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Top Review
"Imitation is the highest form of admiration"
First of all, I must gratefully mention what a cool guy Erik Kormann actually is. I initially reached out to him out of curiosity because I wanted to get input firsthand from someone who really works with pure substances and raw materials and has contact with them.
I first received a small sample package with a bit of stuff like Iso-E Super, Ambroxan, Vetiverylacetate (side note: these are the substances that define Molecule 01, Molecule 02, and Molecule 03 from Escentric Molecules) and also Javanol.
Erik said that Javanol is his favorite molecule, which he has used extensively in September (his favorite creation among his own fragrances).
My first impression of September was rather sober; it has a nice, citrusy and "orangey" opening. On Scent & Chemistry, it is mentioned that this is orange oil derived from the pressing of the peels, and the "lead molecule" for this "orange juice" scent impression is alpha-Sinensal, a terpene with an aldehyde group (hence Sinens-al, the "-al" at the end stands for aldehydes).
Long story short: this alpha-Sinensal is chemically difficult to synthesize, the yield is too poor for industrial scale, and therefore it is cheaper to press the stuff from peels. And yet, this alpha-Sinensal has such an intense "orangey" smell that one might think it is a synthetic molecule (but it is not).
In any case, over time, this dry yet creamy sandalwood note from Javanol creeps in, which then represents that "wow" moment for me, because Javanol smells quite authentic to sandalwood.
My mother was an interior designer in her former life (well, before she had me and became my mother) and had the opportunity to work with many materials for interior decoration, including all kinds of woods. During our vacation in Taiwan (where it is always tropical heat in the summer), she bought a fan made of sandalwood. And Javanol smells exactly like that fan (which was pretty cool; you cooled off by fanning yourself and always got whiffs of the sandalwood scent).
And this created another association with "refreshment," because without a fan, the weather in Taiwan is hardly bearable (36°C with maximum humidity is killer).
September appears extremely minimalist in its components; for me, only the "orange juice" and the "sandalwood" are recognizable.
And the concept seems to work so well that it has already been copied a few times:
"South Bay" by The Different Company and "Bergamask" by Orti Parisi also work with this citrus-sandalwood combo, with September still representing the golden mean, more durable than South Bay and not as extreme as Bergamask.
September is a great example of how one can create a magical perfume through nature (O-juice) and synthetics (Javanol).
I first received a small sample package with a bit of stuff like Iso-E Super, Ambroxan, Vetiverylacetate (side note: these are the substances that define Molecule 01, Molecule 02, and Molecule 03 from Escentric Molecules) and also Javanol.
Erik said that Javanol is his favorite molecule, which he has used extensively in September (his favorite creation among his own fragrances).
My first impression of September was rather sober; it has a nice, citrusy and "orangey" opening. On Scent & Chemistry, it is mentioned that this is orange oil derived from the pressing of the peels, and the "lead molecule" for this "orange juice" scent impression is alpha-Sinensal, a terpene with an aldehyde group (hence Sinens-al, the "-al" at the end stands for aldehydes).
Long story short: this alpha-Sinensal is chemically difficult to synthesize, the yield is too poor for industrial scale, and therefore it is cheaper to press the stuff from peels. And yet, this alpha-Sinensal has such an intense "orangey" smell that one might think it is a synthetic molecule (but it is not).
In any case, over time, this dry yet creamy sandalwood note from Javanol creeps in, which then represents that "wow" moment for me, because Javanol smells quite authentic to sandalwood.
My mother was an interior designer in her former life (well, before she had me and became my mother) and had the opportunity to work with many materials for interior decoration, including all kinds of woods. During our vacation in Taiwan (where it is always tropical heat in the summer), she bought a fan made of sandalwood. And Javanol smells exactly like that fan (which was pretty cool; you cooled off by fanning yourself and always got whiffs of the sandalwood scent).
And this created another association with "refreshment," because without a fan, the weather in Taiwan is hardly bearable (36°C with maximum humidity is killer).
September appears extremely minimalist in its components; for me, only the "orange juice" and the "sandalwood" are recognizable.
And the concept seems to work so well that it has already been copied a few times:
"South Bay" by The Different Company and "Bergamask" by Orti Parisi also work with this citrus-sandalwood combo, with September still representing the golden mean, more durable than South Bay and not as extreme as Bergamask.
September is a great example of how one can create a magical perfume through nature (O-juice) and synthetics (Javanol).
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8 Comments
Still, September isn't a big hit for me.