Latest User Reviews

I have a reasonably old mini of this and it's absolutely magical. Having said that the modern version is pretty nice too, it's not quite as luscious and rounded though. I'm pretty staggered by it to be honest, the grapfruit quality of vetiver coming together with the citrus and then a almost warm creamy texture of woods. Simple yet hard to describe, like many colognes that have extra facets as they mature on skin. Men, women, everyone. You need Guerlain Vetiver in your life.

6 years ago

Nemo was a fragrance I never owned back in the 2000's not because I didn't like it as such but just because my collection was much smaller and less speculative than it is now, coupled with the fact that this just doesn't stand out all that much. Well that's in hindsight because things that I liked back then, I love now in comparison to the general sorry landscape of men's designer releases. I'm not one of these people who is constantly looking back and banging on about 'vintage'. I very much embrace the future and I'm broadly optimistic about it, however Nemo is one of those ordinary releases that seems like some searing work of genius now. So to me it's a soft woody, spicy take on lavender, Immediately reminiscent of Boucheron (I didn't look before noticing this by the way and when I did it turned out to be the same perfumer! boooya!) Comparisons would be Gucci Envy, By D&G, Dreamer even (This guy did the original Dreamer too) and also Floris Santal, Moubousin homme, Lalique Equus & Homme, basically loads of 90's and early 2000's stuff. It has a hazy sandalwood/cedar aspect with muskiness and an unmistakable smooth nutmeg underpinning it then the waft of lavender over the top. It's lovely. Nemo is really lovely, lasts very well, and smells just right. This is not as out there as stuff like Eden and Lou Lou both very polarising and Then there's the bottle. Either love it or hate it you can't deny that it's an talking point. Also perhaps one of the most ergonomically satisfying bottle fitting perfectly in your hand to the point a creationist would deem it to be created by intelligent design. Nemo is intelligently designed right down to the ball bearing supplied separately in the box to push into place and activate your purchase. A modern classic this one.

6 years ago

Mandarin Carnival

I can't help but like this, it's a mandarin smelling perfume, more of the red variety than the green. However (and this is a big 'However') I only like the opening of this fragrance. Once the volatility and zing of freshness have subsided it becomes more like shake n vac, a powdery orange smell. Not particularly appealing to me. Shame really.

6 years ago

Rosa Moceniga

I mean how bad can a musky rose be? Well not bad at all, but I felt zero engagement with this perfume. It just didn't speak to me. Even my preconceptions and the anticipation of a cliche didn't effect my judgement on it, my mind was firmly open, ready and waiting for any eventuality and I was met by niceties and good construction. Nothing grabbed me about it. Not a memorable rose perfume for me. sorry for the unhelpful review but there you go. I'll have to wear it again.

6 years ago

Suave Petals

Suave petals is not what the name or a quick glance at the notes here, suggest it is. It's a cashmere, velvet orris, musk with challenging top notes which hint at flowers but never commit to one. When settled it shows more conventional aspects, reminding me of a load of different fragrances at once, and yet I can't place a single one. The opening is slightly unnerving, disconcerting and not for me but It literally improved by the second, getting better and better, more complex. I have to wear this again to try to figure it out. Update: so I have worn this again and I have to say the opening is a flouncy, pink blouse of a femme, floral fragrance, I don’t know why I found it so ambiguous first time around? Anyway that gives way to a pretty traditional if very nice sweet, tacky (in the textural sense) warm, modern, amber (I was so tempted to use the ‘O’ word there) it has a mildly burnt caramel note to it. Definitely musks, leading a cleanliness which stops it going all out gourmand or something. This reminds me of the kind of thing worn by a woman of a certain age...perhaps in the 90’s? It’s not dressy or dolled up and could quite easily be an everyday wear sort of perfume, giving the impression of a slightly more glamorous person. To me at least. It’s a little too feminine for me if I’m honest but unquestionably a ‘good’ perfume. Not sure why I found it so enigmatic the first time I tried it but hey.

