Poker Face

Epic Journey Into the Bottled Yonder, 233 ------------------------------------------------------- Tested 13th September 2024 (test strip) and today: 4th of July 2025 (skin test) ///\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\/////\//////\//////\//////\// Just under 10 months later, the long awaited sequel review! Chaps, you'll wanna read this one. In recent time I learnt through my own mistakes that I must try testing on myself rather than trashing every last thing in the mainstream just by a testing strip/card, because I don't get to test colognes that are niche (non-mainstream) since they're only available online - most of the time I nail the choice because I know what to look for as a "niche"/out of the mainstream. I'm honing my skills over time or by the day. Been thinking about Poker Face for at least the recent several weeks, I've made several edits of recent reviews and inserted that cologne into them as a means to begin to admit I may have been wrong about it and allow a recommendation of Poker Face on my part. And boy was I wrong. I'm my best critic since none of you have challenged me, just by clicking the pansy down button and pop all my balloons is not a challenge of opinion, it's a coping mechanism because somebody is wrong. Could be me - Could be you, 'ah haaah there is nothing we can do..' But since you have nothing to say in PMs or otherwise, I have something constructive to say about Poker Face. End disclaimer. ¶ I found the same tester in the same location as almost 10 months ago, though the actual test strip was later trialled at a different location. Poker Face used to be in plentiful supply, only 2 locations near me carry some. ¶ Sprayed 3 times on my shirt and at least 6.5 or 7.5 times at my neck, there were at least a couple misfires. Junky atomiser, but a thoroughly used tester indeed. People perhaps loved this one, and I currently am too. My, do things change. ¶ Got a smoked wood ambience right off the cuff and a gent/manly vibe, oooh yes. We have quite a night out on the town scent here, possibly for actual poker night. Ok I knew the test strip failed back then, because this is quite awesome now!! ¶ It smells like a proper $30-35 scent, but it does better than that price bracket. Almost much better. This wafted at me a while, lasted the walk back to the car and briefly afterwards filling up the water tank in moderate windy/breezy conditions for that 5-15 minute task. I wish it weren't that windy, sort of the wrong day, but Poker Face soldiered on! ¶ Bravo, pretty manly as hell now. Leather leather and patchouli woodyness cedar backed by peppered iris, my gosh; almost a boozy scent without the sweetness and bitter alcohol, quite earthy! ¶ Holy shit it's full of earth... Just ask my fist after rubbing neck. There's only a total of several bottles of this left in my area, two locations, and I'd be sad to let it go to somebody who isn't an enthusiast, because goddamn I need shit like this! ¶ A modern powerhouse. ///\//////\//////\//////\//////\//////\/ P.S. The bottle design is better than most believe. It's actually a magnified look at a type of gentleman's suit or shirt fabric/weave. It further makes this for gents and badasses alike. What a versatile scent, no idea why there's a lot of unisex votes on this site. There's enough wood here to turn a boy into a man whatever that means. But this WILL give you a few more hairs on ya chest. I cannot comment on the cap because it's missing from the shop tester bottle. Atomiser is janky but could be because it's an old tester bottle and strangers on and off abusing it. Reminds me of Riviera Nights, though that is neroli-leather based the dry down of Poker Face resembles the base after dry down. This will be the bottle that finally kickstarts my Lapidus collection!

Story time. I bought a local clone brand that makes dupes of fragrance and I bought D&G The One and LNDL dupes from them for 30ml. Liked the D&G first then over the time I grew liking the LNDL mainly because I used it for special occasions. One day, this girl and I got really close in uni and I ended up taking her out a bunch of time. She's genuinely an amazing person. Everything went well for 2-3 month and to make the story short, I became victim to the classic avoidant love story. She grew distant, yadayadayada you know how it goes if you know about that dynamic. But we ended things In good term after 9 months (oof, ik, especially if you've experienced an avoidant before). Now, the LNDL dupe plays a role in this story being before we ended the semester as in final weeks of uni and before I go back to my home town. We went out for the last time despite we kinda knew we're not working out, but we still enjoyed each others company. I bought her some wholesome gifts and one of the gifts was this cute round black cat plushie/pillow with a velvet texture. I sprayed that LNDL dupe on the cat pillow because I used the dupe almost everytime we went out together and I remember the time were she borrowed my jacket that I wore because she was cold and I noticed she kept sniffing it and I thought she liked the smell hence why I sprayed it on the cat pillow. In fact, she really liked it where she even texted weeks after just to say the cat pillow smells really nice and calming. So, after our last final exam paper, I waited outside the lecture hall and I gave her the few ml that was left on the LNDL dupe I had and gave it to her as a keep sake and that was the last time we saw each other.... Now I bought Pokerface because I wanted to remember how it smelled plus the memories added to the fact that the dupe I used before this was not able to be shipped to my town for some reason so I had to find an alternative. After smelling Poker Face, it's smells exactly the same but maybe more refined when I smell it closer to the nose but damn...... The memories.... I ain't tearing up now but might hit me randomly at night.

