I’ve only seen influencer reviews with affiliate codes for retailers selling this brand and I LOVE your no BS take. I believe the owner is the founder of Twisted Lily or one of those big online US frag retailers. It’s a hard to describe feeling but you articulated it perfectly and I understood straight away when you said “devoid of emotion”, “AI generated” and “sterile”. I’ve heard great things about French Defence being the best dark cherry and your review makes me stay away from a decant. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment! I do think these are worth smelling if you can get a cheap decant. They have a unique approach if nothing else and French Defense has a decent cherry note (I'm a sucker for cherry) but it's a little fake smelling.
you tell em brother, only influencers with affiliate codes have been selling this brand!!!! .... and also Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and every other brick-and-mortar luxury retailer in the United States. (in other words your take is demonstrably false).
You quickly became one of my favourite frag youtubers. Love the video formats you do... My only advice for Speed Dating would be to maybe try one of the frags on skin, just to see does it develop or is it more linear. It would give more insight into a brands quality/vibe
Thanks for the comment! I might integrate the idea of trying my favorite on skin at the end. My thought were that if I liked something a lot it would graduate to a more in-depth format :)
The way they are marketed and the presentation reminds me more of a middle eastern clone company. I was utterly shocked when I heard how much they were going for. Having said that, I thought the same about the brand of Kajal but once I got my nose on Kajal Äican I was blown away. I’m curious are you familiar with the fragrance, would be interested hearing your thoughts.
Thanks for the comment! Some Kajal have really impressed me (from the Fiddah collection), some others not so much... I have to still smell Aican, seems pretty interesting!
Awesome review! Love the format! Don’t care for the perfume house tho, too many sheets😂 too white, too clean. Thank u for being able to express yourself so well and saving my money. Can’t wait till next speed dating😁
Nice work again. Appreciate the honesty and your direct delivery… some of the scent descriptions you had for these reminded me of a response i had to the perfume ‘cyber garden’ by costume national I found that one uncanny and similarly puzzling … I grew to like it quite a bit though.
@@stoicgradstudent3976 are these all extraits? None of them came across as oily to me. I don’t doubt the performance at all, they all seemed really strong, but I got a ton of airiness from all the samples 🙃
That was so annoying, it almost halted the whole video for me. MG has a unique approach for sure but the giant ego of the house and the silly prices are a huge turn off.
HELL YEAH!!!!! IM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS VIDEO. I have gambit, French defense, and the forward. Im a little confused about where you are getting the "$500" figure in this video. These fragrances retail at 375 and I am consistently able to get them at discounters for around $250 or below when they come up? EDIT: adding my thoughts after finishing your video. I agree about gambit that it almost certainly is not worth the price of admission. I dont own many blue fragrances at all and I purchased gambit seeing it as a great option for an office fragrance. But in retrospect, I think I should've saved the money and gone for something over 100 dollars cheaper like Sartorial. Gambit is straight forward and doesn't have a ton of personality, although I do love it for the function it serves. French defense however, which I purchased for $240, I think is more complicated. I think it's an absolutely gorgeous scent with a great personality. I find the blend to be exceptionally smooth and the quality of the scent to be high and I think, at $240, it's not a horrible deal. One of my favorite cherry fragrances. Much more elegant than something like Triumph of Bacchus. Overall, I dont feel as negatively towards the house as you do but I see where youre coming from. To each his own.
Thanks for the comment! First, I'm not negative about the house at all except for the prices and the stupid crappy samples. I actually found the fragrances really unique and approach, they definitely left a mark in my brain as one of strangest frag experiences I've had in a while. I am getting the prices from my local market, they are hard to get here and go for 450-500$. US discounted prices don't really apply in EU, it's like saying that you guys are overpaying for Nasomatto because I can get them here for 80$. The point is that even a discounted price of 250 is really expensive. I liked all of the fragrances and said they are beautiful, clean and elegant, the fact that they smell like luxury hotels and luxury candles is not hating, I'm just giving my impressions. These are simple concoctions, nothing too crazy or imaginative, that's kind of the reality of it. I like French Defense also, it's minty, fresh, fruity and really cool. It's just a little simple.
@@mattl7424 with respect, I think thats a pretentious opinion. I own more Amouage fragrances than any other house, why can't someone enjoy both challenging and mass appealing fragrances? I work in music and that mentality reminds me of an arrogant teenage music listener that discovers underground bands for the first time and then insists anything that has ever been pop or radio friendly is for people that don't know any better. If it's not for you it's not for you, dude.
@@rherbm olfactoryfactory had a TON in stock about two or so weeks ago but now they're all out of stock there. Thats where I got The Forward. They had amazing prices. BeautyLIV has a bunch rn but the deals arent quite as good, typically like 100 dollars off.
Hi Daniel, Great content! I really love your excellent work. Can you review une nuit nomade? It’s a great perfume house. Just want to hear your opinion.