6 years ago

Mystic Incense

As a devotee to the Incense perfume genre, I'm sad to tell you that my eyes often glaze over when I read a perfume has incense in the name. Sure I still love it but there's so many and so many that don't really bring a lot that's new to the table. Whether it's 'precious' or 'Noble' or whatever...and in this case Mystic. What I will say is that MoV Mystic incense doesn't mess around in the slightest. It gives a good account of itself as far as incense is concerned covering the toffee facets of myrrh and the genuinely darker aspects found in Frankincense, usually quite a bright smell to me, if a little churchy and eerie. Olibanum and frankincense come from so many different origins that the materials can be quite different. I actually prefer the cheaper stuff to be honest and this has that roughness and impurity but lodged in the heart of quite a classy, well thought out composition. As good as it is, I actually think I'd get a little fatigued wearing it. I only tried it on my arm but it was fairly heady, I have a sample and will update this review when I wear it properly. MI is primarily a dry, spicy, woody incense which is both expected but at the same time has more impact that you might think. I feel the conflict and contradiction of my view and I'm desperately trying to be helpful. I'd say incense fans will definitely not be disappointed. Update 14/02/24 I often say I will update when I wear it 'proper' but rarely do if something doesn't take my fancy enough for me to bother ever revisiting it again. Well this did and I can honestly say that beyond the initial pleasantries and olibanum lean of this perfume, it's not something I pay big bucks for, I think there's better resinous perfumes out there, which are probably in a much less attractive bottle and that's where this brand have collectors by the nuts (or whatever you have) because no matter how mediocre or clone brandy MoV get I don't think I'm alone in searching for one that I can justify buying, simply to own one of those lovely, precious vessels. On the positive side Re: the fragrance, Peculiarly I think the gourmand element, a sort of caramel accord (actually more like fudge to me) works well with the the light and shade of the elemi/olibanum whatever is making up this 'incense' accord.

6 years ago

This is one of the best perfumes EVER! Certainly one of the most tight chypre's I've ever tried. It's epic, but not in a huge look at me way. It's not a loud flamboyant chypre, it's just a very well constructed piece. It's no slouch though, you won't forget you're wearing it. Guy Robert is a master. It was so long ago that I tried Rochas Femme (a dear perfume collector friend it) that I genuinely can't remember what it was like, nor was I a massive fan of the genre back then anyway. However this Dior makes me want to seek out Rochas Femme. To reduce fragrances down to Male and Female tropes is something I avoid but for me the oakmoss coupled with unsweetened, musky, powder in this fragrance makes it spectacularly masculine and wearable. I would urge any man who likes his classic, 70's and 80's men's stuff to try this perfume, because you'd be pleasantly suprised. I have a mini from the early 80's and it's fantastic! Mildly animalic, musky, opening gives way to a suggestion of peachy aldehyde powder, full on oakmossiness, lighly spiced carnation talc, rosehips, balanced woods and a ton of little added nuances as it dries down. It's spectacular but not dressy, it's practical, wearable on a regular basis, and feels...well...real. I need a old bottle of this.

6 years ago

Andalusian Soul

The opening few seconds are gorgeous but you can feel yourself gaining 20lbs and developing type 2 diabetes upon the first sniff. This is an indulgent vanilla scent, gourmand, nicely balanced and not too 'thick' or lumpen, however it's still absolutely too sickly and not enough interest to make it appeal to me. I'd get annoyed by it after minutes, seconds even. That's what happened.

