A side-by-side overview of today's fragrances

Fuego Futero: This has been a pleasant surprise today. It still felt heavy on the dill, but as it warmed up, I started enjoying it more, and 7-8 hours in, it was very nice indeed. I’ll save my full thoughts for a review, but it’s a resinous-herb, dry-wood, mineralic-ash experience that performs excellently. The one student who chose it as their favourite described it as 燒焦味 (a burned/charred smell) - that aspect absolutely comes through, and although it’s on the clean side, I’d still say it requires a pretty specific taste. 7.25/10

Symphony: Some of you may remember I sampled this last night and shared my impressions. The smell on my arm earlier today, even after a thorough scrub in the shower last night and a sweaty 9km run this morning, was gorgeous - reminding me of Imagination’s clean, ambroxan, “luxury hotel lobby” drydown, but warmer and sweeter - so I wanted to try it again. Conclusions after 10 hours: it pretty much stuck with the same powdery pink grapefruit and sweet orange I got yesterday. I’m sure that base is buried within, but perhaps during ordinary wear it just provides the “LV lux” feel, and only after scrubbing away the top layers does it reveal itself fully. Completely outshined by Imagination to my nose. 7/10

Imagination: I had a 3ml decant of this years ago, and I’ve tried it plenty of times since, but I wanted to wear it side-by-side with Symphony so I could see how close the drydowns actually are. Most of us know the scent: suave citrus, a touch of warm spice, smooth black tea, and finally that infamously gorgeous soapy-ambrox base. I’ve always loved Imagination - simplicity perfected - but it just doesn’t excite me. Reminds me of my Le Labo Ambroxyde 17 candle. Would make for a stunning home fragrance. A strong 8.5/10

I’ve been with kids all day, so I thought I’d let them vote for their favourite:

Fuego Futero: 1 Symphony: 11 Imagination: 11