Northern Cardinal supposedly opens with a barrage of citrus and herbal notes, if the reviews and pyramids and press releases are to be believed. I can only tell you what I smell: a few drops of stale citrus and some bizarre collection of spicy notes that coalesce into something that strongly resembles cumin to me. This rank cumin body-odor effect endures for about five minutes before the stinkier edge of it fades out and a more Old-Spicy kitchen melange steps forward. Indeed, I let my girlfriend have a few sniffs, and without prompting she said, "Smells like Old Spice, or something like that."
The eight hours that transpire afterward are less fun. We found ourselves sniffing and wrinkling our noses, making all sorts of faces, taking walks, doing personal projects, and consistently reporting to each other that Northern Cardinal smelled like some cheap generic guy's cologne, sort of a drugstore vibe. I told her I smelled a vaguely bitter and typically "Westernized" rose note; she didn't smell that but said it felt like it was related to English Leather. She sniffed me before bed and recoiled in horror, perceiving a raunchy musk note that I had no awareness of. $175 for a bottle of this? No thanks.