9PM

Spray this and the first thing that lands is apple, but not a crisp green apple: it is a sugared, almost stewed apple wrapped in cinnamon, with a slug of bergamot and a herbal wild lavender running underneath to stop the sweetness collapsing in on itself. That opening is loud and it is meant to be. Within twenty minutes the fruit softens and a clean floral heart of orange blossom and lily-of-the-valley smooths the edges, giving the whole thing a slightly powdery, well-groomed quality. The real story is the base. Vanilla and tonka bean pour in thick and creamy, patchouli adds an earthy grip, and amber holds it all together into the sort of warm, sticky-sweet trail that clings to a jacket collar for days.

The comparison you will hear everywhere is Jean Paul Gaultier Ultra Male, and for once the internet is right. 9PM follows the same fruity-vanilla-lavender blueprint closely enough that most people will not pick the difference in passing. Where they part ways: Ultra Male leans more on pear and has a slightly sharper, boozier lift, while 9PM is rounder, more cinnamon-forward and a touch more powdery in the dry-down. Call it an 80 to 85 percent match at a fraction of the price, which explains why it became Afnan's global breakout.

Performance is genuinely strong. Expect eight to ten hours of skin life, and for the first three or four of those it will fill a room. Two sprays is plenty; four will announce you before you arrive. That potency makes it a cool-weather scent by default, and it is at its best on a Cape winter evening or a Highveld night out rather than in December heat, where the vanilla and cinnamon can turn cloying.

It suits men who want to be noticed and do not mind being obvious about it. Night out, dinner, birthdays, anywhere with low light and a crowd. It is not an office fragrance and it is not subtle, and anyone who dislikes sweet masculines will find it too much. For everyone else, it is one of the most reliable value buys in the category, and the reason a whole generation of shoppers took Middle Eastern houses seriously in the first place.