Tomo Fresh Annayake 2012

Beautiful when nature finally awakens after dark winter months. The sun sends its first warming rays and there is hardly anything in the sky except for a rich shade of blue. From my office, I have a good view of some cherry trees in full bloom. I feel a certain closeness to Fuji. Exactly the right time for Tomo Fresh - which, however, has nothing Asian about it.

It roughly goes in the same direction as Joop! Go, but Tomo Fresh has a much more beautiful dry down for me. After 10 hours, Go smells musky-fresh and slightly woody, but the air is definitely out of it. Tomo Fresh achieves this much warmer, softer, and rounder. But more on that shortly.

Annayaké is basically a private label of Douglas; at least in Germany, the products were exclusively available there. By now, that seems to be less strict. I bought it around three years ago, and I still like it today. However, the slim, almost 20 cm tall bottle has led a terribly neglected life in my perfume drawer. “Last worn 638 days ago,” the overview in the Parfumo Assistant reminded me.

The top note described with citrus fruits reveals lime freshness, bergamot, and a neroli component that remains present even into the beginnings of the base. Shortly after the start, lavender makes its presence felt, although not necessarily prominently; without this ethereal mood-lifter, something essential would certainly be missing. Soon, a subtly gourmand vanilla note joins in.

In the early afternoon, the citrus notes finally step aside, and a tandem of noble wood and now quite pronounced, a hint of honey-sweet to vanilla - well, what actually? Teak wood, if that is what it is, plays only a minor role. The majority is determined by a vanilla tonka bean, which is only slightly tempered or powdered by the musk from the base. With a bit of luck, the warm and sweet aspects of the tropical wood remain directly on the skin well into the night.

For me, Tomo Fresh is a small ray of hope on the shelves of perfume chains. While it hasn’t necessarily reinvented men’s perfume, it has launched a good and solid scent at a fair price. It feels refreshing, invigorating, and in a certain way also harmonizing. Almost a kind of scent Feng Shui. However, over time, this tonka-vanilla exposure is a bit too strong for me, so I wouldn’t want to wear Tomo Fresh for more than three consecutive days.

Résumé: Citrusy fresh start, ethereal progression, and sweet-woody base with good but not breathtaking projection and sufficient longevity. Undoubtedly a spring and summer scent that is great for casual wear. A pleasant, entertaining companion that I can also very well imagine on a woman.