№ 05 Aventure Frau Tonis Parfum 2012 Eau de Parfum

Adventure was one of the more surprising fragrances for me from the Frau Tonis Discovery Box. As soon as I sprayed it, I immediately had an image in my mind: an open vintage car, leather cap, leather gloves, wind in my face and a country road. To me, the fragrance has something rough, adventurous and timeless at the same time.

At first it comes across as fresh, though not citrusy at all. Above the wood lies a cool, almost ethereal note that reminds me of menthol without actually smelling of menthol. There is also something dry, along with the pencil-shavings note that I have come to recognise in several fragrances by now.

Unfortunately, this cool freshness disappears after a short time. The fragrance becomes somewhat warmer and softer and seems a little pale as it develops.

Although I would place Adventure more within the masculine fragrance spectrum, I can just as easily imagine it on a woman.

Adventure probably will not become my favourite fragrance. It lacks that particular individuality that I found, for example, in L’Eau Papier and Lunamaris by Diptyque. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant fragrance with character that I would wear for the right occasion or mood.

The 8- or 10-ml vial of this scent, which is sitting right in front of me, I snagged as a giveaway while squeezing through models and it-girls at an after-show party of this year's Berlin Fashion Week. Nothing could be further from my everyday life, but an old school friend, living in another part of Germany and working at the intersection of journalism and fashion/design/culture, was recently in Berlin - and we used this event as a meeting point for a reunion.

With full doubt, I just held the little bottle up against the image on the screen to check the color of the fragrance, and yes, undoubtedly, it is exactly the same apricot. My suspicion was actually that Ms. Toni, perhaps a bit nervous and overworked in the run-up to the event, mixed up the supply tanks.

Because this scent smells neither adventurous, nor do I get the slightest connection to the listed notes of pepper, vetiver, cedarwood, amber, and patchouli. It's like the picture of a flower meadow with the caption "Crossing the Sahara." I perceive a very light green, fresh, distinctly floral-light (lily of the valley, violet, tulip, that direction) fragrance, perhaps also with sweet-fruity notes (apricot, sweet plum), with a slightly spicy-woody-vetiver base that is only noticeable upon very close sniffing, and a light (not unpleasant, but somehow perceptible) synthetic accompaniment.

For me, this is absolutely not a bad scent, rather the opposite. But still a) extraordinarily (too much for me) brushed against the grain of the expectations raised; b) a tiny bit too harmless and pleasing; and c) for this performance at about 150 euros per 100 ml, just a little overpriced to get more than 7.0 from me.

To my fairly certain knowledge, Aventure, unlike most of the Toni fragrances, is not a repackaged Harry Lehmann. I do not know which manufacturer the fragrance is from. I can say little about any possible relationship to Terre d'Hermès, as I only tested it once (about 2 years ago), and it did not particularly convince me then; I remember it quite differently than this one, but I could be mistaken.

Longevity and sillage are not spectacular, but still acceptable; the target audience from my perspective tends to be feminine.

P.S.: That was my last comment today...

Addendum: Well, if I make an effort and especially in the middle and late phases of the fragrance, I consciously bring it to my nose again and again, I somehow manage to cross over the gulf that flows between perception and ingredient listings.

When I tested it in the lovely little perfumery of Mrs. Toni in Berlin, words like "cedarwood," "sandstorm," and "spices" immediately came to mind.
I found it good and unusual. However, I have already been asked three times if it was the Hermes T'erre that I was wearing...
I think it is very close to that.