Cepes and Tuberose Aftelier

Should I find this truly great or just almost great?

Awakened by Ralle's good comment years ago, I had samples from Aftelier sent to me some time ago, particularly of Cepes and Tuberose. By the way, it's worth it not only because of C&T, but also because of various other fragrances by Mandy Aftel (Fig, Shiso, Cuir de Gardenia) who creates distinctly organic niche fragrances and sells them (at confidently calculated prices) through her own website.

C&T is one of those tuberose fragrances that can also be worn well by men, - and this category has fascinated me for some time now that I have compiled my own folder in my collection on this topic (Tuberose XY) to keep track of it.

Since tuberose is a flower that is generally strongly associated with feminine accents, it rarely appears in men's fragrances; and precisely for this reason, its use in masculine or unisex fragrances is particularly appealing, - similar to how rose has been elegantly integrated in Il Profvmo's Touaregh and Domenico Caraceni's 1913.

Only 50 men's fragrances with a tuberose component are listed on Parfumo (out of a total of about 14,000 men's fragrances), while there are just over 400 unisex fragrances (out of a total of 18,000 unisex fragrances).

What’s the point of all this statistics? Ultimately, it perhaps illustrates how complicated it must be for any perfumer to compose men's fragrances with a tuberose component or to use tuberose in fragrances that are explicitly not women's fragrances. One can talk endlessly about how men can (and perhaps should) wear women's fragrances; with tuberose, so to speak, the fun stops, unless... the perfumer achieves a stroke of genius, as is the case here with this scent.

The smell of mushrooms carries a somewhat musty quality, as Ralle aptly noted in the preceding comment. This diffuse mustiness, the aroma of forest floor and subtly herbaceous severity beautifully dampens the tuberose and curbs its feminine eroticism just enough that a man does not feel like he is drowning in a sea of flowers.

From my perspective, the scent is in no way experimental, difficult, or requires getting used to; rather, it is avant-garde in the good sense of the word, while also being simple and clear, as there are hardly any other accents alongside the two mentioned components.

For the statistics fans: Besides C&T, only eight other fragrances with porcini absolute are listed on Parfumo, only six are still being produced, and none of them belong to well-known manufacturers.

The development of C&T remains exciting: both the mushroom scent and the tuberose fade away gently in equal measure, with neither component gaining the upper hand. The progression is thus somewhat linear, yet it always remains in charming balance: a perfect harmony.

A scent for mushroom collectors and statisticians? Hardly.
A scent for lovers of a style-conscious avant-garde.

Should I find this truly great or just almost great? The rating fluctuates between 90 and 100%.