Very incense leaning amber perfume, has that bright, freshness of olibanum/elemi/mastic in the opening and beginning of the experience but that could just be an expression of the labdanum here. Clearly it’s a classic accord of amber in that it does have something of a dryness, warmth and gentle rounding of vanilla but feels less the stuffy ‘old book’ vibes and much more radical, and spaciously uncluttered. I like it. Etro do smell something of yesterday, even feeling a little ‘aged’ (possibly because they are now?) but with a freshness to them (in terms of ideas) and quality. Yeah I like it, I mean I wouldn’t go too mad, it’s an amber perfume at the end of the day and isn’t trying to be super complex or artistically challenging, but for a perfume connoisseur who fancies something a bit more scarce and unusual from a collecting point of view, Etro is a brand which garners some Kudos there as well.

Okay so I need to temper my review here because I could have the potential to wax lyrical about this one and I'm aware that this fragrance may not be everyone's cup of tea nor is it by any means breaking any new ground but I think that is precisely why I adore it. When folks (usually me) say stuff like...'they don't make um like this anymore.' It's usually about some bleary old vintage Men's bollocks. There have been attempts by indy perfumers and brands who are fans of a certain era and style of perfume to evoke classic masculine tropes with varying degrees of success. I get the intent and I'm here for it but the execution is more often than not, left wanting. Not in the case of Cologne Officinale. I'm assuming the name is referential to a sort of Italian style of perfumery because it has the fresh 'Amalfi' vibes coupled with the requisite 'soapiness' often described in Italian perfumery. What's not very 'Cologne' about it is the lack of white florals, or waxiness and it's not a fleeting perfume by any means. Citrus accord is bittersweet and long lasting, instantly fresh and arresting but has a depth and quality to it. The next phase is a growing mossy note/accord and some degree of 'push' and floracy from like a hedione effect, a la Eau Sauvage. The comparisons should end there though because this does have a distinctly different vibe thanks in part to some of that green galbanum, although it's not as present or green as something like that Les Abstraits one I love or other masculine focused recent efforts but is on a par quality wise. This really feels like it could be an 80's Men's vintage 'Sport' flanker thing but with all the top notes intact and a modernised feel. This is precisely why I will give it some creativity points because it feels somewhat modernised and not just a copy or hommage to fusty old bizz, which it so easily could be mistaken for. Make no mistake though, even with this there's no surprises in Cologne Officianale other than it's being released in 2023 by a brand which for me have never really done much I'm interested in. Top marks to Heeley for recognising the need for something like this in this era of dreck and rehash, yes I'm saying that about a WOODY, MOSSY, CITRUS, COLOGNE FOR MEN....but good is good, and this is VERY GOOD. Also reasonably priced for a niche perfume and something I would wear the shit out of in the same way I do an Eau Sauvage or a Cerrutti 1881 so a 100ml bottle is something I can see in my future for sure.

This is a fantastic perfume, it really is. Opens with exotic florals but not so much so that it would alienate non floral lovers because it's inherent warmth and classic charm, just gently simmers beneath. It then becomes a sort of rose and sandalwood accord with a degree of depth, warmth, and darker intrigue, than the opening would suggest and hat tipping to it's forebears, perhaps Sheldrake's SL Santal Majescule and the ilk? This perfume is a good example of what a well rounded perfumer Pissara is, yes it has her signature floral and warm base characteristics but I think this one displays yet another way of presenting those elements. I loved wearing it today, I like it's progression, how gentle but present it is and the overall quality. Bravo!

This is a pretty pale leathery thing. Undoubtedly a saffronic, suederal leatherette, thingy and it’s a decent (if slightly pedestrian) leather accord. Fine. It has no remarkable or unique features to it. There’s an offness and offsetting of sweetness with something akin to the papryrus note you get in certain sandalwood based fragrances which shall remain nameless, but this avoids being totally awful for it. I mean it’s okay. It’s not a softy, fleshy iris leather, nor is it an animalic castoreum or particularly saffron twanging leather (yes I do realise I mentioned saffron at the beginning) it’s very sanitised to me, minimal and simple to the point it feels a bit empty, emotionally and in a very real sense. ‘Clean’ suede is perhaps the most on the nose name they could’ve come up with, and perhaps that is the point? It’s a well made perfume and just about creative enough (doesn’t seem to copy anything I can immediately think of) and I didn’t hate wearing it, don’t get me wrong.

To me this is an interesting citrus/floral perfume with a woody, sweet amber effect in the base and that hay like warm Pissara likes to get into her perfumes. The most interesting thing for me is that nutty, vetiver-ish effect achieved in this perfume and it reminds me of somewhat of a recent trend (but not really) like that new Jardin one from Hermes, a fresh fruity/citrus but with quite a dense, sweet woods & amber base. Looking at the notes here I'd say yes! Yuzu definitely, the signature floral heart of jasmine yada yada...sure. then we have the vetiver I mentioned, absolutely! Just to speak to the comparisons to BR540 which in a very, crude way, I understand but I'd say it's misleading to say it smells like BR540. This is way less oppressively sweet and cloying and has virtually none of the ambroxan, or 'push' of Baccarat rouge I think there's a maltol sweetness and perhaps mossiness which they have in common and in that sense is more modern and align These qualities some will associate with BR540 but in terms of naturalism and lightness/floracy there's no comparison at all. I say this as someone who doesn't hate the Kurkdjian perfume either. (Although it is irritatingly ubiquitous on the high street these days) I'm enjoying wearing this today but it doesn't blow my skirt up.

