Top Notes 
Elemi resin
Heart Notes 
Black pepper
Green pepper
Base Notes 
Woods
Musk
Vaporized Hinge
Meggi
1018 Reviews
Translated · Show original
Meggi
Top Review
20
They slowly find their way
I detest business trips. My last one took me to Munich and back on the same day. Luckily. Nothing against Munich, but a decent family man belongs at home in the evening. The trips to our trade fairs (years ago), together with almost all my colleagues, were a different story. But being out there alone somewhere… No, thanks. Instead, we decided to visit Munich as a family.
Some dear perfume friends had recommended a detour to Brückner for the foreseeable break until my return flight. A lovely shop, but I couldn't properly test Isos with just a few quick sprays left and right before heading to the airport. Therefore, I was all the more pleased to be able to try it out in detail now - many thanks to Tiara for that!
Isos is a strange scent, and in hindsight, it doesn't surprise me that I couldn't make sense of it during the quick test. It displays various facets that, although closely intertwined, flutter back and forth - and this applies to different testing days as well as to the impressions within a single day. Thus, the following descriptions should be understood more as a tentative representation of aspects rather than as a chronicle of a coherent scent progression.
The opening presents a brisk impression of elemi, completely drawn from the sacred by the addition of spices and an underlying fiery smokiness (Kokel-myrrh; see ‘Arso’ by Profumum Roma). The manufacturer mentions pepper as a spice, but others are equally plausible, even down to a metallic and thus completely non-sweaty cumin note. On the second testing day, shortly after application, I also had a thought of watery coniferous wood, which reminded me of ‘In the Woods’ by eSENSielle with its hint of woody synthetic. I hardly noticed any mint, at most a fresh whiff. The clove would have been subtle too; it can be much worse.
How do I even come to mint and clove? They were listed in the pyramid, according to Parfumo research, a statement taken directly from the manufacturer's site. More on that later.
In the background, an impression of warm milk with a hint of honey develops over the course of half an hour, which recedes during the first hour. The milk fades, and the… dill(!?!) comes. In this phase of joint action, ‘Nero’ from the same house makes an appearance. Dill, however, is not alone. My favorite colleague, an experienced cook, also mentioned tarragon. Plausible. The green pepper as stated by the manufacturer would be more aromatic than spicy in this case. Meanwhile, a wood-smoke scent gradually forms as a second pillar under the spice-and-kitchen-herb fog.
‘Fog’ is now the keyword. As mentioned above, the fragrance note descriptions have been revamped by the manufacturer. The previous version read:
Top note - Clove, Mint
Heart note - Myrrh, Madagascar Pepper
Base note - Juniper, Cedarwood, Vetiver
Both version 1 and version 2 reveal at most a fraction of the events. Apparently, the pharmacies are slowly finding their way, and perhaps the next pyramid attempt will fit a bit better. Or perhaps the whole thing is meant to be a deliberate confusion to underscore the idea behind the scent - see conclusion.
After two hours, the spice is musky-smeared. Clean, white musk on dill and tarragon. The cedar thus appears almost creamy. I suspect that the supposed dill-sweet hint has a lab-wood origin. Underneath, the wood-smoke note continues to smolder, barely perceptible.
Additionally, immortelle comes to mind. I pondered over this for a long time and even consulted Palonera, a highly regarded pre-commentator. She expressed significant doubts about the immortelle theory, at least regarding its actual presence. She is probably right, and I suspect that I have fallen for a combination of herb or spice and the gently biting background. Nevertheless, I hold on to the corresponding scent image - the privilege of personal perception. By the way, I had plenty of time for pondering because the aforementioned twist lasts for hours. I wholeheartedly agree with our colleague's anise hypothesis.
In the eighth hour, Isos bids farewell in a mildly musky-enveloped, residual-anise-spiced, sweetened, yet scratchy wood note, which I would describe as ‘reddish’ for some reason, warmer than cedar and juniper alone, but certainly created with the involvement of both and the active participation of a chemist.
