Promise is a bold and daring perfume, one that really challenges the senses and shouldn’t be dismissed too hastily. It opens with an explosion of juicy apple and sharp pink pepper which is both refreshing and incredibly pungent. From here a duo of two classic roses emerge to balance the harsh apple with soft floral touches. As this settles on the skin - a dry, earthy cypriol and patchouli become the stars of the show. For me this is where people find the scent to be challenging, cypriol definitely isn’t for everyone. There’s some spicy touches and animalic castoreum lurking in the background, but they’re not overly noticeable. I’ll be honest, this one took some time for me to appreciate it. I was so close to selling my bottle but I stuck it out and wore it a few more times, and ended up falling in love with it. I really had to take the time to understand this fragrance and build a relationship with it. Definitely not for casual wear and definitely not mass appealing.
So the kindness of a Instagram acquaintance allowed me to try this fragrance as he very graciously sent me a bucket load of samples. The notes he described had me interested but the actual execution left me a bit cold. I don't hate Promise nor do I find it a wild or raw experience as some have decribed. The combination of jammy rose and apple, I thought would be magic but it turns out makes a strawberry/raspberry leaf smell to me. This on top of a dry, cade like, crude leather accord which for me has some depth, because sniffing for long enough you can pick out stuff you like, but the whole thing seems to be distinctly lacking character or likeability. It reminded me of the effect of La Yuqawam Tobacco blaze, like the unpleasantly dry and pale wrapper of a bad, or imitation Cuban cigar, coupled with an ashy, staleness, stagnant and lacking vigour. It's clearly better and more rounded than the rasasi fragrance and it does have the fruity element, against the woody dryness, which usually works. It's unique anyway. I'll pass on this. Oh at this point I'll just say that my partner...she went wild for this absolutely loved it, so what do I know huh?
À bin with a few days' worth of rotting apples and old flowers. On someone else I think this could work but my skin amps up the bin juice aspect.