Hotep

Very harsh opening, makes me want to sneeze every time. It has this very pleasant citrusy, yet somehow "heavier" feeling, presumably from the non-citrus base notes, as well as the tea. As it dries down, sits very close to skin, I've never gotten compliments on it except from my girlfriend who literally touched her nose on my neck and smelled me. The citrus and spice quickly fades and you can smell the musk and a slight general woody touch. In general it dries into a much smoother fragrance, but still keeps that nose tingling quality from the spice and citrus. If you really sniff in deep, you can feel a slight cardamom sweetness. I don't know why it's classified as "warm spicy". It's a little spicy but definitely not warm. This fragrance has a very unique smell, somehow, even though the ingredients are not too special. I would describe it more as a green citrus with musky drydown and a little something more. My main caveat is that this has terrible longevity and silage. Lasts 4-ish hours before turning into a complete skin scent, and honestly never projects further than *maybe* my forearm's length. Its performance is better when it's warmer, I feel; the citrus dries down better and the other stuff is more evident, which gives it more personality. So it can outperform other fragrances in the heat, but otherwise this is very weak. It's a good fragrance, and I've never smelled anything similar, so there's value in that, but it's overpriced for what it delivers. I also struggle to see a situation that would call for this.

This is truly unique. Having said that, the opening is not great. I have no idea what it's trying to do but I am not a huge fan. The mid and dry down are much better as it smooths out. I usually end up layering it with something I have that is on the sweeter side. Performance and projection are pretty good. (6.5/10)