Norvège DoubleYou 2010

Already when you are on the approach to Flesland Airport and look out the airplane window, you see the land of fjords, mountains, and stone. Everywhere there is water, and on rocky ground, small red houses stand. At first glance, it seems as if you have left the civilized and cultured world of humans and have arrived in the realm of the Jotnar, the Nordic giants. These antagonists of the gods Odin, Thor, and Freya live in the harsh and stony Utgard.
It is not hard to see in Norway's nature how people once enriched their world with supernatural beings.
And then suddenly you reach the city. The world is transformed again. An old harbor and Hanseatic city. It is leisurely in Bergen, but also urban, hip, and beautiful. A completely different impression.

Norway has breathtaking, diverse nature that can sometimes instill a sense of awe. You feel unexpectedly tiny and insignificant next to the aeons-old rock and the clear water that flows through the fjords and lakes.

The country is a part of my life, my temporary exile, and a deep love. All the more I was pleased when my wife held this fragrance under my nose. A Norwegian fragrance house that releases a scent named after this fantastic country? But already in the name, something inconsistent is revealed:

Norvège... not Norge or Noreg, as it should be in Norwegian. The fragrance is also produced in France. It is, of course, understandable that one tries to connect with French perfumery and that the company has some ties to France. Nevertheless, one could have been more confident here. Norway produces not only fish, wood, and oil!

The scent itself is rather confusing. The manufacturer says the inspiration is a rising air bubble in a frozen Norwegian lake, which then bursts under the ice. How this could be olfactorily interpreted is something they wanted to imagine. All four seasons of the country are also supposed to be taken as a theme.

Well, Norvège is a beautiful scent, but like its name, I do not really perceive it as Norwegian.
It primarily smells of herbs here. Especially coriander is in the spotlight. A light, rather fresh scent carried by subtle sweetness.
My mind projects far more images of Italy than of my beloved exile home. I expected moss and something mineral, salt, clarity, inertia, and a certain roughness with inner calm. Instead, I have here a spicy lightness that seems almost to float. Not grounded but ascending. Neat but not so leisurely. Herbs that I have not seen in Norway and only a barely noticeable woodiness and resinous quality.

In sum, a really beautiful scent, but still a little disappointment.