![Rmf1112]()
Rmf1112
Very helpful Review
4
Lovely Spicy Surprise
Fan di Fendi pour homme Assoluto
This is a very surprising frag for me, as it wasn't what I anticipated, but blew me away with the quality and lovely scent. The initial spray is very spicy with sharp pink pepper a la the start of Gucci Pour Homme I, with cardamom instead of cedar. However, this opening as a whole is very reminiscent of Opium pour homme, very spicy and warm. While Opium has galangal-pepper, this has cardamom-pepper, but they are definitely spicy-oriental cousins.
The mid notes become apparent slowly, with the vetiver and oud taking center stage. Neither note is overpowering, and in fact perfectly intertwines with the base of opoponax and the cardamom top to make a rich and beautiful, but not overly heavy, scent. The addition of citrus (orange?) and tonka absolute helps to brighten and smooth the final product, imo. This phase lasts for a while, and is a definite wrist-sniffer when nobody's looking.
So, I got a sample of M7 Oud Absolu recently, and found it to be too stuffy, kind of old perfume powdery type. Now, i do not like powdery frags, so maybe thats whats not doing it for me. I'm sure some will have different opinions, as rabid as the M7 fans are, but I feel FdFA is similar in the drydown but far more wearable than M7OA. There are similar notes in both (Oud, Citrus, patchouli), but M7OA is seemingly linear, while FdFA develops into a non powdery version of the former- after a spicy introduction- which I believe works perfectly.
I thought this would be very heavy, but I feel its light for the notes it carries, enough to be worn year round. I must say, however, that I consider myself a light sprayer, rarely if ever going over 3 sprays, and 1-2 for reapply 6+ hours later.
I love it and bought a large bottle after sampling. It's definitely in my top 10, take that for what its worth.
Scent- 9/10
Longevity- 7/10
Sillage- 7/10
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