6 years ago

Byzantium Saffron

Soooo... This is a fragrance I've wanted to try for ages for several reasons. 1) I'd love to own ANYTHING from this house as the bottles are lovely. 2) I LOVE saffron. 3) They seem to have a respectful, niche pedigree. Maybe that's the wrong word, certainly a perceived respectability as far as I can tell. 4) I've seen this one in particular at very reasonable prices at online discount retailers. Firstly, don't let the Tuscan Leather comparisons put you off, not only the fact that TL is a decent and popular fragrance and that might be wholly appealing to you, but because it's not a copy. It's strikes you as a 'TL lite' to begin with, but for me doesn't have anywhere near the nose wrinkling WTF'ness or 'raspberry' note people often describe. This is generally drier, thinner, woodier and as it dries down becomes more prominent (in a subtle way) with saffron. I like the way it evolves but it's likely to always live in the shadow of the more boombastic end of this type or sub genre of fragrance. I actually think it would be less full on or potentially annoying than TL, but that also mean it's not as rich, or big a statement piece and not as strong or long lasting either. I see this as a trade off, if you even want to make direct comparison which would be obvious (and all I've done so far in this review) but refrain if you can and accept this for the fragrance it is. I enjoyed it.

Zellige Limited Edition: Fleurs d'Oranger

6 years ago

Serge Lutens

I got this! I love a Serge Lutens but a Ltd edition Serge Lutens? Even more so. I've been thinking about adding an orange blossom perfume to my collection for a long time. I love the smell of the Orange flower absolute material I have, but not even the best natural perfumes can capture it in a practical perfume format. This Serge Lutens comes pretty damn close but still retains the overly waxy, cleanliness of what I know to be an accord created with OB aroma chemicals. I actually think the best accord I've ever made is an orange blossom one, it's not great but it's okay. The curious thing about this is that the Orange blossom turns to a cumin like, dirty, sweaty smell for about an hour after application, and combined with the sweet white floracy it reminded me of old taxi seats, magic tree and slight BO smell...doesn't sound great huh? It is though. It's somehow cleaner and more inviting, beckoning you in like clean, 'earned' sweat.Anyway this goes away and it becomes a relentless, creamy, waxy, fatty orange blossom, which delicately applied is an absolute dream. I like the Zellige design, I'm such a philistine that I didn't even know what it was, well I knew what it was not what it was called. Anyway a brilliant addition to the collection. I'm happy.

6 years ago

This is the most accurate representation of tea that I've ever encountered in a fragrance. If you've ever smelled a freshly brewed cup of assam tea, the aroma is EXACTLY like this fragrance. Deliciously malty and perfectly paired with citrus. I teared up when I first smelled this! I don't get grapefruit specifically, but more of a general lemon-leaning citrus. I was surprised by this, because I find Jo's Grapefruit to be a harsh masculine assault to my nose. (For reference, I love both citrus and masculine scents). I agree that this fragrance is definitely unisex rather than masculine. My only complaint about this is the horrific longevity. Typical for Jo, but this one is worse than normal. I maybe got a good hour before I stopped detecting it. Is it worth $200? No. However, if you LOVE tea scents like I do and can find a good deal, I'd jump on it. It's the most I've ever spent on a FS bottle ($160 incl. shipping) but sometimes if you love something enough, it's worth treating yourself.

6 years ago

Okay, this is one of those olfactory experiences that in hindsight makes sense, not that it didn't at the time but seeing who the perfumer is, comparisons it makes complete sense now. So when reaching for my first sniff of Linari I found the other bottles, intimidating and illegible with all those patterns on and such so I arrived at Notte Bianca because it was the only one I could read clearly, without squinting my eyes and screwing my face up. This was on a recent trip to Amsterdam and smelling this among other things, I did think would be hugely memorable but has remained in my olfactory data banks. I liked the bright, modern citrus and spices in the opening and the bare, starkness of it's aroma chemical heart, giving that cashmere and vetiver feeling. Now that I know it's a Mark Buxton composition I'm like..."Of course it is!" and as much as I like stuff like Bal d'Afrique, I'm just not blown away by them and having only flippantly tried this on my wrist once I couldn't commit to it. Also oddly enough on the same Amsterdam trip I actually bagged Vetiver Tonka from the Hermesence line, which has the most 'this perfume reminds me of votes' on here. Spooky. Perhaps I had meant to get this and didn't? I found the opening of Notte Bianca to have more sparkle a touch less heft of fougere warmth, but sure they share the same woody, cashmere heart.

