Royal Paragon

Clones, clones, oh my god, so, many, clones... poor Layton is getting the ole Angels' Share treatment, huh? How long until someone whips up a fragrance not cloned, but inspired by it? Like Khamrah. (NO. IT'S NOT A CLONE and it's funny how that has been cloned to death too.) Anyway, another Layton clone. Since I loved my two Detour Noir bottles, I said "Why not?", pulled the trigger on yet another (wise?) financial decision because I can 100% control myself, my impulsive thoughts, my disappearing money, etc., and got my pawsies on Royal Paragon. Listen, I fucking love soft and sweet scents overall, with the Layton DNA being no exception to me. I just had to get another one of these and I was not disappointed. My DN review applies here regarding the juice. TL;DR: Same apple, vanilla and woods as both Layton and DN. Cloying, yes, except I find RP's to be slightly softer compared to DN's. Still, it gets to the point. It's a hit in my books. It also does last. A few days ago I got a compliment 4 hours in and by the 6-7th hour I could still smell it, but just on my skin. However, projection was meh compared to DN and even the OG. Doesn't spread much. As the guy a few comments down says, maceration is needed, like with every ME frag. Regarding the presentation: Nice blue bottle like the OG. Atomizer is... like any normal atomizer... (*sigh* I miss you pressurized DN atomizer). Cap is metal with some weight to it, easy to take off, not PdM shaped, almost like Zimaya/Afnan took it out of a Xerjoff and filed down the pointy top. The fragrance itself comes in an (also) blue box with a black foam insert inside. Yeah, I know this is probably not relevant, but I find it cool. I just like writing and yapping about everything, you know? Get it if you can.

I bought Zimaya's paragon along with some other of their PdM inspired scents and this one was my favorite of the bunch. For the most part I can't say I really detected most of the top notes, even after it macerated for a couple months. However I was intrigued by the vanilla apple and spices. More so than a lot of other fragrances I've tried it triggered memories of how my Uncle's house used to smell. Which is odd because he moved out of the house I'm thinking of years before Layton was released. Nonetheless I found the apple pie accord quite comforting and nostalgic. The performance was decent ~6 hours of longevity, arms length sillage with a short trail. I couldn't pick out more than a few notes, likely a reality of it's cheap cost, however I think it does a good enough job with the dry down and general scent profile. I enjoyed it enough I gave it away to my brother as to have an excuse to buy a higher quality clone. I think this is fragrance is a great value and a good blind buy if you like woodier vanilla scents that aren't really sweet. I haven't tried it but from what I gather Detour Noir is a better clone for a marginal increase in price.

I haven't tried real layton or any of the other clones, I bought this off of hype twice, first time i didnt like it at all for some reason, now i fell in love with it, maybe because my first time trying it, it was a hot hot summer and it's still kinda chill here in mexico in mid February. The scent gives off big spicy herbal vibes, with a huge dose of vanilla. People compare this to eros but the apple here is not that big of a player in the opening. The scent itself is pretty comparable to the original Hugo Boss edt, but much more well rounded and modern, i feel like that one is quite outdated right now. I would have to give this a 9/10, the performance is stellar on me at least. I get 12 hours plus with strong projection and sillage. I didn't expect it to perform this well but my skin goes well with sweeter more oriental scents. Give this a try, the reason i bought it twice was because i smelt a guy wearing it on a mall and it smells insane in the air. This will make you smell like the prince of arabia straight up. $20 btw.

Nose Note #575 I haven't tried Layton, but it does smell like Lalique White in Black. This DNA is like Boss Bottled reimagined. Spiced up apple with vanilla. A mildly sweet aromatic fragrance. I'm afraid I like White in Black better. Something about Royal Paragon feels a little off, the blend is a little edgy. Doesn't smell like good quality to me. But it might as well be what the original DNA is like, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. I watched a video on how a guy asks women on the street what they like better, Layton or some Adidas fragrance and vast majority went for Adidas. If Royal Paragon is very close to OG, than honestly I'm not surprised. It must be just overhyped. I'd say besides Boss Bottled this is also coming from the same realm as D&G The One. And I think The One would've won over Adidas in a street test - easy. This is just not the most crowd-pleasing fragrance to my nose. Something is a little too much in it, perhaps guaiac wood and cardamom. 7.5/10, feels rather dry

Wow...much better than I expected. I have a few decants of the OG and also the Detour Noir, and even though Detour Noir may be more projecting and a tad bit closer to the OG in DNA, it's more rough around the edges than this. I find Paragon more smooth and wellblended, and also a bit more deep and mature in expression. I will gift or sell my Detoir Noir and go forward with Paragon...I wear perfumes for my own pleasure and I will rather smell nice than focus on loud.