— fragrance —

ScentStory 24 Gold Perfume EDT Review

August 25, 2014

24 Gold

Mainstream Monday – Sniffing a Popular Perfume

If you read EauMG regularly, you’re probably familiar with my “Mainstream Monday” feature. This is where I break away from the indies and niche in hopes of finding something truly remarkable in the designer, chain store or celebrity category. Let me tell you 99% of the time, I’m testing some really unremarkable blends. But, I keep doing this in hopes of finding some sleeper hit, a hidden jewel or a cheap thrill. I think of Mainstream Monday like the estate sales of my reviews…who knows, maybe you’ll find something good but for the most part, it’s probably going to be a bunch of junk you don’t need. Well, after all these years, I’ve finally found something good and really in the most unlikely of places. And you’re probably going to want it, especially for these upcoming cooler months.

ScentStory is a perfume brand with some Twentieth Century Fox licenses to 24, an American television series. This is a series that I’ve never watched and embarrassingly enough, I get the main guy in 24 confused with the main guy in House. Anyway, if you spend time on discount sites, you’ll see some really unusual licensed perfumes like Full Metal Jacket and Bratz. Even though I’ve never tried these, I threw the 24 franchise of perfumes into this novelty/”fan” group of perfumes. Ends up that many of these are sold in the Arab market and perfumes like 24 are sold at Dubai duty-free shops. Let’s speed this story up, a perfume friend sent me a travel size of 24 Gold perfume in hopes of pressuring me to try this perfume, knowing that I’d never go out of my way to try a discounted perfume inspired by a television series that I’ve never watched.

24 Gold is not what I expected.  AT ALL. It’s actually a really great quality composition that I know if I had people blind-sniff it, they’d think it belonged in much more expensive luxury houses. For example, I had David blind-sniff and then I asked him how much I thought it retailed for and he said $300, thinking it was a By Kilian.

24 Gold opens with something that reminds me of cherry pipe tobacco and benzoin. 24 Gold goes deep into olfactory decadence. I’m reminded of spicy orange chutney with a boozy vanilla absolute and a custard-like ylang-ylang (and it’s all good, like Mona di Orio quality good). The dry-down wears as a sweet, creamy vanilla-amber with a hint of dry, powdery sandalwood and distant smoldering oud incense. Being that this perfume lasts forever on the skin, this cuddly dry-down lasts for 8+ hours. This perfume is much more Pola Negri/vampy than it is popular serial TV drama/tacky gold bottle 🙂

24 Gold reminds me of fragrances like Memo Shams, Tom Ford Amber Absolute and By Kilian Incense Oud. I’m not saying it smells just like those, but I’m saying it could easily compete with those (if you ignore the packaging). It’s this rich, dense amber oud. It’s sweet but not too sweet because of an addition of woods and spice.There’s no rose which I know keeps some folks away from these oud-ambers. If you want to upgrade your fall/winter fragrance wardrobe, add this. And take the rest of the money you “saved” and buy a nice pair of boots or a really nice cashmere scarf. Or go buy more perfumes. I won’t judge.

Pola Negri

Notes listed include oud, jasmine, gaiac wood, sandalwood, cedarwood, aniseed, vanilla, amber and ylang ylang. Launched 2010.

Give 24 Gold a try if you like sweeter ambers or sweeter ouds. Or if you like perfumes like Memo Shams, Mona di Orio Ambre, By Kilian Incense Oud, Tom Ford Private Blend Amber Absolute and/or Estee Lauder Amber Mystique. 24 Gold is unisex. If you like ambers or take your ouds with sugar, you’ve got to try this. Just ignore the ugly packaging. And if people stop you in the street to compliment your perfume (this actually happened to me), just stretch the truth a little and say it’s “Something Gold, I forgot the name, it’s sold in Dubai”.

Projection and longevity are above average. It has major sillage too (hence the stranger compliments). I prefer one spray. This stuff lasts 14+ hours on my skin. The fact that this says “EDT” on the bottle is shocking. If it were an EDP, you could probably smell it from Dubai…

24 Gold comes in 2 sizes (1.7 oz and 3.4 oz) with prices ranging from $36-$47 at Fragrance X.com. Samples are also available for purchase. I mean at this price you can even use it as one heck of a luxurious linen spray 😉

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Sweeter, rich, decadent amber oud. An amazing perfume for the price. This is why I do Mainstream Monday.

