Æxtra Æther 2019

smells nutty, sweet, creamy and clean, it really reminds of hazelnuts, peanuts, or even almonds, more specifically, it reminds me of an icecream that I used to eat, paçoca icecream

overall, not bad but I don't think I would wear this, I liked the Javanol from Molecule 04 more, that one came out more and had a more interesting profile

Synthetics in fragrances are known to be a tricky subject. Depending on the case, it can be both a curse and a blessing. With a fragrance label called Aether, one can assume that synthetic ingredients are more or less part of the business model. And so it will likely be part of the brief given to the perfumers that they are allowed to indulge in their chemistry kits as they please in their creations.

So, those who prefer purely natural scents will probably not enjoy the Aether fragrances. Everyone else can delight in modern, progressive, daring, experimental, extraordinary, or borderline experiences.

With Æxtra, it starts off with a rather chemical mishmash reminiscent of glue and nail polish remover. After a few minutes, when the molecules have lined up in such a way that one can make sense of the sprayed scent olfactorily, a creamy mélange of citrus notes and a bit of sandalwood develops.

This is already something to work with and smells absolutely pleasant. Unfortunately, only for a short window of time, which seems to close again after just a few minutes. After that, it doesn’t become quite as synthetic as at the beginning, but it remains a strongly unnatural atmosphere - and for many hours.

I fear that many would then tend to scrub the substance off their skin or at least wrinkle their noses in disgust. I myself, as a precaution, chose a day working from home for testing. Accordingly, I didn’t have to consider others, but I thought this was one of the most personally negative fragrance experiences in a long time - even though the creamy lemon-sandalwood note has its roughly 5 minutes of charm.