I’m closing in on my “final” collection, having sold some bottles I found I wasn’t reaching for to make space for a few that I preferred, and to fill some holes in my seasonal collections. Got three freshies to close out my warm weather collection, and one cool weather bottle I’ve had my eye on. I’ve got room for just one more year rounder (Royal Oud is in my sights), and maybe two more cool weather bottles (Eight & Bob Serenite, YSL 6 and / or Memo African Leather are in my sights) then I’m done. Yep, no more after that, no sirree, all done - YSL Babycat: found this 125ml bottle for a steal, and could not pass it up. Smooth, elegant, lightly warm spicy sweet vanilla goodness with a luxuriously smooth suede backbone. I’ve been battling vanilla forward fragrances and this won by a landslide - DVN Crazy Basil: my first from this house, it has an intoxicating combination of citrus and aromatics with a powdery hinoki backbone that is unusual but just delightful. Found a tester at a steal of a price too - Atelier des Ors Riviera Drive: also my first from this house, and probably the single best citrus woody aromatic I have. The scent profile is just perfection to me - just a fantastic balance of citrus, woods and aromatics, nothing super unique (the marjoram and absinthe are uncommon though) but masterfully done. Performance is abysmal but I don’t even care - got a great deal on this and so I don’t mind shprrrrraying it on heavily - Hellenist Les Dieux aux Bains: also also my first from this house, I fell in love with this at first sniff. It’s deserving of the hype it got in fragcom. Yes it’s another citrus aromatic freshie, but it’s got a fluffy comforting presence from eucalyptus and electric sharpness from juniper and mineralic notes that set it apart from anything else in my collection

Match #62 in the second-chance bracket pits the classic blue fragrance, Bleu de Chanel EDP, against the now-defunct Galleria Parfums By the Yuzu Grove. I've praised By the Yuzu Grove throughout this tournament, and for good reason. That enormous blast of yuzu, lemon, and mandarin is one of the most delicious citrus openings I've encountered. It's bright, energetic, and ridiculously enjoyable. The weakness is what happens afterward—or, more accurately, what doesn't. There's relatively little development, and the fragrance remains fairly linear. Bleu de Chanel EDP is simply playing a different game. Grapefruit and citrus lead into ginger and aromatics before gradually settling into incense, cedar, sandalwood, and amber woods. It's beautifully blended, sophisticated without being stuffy, and it develops wonderfully over several hours. Then there's the versatility. All seasons, almost any occasion, dressed up or dressed down—Bleu de Chanel remains one of the standards against which modern blue fragrances are measured. I love both of these, but this isn't a particularly difficult decision. By the Yuzu Grove may have the more spectacular opening, but Bleu de Chanel is unquestionably the better fragrance from beginning to end. Bleu de Chanel EDP advances. By the Yuzu Grove is eliminated from the tournament. Sometimes the citrus bomb wins the opening battle. Chanel wins the war.