Conclusion: It would be an exaggeration to call Isos an erratic mixed goods store. And that would be unfair, as the manufacturer claims that it is meant to evoke memories of aromas and scents from distant lands. However, I do find the scent somewhat confusing.
Some dear perfume friends had recommended a detour to Brückner for the foreseeable break until my return flight. A lovely shop, but I couldn't properly test Isos with just a few quick sprays left and right before heading to the airport. Therefore, I was all the more pleased to be able to try it out in detail now - many thanks to Tiara for that!
Isos is a strange scent, and in hindsight, it doesn't surprise me that I couldn't make sense of it during the quick test. It displays various facets that, although closely intertwined, flutter back and forth - and this applies to different testing days as well as to the impressions within a single day. Thus, the following descriptions should be understood more as a tentative representation of aspects rather than as a chronicle of a coherent scent progression.
The opening presents a brisk impression of elemi, completely drawn from the sacred by the addition of spices and an underlying fiery smokiness (Kokel-myrrh; see ‘Arso’ by Profumum Roma). The manufacturer mentions pepper as a spice, but others are equally plausible, even down to a metallic and thus completely non-sweaty cumin note. On the second testing day, shortly after application, I also had a thought of watery coniferous wood, which reminded me of ‘In the Woods’ by eSENSielle with its hint of woody synthetic. I hardly noticed any mint, at most a fresh whiff. The clove would have been subtle too; it can be much worse.
How do I even come to mint and clove? They were listed in the pyramid, according to Parfumo research, a statement taken directly from the manufacturer's site. More on that later.
In the background, an impression of warm milk with a hint of honey develops over the course of half an hour, which recedes during the first hour. The milk fades, and the… dill(!?!) comes. In this phase of joint action, ‘Nero’ from the same house makes an appearance. Dill, however, is not alone. My favorite colleague, an experienced cook, also mentioned tarragon. Plausible. The green pepper as stated by the manufacturer would be more aromatic than spicy in this case. Meanwhile, a wood-smoke scent gradually forms as a second pillar under the spice-and-kitchen-herb fog.
‘Fog’ is now the keyword. As mentioned above, the fragrance note descriptions have been revamped by the manufacturer. The previous version read:
Top note - Clove, Mint
Heart note - Myrrh, Madagascar Pepper
Base note - Juniper, Cedarwood, Vetiver
Both version 1 and version 2 reveal at most a fraction of the events. Apparently, the pharmacies are slowly finding their way, and perhaps the next pyramid attempt will fit a bit better. Or perhaps the whole thing is meant to be a deliberate confusion to underscore the idea behind the scent - see conclusion.
After two hours, the spice is musky-smeared. Clean, white musk on dill and tarragon. The cedar thus appears almost creamy. I suspect that the supposed dill-sweet hint has a lab-wood origin. Underneath, the wood-smoke note continues to smolder, barely perceptible.
Additionally, immortelle comes to mind. I pondered over this for a long time and even consulted Palonera, a highly regarded pre-commentator. She expressed significant doubts about the immortelle theory, at least regarding its actual presence. She is probably right, and I suspect that I have fallen for a combination of herb or spice and the gently biting background. Nevertheless, I hold on to the corresponding scent image - the privilege of personal perception. By the way, I had plenty of time for pondering because the aforementioned twist lasts for hours. I wholeheartedly agree with our colleague's anise hypothesis.
In the eighth hour, Isos bids farewell in a mildly musky-enveloped, residual-anise-spiced, sweetened, yet scratchy wood note, which I would describe as ‘reddish’ for some reason, warmer than cedar and juniper alone, but certainly created with the involvement of both and the active participation of a chemist.
Conclusion: It would be an exaggeration to call Isos an erratic mixed goods store. And that would be unfair, as the manufacturer claims that it is meant to evoke memories of aromas and scents from distant lands. However, I do find the scent somewhat confusing.
13 Comments
Jacko
Yatagan
NikEy
Mefunx
Taurus
Naimie54
Seerose
JilMare
MichH
Ergoproxy
