Cassius

Look, Carlisle is one of my top 3 favourite fragrances. Ever. Looking back at my perfume timeline, it is my #1 most worn fragrance (granted, a few of those were probably of me recently wearing Cassius before it was listed on the Fragrantica database). I have owned Hercules before & I actually prefer it to PdM's Herod in terms of olfactory sense, the notable differences & the performance. So I was keenly in the market to get my hands on Cassius for awhile now since I read about it somewhere in the forums, but couldn't find any availability in Australia. Lo & behold, eBay finally delivered. & when I opened my package, before even unwrapping the plastic, I could sniff the familiar hint of Carlisle coming through. Eagerly I freed the bottle from it's packaging (because who really cares about unboxings?) & immediately sprayed on my arm. Damn, this is bloody close! Over the next few days, I tried a few side by side comparisons, & my findings are similar to Mike below. Cassius is at least 95% Carlisle at just 10% of the price! Not sure why this is listed as a fragrance for women, but if you're after a more feminine Carlisle & you had the budget, then you should definitely try La Perla's Let the Dance Begin. Reflected in the difference in accords on Fragrantica, Carlisle is just a slight bit fresher, perhaps a tiny tinge of fruitier, almost negligible unless you're smelling it side by side really. Cassius is a little tad woodier, comes across as a little bit warmer perhaps, Fragrantica lists this as powdery, but it's not what most people would associate powdery with typically. I asked my wife to do a blind test & she managed to pick out the difference, though it took her awhile & a bit of deliberation, but she's got a pretty damn good nose, having worked in the industry in France & in Japan before. Seriously, I considered selling my bottle of Carlisle because I don't think I really need it anymore, just like Hercules has made Herod obsolete in my humble opinion. However, I think I'm gonna keep Carlisle for now because I just love it so much. I already know that multiple bottles of Cassius in the future will help me to prolong the life of my one bottle of Carlisle forever. You know that meme that goes "Nobody's gonna know, they're gonna know, how will they know?". Yup. Nobody's gonna know, unless they come to your home & check your perfume collection. That's the only way they're gonna know. Simply just smelling it off of you, how will they know? P/S: Looking forward to Maison Alhambra cloning PdM's Perseus! =P

I have not smelled Carlisle so I can not make any connection there. I blind bought this because it's similarity to Carlisle which is the DNA Mancera's Red Tobacco is based on, which I have a sample and enjoy the dry down of. To my nose the opening is similar to Red Tobacco but toned down a lot. I get a syrupy sweet cinnamon tobacco kind of note, I am not a big fan of it. Red Tobacco has the same note cranked up to 11. It becomes more pleasant after a few minutes, less offensive syrup more warm spicy cinnamon tobacco. As it dries down it becomes more of a warm cinnamon tinged vanilla. It is very similar to Red Tobacco's dry down, which I enjoy. I do not get any apple. If there is rose or nutmeg I can not really differentiate it from the cinnamon I get, but I do get vanilla standing on some patchouli in the dry down. Good longevity, inoffensive sillage. Below $30 I think this it is a good deal. I am looking forward to wearing this come Autumn and Winter. Update: After a month of maceration the opening is far smoother than my initial review. The "apple" note is faint to my nose but similar to other "apple" notes I've now smelled,(To my nose the apple here, on my Zimaya clones, and even on YSL's Y smell like the skin of a sweet red apple, usually faint and vague at best) Additionally what came across as tobacco and cinnamon is likely the blend of Tonka, Rose and Patchouli. The nutmeg here and elsewhere still smells nothing like nutmeg powder and whole nutmeg I've smelled so I'll just call it some vague baking spice. On a 10-point scale maceration improved this fragrance by 0.5-1 points.

Another Alhambra fragrance I love! After Toscano Leather, I was skeptical about Woody Oud, but it exceeded my expectations. While not 1:1 clones, these fragrances offer incredible quality for the price. Cassius feels like a fresher take on Carlisle and Red Tobacco, leaning more toward Carlisle. The opening is different but enjoyable, and the mid-to-drydown stays true to the original while adding its own twist. The presentation is excellent too. I use to be able to afford the originals and owned over 150 from Dior, Chanel, Creed, Tom Ford, PDM, Amouage, Clive Christian, Roja, Zaharoff etc For the price, it’s a fantastic deal. If budget weren’t a concern, I’d always support the original houses, but these clones let me enjoy my favorite scents affordably. Cassius gets an 8.5/10—losing a point for versatility and half for being a clone. Alhambra, keep it up! (Never thought I'd say that) Alhambra if you sre this can yoy please make a clone of these: Bois Du Portugal (2015 and before) Himalaya (2017 and before) Viking & Viking Cologne Italian Cypress Patchouli Absolu

having tried carlisle at stores and with how hyped this has been been online, i decided to blind buy. at first i was really disappointed, especially due to the alcoholic, vinegary opening that supposedly was to resemble green apple! i am rarely nauseated by a fragrance, but this was an exception. having bought from lattafa before, i thought id give macerating a try. only a week or two later and it is a totally different beast. it's sophisticatedly gorgeous, and although close to the og, it's not as spot-on as others have expressed online (to me at least). is that a bad thing? that's up to you, but to me, i can confidently say i prefer this over the original.. yes it's a bit sweeter and less fresh, but it's a lot more wearable. the closest way to describe it is that it's "warmer", more of a nostalgic scent. it is still wearable in hotter weather. longevity is great. i thought projection was awful but somehow others around me can smell it..? im definitely not anosmic to it, which is a bit strange. keep that in mind if you feel it isnt projecting. MACERATE!!!!

@lostnose2 - most probably you have the latest batch of Cassius as you have recently put your review on, I have the release patch from 2022 with old bottle and after eight months of maceration this thing became absolutely amazing linear in scent profile though, however projection improved and became moderate from zero. Longevity was never too bad however it became almost 10 to 12 hours and on clothes over a day easily, it improved in its character however it does lack the depth of original Carlisle, which is not the case anymore since they have watered it down to 81% from 77% which has made a hige difference. Is it for old concentration it does worth every penny however it's not anymore so Carlisle is far better and superior in terms of longitivity and performance minus the dense character which it develops a bit about 30% but thats its along with linear scent profile, but still great and a solid compliment puller for me.