Video ID not provided: Please check your shortcode.

Coup de Foudre by Bortnikoff

by Therapeutic Fragrance

SCORE: 59

Needs Help, Request a Sample

Who? I See Wearing the Fragrance

Bruce Lee

Where? I Use the Fragrance

Home

When? The Season I Use the Fragrance

spring and summer

What? Occasions or Events I Use Fragrance

Day

Perfumer:

Dmitry Bortnikov

#bortnikoff

Price Per Millileter

220 50ML

Perfume Classification

Extrait de Parfum

Projection

2 Feet Or More

/

Longevity

Up To 4 Hours

Sillage

Short To Medium Tailed

How? I Apply the Fragrance

1-5 sprays

The original 2018 version has a massive, beautiful sweet citrus floral opening. That is due to the synthetics that you can’t hide once the base appears, pushing up and projecting out the florals. These are in-your-face jungle florals.

The opening lasts a bit over thirty minutes of powerful, condensed citrus. Then, as expected, the florals become more of their own with slight spices of cinnamon and turmeric staying underneath and not acting as an aromatic, like they should. Some synthetic (ambroxan?) pushes the notes forward.

Now I can get some green tea and as the overpowering citrus dies out. The grapefruit was the last to hang on, but now rose becomes dominant in the heart.

Going into the drydown, this soapens up and is overtly synthetic. You guys are paying for this?  Go to Ross and buy this soapy synthetic stuff for $20 bucks and get double the amount.  Seriously, I would never think someone from Feel-Oud or with access to that company would even dare try to figure out how to play with these synthetics.

Am I mean? No, he is for ripping you off and charging more than $4 an ml for this junk. Put it at that price, and I am swinging back. This is just trying to take advantage of the name oud.

Bottle Presentation

Company:Bortnikoff
Perfumer:Dmitry Bortnikov
Fragrance Family:Citrus Floral
Classification:Extrait de Parfum
Pricing:$4.40/fluid ml
Country:Thailand
Year:2020
Sex:Unisex
Hashtag:#bortnikoff
What:Day
Where:Home
Projection:2 Feet Or More
Longevity:Up To 4 Hours
Sillage:Short To Medium Tailed
Short Description:Synthetic
Fragrantica Score:4.32 out of 5 with 37 votes

Therapeutic Fragrance Score Chart

Coup de Foudre

Experience 8/15
Branding & Originality 3/5
Projection & Sillage 5/5
Longevity 5/5
Composition 12/20
Ingredients
& Price per ML
12/25

FRAGRANCE

TOP: 9/10
HEART: 2/5
BASE: 3/10

SCORE: 59

“Needs Help, Request a Sample”

181 comments

    1. For the US are football culture here in Portland is tops. Different from any other sport I've been to. I own season tickets to the Timbers Army. Only Us professional sport that has general admission.

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance that's to entice people people in to grow the sport. It's a good thing. You should visit europe and go to some games. The atmosphere will shock you, especially the more "political" matches. Football is indelibly linked to history and politics in europe.

      Stuff like rangers vs Celtic is basically a continuation of the irish struggle for independence and sectarianism. Celtic represents Ireland and Rangers represent Britain. It's even in the fucking colours of the strips.

      Barcelona and real madrid, goes back to General Franco.

      Leeds vs Manchester United is Yorkshire vs Lancashire, the wars of the roses! That's 700 years ago.

      Its incredible, makes you feel part of something bigger

  1. Hello bro, i respect your point of view of Bortnikoff but I also have tried all the compositions of these house and I consider: musk khabib, Sayat nova and oud monarch masterpieces( I don’t get the low score) …. on the other had I also own Tigerlust which you give one of the highest scores and collection worthy in your review , for me the EDP version of Tigerlust smells like citrus and beef , I don’t get any oud , and the dry down of TG is not pleasant for me …and the price point was 399 for 50 ml

    1. @Therapeutic Fragrance lol I know. Fragrance is very subjective and we all expect different things based on what we see and read and have smelled in the past.

    2. Musk khabib is all about natural deer musk and I found and amazing fragrance. but yes , maybe it’s overpriced….
      more than in your review of TL , I was taking about Ensar’s description in his website “ obscene amounts of oud” come on !!! I get cero oud in TL !!