Another great review. I l enjoy your ad lib style. It is very entertaining. Especially seeing glimpses of your ocd. I purchased a sample of French Defense . I really did not like it. Synthetic and sterile. No depth , it lacked any tone or texture. It smelt like walking into a Lush store. It made up my mind about the brand. It had such a high score on fragrantica , i literally scratched my head in disbelief how it achieved such a huge rating . Anyways keep up the good work. If you want a good cherry scent Jump up and kiss me hedonistic by Clive Christian is by far the best. Love from London 🙏🏿
Second recommendation for the CC! Thanks for the kind comment, I try to keep it real simple. People of Fragrantica and Parfumo review stuff completely randomly, the scores are rarely accurate.
@SeldomlyOften i enjoy your in depth warm up to the actual review. You're sharing your experience with your viewers. I suppose it's too much for the tik tok gen. In London it's almost impossible to get Mindgames. The way it's hyped by certain reviewers made very dubious. Ridiculous pricing. Personally I would rather chew my own arm off than buy a bottle of French Defense..
I had received a good deal on French Defence, I wore it a few times and was bored. Sold it easily because of the hype and because I got it at half off. That should tell you something. I didn’t think it was worth keeping at half off.
Thank you, had the feeling that these were being pushed by some reviewers who obviously have/had been "sponsored" by this house. I read comments on Fragrantica similar to your thoughts. Sounds like these frags are really overpriced for what they really are.
I want to share something odd, I had a dream where I watched a video of yours playing my favorite video game (from a few years ago when I used to play), while smelling different perfumes. At the beginning of the video you took 4 different bottles and sprayed them on your arms, I remember one was Creed GIT 😂😂😂 The layout of the video was one long facecam along the bottom of the vid and the game on top of it. Very strange, I remember it very vividly, just had to share😅
They make solid scents, but I agree they are fairly simple which makes them easy to clone. For instance I loved the profile of french defense, but tried out a clone and it's almost identical for a fraction of the price.
Didn't even know clones were out there for Mind Games! Simple fragrances are not always a bad thing, some simple, direct frags are really good! I just don't like the "try hard" brand approach and the silly prices.
@@SeldomlyOften Completely agree, sometimes sticking with what works and doing it well can really work out! I know they have another new fragrance I just got a sample of that I haven't seen talked about yet that I really enjoy called mentor. I actually think it's new enough it isn't even listed on fragrantica. As far as clones the company yom & layl has been pretty hit or miss with me, but their version of French defense is very spot on.
I had never heard of these and there was a SA at Nordstrom pushing them so I tried about half. Not bad, but laughed at the price. To me, feel similar to Zara Olfactive line when it comes to simplicity and quality.
Hi Daniel. Although I don't care much about artificial cherry, I do really like the artificial grape smell that you mentioned. Are you aware of any fragrances that have that?
Thank you for this, I’ve only ever heard amazing things so I suspect that they have been paid to say so. I suspect that they are very heavy on ISO e super and synthetics. The price certainly does not seem to be justified in this case.
I'm looking at retail prices, I always have to refer to what the company is asking for and then I might mention the discounted prices. Here in Switzerland there are no discounts on Mind Games so I'm looking at prices of around 450CHF which is 500 bucks...
Bought one bottle (R. Lopez) from a discounter- no way I’ll spend retail $$ on this brand. Lopez has patchouli and smells very good as a gentleman scent but you’re right: nothing new or original. Just high quality versions of existing scents.
They all smell really "nice". Clean, beautiful and fresh; they are just a little simple in execution. If these were cheaper and if the brand was more humble, they would be seen in a completely different light.
Just got a sample of french defense & to me it smells VERY feminine. Like I said sample hedonistic if you can mate not a cherry fragrance but it's got a great cherry note. Love your videos BTW
Can u please review : Persephone's Patchouli by Electimuss, Mango Kiss by Stéphane Humbert Lucas and Defender by Boadicea the Victorious Thanks in advance
Hi Daniel are you familar with Initio Atomic Rose and Side Effect? I am currently deciding between the two - I definitely like Side Effect a bit more but to my nose it is a bit similar to Amouage Material (which I already have) when it dries down? For a woman in early-mid 20s which one would you suggest? Thanks!
Hey :) I personally don't really like Side Effect, it's a simple type of scent that has many competitors on the market that both smell better and are cheaper (first one that comes to mind is Daniel Josier Ambre Tabac. I only briefly smelled Atomic Rose and it's much more unique than Side Effect. If you have to stick with Initio that is what I would choose but, it's a fragrance for you and you need to like it :)
True but that would not be a video about first quick and dirty first impressions :) Especially with some brands like Sorcinelli I would have totally gone for a longer, more detailed breakdown. I always plan to graduate frags to more in-depth formats if I like them.
