1899 Ernest Hemingway
Histoires de Parfums (2013)

A bit more opulent clone of V&R Spicebomb and maybe a bit more creamy at that. Unfortunately redundant in case you own Spicebomb. I've noticed for wuite a while that paradigm shift in niche house logic. The designers used to copy niche houses, but now it's often the other way around. Niche houses too recognise the good designer work and realise that there's money to be made by using better quality ingredients for the same appeal.

I have nothing against this, but to be in the situation someones compliments you on this with "uuu you're wearing Spicebomb, that's nice", and you give them the "nah huh, you never heard of HdP?". I mean, Spicebomb is a good fragrance for that type of fragrance, even reformulated it's not "mutilated". I'm not implying here that people shouldn't like or buy HdP 1899, but buying it solely for the reason it's HdP and not a "designer" is kind of...I don't know, maybe "insipid" is too harsh term.

All that being said, I can't vote negative or neutral because it's a damn well made clone, but I have to repeat - a clone!

Originality: 4/10
Scent: 7/10
Longevity: 8/10
Projection: 8/10
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Overall impression 7/10

1899 Ernest Hemingway is the fragrance who gets attention in a good way. It isn't especially dark nor light, it is nice but definitely not as daring as other niche frags. On my skin it's creamy, sweet, cozy, sensuous, and comforting. Like you're sitting in front of a fire, reading your favourite book with a glass of something spiced and alcoholic. I would must definitely classify 1899 Ernest Hemingway as unisex-as it wears.

The opening entails a spicy, assertive scent which is quite masculine in character. As the pepper and juniper fade away in the middle, the cinnamon's sweetness is no longer tamed, and the true, gourmand that this fragrance becomes exemplifies the idea of a comfort scent. The middle notes are so feminine. The base is a soft linger of vanillary cinnamon that promises never fade to away. Best suited for night but fine for day as well. It is friendly enough to be worn in an office especially since a offices are of milder temperatures and you may stand out from the freshies.

I agree with Brooks Otterlake, that I really just don't see what applesauce has to do with Ernest Hemingway, because that's what I smell when I first spray 1899 on my wrist. Applesauce. I looked through the other reviews and the notes, and no one else seems to mention it. But, that's what I wrote down when I sampled this on May 3, 2020. Applesauce. Then baby powder, then pine needles, then cedar, and maybe musk? And bergamot? And a few minutes later, after top notes dissipated a little bit, I could smell vanilla and Iso-E, like in Montana Parfum d'Homme (red box), and something that smells like Bulgari Omnia Brown...kind of cedar-like. Very yummy! I like cedar. Then it dries down with a weird sharp incense-y smell, like the kind I get in John Varvatos, and then that was all I could smell. Not an unlikeable fragrance. Not sure I'd buy a full bottle though. It is however the only fragrance I've tried so far that smells like applesauce. But only for a few minutes tops.

A gorgeous but discrete fragrance. Warm, nose tinglingly spicy, smooth, a bit creamy, a twinge of sweetness, but mostly dry. Comparisons to Spicebomb are apt, though as other reviewers have noted, this is far, far beyond it in terms of composition and quality. Perfectly refined and well balanced. I just wish it had a little bit more oomph, a little bit more power behind it. Its lasting power leaves something to be desired, and its projection and sillage are similarly taciturn. I think I'll try this out when it gets a bit colder out, though only at home or at the office.

7/10

This is a cleaner, more floral version in the Tobacco Vanille family of fragrances (Atkinson's Old Fellows Bouquet, Eau Duelle, etc.). Most vanilla fragrances can get a bit heavy and monotonous after a while, but this is much brighter and more watery, like a sparkling vanilla champagne with the faint scent of a nearby garden wafting in on the cool nighttime breeze (probably the vetiver that keeps things fresh and light, and slightly cold.) I wouldn't say this was feminine at all. It's just more sophisticated and more gentlemanly than heavier smoker alternatives, less cloying and more interesting as it develops over time.)

It's still a second place to PdM Herod (or how I remember it - it's been a while since my decant ran out) but it's certainly a worthy lighter alternative.

A very nice blend of hesperidic notes, spicy florals, drying down to a fougeric ending of lavender, vanilla, amber, and a distinct blonde tobacco accord. A very wearable masculine and very distinct.