It basically smells like Rochas Femme and Portrait of a Lady having an amorous spider fight on Lesbos. Then Patchouli starts perving on them. But it's also not that AT ALL. So it's finally here, Eugen's fragrance brand and I was privileged to be one of the guinea pigs, testing the water with acerbic, hard to please, so called 'reviewers'. This fragrance is perculiarly rosier at a distance than it is close up, on skin. On skin it's a sensual, spicy thing, at least to begin with. So honestly the rose is very measured, has some sweetness in the form of a pear type top note, then the twinkle of iris or violet to it, powdery in a slightly oldskool manner, there's a faint note of cumin or something giving that effect and then balmy resinous warmth. It's not a typical amber (did someone mention myrrh?) because it's much darker than the usual sweet benzoin or biting labdanum amber, also, myrrh and patchouli play very nicely together, especially in a composition so gentle as this one. The woody patchouli which follows is not obtuse or chocolatey, it's quite angular (for a while) and often thought to be synthetic smelling but that is just the way some patchouli oils are. All hangs cohesively with a kind of softness on the skin. The wearing experience is much more dusty and dusky and with a sombre tone, than perhaps my description would have you believe. Exquisite really is the word and I'm not just soft soaping and bypassing my critical eye because I consider Eugen a pal and because I really like and respect the people behind this brand like Antoine Lie, and Atelier Francais des matieres those high expectations made it have to work harder if anything. But this perfume has delivered. I think due to the name and the inspiration, there's a feeling that it should be more bombastic and impactful, but just think for a second about the sorts of perfume Eugen enjoys. Chanel for starters, I mean they sort of exist in a whole chic, echelon all of their own, and this is perfume which glimpes that aesthetic, it's not trying to wow you with the latest 'niche' fad or starfish notes or cannabis or grab your money because it's a Youtuber fragrance. It's about painting with a familiar palate to convey emotion, and for me, it does just that. Do not mistake refinement for banality. My particular enjoyment of this could be down to the fact I'm in the market for a rose at the moment and one which is not sweet or trope laden, and has a patchouli with some bite but also has dreamy, pussycat drydown and classic perfumery nods, and frankly this perfume has all those things. So good on Eugen and everyone involved for creating something really great with a meaningful brief. I know something of what this perfume means to him and where it's come from artistically, emotionally and that makes it all the more meaningful to me personally, and that's the only valid reason I might agree with as to why I connect with the perfume and why I could be a little biased. Speaking objectively, Antoine Lie has been involved in two other brands I can think of in recent years, in Eris and Les Indemodables, both of which I raved and gushed about, with no vested interest, so it stands to reason that a similar brand will also tickle my fancy. What I do find remarkable, is that each of these brands are distinctly different, as good as Les Indemodables are La Douleur Exquise is not just Les Indemodables MKII, it's not more of the same. Okay quality and artistically sure, and that's a good thing, but it's still a unique prospect and that is credit to Lie and Eugen. I can't wait to see what else this brand has to offer because this is a strong first outing for me, without being all shiny shiny, look at me, I think this will slowly plod on and grow in stature. I genuinely love it anyway, great perfume, take my money!