VIII: Rococo - Immortelle Clive Christian 2017

With the 2025 coverage retired and 2026 coverage not starting for at least a couple months, I'm going to dedicate some of my upcoming reviews to various less-covered products that I have samples for, starting with British luxury brand Clive Christian and their 2017 release VIII: Rococo - Immortelle. I typically go into the experience without having seen the comps or the notes, but I saw both Jubilation XXV Man and Epic Man at the top of the comps section before putting it on. And relative to those comps, lets just say that everything here isn't smooth sailing.

VIII: Rococo - Immortelle does open sweet-spicy with the same style of amber that reminds me of Jubilation XXV Man. Thereafter, the scent combines that sweet-spicy feel with a certain aromatic one, yet I'm not at all thinking of immortelle as I'm smelling the scent throughout the development. And as weird as it sounds, it's almost like I'm smelling nothing. On-skin, there is a light soapy musk that has perhaps a fruity tinge to it, with the style reminding me more of French niche house Fragrance du Bois, incl. products like Oud Rose Intense Parfum. Moderate soapiness, moderate musks, mild sweet spices and probably some touches of saffron in here as well, making me think a little bit of another Fragrance du Bois product, that being Secret Tryst (which I'd place adjacent to the Amouage).

There is some development in the on-skin profile: from the initial spicy-sweet & somewhat floral open, the DNA goes in a spicy-woody direction with light smokiness. I assume this is where the Epic Man comparison comes in, but the presence of that Fragrance du Bois style soapy musk is very much prominent alongside the spicy-woody aspects. At no point do I feel like immortelle is a key note in the structure and relative to Clive Christian's catalogue, VIII: Rococo - Immortelle is missing both wow factor and blending execution. The pricing at €565/50ml is obviously poor and the performance is somewhere around average with perhaps some potential longevity upside. All-in-all, not good and definitely not great.

Immortelle has a few facets that, dependng on the notes it's partnered with, can be anywhere from woodsy, herbal, smokey to sweet.

I've never really thought of immortelle as a sexy note because, in my experience, it usually comes across as herbal.

This is the kind of scent that is more of a fragrance collector's scent, something you wear, in part, to experience certain notes and their evolution.

I don't picture this as an office or suit and tie type of aroma but more of a casual or outdoorsy type. With ingredients like papyrus, lemon and vetiver notes this is a no frills smeller.
Monster projection.

What an incredible immortelle fragrance.

Many niche houses, especially French ones, have ventured into immortelle. It’s a difficult note to get right because this little yellow flower can be incredibly overpowering. For some reason, though, it’s the most expensive one that seems to achieve a level of sophistication I haven’t experienced before.

So, is this simply pricing bias? I honestly don’t think it is.

I’ve smelled quite a few immortelle fragrances recently, and when I went back to Clive Christian, my mind was blown. There’s something about Roccoco Immortelle that sets it apart; a level of luxury, refinement, and sophistication that’s difficult to put into words.

The only real way to understand it is to smell a lot of immortelle fragrances and then come back to this one. The contrast becomes immediately apparent.

And my conclusion, for now, is that Roccoco Immortelle is the best immortelle fragrance I’ve smelled.

To the people mentioning Epic Man, I would say that Epic Man is more into the spices and pepper / smokiness of the frankincense.

The Clive Christian is definitely an Immortelle fragrance at heart, best compared to Contre Jour by Frederic Malle. It actually reminds me a lot of the Immortelle Corse by Parfum d’Empire, however the Clive Christian is woodier and darker which is actually the reason people tend to assume it’s closer to Epic Man.

This fragrance is above all else: completely overpriced! However, I came to it through roundabout ways, so I didn't have to shell out 250 euros (already reduced) for 50 ml, which I would never have done. The ingredient list is quite straightforward, which doesn't have to mean anything bad. What the hell is immortelle, I initially wondered!? Yet I have seen this plant many times, as it can be found almost everywhere along the Mediterranean. However, its scent had never caught my attention until then ... Therefore, I can't say to what extent "Rococo - Immortelle" (RI) smells like it or how well this perfume represents nature.

The same goes for papyrus, which reminded me that it is also included in Lalique's "Hommage à l'Homme Voyageur." And lo and behold: What a damn similarity! RI certainly comes across as a bit more graceful and feels less synthetic, but otherwise, we are dealing with the same fragrance DNA here (in my opinion). Anyone willing to pay more than five times the price for this, please go ahead! ;-) Another comparison can certainly be made with Amouage fragrances like "Reflection" or "Interlude." Here too, parallels can be recognized or smelled, which lie in the sweet-spicy, oriental undertone of the base composition.

Aside from all that, I can't say anything bad about RI. It is undoubtedly more of an evening scent that envelops its wearer in a balsamic warmth and evokes few to no associations with the mainstream. I would classify RI as sexy to seductive, but also a bit of an acquired taste. Longevity and sillage are just at the right level for me. Fortunately, one searches in vain for a heavy-handed approach here. A truly subtle hint of smoke provides the necessary masculinity, while the immortelle (although a flower) has nothing typically floral about it.

The interplay of the ingredients is wonderfully coordinated, and I enjoy the rather linear fragrance progression. The top note is far less citrusy than one would expect based on the ingredient list, and together with the vetiver, it ensures that the scent does not drift into heaviness or stuffiness. So if anything gives a headache here, it is, as mentioned, the price expectation of the good Mr. Christian.

To be honest, I can't really grasp the "VIII: Rococo - Immortelle | Clive Christian." I would describe the scent as quite curious. The longevity on my skin is about 12 hours with a successful sillage.

The top note starts citrusy, fresh, and somewhat green with aromas of bergamot and lemon zest. The heart note is extremely dry, floral, earthy, spicy, and slightly sweet with a pronounced immortelle aroma. The heart note smells woody, smoky, and resinous with papyrus, sandalwood, vetiver, cedarwood, and fir balsam.

I find it extremely difficult with the "VIII: Rococo - Immortelle | Clive Christian." The fragrance has something special about it, but somehow it is just not my direction at all.