    3. Yes the Musk over powers everything, it is Musk Centric which honestly is only for a few people unlike oud. IMO oud is way more versatile and I have seen more people converted for sure. Musk I have gotten some hilarious hell no's.

  2. I agree that he’s doin too much, but I’d be lying if I said that I don’t look forward to sampling everything. Sayat Nova was one where I couldn’t tell if I was missing something, I legitimately hated it, thought it smelled like a tropical boozy drink. Vetiver noc abs is one of my favorite bottles, I also love Oud Max/Monarch. Never tried l’huere exquise, I have a sample coming. Your critique on the price is warranted imo, and I appreciate the work you put into this video. Impossible to agree on 15 perfumes, but I actually did with many, although I think I like Sir Winston a bit more than you.

    1. Great comment J. Tropical boozy is perfect on SN. I would like to see Dmitry offer a dark version of SW. Maybe a summer/winter version. A peach vs war time version of who it was named after.

    1. I really hope he doesn't double down and take more advantage of using high end ingredients as a mask for cheap juice. He still has a chance to go back and deliver special stuff. He has access to it through feel-oud. These heavy ingredients like Oud we are after should never be taken advantage of.

  3. Brandon. Greetings from Puerto Rico. ????????Thanks for another master class in perfumery. Letting allnyour knowledge and thoughts pour down to were the hard earn money should be spent.
    You know we have chatted about Bortniscent and how I like it.
    I do find the prices to be very steep.
    And to not have the amount of oud for what he charges. Example of this is Zemfira. I got the attar because the perfume is to much for 50 ml. And I do love that one because the rose feels like smelling real rose petals of a genuine flower. My dad is not into perfumes and complimented me when I used the Luckyscent vial.
    Do owe a few of the good ones. Musk Cologne is a maybe.
    Didnyou receive the memo on the Six ALD Collection?
    ????
    ???? from Puerto Rico, my brother.

    1. Hey Jaime thanks for the comment. Heavy critique is do to pricing. As you are getting into oils, there is nothing like the real thing. And a lot of us that's what we are craving in different ways from these perfumers that have access to the best ingredients on earth.

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance
      You are so darn right. On some Bortnikoffs they mention the use of Feel Ouds. Little story. When the Areej Le Dore attars went live on the page and I couldn't get Malik Al Taif, I rushed to the Feel-Oud website to try and find a rose/oud attar. Si Lani De Rosa is the name. They still have it like there is one in stock. But when you check out, it gives an error.
      Thank you for always providing good guidance. Take care, brother. Blessings. ????

    3. Yes Feel oud attars are good. A house that only a few know of released attars this week. Only a few have to know as he sells out with those few people. Trying to wear them like crazy to give everyone my thoughts before sold out.

  4. But I do agree at $300-$400 we have to hold these people accountable. I have definitely read a note list blind bought a bottle and was like…WTF!?..3 types of OUD???

  5. I’m glad someone is being real about Bortnikoff’s tendency to wantonly crank out uninspired stuff and the obviousness regarding his indiscriminate pricing. I expect more from someone who distills Oud. He is capable of making some amazing fragrances, so I hope he sees this video and takes good notes.

    1. @Therapeutic Fragrance I agree. I bought into the hype train (see my other comment) – but damn, yeah, it feels like a money grab at this point. So much, so rushed. That being said, I stand by there are a few that are pretty good. The attars are really the better product for the price for those you like though.

  6. You’re the best voice out there; unafraid afraid to play it straight. I’ve been unimpressed with his lighter, floral citrusy fragrances, and thought I was crazy for feeling like Sir Winston was incomplete. I ended up layering my sample with a spray of Hyde and it was a blissful wearing haha. I’d consider monarch in the 90’s imo, just because I feel like it’s a best in its class, wearable oud gourmand. Haven’t smelled Russian Oud, so maybe that would push monarch down into the 80’s.
    I actually do like the Sayat Nova attar, LS says the oakmoss is ramped up, so maybe it performs better than the extrait, and I just got my hands on a bottle of Baque so I’m excited to compare them.

    I have to say I’m a fan of triad. Unsure if I’d buy a whole bottle though. The trat oud comes through in the whole composition for me, along with an extremely beautiful, contemplative rose.

