I'll be the first to tell you that I haven't been the biggest fan of fougeres since the 80's, but that's pretty much all we had back then! Yes... I was that 13 year old wearing Drakkar Noir! lol
I've watched more than a few reviews on this, so I was actually expecting to not like it. I have to say that I jumped the gun, and I was very wrong, although it seems to develop differently on me.
When I first spray it on, I'm greeted with a heavy dose of creamy vanilla and a somewhat sharp lavender. There is also a slight citrus, and a spiciness from the combination of pepper, coriander, and cardamom.
As we head into the mid, the citrus fades, and the vanilla/lavender combo tones down. The fragrance starts to become more balanced between all of it's facets.
The base is where the most drastic change happens. I totally lose the lavender, and the vanilla turns from creamy, to extremely airy. It still stays slightly spicy, but also becomes more woody from the oakmoss, and slightly animalic from the ambergris. It's still a very pleasant fragrance all the way through!
I realize this isn't the way most people describe this, but that was my experience with it!
The fragrance projected at about an arm's length for the first couple hours. After that, it died down to a nice 2 foot bubble around me, until it faded away. I could no longer smell it on myself at around the 8 to 9 hour mark.
I know this one is classified as an aromatic fougere, but on me, it's more of an oriental fougere. It's very modern, and I've really enjoy it the 4 times I've worn it prior to this review! I really think this would be perfect for someone with a little experience under their belt, but I could see anyone over 25 wearing it!