I bought this on comments I've seen that it's a clone or replacement option of LNDL. It's close, it's a little sharper, fresher, more aromatic, less creamy. It's similar DNA to LNDL, but I wouldn't call it a clone. There is definitely iris in here which isn't in LNDL. Personally I think this DNA is nice but overhyped... If I'm going to wear something smooth and seductive for a date night I'd prefer sweeter, denser, more vanillic profiles like JPG Le Male Le Parfum. Someone below commented that this fragrance is lacking "bass", there's too much "treble", great way to put it. Not that I'm complaining given this was only $50 AUD (about $30 USD), but despite it being pleasant to wear you can't help feel it's missing some creaminess to sit underneath it. Performance is average. It doesn't project much but it has okay staying power and this DNA you can overspray without gassing people out. It's a 5-6 hour noticeable fragrance for me, then it's a skin scent at best and need to re-apply. It performs better than LNDL though, for the price and situation I wear this in the performance doesn't bother me. I don't consider this a "date night" scent, it's not dense enough for that, it's got freshness and "airy-ness" in it from the iris and lavender which make it more day time appropriate. I use it during the day, load this stuff on for errands, spending a night at home, it's very nice to smell. Great value, happy to have this in my collection.

A clone is nothing but a look alike that lacks the spirit and personality of the original. That’s what I would say about poker face. Although it has the initial resemblance to La Nuit it lacks that magic touch that the original has. Now to be transparent La Nuit is my signature fragrance and my favorite of all time so of course I’m picky but this doesn’t reach the ethereal lavender, cardamom and bergamot freshness that La Nuit gives you immediately as soon as it dries down. Another thing that I love about the original LNDH dna is that it has this peripheral goodness that you catch as the scent goes by you that is plain delicious that this lacks. The baby powder that people accuse LNDH of having is the star of this one. I hope this review doesn’t come off as negative bc it still smells good the people around me like it and it I would say it’s 7/10 close to the original. But there’s a lot of magic required to reach that 10/10. To me this a good starter fragrance for a kid in his late teens or I would say buy it as a layering scent or an inoffensive office scent but don’t expect to feel how it felt to smell La Nuit for the first time. No reason to purchase this one if you can afford La Nuit other than the price point and the added iris note. I’ll give it a 7/10 and I’ll come back to this in a few weeks and see if anything has changed.

Some fragrances slip under the radar, dismissed by the masses before they’re ever truly understood. Poker Face by Ted Lapidus is one of them—and that’s a crime. This scent isn’t just undervalued; it’s outright misunderstood. Let’s get one thing straight: this is NOT weak, and it does NOT smell cheap. If you’ve read reviews saying otherwise, ignore them. Poker Face is smooth, warm, inviting, and—let’s be honest—downright sexy. The opening? A whisper of citrus and cardamom, setting the stage for what’s to come. But the magic happens in the dry-down—a rich, velvety blend of amber, tonka, and a suede-like leather that melts into the skin. It’s the perfect balance of sophistication and sensuality, cozy but with a smoldering edge. This isn’t a loud, in-your-face scent. It’s calculated charm—the kind of fragrance that draws people in, rather than pushing them away. It’s the well-dressed man in the corner of the room, speaking in a low voice, the one you suddenly realize you can’t stop thinking about. Performance? Far better than the naysayers claim. This sticks around, leaving a warm, intimate trail that lasts through the night. And at this price? An absolute steal. Poker Face isn’t a bluff—it’s a real deal. If you know, you know. And if you don’t? It’s time to find out.