How's Hayden?

After much dillydallying with which bottle of fragrance to open (whole story here), I tried this one:

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Bought it on a whim right after New Year's at Glorietta. My Bibe and I were on our way to The Ramp when we saw Hayden Kho's fragrance counter. Out of curiosity, we sampled different scents. I know when you hear his name you think scandal, Katrina Halili, or Careless Whisper but from an objective standpoint, they do smell good. Hindi amoy "Careless Whisper" (utot in Pinoy slang), to answer a comment I've read. I must admit, Hayden has indeed something to offer with his line.

After trying everything - coffee beans in between - I settled for Amber Woods and Rose Petals, their flagship, I was told by the saleslady. It was also the most expensive of the lot at Php 790 for a 100ml bottle. I really am clueless about what all those ingredients that made up its top, heart, and base notes are. All I can say is that it's warm and woodsy. It's not strong and musky, which I hate, especially in the kind of weather we have. On the downside, I think it doesn't quite last the whole day as promised. But it's mostly the case with other fragrances anyway. Got compliments for wearing this scent, though.

Also got another one, Black Leather and Oris, which My Bibe wants. She actually liked the men's line better than the women's. This one has a fresher scent but with a warm base.

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I don't care much about the hype that he studied in Paris or whatever for this. I mean, fragrances are born out of collaboration with fragrance labs, mostly in Europe. You just have to have an idea of what you want and the lab people will do all the mixing for you (based on your idea), then present you with a variety of results for your approval. Bottle it. Add a name. Market. Sell. Earn.

I appreciate Hayden's efforts, though. It shows that he was really into it, Marketing included. Maarte ang packaging, exuding some level of elegance. Pricing was not too expensive yet not too cheap either, positioning the brand somewhere in between.

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Just don't know how his line is received by the public, especially since his name carries some sort of stigma. Hayden is quite a controversial figure after all. I won't be detailing all his other fragrances in this post but if you're curious, you can check out his swanky website here.

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