Went with Montblanc Explorer Infinite today. I’ve seen the Aventus and Absolu Aventus comparisons online, but I’m not getting that same connection. There may be some familiar fresh, woody territory, but that doesn’t make them smell alike to me. Infinite brings together bright bergamot, aromatic sage, patchouli, musk and vetiver. Think citrus freshness with a green, woody backbone. The patchouli gives it some substance underneath that fresh opening. How is it different from the original Explorer? The original Explorer goes more toward citrus, dry woods and leather. That combination is where a lot of the familiar Aventus comparisons come from. Infinite puts more emphasis on the patchouli, with sage, musk and vetiver shaping its fresh, aromatic character. The distinction is in the balance: the original emphasizes that leathery, woody character, while Infinite takes a fresher, more aromatic direction. They still belong to the same family, but Infinite deserves to be smelled on its own. Looking at shared notes or repeating an Aventus comparison doesn’t tell the whole story. For me, this fits casual wear, running around town, work or an easy dinner fragrance. I’d place it primarily in Fall, Spring and HOT weather, with enough woody depth for mild Arizona winter days. An easy fragrance to work into the rotation and I don’t need it to smell like Aventus to enjoy it. Longevity: 6-8 Hours. Projection: 2 Hours maybe a little less. Sillage: A moderate fresh, woody trail, especially early in the wear and when moving around. As it settles, it becomes more understated. My conclusion: Explorer Infinite is an easy fragrance to work into my rotation. I’m not getting the Aventus connection people keep mentioning, and that’s fine. It has its own appeal as a fresh, aromatic, patchouli-centered fragrance. The original Explorer gives you more of that dry, leathery character; Infinite takes things in a fresher direction. For casual wear and Arizona’s warmer days, that works for me.

I really want to like this fragrance, especially after all the positive reviews I’ve read. It does smell good. The marine scent reminds me of a fresh lake without that woodsy, pine smell. My first impression when I sprayed it on my skin was a very strong alcohol smell, but once that settled, the freshness came through. The issue for me is longevity. After about four hours, the scent had basically disappeared, even with seven or eight sprays. My barber did notice it while I was getting a haircut this morning, so I know other people could smell it at some point. The dry down is so good. It does not project as much as I would like. I have a formal event tonight, and it’s about 95 degrees today, so I don’t feel like wearing one of my other fragrances. I’m going to reapply this one and give it another try before deciding how I feel about it.!

Is anyone looking forward to the new Boss Bottled frag coming out? Did you feel the same about Pacific when it came out?

So we had a pretty nice sunny day here today and as work was winding down I thought this might be one of my last chances to wear one of my warm weather favorites, GNTonic. It does what it says - it’s just got this incredible sharp zesty citrus effervescent quality, super crisp and addictive smelling. Either I go noseblind to it or it just doesn’t last, but after about 90 minutes it retreats to just a few inches off skin (and after four hours I have to snuffle my arms just to detect it). So just as it was starting to die down tonight, I thought, heck, maybe this is my last chance to wear Vibrato too and layered some of that on. I figured that sparkly ginger and grapefruit would go perfectly with the lime and juniper in what was left of the GNTonic. And holy crap was I right, this combo is so good it feels like it could be illegal What a fantastic send-off to summer tonight

Brand new release going for $130 retail at Nordstrom and Macy’s can be found at Fragflex for $62 on 100 mil