1899 Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is one of my favorite authors. That's not the reason why I have this fragrance. It was given to me by Luckyscent as part of a promotion. I wish I could say otherwise, but this is the truth and I want to be known as someone who is always authentic and honest when it comes to my reviews. If you don't have that you don't have anything. I'm also going to make this short and sweet. 1899 is a great fragrance, but it smells so similar to Rehab that I cannot tell which is which. Unfortunately I have had Rehab for over a year and is currently one of my favorite fragrances. It's almost impossible for me to write a review about 1899 because of this. I will say this. If you are a fan of Rehab or anything similar you are not going to be disappointed. The longevity is very good and it’s almost comparable. Cheaper! That's a plus. I'm sure someone else who has not been exposed will write a great review about a great fragrance.

I'm constantly looking for an office-safe fall and winter fragrance. It sounds silly, but if you think about it, fall and winter fragrance are almost always geared more for the evening and project louder with heavier notes. All of that makes sense, but I just purchased a smaller bottle of 1899 to fill that need and I think it very effectively threads the line between office-safe and every blue and typical daytime scent we're all familiar and bored with. It's definitely closer to spice bomb than anything else, but I pick up a bit more of the powdery floral notes found in Cassomarati 1888. I disagree that it's any masterpiece and I think the word should be banned from these reviews, but it's a solid fall and winter fragrance that's versatile enough to pull during any time of day or night. Basically, it fills a hole in my collection where I have few options, but the situation counts for a large portion of my year.

This one keeps finding it's way back to my shelf from my "declutter" pile. Every time I decide to let it go, something keeps pulling me back. To my nose, this is definitely a masculine scent. Yet, every time I wear it, I get TONS of compliments. The opening is a spicy orange cinnamon. It reminds me of that odd note you find in just about every Xerjoff perfume, if you're familiar... I can never quite put my finger on it... vetiver? hay? Damp and earthy, regardless. But then, this rolls into a powdery yet still spicy gem. In my mind, this smells like Christmas potpourri with apples and oranges and cinnamon soaked vanilla beans... And yet I am wearing it today, a hot sunny summer day and it's a crowd pleaser. Needless to say, I'll give it another few months on the shelf... see if I reach for it again.

This is the scent that actually made me interested in fragrances. I got this as a sample in BirchBox in 2013 and it was different from anything I had ever smelled before. I really didn't even care for fragrances then but this was so incredibly beautiful that it got my attention and started my journey. Eleven years later, after collecting many different fragrances from Tom Ford, Initio, Creed, Dior, etc. this is still my all-time favorite. I have two 120ml bottles. I will never be without this. This is quintessential Renaissance Man in a bottle. The neroli, iris, vetiver, amber combination is both ethereal and masculine. Hemingway is the perfect representation -- pure literary refinement in one hand and a bolt-action rifle in the other. A true masterpiece.

Let me start out by saying, that I LOVE this scent. This is my perfect fall and winter scent. Then let me say that when I first spray it on, I smell bug spray. I know that might sound wild, but that only lasts for a few seconds. It quickly turns into something that I cannot stop sniffing and wanting more of. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and cozy. I started with a small sample of this and kept using it because it was such an odd scent, but one that i couldn't get enough of. I ended up buying a large bottle and I would by more in a heartbeat.