Ive tried french defense its not my thing. Gambit though i like. I dont get the 'blue' smell everyone else does. I do get weed like desir toxic but no sweetness. Really smells great in the dry down.
I've tried several that I like but my current favorite is probably Cherry Ink by Lorenzo Pazzaglia. Not over the top, very wearable with a beautiful incense and ink base :)
@SeldomlyOften The oud is barely perceptible to the point that one would not know there was oud if it wasn't listed. I notice the dark fruity plum and salted caramel, making this a more robust scent than everything else they released. Coffee and a woody aspect are present in the dry-down. I'd definitely say this is a gourmand style scent. This one is heavy for the first hour or two, then it settles to a personal scent. It's present throughout the 10 + hours of its life, but doesn't project. This might be the best from the house, but as you know, that's not saying much. I apologize for the six page essay you just read if you did.
There is a house that I've been very eager to see your honest opinion on. Aaron Terence Hughes. It's easier to get in Europe than it is in the US (basically impossible). If you do get a chance, I recommend Daddy, Raw Cherry, Hard Candy Elixir, Oud Noir, Notorious, Ozone. If only one, I'd say raw cherry (I love cherry scents also).
Lol now figuring you live in Zurich and are Italian 😂 I’ll keep it in English for your audience: I’m curious what have you got with the amazing 20% off these days? My bank account is bleeding 😂 I’ll keep my eyes open to spot you in the city & fragrance shops. Ciao!
@@DA-ju3iv I actually don’t live in Zurich but I’m in the city a lot 😉 I didn’t get anything yet, I’ll pull the trigger on something tonight or tomorrow. Was hoping to finally get a couple Ormonde Jayne at a good price
@@SeldomlyOftenoh man you get me into Amouage and yet another brand 😭Alright, very curious to get your thoughts on the Ormonde Jayne with a review soon.
hundred percent agree that mind games is so over priced and so over hyped..I bought gambit a month ago and then returned it after I used couple times and then got French defence..its ok nothing special at all for the money.
Houses that are basically free bottle gifters for every RUclipsr with a high enough following, is Very hard to trust. If I get free samples, I'll try for sure. But I'm not paying $20 for a 2ml sample...
@@SeldomlyOften I did an exact calculation now, converting to Euro and USD based on today's exchange value. It's 21.30 Euros per sample, or 22.48 USD. So yeah, not worth sampling.
I should have mentioned this before, but it warms the heart to see you spraying the thin end of the mouilette. It bothers me when people spray the wrong end and expect us to think of them as experts… Am I a snob? No, I just like proper etiquette. The thin end is for dipping in bottles and hence the “sniff end”. Boss level would be bending the tip so you can lay it on a table without contaminating the surface with a sample. Also useful for easier angling of the strip to the nose.
In my experience it is better to spray the wide end if you want to get a realistic impression of the scent in the air. I actually use simple straight paper strips of 10 mm width for sampling ethanol dilutions. More surface means better dispersion and diffusion, more consistent evaporation kinetics and scent progression-and a bigger area is obviously easier to hit with less waste of sprayed material. Dipping the thin end is useful for sampling the undiluted concentrate or single materials from small bottles, but that is not something most people do. But of course there is no right or wrong in this. Everybody is allowed to be their own expert and free to do whatever works best for them. Cheers!
@@HansHase78 So… basically you are advocating to not use this model of mouilette at all for sniffing sprays. Especially since the small end of this type is terrible for writing. I typically use a thinner strip ending in a point, folding it double for dipping purposes, keeping it straight for test sprays. In any case, it is interesting to see we can totally geek out on such a silly detail of testing fragrances 🤣
Thanks for noticing and pointing it out! I don't bend the end in these because I don't lay them on a table. The small end is actually better to prevent nose fatigue, if you smell many frags, less is more :)
Love your videos, but I think you spend too much time explaining the format, from 26min, 6min were explaining it at the beginning, the beginning being the most important part of the video(videos are like funnels) I think you could benefit a lot moving the explanation to the end, or shortening it and splitting into a briefing at the beginning and then full explanation at the end. Your production value is already very high, from video, audio, lightning and you're already a great presenter, adding this small improvement its impossible you could increase the stickness of the audience even more
I think explaining its important and should be kept as is but i see your point therefor i think implementing timestamps would be very helpfull. How about it Daniel?
Thanks for the comment, I treat every one of my videos as it's the first someone watches, I can't really assume information, I would be leaving people behind. Explanation at the end is a little weird, also I do some house introducing and other stuff in the intro block. Timestamps are a good idea and should be adding those. Thanks again for the input, I take everything into consideration.
Huh? I actually plan to give these samples a chance on skin. Do you mean my descriptions in the recording or do you mean the RUclips description box? The latter is AI, not hiding it; it's mainly for the search.
