Derring-Do for Men
Ineke (2006)

Citrus, lavender, pine, aromatic spices, ozonic elements, patch, cedarwood, dry florals and musky synthetic ambergris, we know well this type of formula. Ineke Derring Do for men opens with a typically 90's sparkling "blue" fougère angular spicy/floral/citric semi-ozonic blast a la Byblos Uomo, Aramis New West, Nautica Blue, Chopard Heaven or (partially) Creed Green Irish Tweed (actally being this kind of opening at same time not distant from the one of more contemporary creations a la Bond n.9 Wall Street or Chanel Blue edt) in order (through a fleeting floral transition) to settle finally down in to a (still "sporty but) slightly muskier-sweeter-soapier affair a la Le Beau Male or Bvlgari Blv Pour Homme. Finally the salty note is kind of acid and dirty (kind of warmly organic) and I appreciate its warm virile ambery sensuality (with a minimal hint of leather) despite originality and performances are all in all not at very top.

Starts off rather cloying with its citrus notes, cyclamen, "water" notes, cardamom, and pepper. It begins to improve with magnolia and fern. As the heart settles this becomes a bit more refined. The base of musk, guaiac wood, and cedar are relaxing. This one is definitely masculine. Overall not bad but, the opening makes this difficult for me to wear.

Derring Do is a well put together marine fougere, combining traditional Grey Flannel-esque fougere elements (lavender and tonka with violet leaf) with bright lemon and mint on top, backed up with 90's melon-ish marine elements.

Anything in this genre will inevitably draw comparisons to Creed - in this case, the uplifting lemon and mint make Derring Do significantly happier and less dank than Green Irish Tweed, landing it closer to Millessime Imperiale, but without the Creed richness in the base. The combination of lemon and faux melon also calls to mind CK One, while there are shades of L'Eau d'Issey as well in the abstract melon background.

All in all, no points for originality, but I like the balance between light and dark in Derring Do - all the elements fit together perfectly.

A nice citrus opening that soon takes a floral turn and then has hints of a slightly mossy wood added.
The main issue for me is its poor performance, with soft sillage, very limited projection and about two hours of longevity on my skin in spite of liberal application.

The performance problems would be acceptable in a pure volatile citrus-centred creation, but here it is not convincing; and it is not made up for by originality and brilliance. Pleasant, though. 2.75/5

a light Creed GIT

Derring Do opens with a jump into the near past – the almighty 1990s. A spicy, bold yet compelling accord of nutmeg on creamy-powdery woods with perhaps some incense, or something equally “resinous-woody-dusty” with a bright and transparent substance. The head notes are mostly citrus and a kind of dull, generic floral thing. Nemo by Cacharel comes to mind, mixed with Issey Miyake's groundbreaking Eau. A poorly-persistent, fresh-powdery Oriental spicy scent with creamy woods and a sprinkle of pastel nuances (flowers, citrus). Clean, pleasant, graceful, slightly exotic, totally civilised. And boring to the bone. Fairly similar to many – cheaper – mainstream scents, too: pick any among the “clean-synthetic-floral-spicy” ones, chances are you won't smell big differences.

6-6,5/10