Hard not to enjoy this gorgeous opening, white floral perfume which is subtle enough for non indolic or heavy LotV, Jamsine, Tuberose fans to get with but at the same time satisfying the hardcore because of the deft touch and quality of materials on display. It's a gentle perfume and perhaps in comparison to some of Pissara's other work, lacks that heavy, hay warm, or bitter juxtaposition she achieves, This is much more of a straight forward ode to lovely floral and pleasant perfumery. This very middlin' ness might just not play in it's favour because it's not really a Jasmine perfume, nor is it a gardenia, lilly of the valley or tuberose... but it's sort of all of them. It's hard to be super creative with these kind of staples but I really let this one off because it's very nice, only nice for me, and I'm moving on.

I rather cheekily I fear, sent a formula for my own fig perfume to Christophe for comment.... still waiting. Haha Anyway, this is quite possibly one of the most incredible fig perfumes a fig for fig lovers, not the popularized sweet, dried or caramelized fig or indeed coconut inflected fig leaf type perfume this is pure, barely sweetened, fig business for the hardcore enthusiast. It has velvety texture and a cooling effect, the accord I perceive as containing a lot of stemone (which I think is the most abundant molecule in real fig?) and it's almost similar aura to geranium, dry, cool, almost minty but floral as well. Great observation of fig because there's some of the tree there, something of that milky aspect and greens, texturally fascinating and balanced really well. Having said all of this, it might be a little too raw for me to wear? As much as I can admit that L'artsian Parfumeur or Armani or Acqua di Parma's figs are a little pleasant and sweetly sanitised, far from the visceral study this perfume is, but I hate myself for saying this...a bit more wearable. I need to sample more, perhaps something will click? Because I'm prepared to get on board and love this, I can accept it's brilliance already.

Very strange this one... but I kinda love it!!!! Absolutely eternal on the strip and skin and clothes and anything it touches frankly. Confusing, bitter and razor sharp greenery in the opening, needling through a some signature heft, yet lightness of Christophe's creations. The rhubarb aspect of this stays strong and present, driving this perfume but it's no Rhubarb my love, this is more aloof, queer and modern.

So I think I've previously said enough about this brand having only tried a handful, and not really being a fan of the marketing or aesthetic here, I'm trying to judge the perfumes themselves fairly, because the folks behind the brand have opted for an array of different perfumers and a shitload of bases to cover, so I guess fair enough. If the samples were a bit cheaper or the brand sent me them, obviously I would've sampled more and could give a better impression. I feel the brand has taken Tom Ford's 'let's have a few naughty/sweary names' approach and gone apeshit (not one of their names GONEAPESHIT haha) with it, but anyway. Fig Porn is a okay perfume I suppose and I get the fig accord here but it's overly sweet, too much ethyl maltol (which is actually essential in fig accords but used sparingly) and it just seems a little naïve and not really studying the fig which has much fresher aspects and stemone and such. I get that this is a sticky, dried fig or whatever...super sweet something I'd actually thought was lacking in fig perfumes but be careful what you wish for I guess? At least Figuer eden and Philosykos and Fig my love, etc...all very different examples of figs BTW, but one thing they have in common is that fresh and realistic feeling, sadly lacking in fig porn. I mean a disclaimer could be... READ THE NOTES!!! It's not supposed to be a fig perfume, There's loads of other shit in there, we flipped it. We subverted it. We're SO cool, you fucking idiot! I guess that's where this brand just starts to piss me off again with it's smartarsery and contempt for the customer. As I see it. (Sorry my contempt for the brand keeps rearing it's ugly head) So it's a fruity, densely packed opening reminding me of carmelised, fruity floral nothings of the desginer realm, like angel but without the earth. Fig porn does however dry down much better and much more appealing as a more lactonic aspect softens everything and it smells way more balanced and actually more figgy. So all in all not bad if you survive the opening assault of ethyl maltol which I perhaps hastily thought was clumsily dosed but becomes far more agreeable as the perfume wears on. Fig porn is okay by me.

Oh Dangerous curves, How I love the OTT perfumery of thee. Instantly smashes you over the head with perfumey, perfume stuff, I describe it as the excitement of smelling the air as you approach a perfume department, which many would think to be the more tenacious, divisive stuff, a cloud of ambrox and woody ambers (which it almost certainly can be) but I have a much more romantic meaning in mind, it's the tingle of labdanum and the heady swoosh of roses freshened with fruits and pink pepper, floralisers and all that shit! This is the stuff that gets me primed with anticipation to smell some new perfumes and probably tricked into buying stuff I really shouldn't, but hey ho! Dangerous curves is a perfume made for Transgender model and socialite Amanda Lapore and it's just as much of a warping of the Marilyn Monroe aesthetic, in olfactory form. This is a BIG perfume but it's not vulgar or too much it's actually very refined for all it's power. I actually get a resinous opening to me, spicy, labdanumish, somewhat sharp, full bodied mildly fruity. Then all the sparkle and effervescent booze of the champagne which I often associate with cognac materials. An indolic sort of civety blast just washes over, the most subtle nod to classic perfumery and then it's gone. The rose is quite powdery to start off but then you get that cosmetic iris feel but it's more ionones than irones, it's nothing like Malle's Lipstick rose or anything of the sort, I'd say it's merely a smudge of lippy. What it did remind me of was Amouage Lyric Man and woman, as she settles in to a lovely soapy, airy rose accord, really lovely but doesn't quite have the same whispy, floating smoke quality (not smoky) because there's some other heavyweight ambery type accords in here but possibly led me to believe there may have been some olibanum which could add to that bubbly, airiness? I think it's fantastic anyway, lots of common themes perhaps but the execution is so different and allows for quite a busy composition to feel like it has breathing space, not an easy thing to achieve. Throw expectations out of the window and enjoy this perfume for the lovely experience that it is. Wonderful.