Review (3/5): An expensive mixed bag
There are only a few reviews on Castle Forbes' Special Reserve Neroli. A couple are on here, a few randomly online. You have to dig for them. So if you're reading this, you're more of a fragrance lover than the average Tommy Bahama fan. Put simply, CF Neroli is not a popular EDP, nor is the brand. You have to know some things about fragrance and have a specific knowledge about neroli itself, to have come searching for Castle Forbes version. This is how I came to know this brand and EDP myself.
My view is that it's not worth the cost of 160USD. That's a lot of money for a 3.4oz. bottle. CF has a nice brand image, the EDP presentation is great, and the quality of the materials used are outstanding. However, the scent alone falls short.
Neroli Reserve starts out wonderfully: crisp orange and neroli, combined with greens like pine, grass and hedges. You feel like you're at the beach, sitting just where the sand dunes meet a lush forest. This lasts for about 20 minutes. Then the "woody/musky" basenotes kick in, and this is where CF got it wrong. It deteriorates into a powdery, barbershop, very British scent. It's something your grandmother (not grandfather) would have worn if she lived in London in 1865. Designer houses today try and replicate this a bit, usually just producing a floraly, loud, baby powder vibe (see MDCI Invasion Barbare). This basenote scent is what then dominates for the next 10 hours, more if you've sprayed any arm/chest hair. The woods aren't masculine woods, just faint tree bark really.
The EDP strength is phenomenal; this stuff lasts. The only problem is whether or not you like to smell like a woman, particularly a powderpuff with flowers. I do get some faint whiffs of neroli, but it's overpowered by the floral powder. I would not recommend this for a man, and unfortunately, would recommend Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino over this. A different vibe for sure (more aquatic), but TF's neroli sustains.
Overall, 3 of 5 stars just because the ingredients are so good, but the scent isn't as much neroli as it is the musky amber that CF used. Bummer.