Armani Privé - Iris Céladon Giorgio Armani 2016

AugustAs nose encounters something dull and woody, which is so prominent in the top note that I can't tell if it smells sweet, cocoa-like, or a bit musty. After a while, I recognize it: patchouli. Patchouli with iris in the form of powder = some kind of mustiness, although not entirely unpleasant, rather with a hint of cocoa or coffee or flour, slightly (!) gourmand. Not exactly floral or fresh in the top note after the first quarter hour.

Patchouli-chlor-iris. Again this Privé-chlor that I have encountered a few too many times... Somehow, though, it is still good. Ah, there is mate and ambrette... And again the cardamom, which sometimes smells not too far from soapy-salty-aquatic. It is well integrated here. Dry, slightly spicy, again a hint of cocoa.

The Privés I have tried so far share something slightly ghostly. This is attractive, and AugustA finds himself at the Armani Privé fragrance altar among the greens, smelling the now somewhat stale bells.

By ghostly, I mean: elusive, but sometimes also penetrating.
This one does not annoy; you want to follow it as it hovers on the skin in bluish-green veils.

Then the scent becomes drier, the powder nutty and floral at the same time, light beige. Much better.

Celadon is a greenish-blue ceramic glaze, Chinese, medieval, very rarely found in Europe. A Chinese spirit, then. The color reminds of jade, and the scent reflects that. An iris scent in jade green. The patchouli connects blue and green, grounding it. It brings the blue down to earth over the green. Here it wanders now, the Chinese spirit.
In the haunted castle in Spessart, there were also green ghosts. For you, we do everything…! This scent, however, is the opposite of shrill and clattering (although sensationally quirky for its time), this one is refined and has depth.

Ambrette and mate seem to balance the patchouli, which has spread so broadly on my skin. The scent becomes more agreeable with some distance, but when smelling directly on the skin, there still remains a strangely musty touch that I can't quite appreciate.

Over time, the scent also becomes pleasantly powdery. The iris blends beautifully with the cocoa, without tipping into sweetness. On the contrary, it becomes almost drier, and although powder is a care component, the scent becomes both dustier and more ethereal. A delicate hand reaches for me and pulls me over into the realm of ghosts. Farewell…

Ahem, -- I'm still here.

Augusto thinks: Smells like porcelain breaking (or ceramics). He likes it better in the end than I do; let's see how it works on him. For me, the spirit exudes too much of this chlorinated note over time, and here with dust. I just can't quite follow him into the realm of ghosts... Although, it has its moments...

Only the base note becomes creamy, powdery soft for me now, and very pleasant, not without wood and a bit of spice. If the whole scent were like this, I would like it a lot.

I will try it again in winter. It somehow smells like a warm fluffy sweater just pulled out of a box, a cup of cocoa in hand.
That's okay, but not really good. Too much box.
The Privés are apparently just not my style, although I keep trying. Something is always stuffy, musty, or chlorinated. But I am persistent.