Definetly not a house for me. I tried double attack, grandmaster, gambit and blockade. Extremly overpriced for what they are. Also performance is not as i would expect for that price. Double attack is actually very poor performing fragrance. Tiktok hyped house along with argos. Super disappointing
What made you frustrated? The fact that I wasn't gushing over the brand? I actually said I liked most of the scents, they are super unique in approach, the only real negatives were the terrible samples and the silly price.
@@SeldomlyOften I wasn't frustrated, I thought you were, particularly with the atomizers, but also with the uninspired scents. You just didn't seem enthused is all. I'm turned off a bit that a company charging so much can offer samples with atomizers that don't work well
@@jasonjenkyns5083 Sorry, I misread your comment. I was just a little puzzled and I don't like brands with an inflated ego. I like humble approaches, stuff like Matiere Premiere and Men Fusciuni are much more my speed :)
This is 100% one of those of what I like to call 🤡 “houses” where the whole point of them is just social media marketing while the fragrances themselves are mediocre at best. Sad that you can just see geniuses like Annick Menardo having to make fragrances for such a shitty low quality brand just because some hedge fund dude bro from god knows where had the money to hire Symrise. No artistic direction, no creative boundaries and an almost plastic-like sense of false luxury for such shitty products. Damn…
I agree on the whole concept, there are many of these brands that are all smoke, nothing really to show. Mind Games has a unique style and I do applaud that but the whole chess theme feels forced and unnecessary.
The forward is the best from mind games. Its creamy citrus. Didnt rate any of the others. If you like cherry sample hedonistic from clive christian it's got a nice cherry note & is one of the best fragrances I've ever tried.
I’ve only seen influencer reviews with affiliate codes for retailers selling this brand and I LOVE your no BS take. I believe the owner is the founder of Twisted Lily or one of those big online US frag retailers.
It’s a hard to describe feeling but you articulated it perfectly and I understood straight away when you said “devoid of emotion”, “AI generated” and “sterile”. I’ve heard great things about French Defence being the best dark cherry and your review makes me stay away from a decant. Thank you!
Thanks for the comment! I do think these are worth smelling if you can get a cheap decant. They have a unique approach if nothing else and French Defense has a decent cherry note (I'm a sucker for cherry) but it's a little fake smelling.
you tell em brother, only influencers with affiliate codes have been selling this brand!!!! .... and also Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and every other brick-and-mortar luxury retailer in the United States. (in other words your take is demonstrably false).
You quickly became one of my favourite frag youtubers. Love the video formats you do... My only advice for Speed Dating would be to maybe try one of the frags on skin, just to see does it develop or is it more linear. It would give more insight into a brands quality/vibe
Thanks for the comment! I might integrate the idea of trying my favorite on skin at the end. My thought were that if I liked something a lot it would graduate to a more in-depth format :)
The way they are marketed and the presentation reminds me more of a middle eastern clone company. I was utterly shocked when I heard how much they were going for. Having said that, I thought the same about the brand of Kajal but once I got my nose on Kajal Äican I was blown away. I’m curious are you familiar with the fragrance, would be interested hearing your thoughts.
They're shite over sampled all of them
Thanks for the comment!
Some Kajal have really impressed me (from the Fiddah collection), some others not so much... I have to still smell Aican, seems pretty interesting!
Awesome review! Love the format! Don’t care for the perfume house tho, too many sheets😂 too white, too clean. Thank u for being able to express yourself so well and saving my money. Can’t wait till next speed dating😁
nice honest approach to reviewing these fragrances
Thank you for the comment! I just try to keep it real and simple :)
Excellent review. I currently own and prefer in the following order
French defense
Grand master
Blockade
Jadoube
Double attack
The forward
@@BigScentEnergy thanks for info! I might be able to check out some others from the house 🙂
@ forgot to add Lionora. Insane passionfruit accord. Great work!
Nice work again. Appreciate the honesty and your direct delivery… some of the scent descriptions you had for these reminded me of a response i had to the perfume ‘cyber garden’ by costume national I found that one uncanny and similarly puzzling … I grew to like it quite a bit though.
these are not "bad" at all, some people are getting offended. I actually find these quite interesting, not worth the price but interesting!
Marketed as an Extrait, Gambits performance on me and how oily it feels is well worth the price imo. Thanks for the reviews👏🏻
@@stoicgradstudent3976 are these all extraits? None of them came across as oily to me. I don’t doubt the performance at all, they all seemed really strong, but I got a ton of airiness from all the samples 🙃
Gambit is nice but there are many fougeres that do it VERY similarly for a third the price. The petigrain is really a good twist though
Great, honest review and I give you alot of credit for getting through the sampling of these despite the broken atomizers :)
That was so annoying, it almost halted the whole video for me. MG has a unique approach for sure but the giant ego of the house and the silly prices are a huge turn off.