  7. Thank you Brandon for your time as always. Oud Maximus, Sayat Nova (much different from the rest of the range) and then Oud Monarch, in that order, are all amazing creations in my view worth every penny and even more. As for everything else, I don't really care for, some of them are quite disappointing for the price as you mentioned. I thought Musk Khabib was good too but not for me. I'm actually surprised Oud Maximus is still available. I don't get the feeling that a high level of synthetics are being deployed in their creations, if anything, the opposite.

    1. Thanks Just do it I thought Roja's were free????. Sorry had to one of the most given away bottles in frgacomm. I've tried three Roja's to date so not the best with experience. Amber Aoud smelled of oud the entire wearing of the perfume for me, but don't own a bottle and have boughten many in that price range. The other ones are as you say just not something I would buy for the money. They know I score perfume based on value so I will never see a free bottle which is fine by me.

  8. I've found four so far that I felt were worth it. I bought lucky scent in FB, and Im not sure how I feel about that decision, tbh – I agree, I think it's the tea rose that makes me scratch my head. The others though, Sayat Nova, Oud Monarch, and Musk Khabib… I'm pretty happy I have those in FB. The rest…. hype train, so far. The attars, I'm interested to sample more. I have Mysterious Oud as one that's coming there.

    1. @Therapeutic Fragrance Which of the Vetiver Nocturnes do you like? I tried the Autumn '19 in a 9ml. Man, I don't dislike it – but most non-frag people that have smelled it told me it smells like rotting fruit. Even though I'm in the hobby for what I like… Im not sure that's the best thing to project to the masses! lol

  9. I am so glad that you saved Oud Maximus for another video. LOVE that stuff – got 2 bottles of the OG Maximus and 1 bottle of Maximus '19. I'm really looking forward to that review – don't you dare hold back any criticisms!
    I love that Musk Khabib and Moss Cologne, I even have a backup bottle of Musk Khabib – it just dances in the wind; it's memorizing! I'm a bit surprised about it's low score – I'm guessing it was value and branding and a bit on the base that got the points docked?
    It was really refreshing to watch your review of these – I sampled 10 of his fragrances before getting 3 scents + backups. I've gotta say that some of these felt a bit amateurish and after watching Bortnikoff's interview with Ensar, I felt like he's just learning perfumery on our dime. In the end; none of the fragrances that I bought area great performers; I love them but I absolutely overpaid. I can't help but think that I could've gotten an "EO No 1: Manipur" backup plus 2-3 ALD#6 bottles for the money I paid – and there is no question that those are worth their asking price.

    1. Fantastic comment. Musk Khabib was second hardest to do because yes I have a lot of friends in the community that feel the same way as you. If the musk could of had more depth in the dry down that would of been a huge turning point for me instead of the basic incense really taking over. Yes it came down to value on this one as well. DB as a distiller has the ability to offer these for us at these prices. There are non-distillers offering buying it from house like his distillation house with less profit margins. And exactly Maximus deserves it's own place away from this.

  10. Off/On topic – could you recommend a still-available and preferably affordable oud oil to layer with Oud Maximus (original version) that would enhance and elevate it?

    1. Oud Extraordinaire from Ensar. It's on sale right now and is one of my favs especially at the price. If your not into oud it looks expensive, but it's an extremely affordable oud that delivers a lot of goodness. Oud Yaqoub is good for a softer pleasing oud, but for maximus would do Extraordinaire.

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance Thank you for the recommendation!
      I've gone ahead and ordered 3g of Oud Extraordinaire. Ensar's descriptions are hard to resist – it's like they're ripping the wallet right out of my hand!

  11. Your best video. I changed from a Bortnikoff fan to a skeptic. I do have 9ml bottles of four of his perfumes but that price mark is so high and as I am indulging more, I can see some other houses producing this or better quality at 150 dollars less with great longevity. So it is an issue.
    A big issue I have about other YouTubers is that they hype up the new collection and then NEVER mention them again. This is a bad sign…if they like the perfumes so much then why do they never get another mention ever?
    Do you not think the same about Areej Le Dore though? I would like to know your view about that.

    1. Omer you are starting to see the bad side of YouTube as I have. Why I have been so agitated the last couple of months because of how easy I see it now. It's a shame to call something a masterpiece and never put it in lists or show it again for different reasons it waters down true masterpieces.