7 years ago

Yet more opulent, modern, strangeness from this perfumer. Golden Seranade is somewhat in the mould of Rasquinet's recently notable releases like the Moon or that one for Histoires (I forget the name) and another one I've forgotten the name of...(not doing very well am I? Anywho...They have this unusual, plastic saffron, into smokey, boozy, oud vibes all at the same time. Complex, resinous, woody scents. This one is a little more accessible though and much more on the warmly spiced, boozy side of the street. I thought it was very nice and definitely evocative of the kind of Glenn Miller, smokey, romantic, early 20th Century for whatever reason. I really enjoyed it.

7 years ago

Hermessence Cedre Sambac

Hermès

This charmed me to begin with and that's what made me buy a small travel spray but I find it fascinating from a technical standpoint. The Jasmine note (accord even) is very interesting in that it's clearly emulating nature but from messing with Jasmine aroma chemicals (of which there are many) myself, I can sort of smell the genesis of this Jasmine note. For starters it seems less like a jasmine sambac to me, and although has traces of indole, which make it natural smelling, it's not a full whack of jasmine skank. This has that...inside of a banana, exotic, tropical fruit, funk and trace of ylang to it. It feels like a white flowers accord with aspects of tuberose too, and it's an interesting exercise for someone like me who is constructing recreations of florals like this to see how master perfumers like Nagel do it. Not only that but how it's carefully and skillfully blended with a woody base, that has the complimentary creaminess to accent the florals. The delivery...well it is mainly a jasmine fragrance to be honest and it lasts well and opens room filling but mellows well. I like it but it's not the most uplifting heavenly jasmine I've tried in my life.

7 years ago

Hermessence Agar Ebene

Hermès

SirCharles gives an excellent comparison below to Jo Malone's Oud and Bergamot a very original fragrance that to me smells like dark, sodden & modern wood, kinda synthetic but also some of the qualities you get from oud of certain origins. Then the bergamot which doesn't smell like bergamot, but doesn't smell enough like any other citrus not to be either. Enough about that though because although I definitely get the association, the delivery is about as different as one could possibly imagine. This has a subtlety to it, and broadly woodier theme's with a light ethereal spice to it. Light top notes, but enough to catch my interest when I sprayed it in a Hermes boutique and a mellow heart. My description doesn't do it justice, Agar Ebene is very good though. I was compelled to buy a mini travel spray.

