Cyber Garden, from CoSTUME NATIONAL was released in 2013. The perfumer behind this creation is Antoine Lie. It has the top notes of Bergamot, Grapefruit, Green Notes, and Pink Pepper, middle notes of Geranium, Saffron, Vinyl, and Violet Leaf, and base notes of Labdanum, Oakmoss, Opoponax, Patchouli, and Vetiver.
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!