    2. Therapeutic Fragrance A certain youtuber received a free bottle of Musk Khabib and call it a masterpiece? I wonder if he ever talk about it again after the review

    3. @Therapeutic Fragrance I wouldn't blame him or any advertiser if they did this to be hosest. Its up to the brands to be smart enough to see it…some don't care.

  12. By the way, the only people having an emergency meeting about this video are the ones that buy 4 bottles of each of his perfume and sell them for 400 after two months when they go out of stock 😉

    1. Very good point Omer. This is something I wish Areej and Bortnikoff would stop. I think RA learned a lesson with War and Peace II. There was a guy who took a huge gamble and bought over 20 bottles. Then part II came and I did a bad review and others spoke up and he got stuck with a bunch a lot longer than he wanted.

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance I did notice the War and Peace saga. Another point is that why did he launch just 100 bottles if he had a bigger stock? It was to hype stuff. And it's telling that the first 100 got sold in a day and the second batch is around after at least 3-4 months.

      Thanks for your great work.

  13. Great review Brandon and I'm glad you're getting a lot of love for speaking the truth. Many would be afraid to speak up but you did your critique justice. That's why I follow and listen to your opinion heavily. Whilst I do love Bortnikoff, I won't blind buy his stuff just to have it in my collection now. There are more misses than hits. That being said, he does have some of the best fragrances in the market over the last few years. I do find with most Borts though, that I need to spray heavily so works out to be $5 a wear haha. Cost is way too high for the oils, as you said.

  14. Thanks for these reviews. I own Oud Maximus and absolutely adore that one. I think it is one of the best Ouds I have tried (and I have tried many…). Having said that, I have been disappointed with most of his other fragrances and am happy to hear that finally someones seems to agree.

  15. I wouldn’t believe or listen to hype about any of these brands. To be honest as good as the materials are most Areej le Dore fragrances are rubbish, messy compositions in my opinion. I don’t get the appeal to many of them. I’ve only tried a few Bortnikoff’s to be fair but I found them instantly more appealing, accessible and compositionally ‘better’ in my opinion than ALD. Again only based on a cross section as I haven’t tried all of either line. Frangipani and floral notes generally making them less stagnant feeling. I didn’t buy any so they clearly weren’t that good but I thought the Orange blossom cologne one (can’t remember the name) is fantastic to be fair, and relatively cheap for a expensive line.

    1. Hey Houdini a lot of validity to your points. I have made my opinions pretty open so I am in a box:) Would have to go one on one by each perfume. Have been critical of Adam's work especially last collection only named one as a bottle buy. What Adam does for ingredients and experiments add a lot of value for me personally. You just can't find uniqueness anywhere else in perfumery right now.

    2. Bortnikoffs are in general much more wearable than ALDs, but both are just driven by the hype train surrounding them. I agree with Brandon, if you want real oud get the attars from people like Sultan Pasha

  16. I seem to remember your Bortnikoff leaking sample review from a couple of weeks ago. If you cannot bottle expensive juice in a sample?? I'll stick with our proven Ensar and Areej le Dore works of art.

    1. Lucky Scent has had them keep your eye open he is randomly putting things out. He just opened his website for an 18 hour period last week for some killer stuff. Some hinting at his last release, don't know if that's true or not.

    2. BTW nice to see you Rafael. I am thinking you nailed the missing pieces to Dendara last time we talked. I thought for sure it would be a finalist on the olfaction awards. I was only able to pre-pick one of two. I picked Keman and Dendara to make it.

  17. Haven't tried his cologne line, have 8 of his creations, live them to varying degrees. Favourites are oud monarch, oud maximus, mysterious oud, Sayat nova , Musk khabib ,sir Winston. Zemfira I wish I liked more , had it been a little more balanced , more subtle, I would have loved more. His creations are not oud heavy, I think they are in general oud floral and probably that's how he is trying develop the signature of his house. In terms of price , neither I can call him as a money- grab house , nor I will be able to contest it with any credible data. But really he is not the only one to blame. Prices of Rojas, Clive christians spirit of Dubai, frgarance du Bois, ensar, areej , all confounds me, really don't understand their pricing model and the.margin they keep. One more thing that worries me us the frequency of his releases, it's like every 2-3 months. It's difficult to come up with unique creations in such short time in the longer run it's bound to impact.

