2
ANCIENT FOREST CAVE
Oh, this one is bizarre. A lot to take in at once. First of all, this is not a gourmand. Gourmand means “edible,” and nothing about this makes me want to grab a spoon. The cocoa is fleeting and sits on top of this mentholated, earthy, camphoraceous base. If your idea of dessert is a Nutella sandwich with a generous smear of shoe-polish paste… please don’t call this a gourmand. That’s misleading!
My second issue: the oud is probably good, but who can tell? There’s a heavy load of nagarmotha and camphor basically cosplaying as oud. They blend so tightly it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s the stunt double. Also, moss isn’t listed, yet I smell tons of (oak)moss in the base.
This whole thing is a chimera: opens with cocoa-oud facets, then nagarmotha and camphor storm the stage, champaca whispering from somewhere in the shadows, and a whole pile of dark, weird mossy stuff underneath. Unhinged.
At one point, though, the jasmine suddenly becomes very noticeable. Pretty, luminous, with those almost jasmine-tea facets. It’s a surprisingly gentle and elegant moment in an otherwise difficult composition.
I kinda liked the opening. If only the drydown would chill out and let the moss and green swampiness take a back seat, this could’ve been something special. Ambergris shows up later too, reinforcing that damp, mossy cave vibe.
In the deep, deep drydown, it actually redeems itself a bit: the scent turns woody and even a little piney or cedar-y again, with that camphoraceous tone returning, now softened by a sweet resin. The styrax brings in this gentle leathery warmth that’s… honestly kinda nice.
I enjoy camphor, so that part’s fine. The unexpected moss, though? Hmm. I don’t know. Not my favorite. It smells like a dark cave in a forest where something ancient definitely lives.
My second issue: the oud is probably good, but who can tell? There’s a heavy load of nagarmotha and camphor basically cosplaying as oud. They blend so tightly it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s the stunt double. Also, moss isn’t listed, yet I smell tons of (oak)moss in the base.
This whole thing is a chimera: opens with cocoa-oud facets, then nagarmotha and camphor storm the stage, champaca whispering from somewhere in the shadows, and a whole pile of dark, weird mossy stuff underneath. Unhinged.
At one point, though, the jasmine suddenly becomes very noticeable. Pretty, luminous, with those almost jasmine-tea facets. It’s a surprisingly gentle and elegant moment in an otherwise difficult composition.
I kinda liked the opening. If only the drydown would chill out and let the moss and green swampiness take a back seat, this could’ve been something special. Ambergris shows up later too, reinforcing that damp, mossy cave vibe.
In the deep, deep drydown, it actually redeems itself a bit: the scent turns woody and even a little piney or cedar-y again, with that camphoraceous tone returning, now softened by a sweet resin. The styrax brings in this gentle leathery warmth that’s… honestly kinda nice.
I enjoy camphor, so that part’s fine. The unexpected moss, though? Hmm. I don’t know. Not my favorite. It smells like a dark cave in a forest where something ancient definitely lives.