Invasion of the Barbers by DUA

When I decided to do in-depth reviews of fragrances I love (or just like), one of the hardest decisions was... which ones do I review first? Does my order imply importance, does it convey a sense of reverence of one bottle vs the other? Then I realized...I was over-thinking it (again) and I should go with the flow and perhaps review the one that has been on my mind for a while or at the moment of sitting down, smelling it, enjoying it... and trying to put my thoughts into words for my readers....and this is how I arrived at Invasion of the Barbers by DUA. If you haven't read my review of Tonkalicious, you should, because I talk about the company and what they do, giving you some insight into what DUA is about.

What is up with that name? Invasion of the Barbers, nostalgic me thinks of high-end barbershops where everything smells of very fresh lavender and leather seats tell a story, however, I also get reminded of Sweeney Todd and the feel of a single razor removing stubble, weird, I know. Invasion of the Barbers is a play on the name of the fragrance this was inspired from, Invasion Barbare by Parfums MDCI. First, a history lesson: Parfums MDCI Invasion Barbare was founded in 2003 ("MDCI" stands for Marchal Dessins et Créations Indépendantes") and it was created by perfumer Stephanie Bakouche. Their bottles are a thing of beauty, pure art, sculpted stoppers, the glass, everything about this brand is beautiful, but alas, with that beauty comes the expense and the hard-to-find aspect of the bottles. I tried searching for the bottle and getting it after learning Luca Turin reveres on his book "Perfumes", and it was an exercise in frustration for me. The bottle would cost me upwards of $250 and I could not find a place where I could get a sample for a good price, meaning I would buy a tester for way too much money just to see if I like it! I decided to get the DUA inspiration after reading and hearing good things about it, oh boy, was I in for a surprise.

Let me address the elephant in the room, many people consider what I'm doing to be wrong, they believe that by me purchasing inspired expressions, I am collaborating in what they see as an insult to the individual creators.... as though there is some sort of reverence to be held for that creation... I just don't see it that way, sorry about that. I find art in my different things and these fragrances, for me, are never exactly the same as the original and that's why I enjoy them. For example, I bought 2 different "clones" of Creed's Green Irish Tweed.... I didn't like any of them, so I got the real thing, because the inspirations were lacking something for me but the original was perfect in any way that I cared about, but, my son prefers one of those clones on his skin to the real thing!. In some bottles, I actually prefer the inspired expression because the longevity is better, or the projection, in some cases, getting an inspired expression makes me realize that owning a bottle of the original would be a waste of money for me as the fragrance doesn't lend itself to be constantly used by me... what I'm saying is...do your thing and think less of the labels and more about how the fragrance complements you!

Back to what's important now, the review. This fragrance is considered an oriental fougere (pronounced foozh-air), fougere means fern in French, built on a base of lavender, coumarin and oakmoss, these fragrances are characterized by its sharp herbaceous and woody scent. What fougere means to me is lavender! Mind you, not your typical "candle smell" lavender, something more complex but with that fresh / clean shaven & groomed vibe. The opening of this fragrance is lavender, ginger with a slight note of vanilla.... but they mix in a creamy way. Cardamon is also playing here but every note here is so perfectly executed that its hard to just pin-point one at a time. The drydown, my favorite aspect of this fragrance, is a lot of the notes from the opening but now musk and patchouli play main violin, and the character of this bottle really comes through. This is clean, complex, fresh....yet....its not powdery (like other fougeres tend to be), it's not piney, it remains close to you skin and really complements you, it's creamy at best and fresh through-out. I often get asked if a fragrance is masculine or feminine, I find that funny, I think scents have no gender and you should wear whatever works for you. This fragrance reminds me of being clean shaven and well groomed so perhaps that invokes things in my brain that say "it's masculine" but that's silly talk, my immediate memory should not deter a woman from using this and trust me, it's a beautiful scent you don't want to miss on!

In conclusion... I am sorry I could not compare both fragrances and give you an honest opinion of the comparison, in exchange, I've reviewed this fragrance by itself and determined how it stands by itself...and it does, it delivers. This fragrance makes me feel better immediately after putting it on, it makes my outlook on the day to be more positive, it truly complements me.

Until next time, you can follow me on Instagram for my almost daily scent of the day and shorter reviews!

X.