    1. Techie,
      Very fair points. My only counter is I can smell the expensive ingredients in Ensar and Areej it's somewhat comforting as if I blind buy something that isn't blended well all is not lost with those as the ingredients make killer layering perfumes. I wish we didn't have to blind buy but if you wait on some it's to late. So it's part of the beast if you want these ones.

      I love your top three my scores were high for them.

  18. Thanks for the excellent review! I have bought many due to the hype and have been disappointed. Like you, I expected more oud. Oud Maximus may be my favorite. I am so sorry I bought Lucky Oud, you are so right on. Keep up the great objective, honest reviews. I wish I watched this video before blind buying. I'm learning….

  19. Funny that you mention Bortnikoff as a cash grab, yet you leave out the obvious cash grab by Auphorie and their supposed Kyra attar priced at 398.00 usd ????

    1. @Therapeutic Fragrance thing is I have spoken to various distillers and all that I have spoken too are extremely skeptical at the price point that Auphorie offers, and not to mention why you would blend anything at all with a Kinamic profile, that's blasphemy ????

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance Hmm Im tempted to get this as well now. I love all there other stuff. Have you heard any news if they'll be brining out any extraits or is it just the attar. I thought they were going to release a collection but haven't heard anything apart from the Kyara attar.

    3. @Robert Jacome I have wondered if they did a CO2 extraction and not distilled. I believe Al Shareef Oudh did an oud oil a few years back with real kyara but I think it was CO2.

  20. It seems to me that ALD/Bortnikoff/Ensar Oud justify the high prices of their perfumes by the rarity/provenance of the ingredients used. But the issue is we aren't buying ingredients, we're buying a perfume – a composition made up of ingredients. When it comes to perfume, my argument is always this: "To make a good perfume, expensive ingredients are sufficient, but not necessary". In other words, you can make a good perfume with cheap ingredients if the composition is great enough, and you can make a shitty perfume with great ingredients if the composition is lacking. I wouldn't call any of the offerings from the three mentioned houses 'shitty', but for the money their compositions often come up short imo. You also touched on this in the video where you say (paraphrased): 'If I'm paying for oud I want to smell oud' – I'm in complete agreement; it doesn't matter if the oud in the perfume is 10,000 year old triple-distilled by a virgin if the composition doesn't let it shine.

    1. Denby you are hitting on a lot bigger argument I have had since entering the fragrance arena. I will master perfumers could be hired by distillers to work wonders with high end ingredients. Unfortunately for many reasons this can't happen. IFRA money being first and foremost. Bortnikoff entered the fragrance world as a distiller. He marketed his high end ingredients at first to build a house. Now he has cheapened those to my nose and is trying to make like a Roja or FDB. There compositions are done by perfumers who have spent there whole life in the trade. You can smell the difference. Back to Areej/Ensar they are still giving us ingredients we can't get anywhere else. That's why the high marks.

  21. I bought a 5 ml decant of Oud Monarch. It's nice, but I'm disappointed in it. It's chocolaty/dusty/musky but when I wear it, I'm just not feeling it. Areej Le Doré's War & Peace pt II is ten times better!

    1. @Therapeutic Fragrance Indeed. Thank you for the thorough and no-holds-barred reviews you do. I've had to learn whose voice to trust, not all reviews are created the same!

  22. Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thanks for all of the effort man! Your viewpoint is well taken. Though I have never smelled any Bortnikoff, I have been endlessly intrigued by the notes listed on each release. Having knowledge of the Feel Oud endeavor, I naively assumed that all these releases with oud/ambergris/Mysore sandalwood etc. must be jam packed with all of the deliciousness – to be selling out at these price points and having every niche reviewer freaking out about each new limited release. I also can’t believe that nobody else is bringing up some of your points re: his marketing strategy. This vid was a breath of fresh air. Cheers. ????

  23. Honestly I'll never buy another Bortnikoff again and I sold my entire collection for a multitude of reasons. I've liquidated most of my collection and will only buy full bottles from a few select houses the rest will be samples, decants or discovery kits. I have an ethical issue with a brand that releases stuff as exclusive and limited for collectors and precede to release it over and over again with different colors in the same juice and say the ingredients are the same bullshit they are the same in an alternative reality. I want honesty and integrity in my perfume. Brandon thank you for what you do.