@@SeldomlyOften well I never even heard of the house but it doesn't sound like I am missing much!
@ not really, maybe grab a couple samples to broaden the horizons 😌
HELL YEAH!!!!! IM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS VIDEO. I have gambit, French defense, and the forward.
Im a little confused about where you are getting the "$500" figure in this video. These fragrances retail at 375 and I am consistently able to get them at discounters for around $250 or below when they come up?
EDIT: adding my thoughts after finishing your video. I agree about gambit that it almost certainly is not worth the price of admission. I dont own many blue fragrances at all and I purchased gambit seeing it as a great option for an office fragrance. But in retrospect, I think I should've saved the money and gone for something over 100 dollars cheaper like Sartorial. Gambit is straight forward and doesn't have a ton of personality, although I do love it for the function it serves.
French defense however, which I purchased for $240, I think is more complicated. I think it's an absolutely gorgeous scent with a great personality. I find the blend to be exceptionally smooth and the quality of the scent to be high and I think, at $240, it's not a horrible deal. One of my favorite cherry fragrances. Much more elegant than something like Triumph of Bacchus.
Overall, I dont feel as negatively towards the house as you do but I see where youre coming from. To each his own.
Thanks for the comment!
First, I'm not negative about the house at all except for the prices and the stupid crappy samples. I actually found the fragrances really unique and approach, they definitely left a mark in my brain as one of strangest frag experiences I've had in a while.
I am getting the prices from my local market, they are hard to get here and go for 450-500$. US discounted prices don't really apply in EU, it's like saying that you guys are overpaying for Nasomatto because I can get them here for 80$.
The point is that even a discounted price of 250 is really expensive.
I liked all of the fragrances and said they are beautiful, clean and elegant, the fact that they smell like luxury hotels and luxury candles is not hating, I'm just giving my impressions.
These are simple concoctions, nothing too crazy or imaginative, that's kind of the reality of it.
I like French Defense also, it's minty, fresh, fruity and really cool. It's just a little simple.
Yeah they’re frags for beginners into niche.
@@mattl7424 with respect, I think thats a pretentious opinion. I own more Amouage fragrances than any other house, why can't someone enjoy both challenging and mass appealing fragrances? I work in music and that mentality reminds me of an arrogant teenage music listener that discovers underground bands for the first time and then insists anything that has ever been pop or radio friendly is for people that don't know any better. If it's not for you it's not for you, dude.
Which discounters are you finding them at? My partner has one on their wish list 😅
@@rherbm olfactoryfactory had a TON in stock about two or so weeks ago but now they're all out of stock there. Thats where I got The Forward. They had amazing prices. BeautyLIV has a bunch rn but the deals arent quite as good, typically like 100 dollars off.
Thanks for the overview on this house.
@@kathywitter6076 you are more than welcome! Thanks for watching!
I tried several samples 3-4 weeks ago and ended up getting Lionora which was great. The whole family likes it.
Just looked it up, I'm assuming another of these fresh, clean hotel vibes ones?
Hi Daniel,
Great content! I really love your excellent work. Can you review une nuit nomade? It’s a great perfume house. Just want to hear your opinion.
Yes please!
Thanks for the comment and suggestion! I had a decant of Sugar Leather and it was pretty good, I'll look into getting a sample set :)
Another great review. I l enjoy your ad lib style. It is very entertaining. Especially seeing glimpses of your ocd. I purchased a sample of French Defense . I really did not like it. Synthetic and sterile. No depth , it lacked any tone or texture. It smelt like walking into a Lush store. It made up my mind about the brand. It had such a high score on fragrantica , i literally scratched my head in disbelief how it achieved such a huge rating . Anyways keep up the good work. If you want a good cherry scent Jump up and kiss me hedonistic by Clive Christian is by far the best. Love from London 🙏🏿
Second recommendation for the CC! Thanks for the kind comment, I try to keep it real simple.
People of Fragrantica and Parfumo review stuff completely randomly, the scores are rarely accurate.
@SeldomlyOften i enjoy your in depth warm up to the actual review. You're sharing your experience with your viewers. I suppose it's too much for the tik tok gen. In London it's almost impossible to get Mindgames. The way it's hyped by certain reviewers made very dubious. Ridiculous pricing. Personally I would rather chew my own arm off than buy a bottle of French Defense..
I had received a good deal on French Defence, I wore it a few times and was bored. Sold it easily because of the hype and because I got it at half off. That should tell you something. I didn’t think it was worth keeping at half off.
I would probably consider buying it at 100-120$. I just don't like it when a brand inflates their presence like it. Humble is attractive.
Thank you, had the feeling that these were being pushed by some reviewers who obviously have/had been "sponsored" by this house. I read comments on Fragrantica similar to your thoughts. Sounds like these frags are really overpriced for what they really are.
