Kashi, from Parfumeurs du Monde was released in 2016. The perfumer behind this creation is Isabelle Gellé. It has the top notes of Fennel, Hibiscus, Iris, and Pepper, middle notes of Amber, Jasmine, Licorice, Osmanthus, Patchouli, and Peach, and base notes of Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, and Ylang-Ylang.
So composition wise, I could be harsh and say that this is a mess, and I do kinda think that but what I have to accept is that this kind of perfume simple is not my aesthetic. (I've borrowed this term from my pal Clayton to describe natural perfume I really want to be bitchy about in a diplomatic and measured way.) So bare that in mind. Also bear in mind that I've read the notes because I blind sniffed it a couple of times and didn't really have much of a clue what the perfume is trying to do, my guesses were patchouli and tonnes of ambery resins and that it much of the opening to be fair. The wierdest thing I'd say is that the opening does have a herbal, spicy nature to it (I wish it was overtly fennel) but I'd say dominated by smoky patchouli and thick, amber it reminds me of Slumberhouse (dunno which one?) just the whole thing, it's that classic, natural perfumery, onslaught. The florals really start to kick and you get that brushy, dry, amalgam of pot pouri or a hippy shop, jos sticks and whittled shit all fighting for attention. The opening is EVERYTHING, and I don't mean that in the popular, positive way people say (women & gays mainly, so all my IG perfume pals basically haha) like they might say 'Britney is EVERYTHING' or whatever? I quite literally mean this is a chaotic, primordial brew, jutting out whatever you want it to! Which is kinda good perfume I suppose? It's a tough one for me. I'm confused. However, then something seismic occurs and as someone who irritatingly prides themselves on predicting the plot of movies or TV series, and to be fair with a pretty reasonable degree of accuracy (not that it's anything to be particularly proud of) I'd have never guessed who Kashi was going to evolve. The temperature gets a touch more chilly and then a chalky, powdery, peach infused, smell of osmanthus really begins to dominate. I'D NEVER HAVE PREDICTED THAT TWIST!!!! NO WAY!!!! It's not all fun and games though, smells like decayed roses and dry Geraniol from some natural absolutes and breathe deep of the drydown and you get the nuttiness probably of the sandalwood in the base. I mean this is clearly a really good fragrance and I'm not, not enjoying it. Kashi just ain't my bag. I see this variety of natural perfumery as too reliant on great, raw materials (not a bad thing necessarily) but not enough about composition and finesse.Perhaps I'm being unfair and snobby but there you are. Kashi is rescued from being a total soup by that prominent Osmanthus, which made it much more palatable, interesting and added a kind of freshness to what would've other wise been a bit of a witchy, and stuffy affair.