgano dna and was pleasantly not disappointed. Opening smells very very similar to BA imo. Fortis smells more softer and lighter with less green and more on the resinous oud / vanilla than BA's grungy hashish vibe.

There is a harsh cumin note that blows off thankfully in seconds. Then it is all sandalwood and Oud. Very nice more wearable take on Black Afgano (which I also own). Lasts forever but the projection isn’t over the top. NOT office safe IMO and this is the last fragrance (besides Black Afgano) that I would wear on a beach vacation. 🤪 Winter only for me. Much less expensive than Black Afgano and again, it is much more wearable. If you love dry woody Oud fragrances, this is for you.

A good unisex scent that I think leans more masculine. Wore this on New Year's Eve and my partner said he really liked it. I detected a lot of powdery notes on myself after dry-down, but the scent remained dark and moody despite this. Would consider purchasing a full bottle once my sample runs out. I have never tried Black Afgano so I cannot vouch for its similarity in that regard, but with nothing to compare it to, I find this to be a very solid and interesting scent.

Rich warm and snuggly amber. It’s a less rich, deep and complex version of the now discontinued Amouage Opus VI. If you loved that and can’t find it I would recommend trying. Really lovely. Not as challenging (I have Opus VI) - if you did find the bay like notes in that, too much or the amber too animalic and rich. But the spirit is there. Unisex with a slight nod to masc, as it’s not uber sweet. Very, very nice 🙌

A very solid and well crafted perfume, an interesting and mastered oud, unique enough for the price. Mumbai Noise by Byredo, Noctem Arabs by Gritti and SEPT.21.1966 by Rundholz are very similar. Strangely enough, it sort of reminds me of Couleur Vanille from L'Artisan Parfumeur. Even though the notes are completely different, something about the experience and mood reminds me of both.

Such a nice, woody, creamy, refined oud with hint of spices in the beginning which get toned down within 20 mins of wearing, upon dry down it smells like luxurious n niche quality. To my nose it the oud present here reminds me of xerjoff Alexandria 2 (I don’t mean it’s a clone of that but in a similar refined way). A perfect for Aussie winter n autumn.

I have only one Sentence to describe this Perfume: "FABULOUS EXPONENT INFINITIVE" (SUPERB ^ INFINITIVE) End of Explanation a bout Fortis............ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- من در مورد این عطر تنها وتنها یک جمله میتونم نقد کنم: ؛ "محشر به توان بی نهایت" پایان نقد عطر فورتیس........... ؛

It is like a walk alone in the woods, or swimming by myself in a lake in the middle of a forest during the cold winter. I associate this with melancholy and loneliness. But don't get me wrong, this is still a magnificent scent which I will quickly grab if I feel sad and just wanted to embrace my current emotions.

A Black Afgano clone minus the cannabis note. Smoother, less dank, and more wearable. Potentially a smarter purchase too when you consider you're paying $115 for a 100ml bottle of Fortis versus $185 for a 30ml bottle of Black Afgano. It's really a matter of how you feel about clones and "plagiarized" scents.