    1. Yeah brother I get it. A big reason I have the channel is to call this out. Taking advantage of hype is a dark game that ends badly with a few people making quick cash. While I will still buy limited it has to be warranted with charity or high end ingredients that honestly can't ever be replicated. There are people doing it honestly and I will try to continue to give them light. We have a lot of like minded people making sure we guard these treasures. I will try to use my platform to continue to do just that. There is some stuff coming this year that is limited that is justified for many reasons that you shouldn't turn your back on. I will try my best to get the news on here before they get sold out. Part of there responsibility is to stop the after market hoarders as well. It should never be more than two bottles per customer. I don't even mind one as I have never bought two of anything. I know I could and profit I have made a moral decision not to and to share as much as I can. Appreciate your thoughts here.

    2. @Therapeutic Fragrance yeah I've never bought 2 bottles of anything either and I'm not opposed to limited releases if they are done right like Rasei Fort my problem is with houses like Bortnikoff that are so clearly just cashing in on the Hype game. Thanks for the response and look forward to what's coming bro.

  24. Thank you for this video! I got me Oud Maximus and Coupe de Foudre without sampling, but I trust Nikhil at Exotic Scents for reviewing the latter, I like florals so I know I wont regret it, the Oud Maximus cant go wrong either, this would be my first few from Bortnikoff. But what you said makes sense.

  25. Great video brother! I havent and wont ever buy from anyone other than ensar and areej. The main reason is because i dont have the money to, i trust these guys the most an the quality is outstanding. Ive got oud extraordinaire, tigerwood royale and sultan leather attar from ensar and walimah attar from areej. Going to ge another tigerwood royale and oud royale this week! What do you think of walimah attar? Is it worth it?

    1. Thanks for the comment. I have covered Walimah attar in Top 5 Spring florals, dating scents this and last year, and most recently the infamous ranking of the house of Areej. Long story short I couldn't be without the attar. It is the most smelled fragrance I have in my collection. You picked all my favs from Ensar also nice collection you are building. All will age and get better with time. Make sure to store them correctly.

  26. LOVE the value and quality breakdown here. Other channels aren't doing this, yours is unique. Unique value, I'm already subbed but now gonna check out way more of your vids, looking forward to seeing your channel grow – real value right here!!

  27. Thank you Brandon. I’m late in the game as I’ve just viewed this video a few minutes ago. Your opinions on this line are much appreciated.

    I loved Vetiver Nocturne from the 1st batch but it was sold out by the time I finished the tester I had. With Oud Maximus, I ordered a full bottle upon my first sniff of its tester. I consider these two his finest perfumes of all time!

    I look forward to your stand-alone review of Oud Maximus.

    1. Jose, A lot of people have been coming to this. Not late at all. I ended up getting the attar version of Vetiver Nocturne Absolu. I have been wearing it a lot. Yes Oud Maximus is coming, thanks for letting me know your interest.

  28. I got caught up on the hype train. I wish you would have put this out there months ago before I spent $3k of my hard-earned money on Bortnikoff's. Thank you for your honest review.

  29. @Therapeutic Fragrance got it. I've been on the fence with the maximus bottle. So we have a sale in Australia. I went for it (285 usd)

    I think you forgot to mention maximus in your 2020 video. You showed Vetiver nocturne and a 9ml bottle but didn't say what it was. Not complaining just rechecked lol

  30. Have you smelled triad? Just got a sample and it’s pretty good, similar to Malik al Taif to my nose, if you swapped the sandalwood for tonka

    1. SHHHHHHHHHHH! There's a reason it's not here. It's fantastic. Your the first to point this out KUDOS! Everyone has only talked about Maximus. But this is the other one of the two not mentioned.

  31. One more comment, just something interesting. When you get your Melifluence delivery, and if you get Paredolia, have Sayat Nova on one wrist and Paredolia on the other. I don't want to start a controversy but I feel a big influence of Paredolia in Sayat Nova. Maybe a coincidence…..