Definitely overpriced from a house that spends too much effort on marketing. They are unique and worth smelling if you can get cheap samples.
I want to share something odd,
I had a dream where I watched a video of yours playing my favorite video game (from a few years ago when I used to play), while smelling different perfumes.
At the beginning of the video you took 4 different bottles and sprayed them on your arms, I remember one was Creed GIT 😂😂😂
The layout of the video was one long facecam along the bottom of the vid and the game on top of it.
Very strange, I remember it very vividly, just had to share😅
Wow, crazy how dreams work, the other day my boss told me she dreamed of me giving her a haircut :D
@@SeldomlyOften lmao
They make solid scents, but I agree they are fairly simple which makes them easy to clone. For instance I loved the profile of french defense, but tried out a clone and it's almost identical for a fraction of the price.
Didn't even know clones were out there for Mind Games! Simple fragrances are not always a bad thing, some simple, direct frags are really good!
I just don't like the "try hard" brand approach and the silly prices.
@@SeldomlyOften Completely agree, sometimes sticking with what works and doing it well can really work out! I know they have another new fragrance I just got a sample of that I haven't seen talked about yet that I really enjoy called mentor. I actually think it's new enough it isn't even listed on fragrantica.
As far as clones the company yom & layl has been pretty hit or miss with me, but their version of French defense is very spot on.
I had never heard of these and there was a SA at Nordstrom pushing them so I tried about half. Not bad, but laughed at the price. To me, feel similar to Zara Olfactive line when it comes to simplicity and quality.
Yeah they smell like the brand Rituals (similar toBath and Body works I guess), very spa-like scents. There would be a great buy at around 100$.
Hi Daniel. Although I don't care much about artificial cherry, I do really like the artificial grape smell that you mentioned. Are you aware of any fragrances that have that?
I'm still searching for that sort of fragrance myself! I grew up on those things and would like even something cheap to just give me the fix :D
Thank you for this, I’ve only ever heard amazing things so I suspect that they have been paid to say so. I suspect that they are very heavy on ISO e super and synthetics. The price certainly does not seem to be justified in this case.
@@markeletr they have a unique style for sure but nothing that would justify the massive price tag.
Will get Blockade and French Defense for 216 Euro each tomorrow, which is okay for 100ml. No idea where you got that price from.
In the US many fragrances are way more expensive, in germany they are 270
@bean2419 exactly, and 216 on Black Friday
dude same!! I consistently get these bottles for under 250. Where is he getting the $500 number.
They're 320 on fragrance x nearly £400mwith delivery
I'm looking at retail prices, I always have to refer to what the company is asking for and then I might mention the discounted prices.
Here in Switzerland there are no discounts on Mind Games so I'm looking at prices of around 450CHF which is 500 bucks...
Bought one bottle (R. Lopez) from a discounter- no way I’ll spend retail $$ on this brand. Lopez has patchouli and smells very good as a gentleman scent but you’re right: nothing new or original. Just high quality versions of existing scents.
They all smell really "nice". Clean, beautiful and fresh; they are just a little simple in execution. If these were cheaper and if the brand was more humble, they would be seen in a completely different light.
Free bottle squad will pride the hell out of this house
Well, I'll just say that I've never seen a big name influencer talking about this from their own purchase point of view...
@ they all got perfumes sent by the brand . I know Big beard business got the whole line sent to him by the brand
This was helpful ! I have other things I’d rather spend my money on
@@Lunarangst thanks for watching but I always recommend you guys/gals formulate your own opinions and sample a set 😉
Just got a sample of french defense & to me it smells VERY feminine. Like I said sample hedonistic if you can mate not a cherry fragrance but it's got a great cherry note. Love your videos BTW
@@ryany2882 thanks, I’ll be trying the CC as soon as possible.
Can u please review : Persephone's Patchouli by Electimuss,
Mango Kiss by Stéphane Humbert Lucas
and Defender by Boadicea the Victorious
Thanks in advance
Those are all fragrances that I have my eyes on, fingers crossed I can get hold of them!
Listen I’ve tried them so many times, and nothing please me at all. Unnecessarily expensive for no reason
Thanks for the comment and input, they are overpriced for what they are but the scents do have a unique sort of feeling to them, at least.
Hi Daniel are you familar with Initio Atomic Rose and Side Effect? I am currently deciding between the two - I definitely like Side Effect a bit more but to my nose it is a bit similar to Amouage Material (which I already have) when it dries down? For a woman in early-mid 20s which one would you suggest? Thanks!
Hey :)
I personally don't really like Side Effect, it's a simple type of scent that has many competitors on the market that both smell better and are cheaper (first one that comes to mind is Daniel Josier Ambre Tabac.
