Gladiator

The opening is a 1:1 but elevated Mentos peppermint, very realistic. If that’s a scent you enjoy, you’ll most likely love this opening. Right away, you get a lovely mint note, slightly sharp (can be too sharp for some), as it should be to my opinion, with a touch of sweetness, beautifully dry yet mouthwatering. You can already detect hints of citrus and fruit, especially apple, that will bloom more fully later on. Impressively, this opening manages to pull all of this off without ever smelling too synthetic. As it dries down, the Mentos-like peppermint becomes less prominent, allowing other notes to come forward. The fragrance takes on a more mature character, with cedar, Tahitian vetiver, and patchouli providing a solid base, and coumarin adding roundness. There's also a sense of "airiness" introduced by some floral elements. The fragrance is airy, light, where something like erba pura would be dense, almost sticky. I understand the Aventus comparisons (particularly with certain batches), but to me, they’re quite different. Aventus isn’t as sweet, doesn’t have this minty brightness. I also understand the blue comparisons, yet I dont think this is a typical blue frag even tho it shares similarities. Later on, the fruity notes become very noticeable, especially pineapple, orange, and apple. The peppermint remains, but now sits more quietly in the background, rather than being the whole show. Longevity is quite good, lasting close to 7 hours. Projection is moderate, it turns into a skin scent rather quickly. 8.5/10 for me, not enough to make it in my rotation, but close, i'm on the edge.

This is truly a special fragrance. It’s familiar and mass appealing as a blue fragrance but not in a “me too” sense. The three notable comparables (I also own these) are PDM Percival, LV Meteore, Bond no9 Scent of Peace. These three fragrances feel like upgraded versions of their designer counterparts. Put the three in a Venn diagram then you have Gladiator in a huge central overlap, but with a super upgrade. The perfumer accomplished a way to improve where the past three are lacking: performance, sillage, richness. It has that addictive quality where I smell something and I want to actually swallow that scent. When sprayed on skin, you can see the sheen of the oils used. I had it on the back of my hand and I can draw scent trails in the air. The olfactory equivalent of light trails in long exposure photography. Extrait concentration with moderate projection (a couple feet past arm’s length) but with CRAZY sillage that lingers. Someone will smell you in a hallway or room that you left half an hour ago. Easily 12 hours performance before it becomes a skin scent. This outlasts the aforementioned three. And it’s a scent that most people will like, unless they hate blue type fragrances. Marketed as unisex but leans very masculine. It’s fresh, but deep enough to wear year round, even during winter. Only complaint is that the bottle sizes are too small. Uniqueness 7.5/10 Quality 10/10 Performance 10/10 Sillage 10/10 Price point 8/10 Overall rating 9.5/10 Impressed enough to try out the others in this house.

Well, damn...I have to admit, this is really good. It leans effortlessly masculine right from the start. My only gripe is that this scent profile has been done countless times before. It’s something we’ve all smelled hundreds of times, but this particular composition is executed exceptionally well. In the opening blast, the mint takes center stage, but it avoids any toothpaste-like vibe. About ten minutes in, the fruits step in to mingle with the mint, and the blend is genuinely amazing. The pineapple is very reminiscent of the pineapple in Aventus, while the apple, grapefruit, and lemon add a wonderfully vibrant touch. As it settles, it dries down into that familiar masculine woody base. Think along the lines of Aventus-ish, Montblanc Legend, Fierce, or Percival. As a bonus, the performance is definitely above average. I wore it yesterday and had a very positive experience. I wore it again today as a base layer and applied Michael Malul Ocean Noir on top of it. Lawd have mercy, it smelled so good. Gladiator provided that dry, woody base, while Ocean Noir added in some blue juiciness.

I've worn this a few times now, and while I get the Aventus and Hacivat references, I find Gladiator primarily a minty and herbal experience with some added citrus undertones, rather than the other way around (at least on my skin, that is). Yes, there is the familiar pineapple accord accompanied by a blast of citrus right in the opening, but I feel like they die down rather quickly - say, within the first 10 to 15 minutes - and after that, the mint and the herbs take over, remaining as the dominant notes throughout the wear. Likewise somewhat against the grain of the public discourse around this scent, I find Gladiator to be a rather unique creation exactly for this reason. Yet, I can totally imagine it appealing to the masses - it's not a challenging scent by any measure! This is exactly the kind of niche perfumery I appreciate and love. Excellent execution by Sora Dora.

I'm pretty surprised by the low rating on here . It has a crowd pleasing scent . This smells great! It has a big burst of citrus and freshness when first sprayed . The peppermint subtly cools down the top not. Light cedar then comes out with very little patchouli but the white flower comes out the most at this stage . Once it dries down it keeps a pretty good balance of wood and citrus notes. I will say that this reminded be of Bleu de Chanel . Like a lot, except this one is more brighter when dried down . It also has cleaner wood notes . I haven't had Bleu in about 2 years but I think this is better. This is definitely on my buy list now after using it for a few days . It projects pretty well for like 3 hours . It will stick on the skin for 8 hours plus . Solid performance. Now to hope it eventually dips in price. While I would pay the 220 I don't need it right now