06/17/2025

Elysium
888 Reviews

Elysium
2
The Running of the Bulls
Picture this: you’re standing in the heart of Pamplona, where ancient cobblestones catch the morning sun and the air crackles with anticipation. Every July, this sleepy Spanish city awakens with a thunderous roar—not from cathedral bells, but from the chupinazo rocket that signals the start of San Fermín. What follows is pure magic. The narrow medieval streets, usually serene, suddenly pulse with life as crowds dressed in brilliant white and crimson flood every corner. It’s that extraordinary moment when reverence meets recklessness, when centuries of tradition collide with modern-day madness.
And then, just after dawn breaks, you hear it—the thundering hooves echoing through the twisting alleyways. The Running of the Bulls transforms the entire city into a living, breathing arena. Hundreds of brave souls test their mettle against charging bulls, their hearts pounding as fast as their feet on those timeworn stones.
That energy—raw, electric, beautiful chaos—is what first drew me to Encantado Pamplona, a fragrance I’ve worn since May 2025. One glance at the bottle and I was hooked. Those bold strokes of red and white against midnight black—it felt like glimpsing the festival through an artist’s eye. The sea of white shirts and red scarves, the movement, the adrenaline, all captured in glass. But what does this festival feel like on the skin?
From the moment Encantado Pamplona alights upon the skin, it announces itself not with a shout, but with a confident hum. The opening bursts alive: sparkling citrus—zesty lime, sharp grapefruit, and sunlit lemon—fizzes across the senses like champagne bubbles in the morning air. A snap of cracked black pepper cuts through, adding just enough bite to make the brightness feel precise, not playful.
As the top notes fade, the fragrance's heart unfurls: vetiver, rich and grounding. But this isn’t the dusty, rooty vetiver you may know. Here, it’s fresh and multifaceted—like roots pulled from damp earth after rain, still cool and mineralic. There’s a flinty edge, even a faint spark of gunpowder, giving it a bold, almost elemental quality. The citrus lingers, softened now, a steady glow filtering through aromatic foliage. It’s a dance between energy and restraint, nature and polish.
In the drydown, Encantado Pamplona reveals its soul. The vetiver mellows, joined by warm amberwood—smooth, resinous, and quietly powerful. There’s a whisper of dry hay here, adding a pastoral elegance. The scent settles into the skin like sun-warmed timber, refined yet deeply rooted. It becomes not just something you wear, but something you inhabit.
For me, this fragrance shines brightest in the cooler months of autumn and winter, when its earthy richness comes alive. But its freshness offers a quietly confident lift even in early spring on crisp mornings. It’s too commanding for sweltering summer days, yet a cool evening could welcome its embrace.
Encantado Pamplona is more than a scent. It’s a bottled reckoning—the exhilaration of racing bulls down a cobbled street, the calm that follows when you realize you’re still standing, heart pounding, spirit alight. It’s elegance in motion, a wild tradition tamed just enough to wear.
I wrote my thoughts based on a bottle I’ve owned since May 2025.
-Elysium
And then, just after dawn breaks, you hear it—the thundering hooves echoing through the twisting alleyways. The Running of the Bulls transforms the entire city into a living, breathing arena. Hundreds of brave souls test their mettle against charging bulls, their hearts pounding as fast as their feet on those timeworn stones.
That energy—raw, electric, beautiful chaos—is what first drew me to Encantado Pamplona, a fragrance I’ve worn since May 2025. One glance at the bottle and I was hooked. Those bold strokes of red and white against midnight black—it felt like glimpsing the festival through an artist’s eye. The sea of white shirts and red scarves, the movement, the adrenaline, all captured in glass. But what does this festival feel like on the skin?
From the moment Encantado Pamplona alights upon the skin, it announces itself not with a shout, but with a confident hum. The opening bursts alive: sparkling citrus—zesty lime, sharp grapefruit, and sunlit lemon—fizzes across the senses like champagne bubbles in the morning air. A snap of cracked black pepper cuts through, adding just enough bite to make the brightness feel precise, not playful.
As the top notes fade, the fragrance's heart unfurls: vetiver, rich and grounding. But this isn’t the dusty, rooty vetiver you may know. Here, it’s fresh and multifaceted—like roots pulled from damp earth after rain, still cool and mineralic. There’s a flinty edge, even a faint spark of gunpowder, giving it a bold, almost elemental quality. The citrus lingers, softened now, a steady glow filtering through aromatic foliage. It’s a dance between energy and restraint, nature and polish.
In the drydown, Encantado Pamplona reveals its soul. The vetiver mellows, joined by warm amberwood—smooth, resinous, and quietly powerful. There’s a whisper of dry hay here, adding a pastoral elegance. The scent settles into the skin like sun-warmed timber, refined yet deeply rooted. It becomes not just something you wear, but something you inhabit.
For me, this fragrance shines brightest in the cooler months of autumn and winter, when its earthy richness comes alive. But its freshness offers a quietly confident lift even in early spring on crisp mornings. It’s too commanding for sweltering summer days, yet a cool evening could welcome its embrace.
Encantado Pamplona is more than a scent. It’s a bottled reckoning—the exhilaration of racing bulls down a cobbled street, the calm that follows when you realize you’re still standing, heart pounding, spirit alight. It’s elegance in motion, a wild tradition tamed just enough to wear.
I wrote my thoughts based on a bottle I’ve owned since May 2025.
-Elysium