01/29/2024
Elysium
815 Reviews
Elysium
1
Azzaro Pour Homme's Most Charming Offshoot
Azzaro pour Homme was one of my first perfumes as an adult man in the early 80s. When it came out in 1978, I was still too young to wear it, a teenager, but in the mid-80s, I met a university friend who wore it as a signature. I gradually fell in love with it and decided to buy and use it. In those days, a few sprays were enough for the perfume to anchor itself to the skin and clothes. It remained for days on scarves and coats. After this masterpiece, Acteur Eau de Toilette was launched, which I have always ignored for no particular reason, remaining faithful to the original until the release of the explosive and disruptive Chrome, a metallic ozonic capable of piercing your heart like a steel sword. I missed the releases of Azzaro pour Homme Silver Black Eau de Toilette, Elixir, and Azzaro pour Homme Night Time, instead appreciating the light summer version of Azzaro pour Homme L'Eau. In 2015, the thrill of Azzaro pour Homme Intense immediately captivated me with its boozy liqueur accord, the latest Azzaro perfume purchased in-store by Duglas, and then moved on to online purchases from Notino and similar web stores. And it is precisely on these sites that I found several of the flankers mentioned, including Elixir.
Azzaro Elixir is an oriental fragrance with a bold and long-lasting scent. It has that fougére step of the original plus an oriental red sweetness, that reddish mark. In the first moment, despite the abundant sweetness, the mintiness of the cardamom and the unmistakable sweaty spiciness of the cumin that distinguishes the original are at the forefront. The sour accords of citrus fruits are perceived, the big spoon lemon embracing the little spoon mandarin, however very tamed and immediately followed by a creamy and dry lavender, which reveals the aromatic fougère aspect; the delicacy of coumarins immediately stands out in the background. Elixir is sweeter and denser than the original but never too strident or cloying. It has that hot and sweet mystery. However, the presence of anise, a trademark of Pour Homme, is missing. It, therefore, results in a warmer and sweeter opening, less virile while remaining very masculine, a trait that distinguishes the original. On the strip of paper, the sweet and sour notes of the blackcurrant stand out together with those of the fruit, which I imagine being those of the pear. Unlike apple, I struggle to recognize pear note in fragrances.
The more the perfume evolves, settling on the skin, the more the sweetness becomes among drier, herbaceous, and woody accords. In this central phase, I recognize sweet floral aspects, candied roses, with significant spicy and aromatic splashes. Soapy and powdery aspects emerge mixed with the sweetness of tonka, and the presence of geranium is felt. In some ways, it reminds me of sweet and warm oriental perfumes like IL Eau de Toilette and Hot Water Eau de Toilette. The intense red of the bottle unites them in character without being a copy of each other. That minty and balsamic undertone of cardamom remains very perceptibly. The similarity with the original becomes more assertive and more explicit as the perfume settles and grows.
The Elixir turns amber in the drydown, a tad waxy, with base notes that include coumarin, tonka, oakmoss, and all the other ingredients that make up the fougère accord. The vanilla shines; it is sublime, powdery, and spicy but never too gourmand or nauseating. Once again, there is that glistening and resinous touch of benzoin, well-dosed and never sticky or obnoxious. It takes on a dusty, waxy, semi-smoky edge in the last sillage, courtesy of a dusty, semi-leathery cistus.
Elixir is a versatile, fresh, spicy, and warm perfume, suitable for the cold season and all autumn and winter months. I wouldn’t wear it during the summer heat or whenever it’s sweltering, the fragrance tends to disturb me. Best in autumn to early spring. Regarding projection, Elixir is solid but not super loud or intrusive. You’ll know you’re wearing it. Maybe others will have to get a little closer to get it. It also has good longevity. I spent many hours with it, I would say, average. If you’re tempted to buy it blind, don’t assume it’s a variant of the original. Elixir is a perfume in itself, which here and there vaguely recalls Pour Homme, but overall, it has its character with its facets. Is it miserably underrated? Yes, it is, in my opinion.
I’m writing my impressions based on a bottle I’ve owned since August 2017.
-Elysium
Azzaro Elixir is an oriental fragrance with a bold and long-lasting scent. It has that fougére step of the original plus an oriental red sweetness, that reddish mark. In the first moment, despite the abundant sweetness, the mintiness of the cardamom and the unmistakable sweaty spiciness of the cumin that distinguishes the original are at the forefront. The sour accords of citrus fruits are perceived, the big spoon lemon embracing the little spoon mandarin, however very tamed and immediately followed by a creamy and dry lavender, which reveals the aromatic fougère aspect; the delicacy of coumarins immediately stands out in the background. Elixir is sweeter and denser than the original but never too strident or cloying. It has that hot and sweet mystery. However, the presence of anise, a trademark of Pour Homme, is missing. It, therefore, results in a warmer and sweeter opening, less virile while remaining very masculine, a trait that distinguishes the original. On the strip of paper, the sweet and sour notes of the blackcurrant stand out together with those of the fruit, which I imagine being those of the pear. Unlike apple, I struggle to recognize pear note in fragrances.
The more the perfume evolves, settling on the skin, the more the sweetness becomes among drier, herbaceous, and woody accords. In this central phase, I recognize sweet floral aspects, candied roses, with significant spicy and aromatic splashes. Soapy and powdery aspects emerge mixed with the sweetness of tonka, and the presence of geranium is felt. In some ways, it reminds me of sweet and warm oriental perfumes like IL Eau de Toilette and Hot Water Eau de Toilette. The intense red of the bottle unites them in character without being a copy of each other. That minty and balsamic undertone of cardamom remains very perceptibly. The similarity with the original becomes more assertive and more explicit as the perfume settles and grows.
The Elixir turns amber in the drydown, a tad waxy, with base notes that include coumarin, tonka, oakmoss, and all the other ingredients that make up the fougère accord. The vanilla shines; it is sublime, powdery, and spicy but never too gourmand or nauseating. Once again, there is that glistening and resinous touch of benzoin, well-dosed and never sticky or obnoxious. It takes on a dusty, waxy, semi-smoky edge in the last sillage, courtesy of a dusty, semi-leathery cistus.
Elixir is a versatile, fresh, spicy, and warm perfume, suitable for the cold season and all autumn and winter months. I wouldn’t wear it during the summer heat or whenever it’s sweltering, the fragrance tends to disturb me. Best in autumn to early spring. Regarding projection, Elixir is solid but not super loud or intrusive. You’ll know you’re wearing it. Maybe others will have to get a little closer to get it. It also has good longevity. I spent many hours with it, I would say, average. If you’re tempted to buy it blind, don’t assume it’s a variant of the original. Elixir is a perfume in itself, which here and there vaguely recalls Pour Homme, but overall, it has its character with its facets. Is it miserably underrated? Yes, it is, in my opinion.
I’m writing my impressions based on a bottle I’ve owned since August 2017.
-Elysium
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