Pasha de Cartier Parfum Cartier 2019

What you don't know won't hurt you.
And sometimes it has advantages not to know every corner and comment of Parfumo by heart. Like in this case, which is about the latest flanker of the "Pasha de Carter" - the "Pasha de Cartier Parfum", about which I only wanted to write a short statement after the first test, but which I like so much that I wanted to praise it with a more detailed commentary.

I have never tested or smelled the original "Pasha" from 1992. And never looked for it on perfume. And maybe it was better that way: if I'd gone through the reviews of the fragrance, I probably wouldn't have tested the newly released perfume version from Cartier: you read about a spicy, soapy, old-fashioned, sorry, old-school scent that has strange associations with sweaty Thai pensioners and lascivious old quarterly drinkers with gold chains.

This much can be revealed beforehand: the new perfume variant is also not for Prada purists who want to smell germ-free. Even in the 2020 update, a slightly herbal-sweaty cumin nuance echoes, but only very moderately "human" and wrapped in many other delicious notes. While fine-tuning the composition, house perfumer Mathilde Laurent seems to have looked left and right from time to time: here a little liqueur with "Dior Homme Intense", there a little tonka bean from Guerlain - and then discreetly worked it all in, resulting in a men's fragrance with classic masculine DNA, but by no means dusty character (which doesn't mean that the ladies shouldn't try it out!) Our Pasha treats himself to a makeover: away with the gold chain, the bus driver shirt and away with the men's coverlet!
The new Pasha prefers to start off with a coffee: I actually perceive an earthy-dark note at the beginning, which reminds me of black coffee - although not indicated in the fragrance pyramid. With fruity undertones (so there was fruit liqueur), slightly turgid (to avoid the Anglicism "boozy").

But I'll be completely there and back only after about half an hour: Patchouli, Amber and Labdanum push the fragrance into a warm, spicy, somewhat golden-caramel terrain and give the whole thing that slightly sleepy, ambry, foggy appearance, which is also one of my all-time favourites - "Opium pour Homme" in the eau de parfum version - and which is perceived by some perfumers as too pompous and bulky, but by me simply attractive, sensual, even physical in an erotic way. Also the base, which finishes with an embracing balsamic and sandalwood finish, is not necessarily top-modern in terms of craftsmanship, but it is harmonious and pleasant for my senses.

A big trump card is the durability - on my skin the scent lasts for 10 hours, on my jacket I still noticed it even after 48 hours - you can see that this is not an eau de parfum, otherwise it is a real perfume (!). The Sillage is also very strong, so for the best possible enjoyment use it sparingly or at least dose it with a little care! Otherwise, the veil of scent is already very penetrating.

The beautiful Art Deco flacon is almost identical to the original - looks chic and timelessly elegant and also feels good in the hand; with jewellery houses such as Cartier or Lalique, you notice that special attention is always paid to the design.

A very respectable publication by Cartier! This Pasha is not necessarily a trendsetter, not a "performer" and does not hang out in the hippest clubs - rather he is a stylish, elegant and warm-hearted guy, to whom many a lady (and even one or two gentlemen!) will be attracted. After having put Cartier aside for years in my mind in the pretentious-boy-corner (sorry!), I'm now slowly having to apologize: after the last appearances in the men's segment - "L'Envol", and the "Declaration Parfum" - have already turned out to be modern, adult fragrances that don't bend too much to short-lived trends, the "Pasha" perfume is the most successful new release for me so far.

And with all further new releases I will test more often in the near future and THEN look for Parfumo... ;)