Reviews

Option Review:13ml Spray
This is very much like the original, I would say 95% identical and I would only be able to tell the difference side by side-testing, and I don't think I'd even be able to say which one was which if I didn't know beforehand, just that there were some differences to the fragrances. It's a very beautiful fragrance that really doesn't smell like anything else. I'd say it's perfectly unisex, maybe slightlyyy more feminine but I'm a guy and I would rock it. Raspberry and leather but comparisons to Tuscan Leather is not really applicable, it's an extremely different take on it

Option Review:13ml Spray
This might be a batch issue and I don't want to be overly critical, so take me with a grain of salt on this. I will not agree with previous reviewers that this is a 1 to 1 copy of Ganymede, even though its similar. At first spray this is not nearly as good as Ganymede (which is fine because of the price difference obviously), and is instead actually quite off-putting (less fun). It actually smells spicy, smoky and dense instead of mineral (mineralistic?) and airy right when I spray it. I put Jupiter on my right wrist and the real Ganymede on my other wrist to compare, and the OG is soapier and smells way cleaner and more fresh than this does. I told my partner that "what is going on, this smells almost like grilled hot dogs on my shirt?" and she was like "wow, I understand what you mean", and while it was an obvious exaggeration, the fact that she responded like that says a lot. Might not be hot dogs, but it's like Ganymede with the mineral notes being hidden behind liquid smoke or something like that. The drydown is however somewhat similar to Ganymede, but I don't get the beautiful wafts coming from my skin and shirt that I get from the real Ganymede, it seems to stick closer to the skin, and while I think the real Ganymede is so strange in how it manages to smell so FRESH while still being spicy, mineral, ozonic, etc. This doesn't smell particularly fresh to me, on the contrary I'm thinking about switching shirts before going out now because I sprayed this on myself and I smell like I spent time in front of a spicy bonfire. The smokiness disappears gradually, but to me... it takes way too long. It actually reminds me slightly more of what would happen if you mixed 3 parts Ganymede with 2 parts B683. It's too spicy, too smoky, too heavy. However, if I'm gonna stop being so critical now, it's still an interesting and decent fragrance. If you can't sample Ganymede and want to get an approximation of what it's like then I guess this would be decent to try it out, and for the price it's just a very interesting fragrance no matter what. But if you love Ganymede for the same reasons that I do, you might not be so into it. Some perfumes get better with time and use though as they macerate, so it's not impossible that this will change as well. If it does, I will update it with a new score. So I'm gonna say it like this, it's a 3,5/5 scent overall because it's unique and cool, and you should definitely try to see if you enjoy it more than me, but as a copy of Ganymede it's a 2/5 tops, because it does remind me more of B683 than it does of Ganymede which might not what you want. I for one don't enjoy B683 half as much as I do Ganymede.

Option Review:30ml Spray
I have never worn Baccarat Rouge 540 or Aventus by themselves (I have sampled them in store though), but I think this is a really summer-y perfume. The issue I have with it personally is that it might be just a little bit too much BR540 and too little Aventus, because the BR540 has a tendency to make things very sweet and imo, cloying. Right now I feel like it's 65% BR540 and 35% Aventus, I would probably prefer the opposite. But I can also imagine BR540 in itself just being so strong and sweet that it's hard to make a blend where it doesn't take over, it is a very sweet fragrance. However, if you're a man who likes BR540 but feel like it's too feminine for you and want something that comes close but adds a more masculine flair this definitely does the trick. Or if you like Aventus but wish it was more unisex-leaning. But I see it more likely that somebody who's a fan of BR540 likes this over somebody who's a strict Aventus-fan. Sum of it all is that this frag is a like (not a love), but I love that PP are making this type of combos (and I want more!).

Option Review:30ml Spray
So I blind bought this because I can't find any Mancera fragrances to sample anywhere in my country, which means that I don't have a reference for how the original smells. But based on reviews of the real thing I'd say that this probably comes very close. If you spray this too close with a heavy spray it can easily become way too intense, it's a very artificial-smelling fragrance to my nose, reminds me a bit of some sort of cleaning product. It's however not a bad scent and is certainly more unique than many people give it cred for. I noticed if I sprayed from a bit further away it becomes a way easier scent to wear because it's less concentrated and spread out over a bigger area, but I could still see it giving some people a headache. If you like the original I bet you would like this a lot too, but it's not necessarily office-safe and I don't exactly know when this fragrance would be the most appropriate. So to summarize: I think I will wear it from time to time, but it's not a signature scent for me and maybe not my type of fragrance. But I still recommend people to try it, you might fall for it!

Option Review:30ml Spray
This is just amazing. It's very close to the original scent and is an extremely beautiful and attractive scent. I feel confident as hell when I'm wearing it. I got wafts of the fragrance when I was out walking and I can tell that people around me react to it as well. This is extremely close to the original, and smells A LOT more expensive than it is. I might be able to smell the difference between this and the original if I had them side by side, otherwise there's no chance, I'd say it's about 95-99% identical, at least in the dry-down. The only strange thing has been that I can't smell it on my skin after just a short while if I've sprayed it on my wrists for an example, but I still get wafts of the scent for many hours, possibly from the fabric of my clothing. If you like Bal D'Afrique, get this! It's a no-brainer really. If you haven't sampled Bal D'Afrique and you want a clean and fresh scent that manages to be fruity, citrus-y and fresh spicy that has a beautiful Vetiver base? Yeah, try this out! I personally think it leans masculine - but I think I would like it on a woman too, and I've seen people say that Bal D'Afrique is more feminine, and I can't agree but that just speaks on how perfectly unisex it can be I guess.

Option Review:30ml Spray
The original Oliver Peoples from Byredo is one of my absolute favorite scents of all time, and I was absolutely beguiled when I saw that there was a dupe of it that I could buy, because I only managed to buy one bottle of Oliver Peoples before it was discontinued all those years ago. Does it live up to the the original scent? Not exactly. The scents are all there and it definitely reminds me a lot of Oliver Peoples. The Bal D'Afrique dupe that I also ordered is a 5/5 and really smells maybe 95-99% like the original, where the Oliver Peoples is more like 85%. To my nose, it lacks a bit of sweetness and the warm undertones from the original, and it even leans towards cooler undertones on my skin, when I put my nose up to it I feel like I'm breathing in some menthol almost, not in smell but just the "cold" sensation of it, which is the opposite of what I remember from the original. I'm not the best at describing notes and fragrances in perfume because I've been a very casual perfume fan up until lately unfortunately, so I will not claim to know which notes could cause this. That said, this does smell good! It just isn't as beautiful as the original and it does seem like it has the same notes but maybe the wrong proportions or something missing/added to it that just changes the fragrance profile ever so slightly. For the money it's absolutely worth it and I do foresee myself using it more as we move into fall because it seems better suited for that, whereas the original Oliver Peoples was amazing in the summer. The longevity of just the regular 30ml spray is the most impressive part I'd say, I sprayed some on my hand around 8PM yesterday, now at 10AM today I can still smell it clearly. If you're curious about the scent and you enjoy Bal D'Afrique and want something that's a little bit heavier? For the price I'd definitely recommend this anyway. But for the person who loved Oliver Peoples and been wishing for it to return? Well - try it, it's very close to the original but just don't expect it to be indiscernible from the original.