Seasons Drift

I just got this and don't want to jinx anything, but so far this is my dream remix of the BDC DNA. I have tried a lot of "clones" of the DNA and they all sorely lacked the thing that makes the EDP so special to me: the dark, creamy, woody, incense dry down. Many clones have a lot of the notes just remixed in different ways. My recent purchase, prior to this one, was Xeena Imperial Blue, which was hailed as the ultimate BDC EDP clone, yet I found it to be very lacking. Enter Seasons Drift, my first foray into Riffs and my 5th fragrance purported "BDC killer". This was alleged to be a clone of the newest flanker l'Exclusiff. Upon initial spray, the atomizer mists a generous cloud. The smell is familiar yet different. I get a lot of BDC, a lot of something else. Usually this is the part where my heart would faint but alas INCENSE and lots of it! This certainly has the DNA, it's dense like the Parfum, not as dense as l'Exclusiff (which is a good thing in my opinion). Citrus, spice, incense, leathery labdanum, and amber. This composition drops most of the jasmine and all of the mint, which is just fine by me. To my nose, this is not l'Exclusiff, but I like it a lot more. It's l'Exclusiff adjacent, but not the same. I found l'Exclusiff to be the weakest entry in the series, not in terms of strength, but in terms of scent profile. l'Exclusiff is dense and monotonus once you get past the opening (which is basically a heavier version of the Parfum's opening) and settles into a mess of amber, and labdanum with some darker non-descript fixitives. SD is more like the Parfum with a heavy dose of dark burning incense and a beautiful almost animalic labdanum note. It's not overly heavy and seems like it do just fine in the early Spring and late Summer. I honestly love this so far, and I'm very hopeful that it changes for the better as it matures. I will update as time goes on. I am already very impressed with the projection and longevity, but I won't make any final judgements just yet. It did last over 8 hours on my skin, which is a great accomplishment as my skin eats fragrance.

Why did Fragrantica label this "for women" lol it's masculine af. I'll never go anywhere near the OG because of its ridonkulous price. 1 month in of wear - agree with genec123 that Seasons Drift is closest to L'exclusif compared to other flankers. The leathery labdanum makes it classy and grown up; not as juicy sweet as other flankers. Comparing to OG with my amateur nose - L'exclusif is very smooth, well blended and higher quality smelling but terrible performance. Sniffers at arm's length distance won't be able to tell the difference. At 10% of the cost, it's a no brainer. It has the unmistakable fresh zingy opening of BDC. Heart and drydown has the same vibe as Hugo Boss Bottled Elixir/Absolu. The resins are syrupy thick almost balsamic but not sour. As much as the bottle and packaging shows a beach it's aura is on the darker side but has a freshness that makes warm weather friendly. SPL is decent after a month of maceration. Projects for about 7 hours with skin scent up to 9 hours. Positive compliment factor. It's a new addition to my office scent rotation and people notice it! If BDC was your daily, have passed 35 years old, don't wanna break the bank ($25!) cause you got kids to feed now but feel the need to evolve your favourite scent profile; Season Drift is the one homies.

I just wanted to add more thoughts after I have had this for a few months and it has oxidized and matured. I don't blind buy often these days, for this one, I made an exception as it's a purported BDC l'Exclusiff dupe. BDC l'Exclusiff, this is not. It definitely sits adjacent to it. It opens somewhat similarly to BDC Parfum with the powderiness and citrus, amd aromatics, it sits over a bed of incense, labdanum, leather, sandalwood. It's not a perfect recreation of BDC in the opening, it suffers the same quality that many dupes suffer from, off balance and missing that special DNA that only the real ones have, although it does have some of the powdery facets. In the drydown, the fragrance completely changes and becomes deep, and resinous. It drops all of the citrus and aromatics and starts to radiate a sweet vanilla amber of smokey leather, dense and complex. I honestly like this much better than BDC l'Exclusiff. It doesn't smell just like it, but it's certainly a similar vibe. It is a lot fresher up top, and could be used in the Spring, but will still shine in the Fall and Winter. The summer might be tough if you are going to be outside in the day during the warmer months. Longevity is excellent, easily pushing 10 hours on skin, days on clothes.

I just bought this, so I'm not sure about longevity and such, but seems to last long by my limited testing. It needed no time to mature, it smelled great right from the start. It immediately became one of my absolute favourites, at least for summer. I'm sure it would work just fine in winter too but there I have so many options to try out. Had I known how great Seasons drift is, I wouldn't have waited so long to buy it. The silly bottle put me off, it looks like it's for children and I was confused by it being marketed as a scent for women. I guess a woman could wear it but it definitely doesn't smell feminine. It was a blind buy and I think it can safely be recommended as such. Dirt cheap and even if you don't love it as I do, you'll likely still think it smells damn good. Update: Never smelled Bleu de Chanel L'exclusif before but tried it in a shop today and Seasons drift comes close. I don't specifically look for clones to be exact copies anyway, it's just a good way to find great scents as blind buys.

Ok.. I wore this twice - once to test it and once to a rugby match - mid 20s Celsius outside. This did not have time to sit and it smells great! I smelled BdC L'Exclusive multiple times in store and this is not a 1to1 even without comparing them side-by-side. Does it have aspects of the BdC? Yes! But it also leans more towards Ferragamo Aqua Essenziale Blu, but fresher, smoother and better done overall. My suggestion : If you like Ferragamo AEB, but a little bit fresher, smoother, longer lasting and less expensive, go with Seasons Drift.. If you want something in the style of BdC L'Exclusif , this could work as long as you don't want a 1to1. As for performance, this is close to a beast without having time to sit. That being said, this is the type of fragrance that will make people go nose blind, so spray away from your neck and chest. I go on the arms, sides of my body and behind my ears. Hope this helps! Cheers!