7 years ago

I really find it hard to convey how much I love this fragrance. It's absolute magic, it's exemplary perfumery yada yada all that gushing stuff. In reality though it costs an absolute fortune and begs the question is any perfume worth dropping this kind of doe for? In a moment of weakness/stupidity....? Yes, I could be convinced. Obviously I'm not saying you are stupid if you buy this, because we all have our budgets and if you are a high roller then you can't get much better than this, truly. I mean there's plenty more expensive perfumes than this and if I had the money perhaps I would buy them all, but maybe I'd also drive a Ferrari and never wear the same pair of draws twice...? So there's that. The way it behaves on skin is amazing too. I mean initially I said about it 'filling a room' and being long lived on the strip and 'brutally strong' 'only one spray required' etc... but there's a clue in the expression there 'brutal' and that doesn't suggest a great perfume necessarily, certainly not what I'm looking for anyway. Fall into stars however only seems that way momentarily before settling into one of the most rewarding experiences only delivered by the very best perfumes in my wardrobe. I'd like to say this is only for special occasions but in reality I could wear it frequently and for any purpose and never tire of it's themes. I didn't quite know that straight away (like I said I thought it would be too strong) but wearing it today has cemented the positive feelings I had from first sniff. That first stiff is laden with oud, I mean characteristic, animalic, mild cheese, aged wood, fruits, dark booze it's a cracker and it just develops and develops. Crucially what Laudamiel has done here is make a modern seeming composition that has the heart of a middle eastern, oriental, oud attar, squarely front and centre. It has a honied depth which just keeps on giving. Then it shimmers into a gorgeous leather faceted, skin enhancement, with a huge amount of sweetness but never saccharine and no spikes from pink pepper or anything whatsoever in fact. The leather doesn't even bite, nor is it cliche smooth, you can't (at least I can't) smell any one particular material, it's a big rounded mass of a thing twinkling away like a fine cut opal or the stars the title has you falling into. Just feels like it might be a masterpiece. Thoroughly blown away by it... And being the cantankerous, misanthrope I am, I really didn't want to like it. I mean the flacon's looked average (they are actually lovely in person) the brand sort of came out of no where (don't they all?) what I mean is there's not the heritage story of a Nicholai for example. Also, I remember thinking 'she's pretty' at a lady in the pictures of the Strangelovenyc lab without realising it was Helena Christensen(!) Who is creative director. Not that it has any bearing but an interesting factoid I suppose. Also the sustainability aspect and choice of Oud as a focus may seem a bit passe now but having had a quick sniff of the other ones I can say that the quality and wonder carries through the line. The choice of Givaudan and specifically of Cool, renegade, perfumer Christophe Laudamiel was a wise one, as he seems to be teasing out the magic of oud and the other fine materials they have chosen to work with. I actually feel superior wearing it, not in a ego sense or flexing about opulent, pricey bottles or anything. I genuinely feel pity for others who don't (and really can't) smell better than me today. (wow that sounds patronising and needlessly competitive... haha) This is how I feel though, like greatness is emanating from my person. It's not fair. It's like taking an AK47 to a fist fight. If I come into some money I might buy the tiny bottle because Fall into Stars is too good not to. I think Oud lovers will like it's authenticity but I don't see it being a darling of the Attar crew. This is more about composition as as such will have a broad appeal. It's mesmerising, I am well and truly under it's spell. ps: Oh....Bless the lovely Tanja and Phine from Perfume Lounge in Amsterdam for giving me a precious sample of this stuff.

7 years ago

Big fan of Omer's work and this is no exception, the most striking thing about it for me in the opening and despite a strong lavender presence it's the animalic undertones that really show themselves early and leave you under no illusion that Zeybek ain't fuckin' about. These animal notes are perfectly weighted, musky (and I do mean deer musk) mixture between sensual, cozy ambrette and mildly pissy, animalic musk. It reminds me of shangrilide and leathery aspects of castoreum, but cleverly dosed into a very clever fragrance which switches from an aromatic, herbal top, laden with hay notes into a kind of smoothed out, lightly metallic but creamy musk. It almost has shades of musk ravegeur in the drydown, floral, lilly like (probably the narcissus?) perhaps the sweet vanillic creaminess of tonka, which you really can't smell in the opening but is very prominent when settled. I get herbs, fennel, celery salt, spices, eugenol, cloves but it's all backed by that animal feel. I think it's very, very good, interesting perfumery and totally in keeping with the style of the perfumer and brand. His work often feels like a good curry, levels and waves of spice and flavour that build and develop on your palate.

7 years ago

Amazing frag. Poor longevity. If you want a beast version of it, go for Abercrombie batch 46 or Ruehl 925 (Both now rare) The original is now rebranded as Dior Homme Original. Lovers of that one quit hating on this one.

