Opens very similar to Girl by CdG (also by Lie) but then the pine comes in, and the complexity develops, and it becomes grown up, rich and sensual. Wonderful.
{Full disclosure: Eugen is someone I consider a friend (not a 'brand' or 'collaborator' I'm certainly not being paid for this review) and very kindly sent me a bottle of this as he sites me as being instrumental in the initial phase of development of his brand and ideas about which direction to go in. (not that I was aware that's what was happening like) I'm extremely humbled that he gives me that credit, and I'm so glad things worked out so well ,and he got the quality and artistic integrity he was looking for, which is all down to Eugen's vision and I never doubted him for a minute!} Oh well.... Eugen's olfactory triptych is complete and what a way to finish in style. As much as I love Belle Ame with it's gorgeously opulent yet understated orris and tonka themes, and La douleur exquise exploded onto the scene with it's tearjerking emotional inspiration was a seemingly quite a mellow, rose/patchouli affair but actually is far more mysterious and spicy on skin & requires much more wear and thought than you initially think. However Des Cendres has to be my favourite of the lot, but what a bunch and what a set of bases to cover with such aplomb. Then we come to Des Cendres (ashes) and it's a really interesting contrast of the green and vibrant, the trad-masculine and the ashen, dry, leathered or smoky. I think to say this is a 'smoky' fragrance is overstating the smoke, and perhaps misleading, really doing something of a disservice to the cleverness with which the 'ashes' are deployed in this composition. The leathery accord is spiced slightly (to me it felt like coriander or celery seed even beloved caraway/cumin) and that creates this very 'grey' ashen effect a bit more cade, as apposed to the 'black' ash of a birch tar. (actually listed here though) So... The green element is not atypical of galbunum but it's definitely resinous, and I was surprised how different it was to Bel Repiro by Chanel (a perfume I know is one of Eugen's favourites) and Green Spell by Eris parfums (another green perfume from Antoine Lie) something I wouldn't have been a fool to expect. However, this is much more akin to 80's powerhouse men's perfumes and really brings to mind the potent, aromatic themes of Polo green, but it's like the best possible Polo green you could imagine, crafted with the finest materials. (I just noticed someone has compared it to Aliage by Estee Lauder which is a decent comparison too) The opening is actually VERY FLORAL for me, and I was a little perplexed when I started seeing reviews and chatter and no body mentioned just how floral this is throughout, but at the start especially. It's very wet, lush, but breezy I was thinking of gardenia, or cyclamen and of course this mildly indolic, waxen jasmine. This turned out to be tuberose! I'd be fascinated to smell the 'grand cru' used in this perfume because it has a very special quality, and that's one thing I love about tuberose, just how different it can be from origin/extraction method etc.... I actually got a friend to try this when it arrived and he ADORED the thing, saying he was immediately transported to a very posh, gentlemen's club bathroom, with green tiles, steam and shave soap, the slightly animalic whiff of sport sweat. And now to the bitter mossy and animalic/musky elements of the base which give that leather accord masses and masses of character IMHO. It was hyraceum, a unusual but not unexpected addition to this perfume and it forms a long, long lasting base which sticks to your skin with just the right amount of funk, and not a reliance on woody ambers or ambroxan or anything similar as a dominant single bit of trickery. This is a very naturalistic and well blended accord that isn't too stinky or anything but just hums away after a good 12 hours of everything else, the bitter woodiness, the florals etc....I genuine think this is a sublime fragrance and probably the best vision Lie has given us of what can be achieved when great ideas, fantastic materials and a respect for it's forbears, come together to create a respectful but modern hommage to man pong of days gone by. It's astoundingly good!
Have you tried this fragrance?
Share your experience and help others discover great scents
This is magnificent.
Green and smokey, and a definite tribute to 70s mens' powerhouse fragrances, this is a prime example of taking that DNA then updating and bettering it. The key here is both the high quality of the ingredients, and the intense, ashy birch tar core which gives it a serenity and emotional depth. It's leathery and animalic, aromatic, bitter, floral, mossy. Longevity is eternal, projection ferocious- two sprays at the absolute maximum is needed.
I loved this from the outset, and didn't even get a third of the way through my little sample vial before splurging on a full-sized bottle. An all-year rounder, except on the very hottest of days, there's something very compelling about this scent that demands unequivocal attention and devotion.
Luca Turin apparently recently wrote a scathing review of this but, frankly, what does he know? You'd think he was a perfume expert or something. I adore it, and it sits very comfortably in my top 5 favourite perfumes of all time.