Nacre Blanche Antonio Alessandria 2014

Nacre Blanche doesn't beat around the bush and immediately offers a full dose of white florals, exquisitely bitter with petitgrain. The otherwise mentioned citrus notes are mere accessories. Great, too much acidity would have been distracting.

The tuberose is quite sweet. Within a few minutes, it is complemented by leather from a patchouli source. Rough, but by no means harsh, rather noble. Along with spices: coriander makes sense; the leaf as well - the scent indeed has a subtle green undertone.

But then: Not even ten minutes have passed when Nacre Blanche shows that despite its floral declaration, which could qualify it for warmer days, it can also do 'Winter' very well. And I mean really well. Throat lozenge violet leather, roughened patchouli, subtly benzoin-resinous. Underneath, a lovely portion of refreshing green remains; no longer just coriander-spicy, but rather almost grassy. I am pleasantly surprised.

Already during the first half hour, the tuberose note swims free again, holding on to the bitter orange for support. It thankfully lacks that soft cheese note that I often perceive in stronger expressions. Its absence could lead to a certain character weakness. However, in this case, the leather helps alongside the bitter orange. I find this combination of a more orange than tuberose-like tuberose and throat lozenge, gently spiced leather, which gains in nobility over the course of the first hour, simply strong. A faint hint of vanilla is already noticeable, not too sweet, it just rounds things off nicely.

From the projection, the fresh green disappears after about an hour, but an impression of it remains impeccably present on the skin. Coriander green may still fit. Also violet leaf? The impressions blur. Not into an indefinable mélange, but wonderfully gliding back and forth: Green - Maybe violet - Violet - Leather - Tuberose - Bitter orange.

During the second hour, Nacre Blanche - I can hardly believe it - becomes for me a completely obvious, botanical (due to its origin; see above) leather scent. The rest is called upon for supplementary tasks, yet remains indispensable. A scratchy overtone keeps the leather interesting. Fantastic. The only downside is now the anxious question of whether Nacre Blanche can maintain this level.

Two hours.
Three hours.
Three and a half hours…
Three and three-quarters hours… Ziiiiiieeeeeeeeeh!

It cannot be denied, the scent is already significantly weakening. I was certainly too sparing with the application (*hope*), two tiny drops from the dabber tube. A second test day is needed for clarification.

Yes! The distinctive leather can linger longer. It loses the fruity aspect around noon, but in generous compensation, it becomes smokier, harsher, creakier, tarrier. In style, more in the direction of (only the direction!) Knize Ten. I like that just as much. Especially since a sense of airiness always remains on board. The scent holds fairly stable into the seventh, eighth hour and even surprises at the end with one last surprise: Directly on the skin, the bitter orange-tuberose duo comes through hand in hand with the throat lozenge leather once more: They both want to bid farewell under the falling curtain! A beautiful conclusion that - applause, applause, applause!!! - echoes even beyond the tenth hour.

Conclusion: Who would have thought it? Strong recommendation for testing for all those who are fed up with berry fruits in leather scents but can handle a successful dose of florals. And who also appreciate a hefty scoop of leather. And finally, for a single gentleman who (since we shouldn't take the above classification too seriously) supposedly always has an open nose for gentleman-appropriate scents with tuberose.