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metrolog-86 – :
Loved this scent straight away. Beautifully crafted summer fragrance. It’s kinda like Acqua di Parma’s Colonia Assoluta blended with Dior’s Dune pour Homme. To my nose it’s quite different to Creed’s Virgin Island Water.
Gave the tester strip a good heavy dose so I could take it home and smell it later. I could still smell in on the strip a few days later.
Went back to the store and tried it on my skin. It seemed to perform well, so I bought a bottle.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Don’t know why, don’t know how, but this does not work at all for me in terms of projection or performance. Can’t smell it after only a couple of minutes.
I’ve been drenching myself with the stuff, saturating my shirts with it too. The bottle has a level measurement on the back to indicate how many milliliters you’ve used. I’ve had the bottle for less than two weeks and I’m already down to 45mls left!
The plan is to wear this exclusively until it’s finished. It’ll be the quickest 100mls I’ve ever blazed through.
Jealous of those who’re getting good performance from this great smelling scent.
Jeka111 – :
I do not have VIW, yet. So my review will be for a fragrance not a clone.
I get coconut oil note for more than 12 hrs, but a well blended fruity coconut last for 5-7 hrs on my skin. The projection and sillage is great, people smell this fragrance at or more than arm length after 3 hrs, which is great.
As a fragrance, this performs really well and I would recommend a BUY.
Btw, I bought this bottle from amazon (uk). Its hard to find in the USA. Don’t buy more than one bottle, the customs will reject the package (FYI).
– Update
Got a sample of VIW to try them side by side. VIW is not as coconutty as Gorse. Due to the high coconut presence in Gorse it does last longer. They are about 70% similar. VIW is much better blend. Honestly.
sandracmin – :
This is a beautiful tropical fragrance that smells almost identical to Creed’s Virgin Island Water. It mainly smells of coconut with lime and rum, and smells like that basically for the duration of the fragrance. The only difference between this and Virgin Island Water is a hint of the lemon note in Gorse (while Virgin Island Water is pure lime), so Gorse has an opening that smells kind of like 7Up with coconut rum (but the lime note is still dominant, and it smells very natural). Gorse is also slightly sweeter and a bit more gourmand than Virgin Island Water, and the texture of the juice itself resembles an eau de parfum more than an eau de toilette as it’s advertised as (it’s oily). As for longevity and projection, the sillage on this is moderate while longevity is actually better than Virgin Island Water at around 6 hours. Overall, it’s probably the best tropical fragrance ever made in my opinion and is way better than Virgin Island Water (due to better performance with near-identical scent for far less price).
5/5
bielarus – :
Yep, this is really really close to VIW. I tried VIW and o have to admit, that it is the one Creed I was tempted to get. Heard about Gorse, decided to blind buy and so far, I am not disappointed. The opening is definitely harsher and more lemon than lime unlike VIW, but in the dry down, it’s very hard to tell them apart. VIW is definitely a little less linear and somehow fresher to my nose, and the coconut note is more herbal. Performance wise, I got a solid 8h, with decent projection for a good 4. I give this a 8/10. It’s a good summer fragrance, and to my nose, it does have that tropical vibe.
Buderyen – :
Summer scent to perfection.
A must for your collection.
caaxaa – :
It came out in 2012??? Wow, this one slipped thru the cracks for me.
It absolutely smells very similar to VIW, it even has that awesome musk in the dry down. I love it. The difference for me is in the opening; VIW has pure lime and this has more like a lemon-lime.
A great Summer scent. Very relaxing, not overpowering in any way and seems to have pretty decent performance. An easy 8.5 out of 10 for me.
kimagurena – :
Might be the finest summer scent currently available. Citrus, coconut and long lasting. Only a couple of places to purchase it in the USA and I gut a good stash of it…
SKOT – :
Weird… note pyramid says citrus & cardamom, other sniffers below say coconut – but I get some weird outdoorsy mimosa/vanilla sort of thing. That makes it too sweet overall for me, very linear, not greatly complex or refreshing, but it’s really not bad for its price and for those looking for something nicely summery. 6/10 for me but it’s likely to ring someone else’s bell quite loudly. Definitely worth a try for anyone.
grantmot – :
This has a really nice Acqua di Parma citrus burst at the beginning and goes over to a dry coconut similar to VIW. It’s very wearable. As just coconut, I would rate it 3rd behind Tom Ford’s Soleil Blanc and VIW. Of those three, VIW is the better all-around scent. I’m curious how this Gorse would smell if I sprayed some Guerlain Homme Intense on with it. Maybe even the Tommy Bahama Sail St. Barts? I need to stop trying these tropical/coconut scents, I’m never going to get to wear VIW at this rate.
kanzasa – :
I have added my review of this cologne here before and it was deleted. So here it is again. Someone affiliated with this wants to silence me. Not going to happen. This particular fragrance us hyped by one particular youtuber and his partner. Do not be fooled by those people! This smells really cheap compared to VIW and not only that but longevity and projection are both weak. Do not waste your money. There are better clones of VIW out there than this absolute trash.
sumka2211 – :
Smells realy good. A must alternative if you like Creed’s Virgin Island. And it costs less.
Ivano96rus – :
Where is this available in Europe, besides UK?
Thanks
Insoroarito – :
I must say @ThePharoah irritates me. His reviews are so off-putting, plus he likes to copy and paste his past negative reviews.
goga2003 – :
I think this is superior to VIW. Whilst both have challenging openings to me – with Gorse smelling like lemon sherbert and VIW like a Margarita – I find the dry down on Gorse much more pleasant. It’s a smooth, natural coconut that isn’t too sweet and, most importantly, it doesn’t remind me of a dry shampoo product my wife uses, which VIW does. Even ignoring price, I’d still opt for this over VIW.
маргарита пяткова – :
Fantastic fragrance, great longevity, has been my go to all summer long. Dont listen to the negative reviews, I blind bought it and havent regret it. Very similar to Virgin island water indeed.
vasyan1501 – :
Excellent summer fragrance very similar to V.I.W. good for 5 hours on my skin had quite a few compliments in the first few hours of wearing
karneliuss – :
Agree with others here – have sample of Creed Virgin Island Water and Gorse – they are virtually identical.
The coconut smell isn’t really for me, but I can see why others would rave about it as a VIW substitute- it’s a bargain at the price.
botsman1971 – :
Scent 8/10..
Longevity 5/10, a very weak performer I get like 4 hrs out of it on skin!
fxd99 – :
MMmm…very yummy. Perfect for wearing on your hols. It opens with juicy sweet citrus notes. The cardamom becomes evident. A little further along the timeline and you do get the similarity with VIW but it is very brief.
I am sure there is a lot more to this fragrance than the two notes listed. There is definitely some coconut in the mix. Maybe even a touch of lime.
It is a pretty good likeness to the gorse fragrance. It is in flower now all over the place.
A simple and very pleasant unisex fragrance but sorry no replacement for Creed VIW. This is a very basic fragrance whilst VIW is much smoother and finely nuanced.
brombor – :
Smells balmy coconut with a smooth cardamon dry down. Good performance, around 5-6 hours on my skin. Fantastic price and is on par with Creed’s Virgin Island Water.
reziesc – :
Smells like Sprite with a dash of coconut/gorse(?). Clean, summery. Not as full of flavor as creed’s VIW.
joriks17 – :
Fantastic Summer Scent,soft subtle Citrus almost verging on Amber.£55 for a
100ml makes it a Fantastic bargain.