  32. @Brandon, I was about to ask Triad. ????
    @J.Fosco, am thinking to grab a bottle of Triad. I already have MAT by ALD & i simply adore it. Basically I just love rose based fragrances. Howz the performance of Triad? Usually i like somehow strong and goood projection fragrances

  33. Gandalf The Grey it doesn’t perform nearly as well as MAT as the Rose is much softer in feel, but the Oud is very noticeable for a Dimitri creation. Still lasts 5-6 hours for me

  34. Currently,
    You are the most apt reviewer on oils/attars/Oud and quality niche perfumes.

    Amazing unapologetic and comprehensive review Of Bortnikoff but I have a question: do you think his concoctions need more Oud? Hahaaaa 🙂

    If I have watched your review before, I may have not bought several bottles of Coup de Foudre, but I honestly like It a lot. Dry down is not as I would like it but I have few hours of soothing floral/citrus on a gentle bed of resinous woods and Oud. My nose is not as experienced though.

    Yes, It is not Ensar Oud #1 or #2 in terms of quality, and not as daring as Hyde from Hiram Green, all of which blow my mind, but it has its place.

    Love your honesty and you clearly are very knowledgeable. I do agree on the prices point being high for what you get but Bornikoff creations are way above average, none of the designers are close IMO.

    I gotta try layering some Oud oil I got from Ensar under the Coup de Foudre and will report back.

    BTW, you butchered the name of that perfume and wrote “Coupe de Ford” instead of “Coup de Foudre” but I loved it. Keep up the great reviews man, you are awesome resource to the fragrance community

    1. Yeah you get where I'm at on Bortnikoff. His base accord of incense is very simple. When he lists extravagant ingredients enough of them just aren't there. I do consider him to have a couple of standout pieces of work. Haven't smelled the new L'heure Exquise but I own the original and it is creative and thought out.

    1. L'huere Exquise there is a new batch. I haven't smelled it, but I absolutely love this composition. There is a full review on the channel if you copy and paste the name in the channels search should pop right up.

  35. Brandon, Brandon. This is why I live for your videos. My favorites are Musk Khabib and Amber Cologne, I didn't get the oud in the way I was expecting in Sayat Nova. Oud Monarch piqued my interest, those are the few I've tried.

    1. HAHA the famous one! Backstory the first live I ever did someone got me going off on this topic. I ended up deleting the video because stuff said was not as put together and constructive. So much harder to do these kinds for me. Have been working on another one for over four months now. Hard to inspire the words when the perfume isn't helping.

  36. The only area that I’d challenge you is based on your statement, not quoted perfectly, but along the lines of “florals don’t get you to a $350 price tag.” Good florals are indeed, very expensive, perhaps minus ylang ylang, but also that statement discounts the fact that Dmitriy distilles a lot of his own florals into his fragrances so you’re paying for his time and expertise there as opposed to somebody simply buying them from the various online sources. Other than that, as always I love your experience, takes, and your honesty in your reviews. ???? -Chris

    1. Valid points Chris. While Dmitry caught most of my harshest critique on the channel it was really slow to happen. Many more deserve it but I won't ruin a company over it. I just choose not to put them on the channel as of now. I am still figuring that part out. I feel part of doing this is calculating when to do this.

      Back in the day if I was doing it Roja would of caught the same kind of critique. While he has some real stunners, he started coming out with too much, too fast and cheapened the ingredients. It's a money grab at the peak of brand awareness.

      I have now seen this with a few other companies it's a big reason I rush to buy first releases. Once you have your name out there and it's built off of influncers well it's over. Bat would be a very modern example of this. One of the most revered fragrances in our community for what it was is now making a killing and it smells nothing of the original. A money grab over mass distribution.

      And Bortnikoff's new collection there is no way the other two cost as much as Loukoum to make not even close. I welcome all counters to this stance of mine as ultimately I want Bortnikoff to succeed and see his Magnum Opus from him. Something like Ensar's leather accord. I'm starting to ramble it's only because I really respect what your starting to build myself and am a fan of both you guys. Keep it up will be exciting to see where you two go.

  37. Thank you for this video. Did you try new Mysterious Oud and Oud Maximus 2020. It’s different than the one you have. Please let me know your opinion about the difference if you try new versions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By commenting you accept the Privacy Policy