DesirToxic

The house of Micallef is one which I've fallen in love with. It started with me being skeptical, with seeing this one mentioned all over the fragcomm and on many fragrance content creators' social media. And then there was this whole fiasco with DesirToxic L'Intense (people were up in arms about content creators getting free bottles). I don't get the big deal, it's not like this is anything new. So yes, the brand kind of got unwanted hate and the controversy overshadows the quality of the fragrances in my personal opinion (at least so far from what I've tested). The comparisons to Layton are inevitable but personally, I definitely find more similarities to Nishane's Papilefiko. This is deep, in intensity much closer to Layton Exclusif but without the animalic element. Here, this animalic component is replaced by a much spicier and earthier tone, brought by oakmoss materials and cannabis notes. Lots of cinnamon too, giving it warmth and sweetness. This is much less vanillic than Layton. The cannabis gives it a slight dirtiness/sexiness without even making it challenging (to my nose). This is very easy to wear, I'd say. I already got quite a bit of attention wearing it as well, so it definitely brings attraction. As a fan of Layton Exclusif I was worried this would be redundant but I don't think so (here cannabis is the highlight, in LE its the underlying civet note). Owners of the original Layton might find this one a little close for their tastes and owners of Papilefiko should get their nose on it first or they might feel this is too close. As for the comparison between DesirToxic and L'Intense, I prefer the original. L'Intense is great and it does have more projection but I find it loses the nuances of this one and while I love the upticked cannabis note, I find that the end result is ultimately less satisfying and I find the overall wear experience of the original better. While like I said it projects less than the Intense, it does still projects well for the first 2-3 hours and lingers on for a good 6-7 hours of great sillage before settling to a skin scent for another few hours. Overall, I find it warrants the interest I saw in it. If you're a fan of Layton and are looking for alternatives of similar DNAs, this will very likely please you.

Aromatic, spicy, woody, and just enough sweetness for me to love it. Personal: 9/10 – I really enjoy the dark, spicy, woody depth brightened up with lots of green notes. I've never smelled something quite like this. Mass appeal: 8.5/10 – Fruity sweetness and spicy warmth make this very approachable. Performance: 7.5/10 – Good longevity and moderate-to-strong projection, without being overwhelming. Value: 7.5/10 – Priced pretty fairly in the niche bracket, and I love what you get for the price. Uniqueness: 8/10 – Fruity-spicy-woody isn’t brand new, but the greenness present absolutely sets it on its own tier. SCORE: 81/100 Full bottle buy? NO, despite loving it, I don't think I'd reach for it often enough over similar aromatic spicy/sweet fragrances, like Layton. Blind buy? NO, even though black currant and these spices are safe, green notes are usually polarizing, and for the price, it's not worth the risk. Recommend? YES, especially to someone who wants a niche step up from designer fruity/woody/spicy fragrances. Date night? YES, it’s sweet, seductive, and pretty formal. Office safe? YES, it’s clean, polished, and not overly loud. Though don't overspray. Pros: Fruity-spicy balance is smooth, crowd-pleasing, and versatile. Green notes make it pretty unique. Cons: Pricey for what it is, fruity woody spicy DNA is fairly unique, but not groundbreaking for the price. DesirToxic is a polished, crowd-pleasing fragrance that bridges gourmand sweetness and woody-spicy masculinity. The black currant and the cardamom keep it pretty mass appealing, somewhat unique, but not so weird and unique that it's unwearable. Despite the very spicy nature of this fragrance, it's fairly quiet on skin. It doesn't shout its presence, rather it settles nicely into something that's just warm, aromatic, sweet and inviting. I really enjoy it and I think anyone who enjoys fragrances like Layton or other well known sweet, spicy fragrances will appreciate it. It's definitely more formal due to its subdued performance, and I think there's a market for that. A sweet, spicy, aromatic scent. I really enjoy its subdued performance, funny enough. This is the more office-appropriate Layton. Review #129 in my fragrance journey – this fragrance I own as a decant

When I sprayed it first I was amazed by how green and juicy it smelled! I mean wow! Also, the fragrance seems to have a lot of natural ingredients. It's designer style niche. This fragrance has an opening for 15 mins or so and relatively longer drydown. The transition from opening to drydown is fast so couldn't observe much mid. It's so well blended that we can hardly point out notes if we don't check it in the breakdown. That combination of spices, lemon and Cannabis somehow creates an illusion of a designer oud smell during the opening itself till it transitions to the drydown which is quick. Also from opening to drydown transition, Cannabis note is prominent and it's a leafy cannabis note, nothing that anyone will make faces for. Coming to the drydown, it's all about mild spices, prominent tonka beans and oak moss combination. It becomes quite subtle and sexy intimate fragrance that doesn't change a lot. Becomes mossy Patchouli before it evaporates. I observed people comparing this to Layton but honestly this is too green to compare with Layton. Maybe it has that fresh oudy nature and cardamom note that gives a little bit of greenish layton impressions initially for like 15 minutes or so but overall way different scent. Overall impressive! It's a quite unique and artsy fragrance which is very sexy, seductive and mass pleasing. We can't ask for more...

Where’s the page for the new L’Intense flanker? Anyway this scent smells more like a fresh take on Sauvage Elixir with an added cannabis note than it does Layton to me, and I’m totally here for it. Highly addictive and sexy scent made with quality ingredients. It’s not beast mode and not intended to be. You can wear this any time anywhere if you ask me, and you will definitely stand out in a crowd! I don’t get church or incense vibes at all with this, just an edgy but still mass appealing and alluring scent. Absolutely gorgeous bottle, too, a work of art in itself. Can’t wait to add the new one to my collection. Update 4/6/2024: just received the L’Intense version today and it is definitely an improvement on the original. They added a freshness with the mint, toned the cannabis way down, and honestly it feels more versatile of a fragrance overall for nearly any occasion (it wouldn’t even be out of a place in the gym), signature scent worthy stuff, and potentially longer lasting. Back up bottle will be on deck once it gets down to $150 or so. It is really good, not vastly different scentwise, but an improvement in versatility for me. Love them both just the same, though.

DesirToxic M. Micallef I admit I'm kinda late into this despite coming across many hyped reviews and videos all over since it's release. This was available at a really good deal recently and I blinded it. Now, this is a nice smelling sexy alluring scent, it's pretty comforting and comfortable to smell as it settles on the skin. I get no distinguish prominent stand out notes from my use so far but the spicy cardamom and sourly blackcurrant is distinguishable at the opening. Its a soft spicy, semi sweet, creamy vanillic, a little soft green with a nice not so strong oakmossy drydown. It kinda reminds me of of the vibe of a softer Opium pour homme. It isn't a projection monster and settles down on the skin nice and easy making u smell really good. Longevity is probably 6-10 hrs on skin. The bottle is really nice, a raw midnight blue with historical like designs on it. Cap is simple with a nice lift and clip. Good sprayer and atomizer. Somehow it got soft and comfortable on my skin fast and I wish it was more projecting with strength. I'm liking this and will look to give it more runs. Ladies can wear this easily too.