Integrity Ermenegildo Zegna 2017

Integrity... what a buzzword! It is often mentioned in the same breath as compliance, antitrust, social competence, and empathy. Those who work in a medium-sized or DAX-listed company encounter these buzzwords repeatedly, often now as e-trainings... wow, I work in such an important, trendy, cool, and innovative company... oh, bullshit... of course, at a global player... yes, that’s right;-)! I often accompany these training invitations with an inner and outer groan, as every two weeks a different training pops up. Integrity... a beautiful word, meaning to align with one’s own values and to live them. In my private life, I manage this well; in the business environment, it’s quite ambivalent, the ambivalence between corporate values, customer values, colleague values, and my own. No matter which one you align with, you always step on someone’s toes, you don’t make friends everywhere; the balancing act one would have to perform here would do honor to any ballerina and Cirque du Soleil.
Therefore, I was very curious about what Zegna thinks of the term and how they implement it in fragrance. After "Wisdom" left no significant traces with me yesterday, I placed my hope in "Integrity." With Integrity, after the first spray, I can smell a nice mandarin, light sage, and a lot of musk. It takes almost a minute for me to recall which fragrance starts exactly the same way, Chanel Allure Sport Eau Extreme.
It smells really great; I like this opener. If I could smell the Chanel for longer than an hour, it would still be in my collection. Here, in the Zegna version, it’s a bit richer and smoother, very dense overall. But unfortunately, after about 5 minutes, the repetition-fragrance spoiler comes into play: the geranium. Yes, it often smells rose-like, but also likes to bring along an unpleasant companion, namely green-herbaceous plant juice, slightly cutting and sharp... and very unpleasant. This note changes the entire fragrance, somehow brings it out of balance. No new facet comes into play, so the fragrance has no chance to recover. It slowly dims down, taking away a bit of the plant juice sharpness, but unfortunately, everything else goes too... basically throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The balsamic notes that emerge in the base can no longer save the fragrance.
The longevity is rather moderate, like with almost all Zegna fragrances (exception Acqua di Iris); I can perceive it for a maximum of 5 hours, and the sillage is quite okay.
Unfortunately, I cannot see what connects the fragrance with integrity... just like in real life... ambivalent! "Adaptability" or "unobtrusive" would fit better... also "uneven."