[Review] Reviewing Niche Fragrances! Penhaligons, City Rhythm, Mind Games

Hello! This is my first post here and my first review-style post. Please excuse the fact that I am not too creative with my descriptions, I would rather keep these shorter for people who are interested and want a quick review.

Mind Games Blockade - Let's first start off by getting this out of the way - it in fact, does smell a little bit like Aventus in the dry down. However, the opening is a green unripe, sweet and sour mango. It smells absolutely divine. The dry down reminds me of Creed Aventus cologne rather than the original Aventus. I think it is light, fruity, and very enjoyable. I am quite excited to rock this for summer. 8.7/10

City Rhythm 2654 - I get some nice clean coconut and lime at first and then a bit of a sugary sweetness and vanilla. Honestly, its just alright. I don't see the hype. Would be good for summer, but there are much better summer fragrances out there. 5.5/10

City Rhythm Tropical Confessions - Super creamy coconut milk. Some florals in the back and the dry down the tonka bean starts poking through. Just a very creamy coconut fragrance. Reminds me of a pina colada. Just... alright. 5/10

SHL God of Fire - I was expecting a juicy mango gummy type of smell. It's more of a fresh mango with a kick of ginger. I like it a lot. Super easy to wear, I believe this may be full bottle worthy. 8/10

Mind Games The Forward - I get the Pomelo and the citruses right in the face in the opening. The pomelo sticks out way more than the others. Inthe dry down, I get a lot of vanilla and sandalwood. I think this combo has been done a lot, and it makes the fragrance not worth its price tag at all. The vanilla makes it smell a bit like 2654 in the dry down. I can see this being rocked in all seasons, but it's just not for me. 6.5/10

Argos Neptunes Trident - Wow, I reallllly wanted to like this. Unfortunately, I am just hit by citruses followed by a green tea note. The green tea is very sharp and harsh to me and almost smells burnt. Quite disappointed. It's not terrible, but for its price, it's not worth it, IMO and just nothing memorable, besides the harsh green tea note to me. 6/10

Penhaligon's Tradegedy of Lord George - it just smells like woods, woods and, you guessed it, more woods. I don't smell any boozy notes from here. It honestly just sucks. 3/10

Penhaligon's Blazing Mr. Sam - The Opening is spicy, creamy and smells a lot like Gris Charnel extrait without being too creamy to the point of being like milk. The tobacco is definitely prominent in the dry down, but it is a very smooth tobacco that is very enjoyable. Honestly, this would be beautiful for colder weather,,r and I enjoy it greatly, and it is on my list for a full bottle. 8/10

Penhaligon's The World According to Arthur - Whoa.... This is good. It's a spicy, smoky, incense opening that is very well-blended and smooth. As it dries down, the vanilla starts poking through and is beautiful. I just wish it lasted longer, and it would probably be in my top 10 fragrances. I would possibly get a full bottle of this if I could find a cheap partial. I don't think it's worth retail or discounter price. 8.7/10

Penhaligon's Much Ado the Duke - honestly, it's just some airy rose, woods, and florals. It smells like Rose 31 from Le Labo but has much worse performance. Can't recommend this. 4/10

Thanks for reading!!
Got these decants from u/dkslide5 . I recommend getting decants from him if you're interested!