The fragrance opens with a beautiful sweet cherry accord, accented by an intriguing touch of saffron that gives the composition an almost leathery character. The contrast works particularly well in the opening—the cherry provides a rich fruity sweetness, while the saffron introduces warmth, texture, and a slightly darker edge. At around 15 minutes, the initial intensity begins to settle considerably. The fragrance remains centered around cherry and soft florals, but I begin to detect a subtle thread of tobacco underneath. Unfortunately, the fragrance is already beginning to sit surprisingly close to my skin at this stage, despite the promising character of the opening. By 30 minutes, the composition continues to transition, with the cherry becoming much less noticeable. What remains is a very soft blend of tobacco and florals, creating a smoother and more subdued scent profile. There is an elegance to the combination, but the fragrance continues to lose presence much faster than I would have expected. At around 60 minutes, the fragrance has become extremely light on my skin. I can still detect a sweet tobacco accord, accompanied by touches of vanilla and subtle earthiness, but everything feels increasingly distant. The scent profile itself remains pleasant, yet it requires considerably more effort to detect. The dry down, unfortunately, is where the performance becomes the defining part of the experience. By approximately the two-hour mark, the fragrance is nearly undetectable on my skin. Faint traces of tobacco and vanilla remain, but they sit exceptionally close and lack the presence suggested by the opening. There is an irony to the name that I find almost fitting—the fragrance eventually becomes less like a fully present tobacco composition and more like the memory of what a tobacco fragrance used to smell like. The opening shows genuine promise, particularly with its combination of cherry, saffron, florals, and tobacco, but the rapid decline in performance prevents the fragrance from delivering on that potential. Performance: This is unquestionably the fragrance's greatest weakness on my skin. I experienced only around 90 minutes of meaningful wear before the composition began fading dramatically. While remnants remained beyond that point, the fragrance became so light that it was difficult to appreciate without deliberately searching for it. My Rating: 5/10

Last year I picked up Aether and did a side-by-side with PDM's Greenley. Aether was such a good clone that I decided not to buy Greenley, which I only liked, not loved. Then I picked up Atlantis. Room 1015's Wavechild is great, but it's only something I'd wear a few times a year. Another side-by-side, and I passed on Wavechild and gave the rest of my decant to a lady friend. Last week I bought Chaos, and I still dont know what it's a clone of. I thought it would be Room 1015's Cherry Punk, but i have a decant of that, and it's not even close. It's a leather/cherry frag that's just really good! So today I ordered the final fragrance in the series, Irida. Inspired by Tom Ford's Electric Cherry. It looks like a very feminine cherry/floral scent...its pink. After going 3 for 3 with this line, I have to try it out. So far, nothing but bangers. I like the bottle design too. It adds some colour to the collection. Great value scents from French Avenue. Which ones have you tried, and how have they worked for you? (Note: I asked AI what Chaos is a clone of and it wasnt sure, but suggested Cuir InfraRouge by Maison Crivelli as the possible inspiration. Anyone do side by side testing?)

This is the latest from the house that brought my favorites Book, Tonka, Gold, Velvet and Milk into my life. Commodity has the Spice. This was nothing like I thought it was going to be, but instead is an aroma storm in three variations: Spice-: a personal 1:1 level of the fragrance where aromatic spices are suspended in Skin Musks leading to intimate moments. Spice: Saffron, Allspice, Nutmeg, Cinnamon Sugar, Cardamom, and Clove with the warm comfort of Chai and Suede. Hanging out with a few friends, someone notices and you smile while they ask, “What are you wearing now?” Spice +: Rich, decadent, and bold leather with gourmand spices that include Safraliene; a high-impact synthetic aroma molecule created by Givaudan that mimics the warm, spicy, and leathery scent profile of natural saffron. You’re at the company holiday party, and your co-workers are aware of your command-like presence. I can’t wait to get the full sizes!!

So I thought I’d spin the wheel and try out the new re-release of JPG Fleur de Male. Woof, it is absolutely not for me. And I think… it’s not going to be for everyone. What I can say is it is very well balanced, relatively complex with a lot going on that all work together, but is just wholly unappealing to me. I’m not the biggest fan of florals (I’ve tested Le Beau Narcisse and Flower Edition and reacted pretty negatively to those) but was wondering if I’d like this one based on the interesting note breakdown. The florals in this don’t work for me the same way they don’t work for me in Le Beau Narcisse - something about the orange blossom has an edge that doesn’t sit well with me, it’s less smooth and less crowd pleasing than say what you find in YSL Myslf. But on top of that, there’s some really weird stuff going on in this new release - a fair amount of bright powdery green, with a hint of pine that I do like, but a dusty earthy undertone (maybe from the hay or tobacco note?) that to me really takes this in an unappealing direction. In the air it’s not terrible - but up close it’s not appealing to smell which is a must have for me (if I’m not sniffing my arms like a monkey all day, it’s not a keeper…). There’s kind of a retro feel about it as well, in a nod to the OG I think this will appeal to fans of the OG and maybe people who tolerate florals or more interesting : challenging designer compositions - but unfortunately this one is not for me. Anyone here tried the new one or love the OG?

The fragrance opens with a crisp and refreshing green apple accord, accompanied by subtle floral undertones. The apple immediately provides a bright, juicy freshness, while the florals introduce a softer dimension underneath, giving the opening more character than a straightforward fruity composition. At around 15 minutes, the combination of green apple and florals remains at the center of the fragrance. What begins to stand out, however, is the complexity of the floral accord. Rather than presenting as a single recognizable flower, the florals feel layered and multifaceted, weaving naturally through the freshness of the apple and giving the fragrance a distinctive personality. By 30 minutes, the green apple begins to soften considerably, allowing the fresh, fruity florals to move into the foreground. There is still enough apple remaining to provide brightness, but the fragrance now feels increasingly floral, airy, and refined. The transition is smooth, with the fruit and florals blending seamlessly rather than competing for attention. At around 60 minutes, the apple becomes lighter and more restrained while the florals continue to provide the heart of the composition. A distinctly clean and aquatic quality begins to emerge underneath, adding an almost airy freshness that rounds out the scent profile beautifully. This stage feels particularly balanced, with the remaining fruit, florals, and aquatic nuances working effortlessly together. The dry down settles into a clean and understated combination of aquatic freshness and soft florals. The brighter green apple character from the opening has mostly faded, leaving behind an airy floral composition that is nicely blended and wears very comfortably on my skin.Overall, this fragrance moves gracefully from crisp green apple into complex fruity florals before settling into a clean aquatic finish. The floral accord is the most interesting aspect of the composition, providing more complexity than I initially expected from the fresh, fruit-driven opening. While I would have preferred stronger overall performance, the scent itself is fresh, polished, and very easy to wear. Performance: Projection is okay, creating approximately a two-foot scent bubble for around two hours. Sillage is good, leaving a noticeable three-foot scent trail for approximately two hours. Longevity is more moderate, lasting around 5–6 hours on my skin and becoming a skin scent at approximately the three-hour mark. My Rating: 7/10