I only briefly smelled Atomic Rose and it's much more unique than Side Effect. If you have to stick with Initio that is what I would choose but, it's a fragrance for you and you need to like it :)
@@SeldomlyOften Thanks for the advice!
would be nice if you revisit the strips after one hour or so :)
True but that would not be a video about first quick and dirty first impressions :)
Especially with some brands like Sorcinelli I would have totally gone for a longer, more detailed breakdown.
I always plan to graduate frags to more in-depth formats if I like them.
Is the fig in castling the green leafy smelling fig (like in fico di Amalfi) , or more the fruity kind like in mfk gris charnel edp for example?
smells more like a creamy fruity fig, very lactonic. Not too sweet though :)
Ive tried french defense its not my thing. Gambit though i like. I dont get the 'blue' smell everyone else does. I do get weed like desir toxic but no sweetness. Really smells great in the dry down.
@@Sicslayer to be fair, Desir Toxic is not that daring either. It’s a good smell but very simple and mass appealing
A bit unrelated. How would you rate/describe Bogue Meme, Daniel?
Never tried Mem but Bogue as a house has some pretty cool fragrances. Antonio Gardoni is star :)
What's your favorite cherry fragrance?? I love cherry :)
I've tried several that I like but my current favorite is probably Cherry Ink by Lorenzo Pazzaglia. Not over the top, very wearable with a beautiful incense and ink base :)
The only one I own that stood out and had the better performance of the house is Mentor
Can you actually pick up on the oud from that? On paper is seems to be deeper and richer.
@SeldomlyOften The oud is barely perceptible to the point that one would not know there was oud if it wasn't listed. I notice the dark fruity plum and salted caramel, making this a more robust scent than everything else they released. Coffee and a woody aspect are present in the dry-down. I'd definitely say this is a gourmand style scent.
This one is heavy for the first hour or two, then it settles to a personal scent. It's present throughout the 10 + hours of its life, but doesn't project. This might be the best from the house, but as you know, that's not saying much. I apologize for the six page essay you just read if you did.
There is a house that I've been very eager to see your honest opinion on. Aaron Terence Hughes. It's easier to get in Europe than it is in the US (basically impossible). If you do get a chance, I recommend Daddy, Raw Cherry, Hard Candy Elixir, Oud Noir, Notorious, Ozone. If only one, I'd say raw cherry (I love cherry scents also).
@ sure I read it! Thanks so much for the input, really appreciate it 🙂
@ I need to gather some sample, I only really tried Maverick.
Lol now figuring you live in Zurich and are Italian 😂 I’ll keep it in English for your audience: I’m curious what have you got with the amazing 20% off these days? My bank account is bleeding 😂 I’ll keep my eyes open to spot you in the city & fragrance shops. Ciao!
@@DA-ju3iv I actually don’t live in Zurich but I’m in the city a lot 😉
I didn’t get anything yet, I’ll pull the trigger on something tonight or tomorrow. Was hoping to finally get a couple Ormonde Jayne at a good price
@@SeldomlyOftenoh man you get me into Amouage and yet another brand 😭Alright, very curious to get your thoughts on the Ormonde Jayne with a review soon.
@ which other brand?!
@@SeldomlyOftenyou mentioned Ormonde Jayne which I never heard of before 😂
@ well, wait and see because I not really sure what to recommend from the house 😅
hundred percent agree that mind games is so over priced and so over hyped..I bought gambit a month ago and then returned it after I used couple times and then got French defence..its ok nothing special at all for the money.
I agree overpriced and overhyped but the scents are pretty unique in approach if nothing else. If they were 100-120 bucks I would buy a couple.
I've smelled French defense, and grand master before. Definitely not $400. $150-$180 tops.
Spot on, for that sort of price I might even consider them :)
@SeldomlyOften Great minds think alike my friend 🤙🤙
bro go sampling matiere premiere fragrance speed dating!
On my list! I haven't done all so I might gather the samples I have missed and give it a go :)
@ I will wait😊
Thank you, another "hype" i don't need to be a part of.
they have an interesting approach and vibe but not worth the hype.
i know a guy who deemed this the worst niche house, he even made a vid about it.....(im the guy)
@@rxl209pourhomme6 cool, let me check it out 🙃
Well at least they smell different I guess 🤷🏼♂
@@NiSHAN256 yeah, they certainly have a unique appeal and a lasting impression. Nothing worse than being just boring and without character
Houses that are basically free bottle gifters for every RUclipsr with a high enough following, is Very hard to trust. If I get free samples, I'll try for sure. But I'm not paying $20 for a 2ml sample...
20$ a sample! wow, wayyyyy to expensive, especially considering the quality of said sample...
@@SeldomlyOften I did an exact calculation now, converting to Euro and USD based on today's exchange value. It's 21.30 Euros per sample, or 22.48 USD. So yeah, not worth sampling.
@@Roy_Godiksen guess not, especially when the excellent Amouage samples are less than 10...
