Took me like 3 days to write Part 1 of this. I'm gonna try and zip through this one in 10hrs while I'm at work. Wayyyy off topic but I'm wearing Lattafa Paris right now. This shit is 🔥🔥🔥.
⚠️I didn't come close to finishing😅. Some of this was wrote on 5/2, the rest on 5/4.⚠️
Maturation Process -
First things first, I've received a couple of DM's asking about my maturation process that I keep mentioning. Everyone has their own, here's mine. Long story less long, I get my new fragrance(s) in and I spray 30+ sprays in a 5ml decant bottle (that normally fills it up). I then put the fragrance back in the box and tuck the box away in my kitchen cupboard where it's cool and dark (2nd pic). I leave it there for at least 2 months. During those 2 months, I may use the fragrance every now and then to see how it's coming along. Using it won't hurt it.
But, that's pretty much it. That's my 2 month maturation process in a nutshell. Some fragrances change dramatically and for the better, some change minimally, and some don't change much at all. This isn't some magic trick, it's just something I do to get the best performance out of my fragrances.
Onto these reviews.
1. Afnan 9PM Night Out -
So, I don't have anything bad to say about Night Out. I'll just say this, I'm 40 y/o and I don't think I was the intended audience for this fragrance. I feel that's important to note. I wore it one time and got a couple compliments from co-workers. It's a good smelling fragrance that is well received, it's just a youthful smelling fragrance, that's all. Lasts for like 10+ hours on clothes, projects well for the first couple hours. I don't know any of the notes I'm picking up on, I just know it's fruity. I actually like it, but I won't be wearing it. It doesn't necessarily fit my profile. If you're 30 or younger, I definitely recommend it to you. Again, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me.
2. Rasasi Hawas London -
For those that may not know, I'm a big time Hawas guy. I have every single Hawas that has released to the public thus far, and I'll be buying every one that releases moving forward. Hawas was my favorite line, but shit got shakey with the last 3 releases. I wore Atlantis once during maturation and I'll never wear it again. Viper was so trash to me that I refuse to even let it touch my body. I'll NEVER wear that. Then came London. When I first sprayed it on a tester strip, shit was the most feminine "men's" fragrance I ever smelled in my life😤. It didn't smell bad, it just smelled like a woman's perfume. I was so turned off by it that I never wore it during the maturation period. I was actually gonna write this review and just shit all over it. However, I decided I'd actually wear it to work after I took this picture last week. Long story short, turns out that it's not that bad...not that bad at all. First things first, longevity is good. I could still easily smell it on my clothes at the end of a 12hr shift. It's not beast mode and didn't project like normal Hawas' do, but it was decent. I'd catch whiffs of it throughout my shift. Secondly, of all of the HEAT I consistently wear into work, one of my co-workers FINALLY decides to compliment me while I'm wearing this😑. Hawas fucking London is the fragrance where he finally had to step to me and ask me what was I wearing😒. Absolute nonsense😅. Anyway, that ultra feminine note I'm smelling has to be the rose. However, it didn't smell so feminine while I was wearing it. The fragrance became more masculine once I actually sprayed it on my body. I can't explain it, but it smelled like I was wearing some rich, mature niche scent. I could see myself wearing this out on date night when I'm dressed up, and that's about the only time I'd wear it. Other than that occasion, I don't know when this would get pulled out. And honestly, I have plenty of other fragrances for that occasion. I don't see me scanning my collection and settling on Hawas London for a date night. In closing, I do NOT recommend this as a blind buy. But if you do come across it and you like the DNA, I can confidently say that the performance is solid. It's a bit more subtle than other Hawas fragrances, but it's there. And no matter how much good I said about it in this review, it's still the 3rd WORST Hawas that has released thus far.
3. French Avenue Vulcan Black -
This is a clone of Xerjoff's Tony lommi Deified.
I DO NOT LIKE TONY IOMMI DEIFIED!!!!
I want to put that out there first. I smelled it last year, then I ended up getting a sample and yea, I don't like this DNA at all. I actually only got this fragrance because I like the bottle, and I only paid $27 for it from Burlington. With that being said, Vulcan Black is pretty spot on to Tony lommi Deified. Performance is really, really good. I wore it to work one day and it lasted every bit of 10+ hours. Solid projection as well. It's strong as hell and left a crazy scent trail. It's not a safe blind buy AT ALL. If you like the real thing then get this. I don't like Deified or Vulcan Black, so that's it for this review lol.
4. Lattafa Eternal Vanille -
Here's where the fun starts. Right off the bat, this fragrance is a 10/10 FOR ME. Longevity, 12+ hours. Projection, strong for at least the first 3 hours or so. There isn't a moment that goes by while wearing this where I can't just focus, hone in on it and catch a whiff. In other words, it's always present. TO ME, it smells like By The Fireplace. Not really close to it, just in the family of it. I'm not gonna get into all of the notes because I really don't know which ones I'm smelling. My nose isn't mature enough to distinguish akigalawood from benzoin from cedarwood. I just know all of this shit is blended together into something beautiful. I have nothing bad to say about this and I'm really looking forward to wearing this more next winter.
5. Lattafa Musamam Black Intense -
I have a love/hate relationship with Lattafa. Normally I hate them, but then they will put out some absolute heat rockers that makes me take back all of my negative shit. Eternal Vanille was one, Musamam Black is #2. This shit right here is incredible, plain and simple. During the maturation period, it got so strong for me. I wore it last week and I could still smell it on my clothes days later. Either the nutmeg or that cocoa pulse note is what I'm smelling the most, and it's become so creamy, smooth and chocolatey. This is such a strong, sexy, masculine fragrance. And it's so unique. When I first sprayed it, it reminded me of ASAD Elixir. That is no more. This is definitely doing it's own thing. This dethroned Teriaq Intense as my favorite Lattafa. It is not blind buy safe simply because it's so different. I rate it very high, but I can see how others might not like it.
6. Rayhaan Jungle Vibe -
I bought this simply because it was cheap. I never actually "wanted" it. Honestly, I don't think I'm a green fragrance guy. Some are cool, but they're not my go to. Anyway, this turned out to be really good, and even better after maturation. I wore this one day last week as well. Longevity was about 7hrs or so. I think I went nose blind because I couldn't really smell it anymore, but one of my co-workers could. It smells like fruit and outdoors, like citrus and plants. Definitely a spring/summer fragrance. Honestly, I still can't give a final take on this because I have yet to wear it in the right setting. It's still cold here in Cleveland so I'm not wearing this how it was intended to be worn. Luckily I'm an outside guy so I will 100% be pulling this out at some point this summer. I like to go on hikes and nature walks and shit, so this will be my fragrance of choice.
That's it for now. I've got a few coming out of maturation in a few weeks that I'll review. I also got an order coming in of 3 Royal Blend fragrances that should've been here last week but are delayed. Hopefully I can get my hands on the 3 new Hawas' this week...