XX: Art Nouveau - Papyrus Clive Christian 2018

This smells a lot like Nasomatto Absinth, the later being released 10 years prior (!).

I am not saying this is a clone but it’s in the same ballpark. It’s very base heavy with little zing up top. I understand why it has been discontinued, I’m not really sure it complies with the usual Clive Christian fragrance construction.

Just like Absinth, I like the scent profile but it’s just too base heavy, I have trouble seeing the details and layers in this. It feels a bit boring.

My latest obsession revolves around curating a small collection with one fragrance of each "chapter" of Clive Christian's Noble collection, and I decided to take a gamble with an Ebay seller (highticketitems) that seems to specialize on Clive Christians and Liquides Imaginaires. Thankfully the bottle is authentic and the price I bought it for was an absolute steal considering this is a discontinued fragrance and being in the midst of CC's peak popularity, being only $170 (it's been since upped to $200 as of the time I'm writing this).

On to the fragrance itself, Papyrus is a fougère and a really good one at that. The opening is lead by bright and sharp notes of galbanum and basil, which are quite uplifting and contrast extremely well with the dark base of the fragrance. The lavender and tonka bean you'd expect in any fougère are also quite present, but they have a more "dense" and "compact" texture compared to other fougères, such as Beau de Jour (for example, which was a fougère I used to own and know quite well). Papyrus, as you might imagine from the name, has papyrus, which gives the scent a herbaceous and dry greenness, and it alongside the woods in the base give off a distinctly dark and dry vibe to me.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a relatively bright and fresh fragrance, but this is so much denser and darker compared to other fougères, which are so bright and refreshing that they're invigorating and feel like an ice cold drink during a summer day, or more appropriately like the refreshing feel of walking out of a barbershop with a clean haircut and shave. I do think Papyrus leans a bit "old school", I'm perfectly aware a scent like this would be far more suitable for a successful middle aged man who has his priorities straight instead of a 23 year old like me, but nonetheless I think this does have a certain timelessness to it like many other Clive Christians. It's in this sense I think you'll appreciate Papyrus more if you have a nose for classic perfumery, as well as obviously Clive Christian's fragrances and fougères in general.

Performance was a big surprise, especially in terms of longevity. Projection seems to be strong at first, as when I tried this yesterday with a single test spray on my arm my mom told me she could smell it from across the living room from me. Sillage is on the denser side as I could smell that same spray very noticeably and consistently for a few hours after spraying it on. It seems I'm unfortunately anosmic to something that's used in this fragrance, as I gave it a full wear today and it was considerably "weaker" than the test spray from yesterday, but I most likely did accustom my nose to the scent given how dense it was and the fact it was quite hot today. Longevity goes upwards of 12 hours, as I could still smell the test spray on my arm the next day, despite the inevitable rubbing I must have done during my sleep.

Let me start by saying that this was blind purchase for me because the notes looked very interesting, and I'm glad that I did. The note of galbanum is the main note at the start of this fragrance with some light touches of ginger and lavender rounding out the opening. Then once those notes fade and head to the background, that's when the note of Papyrus dominates making it woody, earthy and green. Although this fragrance is not in the beast mode category, it does last 10 to 12 hours on the skin. A thumbs up from me!

Hello everyone,

Today I want to talk about "Noble XX: Art Nouveau - Papyrus | Clive Christian".

My headline may seem a bit provocative, but let me explain!

I must confess that I have always been a friend and supporter of this fragrance direction, but back then I wasn't ready for this green-herbaceous scent with the fougère twist. Such things come with age and maturity (I feel so old^^).

And certain trends always come back again and again, whether it's clothing, a certain musical style, hairstyles, or, for example, certain fragrance directions. This green-herbaceous scent with the fougère twist in "Noble XX: Art Nouveau - Papyrus | Clive Christian" has been perfectly implemented in a timeless way in my opinion, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes very sought after and popular in x years.

Right now, it is more of a high-end alternative for "lone wolves" and lovers of quality - of what is possible.

As I have mentioned several times, it is green-herbaceous with a beautiful and very soft fougère touch, and the galbanum and very fine woods make it appear timeless to me. Clive Christian often doesn't create beasts in terms of performance, but the house's fragrances are usually very complex, finely tuned, and of very high quality = and I highly appreciate that about the house!

I perceive the H/S as good+ in terms of a subtle 9h!
(And layered, it works very well)

And now to the BUT...

The BUT is the price point. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether it is worth it. When I see the RRP directly from CC, I feel a bit nauseous. But no one forces us to have a premium product, so the price point is rather relative, but I evaluate price-performance and in that regard, I say it is way (!) too expensive.

If you find a leftover bottle or a sample here and see yourself reflected in the review, I can only recommend this wonderful scent to you!

And now have a nice day/evening or whenever you read this review, best regards, Benny
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