Want more reviews? Try…

The GoodSmellas

Man Loves Cologne

Fragrant Man

Fragrantica – Member reviews

*Product was a gift from a perfume pal. Product pic from Fragrantica. Pola Negri from www.fanpix.net. Post contains an affiliate link. Thanks!

28 thoughts on “ScentStory 24 Gold Perfume EDT Review”

  1. Wow, I have never heard of this perfume. My bf liked the show so I have seen a few episodes but I would have never have thought of a scent tie in. Always nice to be pleasantly surprised by higher than expected quality. I would’ve expected it to smell like a davidoff cool water or an acqua de gio knock off. Something cheap, done before, and something that yells “MAAAAN! LOOK AT ME WITH ALL MY MANLINESS!” like an Axe body spray.

    1. I would have never heard of it either. And it’s not something I would have ever went looking for (licensed TV show perfume?)

      It’s so not Cool Water. It seriously, this sounds so dumb, but it smells “niche”.

      I hear the show is actually pretty good. No idea if this perfume “ties” into it at all.

  3. I saw the first season and most of the second. It was really pretty good. Well written, quirky, new gimmick, 24 shows a season. For at least the first couple of seasons it kept you guessing. People you firmly thought trust worthy-not so. People you thought would never be killed off, bye-bye.
    good thoughtful plots. After that downhill quickly. I think it turned into terrorist du jour. But a perfume tie-in? Never saw that coming. This sounds really rather good and definite bargain material. Thanks for the tip!

    1. Seems like so many shows go that route. Start good and then go downhill and we have to unfortunately watch its cruel descent into garbage.

      I know. It’s so bizarre but I’m not complaining because it’s a cheapie that smells good. I can ignore a lot (like packaging and inspo) when it retails for under $40.

  4. Wow – good on your friend for sending this to you, and good on you for reviewing it! This is the kind of perfume I never would have given a moment’s thought to trying, and you not only make it sound gorgeous but exactly the kind of thing I like. And there’s not too many perfumes one could put in that category at the price point this one sells at. 🙂

    1. I think so too 🙂 There was no way I was going to try it on my own because well, there are many, many other things on my “too try” list.

      It’s very much a surprise. It reminds me of stuff like Amouage and Mona di Orio which I TOTALLY did not expect. Plus, that price. That’s like “free” in the perfume world, right?

  5. Hello Ms. Victoria,

    I am a big fan of your taste in perfume & you have a wonderful knowledge.
    Please I need your help. I am student in collage, 22 years old.
    I fall in love with a student and one time I was wearing oriental perfume and he say you smell like man.
    I was buying that perfume just to wear it for him and he broke my heart soooo badly.
    Please If you can recommend me a Mainstream fruity floral sexy perfume, but not celebrity perfume.
    I love perfumes like Lancome Tresor (classic), Chanel Coco Noir.

    With respect,
    Elizabeth.

    1. Hi Elizabeth,

      Thanks for reading EauMG 🙂 I really hope you didn’t take his comment badly. It’s not your fault and it says more about his olfactory associations/memories than it says anything about you. I wish that if he disliked your fragrance, that he would have been more sensitive about how he worded it. I want to believe that he isn’t a jerk and didn’t mean to hurt you. It was just a poor expression of his olfactory associations. Please don’t take it personally.

      There are some pretty florals out there. I’m going to list a few because I don’t know what is available in your area:

      Dior J’Adore – Luminous floral

      D&G Light Blue for Her – It’s rather popular but it is a good fruity-floral. It’s like laid-back sexy.

      Juicy Couture (original) – It’s a big tuberose that is feminine and fun. It’s loud but I think that’s the point 🙂 I’ve also been told that the sweeter Viva La Juicy is a favorite with guys.

      Mugler Womanity – It has fans and enemies but I think it’s really good. When it works for you, it really works! For me, it works.

      J.Lo Still – I know you said no celeb perfumes but men have complimented me on it. I can’t explain why. It is a pretty feminine floral.

      The Tocca brand also does good things with fruity florals.

      Usually, I say to wear what you love (and you should) but I also understand how people want to wear things that their significant other likes too. Plus, compliments are nice. Hope this gives you somewhere to start.

