San Ysidro Drive

Guy’s, I love it. Listen is the price tag ridiculous? Off course it is but you could say that about so many niche fragrances on the market and for me this collection falls into the niche category. These are not your normal run of the mill celebrity fragrances. They (the two I purchased anyway) smell ‘rich’, as silly and vague as that description sounds. I’ve only worn this once to work so far and its performance is beast mode. I got so many compliments and the projection was just insane, I could actually feel the scent cloud/trail following me as I moved. Now, I am one of those people who wear fragrance for ME not for others, but I have to say the compliments felt pretty good. The notes here feel...a little off. I don’t have the most advanced nose when it comes to perfumery, I’m no Jeremy Fragrance (and I thank God for that every day, ICK!) I get a slight hint of oud on the initial spray but it’s very subtle and fades rather quickly. The rose sticks around but it’s kind of a dirty rose, slightly mossy and wet smelling which I love. There is also some vanilla here which lingers on the dry down and adds a little bit of sweetness. Even though it’s not listed there is also some leather which I get the occasional whiff off. Thankfully the jasmine is barely detectable, which is lucky seeing as its not my favourite floral. The key player, the quarterback if you will, is the saffron which is so well blended that it literally smells like heaven, that’s it, that’s my description and I’m sticking to it. LOL If I had to compare this to something else so as to give you a point of reference I could say this; if MFK’s Baccarat Rouge 540 had a torrid love affair with Tom Ford’s Ombre Leather then this fragrance would be the b****** love child that both perfumes would spend an exorbitant amount of money on legal fees to gain weekend visitation rights. if you can afford it, go for it, if you can't walk away, no harm no foul.

I got the flight from the website and I honestly love ALL of the perfumes, this one included. The least favorite of the bunch is 21.50 Reverie. It's just OK. In regards to this particular fragrance though, it's been said "Rose with oud, a bit overplayed so if you already have something like that don't bother getting this." DISAGREE. I have the Rose Oud by Kayali and that doesn't even come close to the sexiness, longevity, depth, dimension, intrigue that San Ysidro Drive gives off. As most of Kayali fragrances they last a good hour. I have San Ysidro on my hand for the last 4 and it still smells divine. I have to go close to the skin to smell it, but its there, detectible and delightful. The rose has a stunning matureness (in a great way) with the jasmine and amber to round it out. Some rose fragrances can have this jammy or synthetic rose feel. Nope, this one is perfection. Victoria, you got a new fan here. Since they came out with their travel sizes, I will be ordering one of this once it comes back in stock. At this time I could only indulge in one full size bottle so I went with Portofino '97.

If you're looking for a dupe, I agree that Miller Harris Scherzo is very close. However, I have been testing them both and I definitely identify some differences. Ultimately, I prefer San Ysidro Drive. Here's why: Scherzo is quite sweet, thanks to a sugar-heavy tangerine accord, and the juicy rose note is rather loud and prominent, with a noticeable sharpness . The presence of oud is mostly drowned out. This is a rose oud perfume for the bubbly college freshman looking for an "edgy" date night scent. San Ysidro Drive is also a fruity rose-oud fragrance, but I find it much more pleasing to wear. It is not obnoxious at all. The opening is fruity but not very sweet. The rose/jasmine combo is classy and refined. The oud note really sings. It's soft and almost smoky, wrapped in the perfect amount of rose which lingers after the drydown. She is that boss bitch, who wears a fragrance for herself, never to impress others.

I am not typically a fan of rose in perfumes, but here it really takes a back seat and allows the passionfruit to shine. The passionfruit is undoubtedly the star of the show. It's bright, tart, and incredibly memorable. I've smelled thousands of fragrances over the years and can honestly say I've never smelled anything quite like this one. That said, I don't usually gravitate towards oud or rose fragrances, so that may be part of the reason it feels so unique to me. I am so glad this baby is finally mine! I'd wanted it for quite a while and was gradually running out of reasons not to buy it. After all, why wouldn't I buy something that makes me happy? So eventually I caved and ordered a bottle. Thankfully, it did not disappoint. In fact, I now wish I'd gone for the 100ml bottle instead of the 50ml.

I truly love this fragrance. I don’t like saffron as a scent, but this just grounds the fruity brightness and kind of gives this a skin like quality. On my skin, that passionfruit note lasted ALL DAY, it came off like a citrus almost sweet note. But wasn’t overpowering. It was extremely hot today and when I left work I could still get indications and it smelled fruity and clean. Kind of like warm laundry. I was walking outside amongst the commuters and thought “someone smells amazing”. Once I realized it was me I knew I needed to review this on here. That being said, it’s expensive. While I like it I couldn’t ask someone to pay this price. Getting a sample set is enough!