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.

For me, this is it. Almost as perfect as a fragrance can be. Better than Carlisle too in my humble opinion - why? Because to my nose, the nutmeg note in Carlisle is way louder than in this one, making it more ''niche'' smelling and not as versatile for different occasions and settings - which makes this one more versatile and more wearable for use. Which automatically means, you could wear this more often in various settings. To my nose, this smells more oriental and overall of lower quality than Carlisle, which for some people might be a bad thing. For the majority of people, considering the price point, this information won't be of value. In short, it captures the overall essence of the ''good'' in Carlisle and dismisses the somewhat ''bad'', with naturally lower quality oils and less darkness. For a fraction of the price. Alhambra... oh what a Maison.

I agree with the reviewer below me @Anglichanin—the opening is nuclear, polarizing, and will fill a room with just 2 sprays. If you're going to rock this fragrance, I recommend giving yourself some time before you go around anybody. This thing is going to be in someone's face with no apology. But once that opening settles, it’s actually quite nice. It definitely reminds me of Boss Bottled Absolute. I don't know exactly how close it is to the real Carlisle it's inspired by, but it is very close to the Dua Brand version of Carlisle that I own. I will be testing Carlisle soon to see how it compares overall, so my review might change after that. My rating: Opening ➡️ 6.5/10 (only because it starts off so rough) Mid/Drydown ➡️ 8.5/10 (it gets very good as it settles) Overall Score ➡️ 7.5/10

I was skeptical first out of the box I sniffed the cap I thought this might be too spicy for my liking, but after spraying it on my wrist I was like damn this stuff is really good and of high quality. It reminds me of a nostalgic scent that I can't recall but I am enjoying this so far. It's luxurious, classy, rich, well-blended and the nutmeg note makes it so good. I see myself wearing this in special occasions while rocking a fancy outfit, it just screams maturity and confidence. I believe this is quite versatile yet it can be a bit too much in hot climate. One spray was enough to fill a wide space in this case, the office, damn this thing is loud and projects very well. Overall, I am happy with my Cassius bottle and can't compare it to Carlisle cuz I never tried it.

This is a clone of Carlisle - Parfums de Marly, which I have never smelled but I don't need to. Cassius is fantastic. I bought this as a blind buy because it was only $16 on Amazon. At this price point, who cares? It's an amazing value. Even if it doesn't smell like Carlisle, it still smells rich, expensive and delicious. Great fall and winter scent. Great buy overall. When fall rolls around I'm going to buy a second bottle to keep in my office desk. FYI: Like most Maison Alhambra's this will need maceration and maturing. Give it a few months of sitting before judging. Also this is most definitely a masculine scent. I'm not sure why Fragrantica has this labeled as "for women" in the title.

Practically a dead ringer to Carlisle. Performs very similar to Carlisle as well. Banger purchase for $27, after testing this fragrance for a couple of days I sold my bottle of PDM Carlisle. You want to support the originators but the price you pay for luxury fragrances are egregious. Fragrances, boxes, and bottles do not cost anywhere near $350+. (Not to forget they watered down their fragrances recently) If they respect the customer more and not just as a cash cow I’d give my support back and purchase from them again. Until then. This fragrance (clone brands) are the prime example of customer service.

Sweet with patchouli, a little amber and a hint of apple. This has to be one of the best price-to-performance fragrances on the market. In my mind's eye, I feel like this (and Carlisle, for that matter) would be the fragrance of choice for a young, confident, preppy male. It smells sexy as hell, but it's obviously a synthetic fragrance, best suited for colder weather. It's a very masculine fragrance, and I feel like it leans a bit younger in terms of appropriate age. I don't think it would be suited for older, mature men to wear.

Esto es patchouli puro con vainilla e incienso, bien dulzon, si es verdad que cuando abre se le siente la manzana verde y un poco la rosa, pero esto es patchouli puro.. No es para todo el mundo pero en lo personal a mi me encanto este aroma, si es verdad que huele super a brujeria por la combinación del incienso con el patchouli pero esta muy rico. Proyecta y dura bien, no beastmode pero si es bien para su excelente precio. Es un aroma demasiado unico y elegante.

This is good. Opens up sweet fruity apple with nutmeg. Nutmeg quite prominent. As it dries down you get soft rose and tobacco like tonka. Finally ends on the patchouli vanilla with the apple running the course. Bit rough when new, few months on its beginning to even out with the notes becoming more distinct. These things really do need some air introduced to them and left a while to blend properly. Comforting, universal and masculine, 30 +. 8/10

Never smelled carlisle , but all I can say that this is a gem of a fragrance, very masculine, earthy and sophisticated scent. I live in India got this for 1349rs ( 16.08$ usd ) which is an absolute steal , do let it macerate for 5-6 weeks it will smooth out even more, great fragrance for winter and fall. Also the performance of this is amazing I can say 9+hrs of longevity on my skin and on clothes till the next day.

This is very close to PDM Carlisle. I am wearing this on one arm and Carlisle on the other. It is hard to tell between them. Carlisle in the beginning is a bit different and I think it is the Saffron coming through, but then they dry to pretty near identical. Hard to beat this one for the price difference. I would say that I give the win to Carlisle but it is very close.

This is not a clone, this literally IS Carlisle. I haven't smelled a better clone of a popular fragrance yet. Unreal. The only difference is that the original lasts longer, but smell-wise I can't tell the difference. Cassius' availability is very limited, though. I bought both of my bottles in Germany, but I can't get it in my country. I hope this changes soon.

It smells a lot like Oud Pimienta by Natura, which I have. The rose is very prominent in the minutes after you sprayed along with some spices and patchouli. Also, the tobacco here (which isn’t listed) is sweet due to the vanilla, but not cloying. Great fragrance with a moderate projection and a bit above average longevity. Bang for buck, definitely.

Great buy!! It smells really luxe and the price is so affordable. Many reviews have said it’s similar to PDM’s Carlisle & I can’t wait to see if that’s accurate. Cassius Is more an autumn/winter fragrance but I live in a tropical climate so I don’t care that. It’s summer in my country all year round. lol

#669 in my "Tour de Fragrance" I created this review when I first purchased this and it wasn't in the database yet. Don't have much to add here. As others have noted it's a PDM Carlisle clone and a very good one. I know I've bought my last bottle of Carlisle. I will keep this on the shelf hereafter.

I just wore this to the pumpkin patch with my family, it’s perfect! Unlike some other reviewers here, luckily I most certainly DO get the apple! Along with spices and all the other good stuff. It’s a 10/10 for me for the fall time. I find it totally unisex but then again I like dark heavy stuff.