      And never forget that you’re a beautiful person 🙂

  6. I’ve never watched the show, don’t particularly like the actor (although his dad is hot), and hadn’t heard of this fragrance or house, but your review created a major lemming in me & I ordered. The package arrived today. Wow! This is incredible: rich, woody with a nice edgy rasp to it. It’s like M7 and Avignon had a lovely mutant love child. Reminds me of my dear old Bakir from the 70s. And it puts the same image in my mind as Bakir did: an old and well-lived-in yurt, exuding the incense and smoke of many years of contented life. Thank you – I have a new scent to wear as soon as we drop out of the 90s.

    1. Yay! Happy you are enjoying it. I mean, at under $40, I think it’s good. I do get what you’re saying about M7 and Avignon. Sadly, my last drops of M7 are gone 🙁

      Bakir is a perfume of legends, I haven’t sniffed the vintage and your description makes it sound even more like something I have to try.

      I see myself wearing this a lot this fall. It’s actually in the 60s today and I feel so relieved. I’m some over the heat.

  8. Have you tried Tom Ford Oud Wood? Any similarty? That one makes me swoon but it’s one of the only ~4 ouds that I’ve tried (I know, shocking, how can I call myself a fumehead, yada yada).
    More shocking is this little gem you’ve found with the horrible packaging 🙂

    1. Yes, I have. This one is sweeter and less leathery, actually I prefer it over Oud Wood. I don’t know if you have tried TF Amber Absolute but I would say this is more like a mix of Amber Absolute and Oud Wood. At least on my skin, 24 Gold is more amber than oud, the vanilla in this smells really high-quality, it has to be real vanilla absolute or something.

  12. I ordered a tester of this as soon as I read your review. It arrived yesterday and this scent really is lovely! I definitely get the cherry tobacco at the start like you mentioned. The dry down is absolutely lovely. The longevity is insane for an EDT. I was so impressed that I ordered the full sized bottle (already) last night. I would have NEVER thought to try this before seeing your review.

    1. I’m so happy that you like it. For me, it’s that dry down that makes me love it. It’s so soft, yet rich. I have a feeling that I’m going to wear this a lot in the fall/winter.

      Can you believe this is marked EDT? I think the EDP would terrify me 😉 I mean, an EDP would last for weeks on the skin.

      This is such an unlikely gem. The price is great, it smells really good…one of those “don’t judge a book by its cover” deals.

  13. I found this post through the Lipstick League and liked the sound of this so much I ordered the tester. I received it last night and it’s fantastic! I sprayed one spray on one wrist after I got home from the gym just to try it out. I walked my dog, did dishes/some other chores, SHOWERED, and I could STILL smell it on my wrist! The longevity is cah-razy! I’m definitely going to order the full bottle in a few weeks…it’s perfect for fall (my favorite season). Thanks for reviewing this! I’ve never seen the show and, even if I had, am sure I would have never looked in the general direction of this scent due to the cheesy tie-in/gaudiness factor…I’ll just hide the bottle and use your “Gold something from Dubai” line. 😉

    1. Awesome! I love my Lipstick League gals 🙂

      I feel like it needs to come with a disclaimer/warning like “be careful when sampling for the first time. If you spray on skin, it’s going to hang around!” Which is fine if you like it, but if you don’t, you’re committed to it!

      It’s crazy to me how awesome this and how odd the packaging/concept is. Oh, well, the price is right. That “Dubai” line really works for me. It’s wild because I wore this for a few days in a row and strangers wanted to know what I was wearing because they liked it (and I wear perfume but rarely get compliments like that). It was the best thing I could come up with to say to a stranger 😉 Now if someone close to me wants to know, I may let them in on the little secret…or maybe I won’t. “something Gold from Dubai” sounds much more mysterious and luxurious.

  14. Gah! I’m trying really hard to resist this, but all the follow up comments aren’t helping!!
    I watched the first season of 24 before it got repetitive. But I would never in a million years admit to owning the perfume.
    The tenacity is almost concerning. I usually wear my scents lightly so that only I can smell them and I like them to wear off by evening. Still… I’m curious 🙂

    1. 😉

      I’m trying to think if there is a perfume inspired by any TV show (even hypothetically) that I would actually admit to wearing…

      I’m a fragrance flirt and typically dislike the long-wearing stuff (and loud stuff). But, there is something about this that I like. With 1 spray, it’s not overwhelming and that dry-down is just so “cozy” that I like it. And I’m sure that dry-down could layer with stuff too. But yeah, it’s a tenacious one.

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