A highly subjective list of hyped fragrances and whether they live up to the hype

Over the last couple of months I've been working my way through samples of fragrances that I often see getting hyped on Reddit, so I decided to put together a list of all the ones I've tried so far and whether or not I think they live up to the buzz. For the sake of clarity, when I say that a fragrance lives up to the hype, I'm not necessarily saying it's worth the price. I'm just saying that I think it smells as good as people claim.

• Tom Ford – Noir Extreme. Yes. The longevity isn't great, but it's a classy, alluring fragrance that would make a great choice for a date.
• Amouage – Outlands. Yes. Designing a fragrance that is both true to Amouage's signature style and mass-appealing is a difficult needle to thread, but I think Outlands pulls it off.
• Louis Vuitton – L'Immensité. No. If you're looking for an easy, inoffensive fragrance L'Immensité is a safe bet, but to me it smells like mid-range shower gel.
• Xerjoff – Naxos. Yes. This one is too sweet for me to wear personally, but it's a beautiful fragrance and I can completely understand why it gets so much love.
• Tom Ford – Ombré Leather. Yes. Probably my favourite fragrance in the world, in my opinion Ombré Leather is a masterpiece.
• Le Labo – Santal 33. Can't say. It turns out I'm one of those people who gets a strong dill/pickle note from sandalwood, so I'm not well placed to pass comment on Santal 33.
• Le Labo – The Noir 29. Yes. Fortunately, I can pass comment on The Noir 29, and I think it's one of the richest, most enigmatic fragrances I've ever smelled.
• Creed – Aventus. Yes. It's not surprising that this is one of the most copied fragrances ever made.
• Louis Vuitton – Afternoon Swim. No. Maybe it's my skin chemistry, but I get this weird, grassy note from Afternoon Swim that I do not enjoy it all.
• PDM – Althair. No. I know I said I wouldn't factor in price, but to my nose Althair just doesn't smell as premium as I would have expected.
• Dior – Sauvage. No. I know that this is one of the most impactful fragrances of all time, but I find it a bit synthetic and screechy.
• Montblanc – Explorer. Yes. Despite what people like to claim, this isn't indistinguishable from Creed, but it's a banger in its own right and a safe option in just about any situation.
• Jean Paul Gaultier – Le Male Elixir. No. Personally I found this one to be cloying and sickly.
• Issey Miyake – L'Eau d'Issey. Yes. One of the most pleasant fragrances I've ever tried, and still surprisingly unique.
• Louis Vuitton – Imagination. Sort of. I don't think it would be possible for anything to live up to the hype that Imagination gets, and I was a little underwhelmed when I first tried it. That said, it has grown on me, and multiple people have told me it's the best thing they've ever smelled.
• Amouage – Interlude. Yes. There is zero chance I could pull off wearing Interlude in public, and I'm still tempted to get a bottle just so I can wear it at home.
• Jo Malone – Wood Sage & Sea Salt. No. I expected to love this one, but I found the salt note to be unpleasantly domineering.
• YSL – Y EDP. No. I actually got a couple of compliments when I was wearing this, but I personally found it way too synthetic.
• Ralph Lauren – Polo Black. Yes. The definition of a safe dumb reach.
• Sospiro – Vibrato. Yes. Honestly, I think that Vibrato deserves more hype than Imagination. Clean, fresh and stellar performance.