7 years ago

This is exactly what I want from hyper-modern, avart garde perfumery and has such a fitting title for this bizarre stuff. It's a tale of two halves though because as much as I adore the opening and first hour or so of the experience, the drydown is not great for me. So the opening emerges in a low bit rate buffering of digital greenery and pixelated ozone, but then snaps into sharp focus, and electrifying HD 4k clarity. It's a Lucy in the sky, psychedelic, kaleidoscopic garden of cellophane foliage and translucent bell pepper/tomato hybrids grown in Matrix style tanks full of ruthlessly efficient, synthetic Chlorophyll. A touch metallic of course and the slight, zingy sensation of licking a battery or chewing tin foil with metal fillings. OFF TOPIC! Always wondered why people would say it hurts to chew tin foil with metallic fillings....to which my answer was always..."Well don't chew foil then nobhead!" It's really very simple. So as this wears on it becomes more of a wander through a cubist, Tron nightmare, on that Slo-mo drug from Judge Dredd or the first stage of Sonic the Hedgehog but as if it were a virtual reality tour of some holographic Zen garden, only it's all glitchy and narrated by Max Headroom. See I can't even do TRULY futuristic imagery more like what 80's & 90's pop culture thought the future might look like. However, what initially evoked the acid fuelled, swinging Beatles track in the opening, soon becomes more like Radiohead's sombre and sentimental 'Fake plastic trees' and not because of overtly synth or plastic notes, which are undoubtedly there...because I really like that about it. The drydown is actually more creamy and natural with a white floral, hand cream and vetiver combination which for me is a bit sickening and seemingly comes out of nowhere, giving a bad jolt to what was a pretty euphoric trip up to a point. Cyber Garden interests me because it's a fragrance built upon a simple premise, look at the metallic green shine of the bottle, read the name in coded font and when the smell delivers the aesthetic right into your nostrils and directly into your brain, you immediately get this perfume! It's the Olfactory equivalent of Saw or Phonebooth or Snakes on a plane... HIGH CONCEPT. If you can't explain the central plot in a single sentance then I don't want to know, and it's too complicated. The only downside is that fragrances are kinda all about those tiny details that make up for plot holes, clunky dialog and bad acting. Sadly this falls apart for me but it does transition and change into something I really couldn't smell in the opening so I guess it's clever in that respect? I sort of want it....but I know I'd hate the drydown when wearing it but damn Costume National what a way to excite this jaded fragrance fan!

7 years ago

Now I've been very nice about this line but in truth there's only really two/three of them that are truly interesting and this is one of them. This is not typical of immortelle at all, it's not as leathery but has the lightly floral, honied touches with a mixture of fresh fig and mild coconut nuances of fig leaves. For me this is a combo that works brilliantly and I don't recall smelling anything like it. For that reason I rate this perfume highly, but I haven't worn it properly or lived with it so I'm not going to commit entirely. Very impressive though from what I see as a bit of a fringe private collection scent.

7 years ago

This fragrance is spectacularly good. Truly a gem among a line that is very overlooked in truth. Many brands have these 'private' or 'exclusive' collections and I often thought it was a cash grab or something they must be seen to do, due to the success of TF, Chanel, or Dior's popular privee exclucifs. Namely D&G and Hugo Boss, companies who have fairly established mainstream lines but can't quite drum up the interest in their posh ones...At least that's how it appears to me. I'd say Gucci suffer from this only to a lesser extent, with their 'The alchemist's garden' line framed a bit more cleverly with packaging etc... Anyway...I'd seen a few of these before and tried the Ambre Tigre (which I subsequently tired again and loved despite being hard to get hyped about yet ANOTHER Amber) but an extensive session with all of them gives a picture of a really accomplished and well thought out line which achieves that most difficult thing, perfumery familiarity and skill but avoid cliches and do something new. Are they massively innovative? No... but they do enough and the quality of blend is evident in nearly all of these offerings comparible with Guerlain or something in the fact that they are not made with the intention of quick, easy impact, a leather one, a rose one, etc... So here's the incense one! haha No but seriously as much as I gravitate towards 'incense' I'm actually a bit weary of it's tropes so it's nice to get something like this which avoids them. Opens with a light airness of spice, immediately warm and a light cinnamon edge from tolu balsam and a dense labdanum, this alone sounds like a cliche but it's somehow dry with woods and more sweetness of vanilla which builds and builds until you are left with a base of it. Despite this bezoin/vanilla/labdanum this scent doesn't come off like an amber, it's light and ethereal, wafted smoke and bite from incense but presented with restraint. I thought it was great. Has the magic touch and my seal of approval for sure.