I should have mentioned this before, but it warms the heart to see you spraying the thin end of the mouilette. It bothers me when people spray the wrong end and expect us to think of them as experts… Am I a snob? No, I just like proper etiquette. The thin end is for dipping in bottles and hence the “sniff end”. Boss level would be bending the tip so you can lay it on a table without contaminating the surface with a sample. Also useful for easier angling of the strip to the nose.
I like spraying the wider end since it has more surfae area
In my experience it is better to spray the wide end if you want to get a realistic impression of the scent in the air. I actually use simple straight paper strips of 10 mm width for sampling ethanol dilutions. More surface means better dispersion and diffusion, more consistent evaporation kinetics and scent progression-and a bigger area is obviously easier to hit with less waste of sprayed material. Dipping the thin end is useful for sampling the undiluted concentrate or single materials from small bottles, but that is not something most people do.
But of course there is no right or wrong in this. Everybody is allowed to be their own expert and free to do whatever works best for them. Cheers!
@@HansHase78 So… basically you are advocating to not use this model of mouilette at all for sniffing sprays. Especially since the small end of this type is terrible for writing. I typically use a thinner strip ending in a point, folding it double for dipping purposes, keeping it straight for test sprays. In any case, it is interesting to see we can totally geek out on such a silly detail of testing fragrances 🤣
@ Absolutely! 🙃
Thanks for noticing and pointing it out!
I don't bend the end in these because I don't lay them on a table.
The small end is actually better to prevent nose fatigue, if you smell many frags, less is more :)
Love your videos, but I think you spend too much time explaining the format, from 26min, 6min were explaining it at the beginning, the beginning being the most important part of the video(videos are like funnels) I think you could benefit a lot moving the explanation to the end, or shortening it and splitting into a briefing at the beginning and then full explanation at the end. Your production value is already very high, from video, audio, lightning and you're already a great presenter, adding this small improvement its impossible you could increase the stickness of the audience even more
Tiktok attention span
I think explaining its important and should be kept as is but i see your point therefor i think implementing timestamps would be very helpfull.
How about it Daniel?
Not really he breaks the fragrance down in detail this is youtube not tiktok.
@bean2419 exactly they're annoying
Thanks for the comment, I treat every one of my videos as it's the first someone watches, I can't really assume information, I would be leaving people behind. Explanation at the end is a little weird, also I do some house introducing and other stuff in the intro block. Timestamps are a good idea and should be adding those.
Thanks again for the input, I take everything into consideration.
We all know you are going to rock these for the next month. Your descriptions are like they are generated by AI.
Huh? I actually plan to give these samples a chance on skin. Do you mean my descriptions in the recording or do you mean the RUclips description box? The latter is AI, not hiding it; it's mainly for the search.
Definetly not a house for me. I tried double attack, grandmaster, gambit and blockade.
Extremly overpriced for what they are. Also performance is not as i would expect for that price. Double attack is actually very poor performing fragrance.
Tiktok hyped house along with argos. Super disappointing
I don't know much about performance but the scents have a unique approach to them. I think they are decent but WAYYY overpriced
I've never seen you so frustrated, almost angry. Somewhat bored as well?
Indeed, it speaks so badly for the brand, not his fault though, I would be very annoyed too, luxury brands have to stay behind their motto
What made you frustrated? The fact that I wasn't gushing over the brand? I actually said I liked most of the scents, they are super unique in approach, the only real negatives were the terrible samples and the silly price.
@@SeldomlyOften I wasn't frustrated, I thought you were, particularly with the atomizers, but also with the uninspired scents. You just didn't seem enthused is all. I'm turned off a bit that a company charging so much can offer samples with atomizers that don't work well
@@jasonjenkyns5083 Sorry, I misread your comment. I was just a little puzzled and I don't like brands with an inflated ego. I like humble approaches, stuff like Matiere Premiere and Men Fusciuni are much more my speed :)
The few i smelled didnt really fo it for me. Not interested in this house at all.
Unique approach but really hard to like the inflated ego and silly prices.
This is 100% one of those of what I like to call 🤡 “houses” where the whole point of them is just social media marketing while the fragrances themselves are mediocre at best. Sad that you can just see geniuses like Annick Menardo having to make fragrances for such a shitty low quality brand just because some hedge fund dude bro from god knows where had the money to hire Symrise. No artistic direction, no creative boundaries and an almost plastic-like sense of false luxury for such shitty products. Damn…
I agree on the whole concept, there are many of these brands that are all smoke, nothing really to show. Mind Games has a unique style and I do applaud that but the whole chess theme feels forced and unnecessary.
The forward is the best from mind games. Its creamy citrus. Didnt rate any of the others. If you like cherry sample hedonistic from clive christian it's got a nice cherry note & is one of the best fragrances I've ever tried.
Thanks for the recommendation on the CC, I'll definitely look into it :)