Triumph

The notes here are incomplete / inaccurate - from the Shiraz website, in reality we have: "The top notes of bergamot, lavendar, sicilian lemon and Mandarin are blended with spices of Cumin, Clove, Cinnamon and Pink Pepper giving the perfume a strong confident opening. Vanilla is used along side several musks including Hyraceum giving the perfume a deeply complex fermented scent which is animalic, smooth and Powdery." The key element is the powder and musk - this is a musk BOMB, user beware. In the opening and on skin, it registers exactly like rum essence to be used in cooking, but quickly starts to morph into a slightly citrusy powder-musk bomb, with an oily, DENSE musky wood underneath. If you are into Rosendo Mateu No 5, they really both go in the same direction, although I would say Triumph is smoother and also lacks the slightly smoky aspect we see in Rosendo's No 5. I already have No 5 and am contemplating getting a full bottle of Triumph as well. They are similar but not identical, and Triumph, despite the name, comes across as a more relaxed version of No 5, which seems to shout open seduction at the world. Seems to me like Triumph can be happy to keep its own company and isn't actively trying to get reactions from other people...But it might anyway, because this stuff is STRONG.