7 years ago

Wow! to say this has a macaron note is very telling, the whole texture of this piece is like the feel of a macaron. Solid, but that's merely the facade, the gossamer thin shell with a much more caked powder, and springy, spongey interior, lurking underneath. It has the characteristic light flavouring of a macaron too, in this case pears and red berry aldehydes, maybe a touch of apricot? It's a real diffusive, musk driven piece, sweet, warm, tender but sparse kinda powdery, futuristic, gourmand. I think it's inextricably...brilliant! Yeah.... I know. That's two Ariana Grande fragrances in a row that I reckon are pretty decent. I think it's just my taste at the moment and attempts at appreciating the technical aspects of very, single molecule driven compositions. I kinda like a stack of aroma chemicals that add up to more than the sum of their parts, seeming easy to achieve or generic to some, when in actuality they are moments or traces away from being something very lovely indeed. It's not incredible, but I'd like to try it again and god forbid I have one of these massive, embarrassing bottles in my collection. It would be like a fabulous blight in my wardrobe. A 'My little pony' unicorn among your hermetically sealed, mint condition, Original, He-Man & Star Wars collectables. It's tempting though, as it's dead cheap and I probably would find it easy to wear.

Hermessence Ambre Narguile

7 years ago

Hermès

For starters.... I love this fragrance. I didn't know I did, because despite being aware of it for years I'd never bothered to seek it out. At this point it's worth mentioning that I own PdM Oajan which is a very similar, I'd say louder to the point of spinal tap, more honied, spikier more obvious cinnamon, just more of everything and that came nearly a decade after Jean Claude Ellena created this little beauty. So this has the Cinnamon but it's more reserved, an amber like resinous body of benzoin, sweetness from vanilla but the heart is a darker, honied tobacco sort of smell, laden with spice. It's completely adorable and what I like is that it has all the stuff I love from Oajan but in softer focus, not a brutish and more quietly, respectfully humming away. There's a Daniel Josier which to me is an even more dense, less complex version of Oajan and despite all the similarities between these three, wearing (owning) them I suspect it becomes easier to tell them apart. Ambre Narguile appears to be the genesis though and a very lovely thing JCE brought into the world, I'm enjoying it massively today.

7 years ago

Encre Noire a L'Extreme

Lalique

So....I used to be really good at keeping up with new releases and Lalique was a brand I struggled with because they are barely stocked in the UK anymore. Well that's not true EVERY UK based online discounter has them but I'm not blind buying even at a reasonable price. I mean stores that used to carry them, simply don't anymore and that coincided with this release so I never got to sniff the stuff. I love Lalique as a brand too, many of the fragrances are super classy works, even if they are super cheap raw material wise (yes a formula boasting 80% Iso E Super, I'm looking at you!) and Encre Noire is an example of that. To me it smells very faintly of citrus, dry graphite and a smoky dose of Cedar & Vetiveryl acetate...oh and IES. That's it's genius though! Anyway, enough about the original what's this one like? I found it to be an incense type of opening more like a GPH I or a CdG Man, that kind of thing. Peppercorns flung onto some impossibly white hot, cosmic, griddle pan, instantaneously sublimating on impact into a diffuse, peppery, vapour. Then a cypress/cedar, some sandalwood, spicy, softness but more of that raw, gloomy day, Vetiver from the original. I like that Lalique have continued with the dreary and bleak EN aesthetic when they could quite easily just make the crap that other brands churn out, yet they refuse to do so, even the 'sport' flanker in this line had the original at it's core. I think L'Extreme is alright.