Sniff Test: Sexual Michel Germain Sugar Daddy

Welcome to our Sniff Test fragrance reviews, exclusive to Fragrance Lodge. Each month you’ll find Sniff Test scent reviews by award-winning journalist Nathalie Atkinson and Cityline beauty and fragrance expert Dave Lackie. The pair will give honest and uncensored fragrance reviews – some old and some new. We guarantee a number of these reviews will make you laugh out loud. Nathalie and Dave used to write this column for the National Post newspaper where it quickly became one of the most popular online lifestyle features. (Yes, Dave did once describe a Kimora Lee Simmons fragrance as smelling like a Mr. Soft Twist Cone truck crashing into a Kool Aid stand.) Be sure to sign up for the free Fragrance Lodge newsletter which will feature new Sniff Test reviews and contain an exclusive scent giveaway for subscribers. (You can unsubscribe at any time if you change your mind.) We hope you enjoy this month’s review:

Sexual Sugar Daddy by Michel Germain (EDT spray) 40ml

Sugar Daddy by Sexual is a masculine fragrance with notes of grapefruit, cinnamon, fir balsam, caramelized praline, lavender, patchouli, sweet tobacco, leather and sandalwood.

She Says:

Since I didn’t buy this at counter and the carton is all about silver glitter, it’s unclear from packaging if Sexual Sugar Daddy is for men or for women. Do you wear this to be one or to get one? (I have so many questions.) One whiff answers all: It’s definitely playboy fare, albeit inoffensive with its subtle dose of cinnamon tobacco. More suede than leather, there’s something familiar but indistinct about it. Like if you combined all the cologne worn by the men at any given bar on a Thursday night. With this name, Michel Germain is looking for some of that irreverent Tom Ford F**king Fabulous buzz. I’m not so sure it is. 2 out of 4

He Says:

This fragrance should come with a warning sticker that reads: Does not come with a silk/polyester shirt unbuttoned to the navel, gold chains with Playboy medallions, pinky rings, nor a 10 year-old smartphone with a ringtone that plays  “Living On A Prayer”. It doesn’t come with any pickup lines on the box that read, “You must be exhausted because you’ve been running through my mind all night.” Nor does it come with roadside assistance to boost the owners 2003 Yaris nor tape to fix a broken brake light. Fabricated, a little desperate and embarrassingly showy, Michel Germain claims it is “filled with aphrodisiacs that do the flirting for you. Hugs and kisses are inevitable.”  Unfortunately, these aren’t the kinds of hugs and kisses you want. Notes of crystalized grapefruit zest, cinnamon bark, caramelized pralines and sweet tobacco sound good on paper but aren’t of high enough quality nor blended skillfully enough to make any kind of impact. I imagine Sexual Sugar Daddy is what an online dating service on a Saturday night at 2 am would smell like. 1 out of 4

• Please note this review reflects the personal opinions of Nathalie Atkinson and Dave Lackie.