Not without a sense of risk did I venture into this blind purchase, as I had not seen this fragrance in German stores before. To get straight to the point: It has little in common with the aromatic fougère "Drakkar Noir"; the resemblance to the chypre "Horizon" is unmistakable, although the somewhat austere prototype of early 90s fragrances has been slightly adapted to today's zeitgeist.
The opening features a pleasing, yet quite complex citrus note of grapefruit, yuzu, and mandarin, blended with distinct green accents - somewhat sweeter than its predecessor, reminiscent of Jean-Claude Ellena. Next comes the typical aquatic note in duet with cyclamen, which so strongly characterized the stylistically ascetic 90s, for example, the lines from Kenzo and Calvin Klein, and even produced highlights like the body splashes from Marc Jacobs well into the new millennium. The pleasantly masculine herbal spiciness with Mediterranean herbs, particularly thyme, clary sage, and rosemary, is very delightful. The base note, on the other hand, is pleasantly unremarkable, woody, mossy, animalic, maintaining its rugged character while ensuring a remarkable longevity of the fragrance.
And so, in the end, there remains the echo of a thoroughly successful 90s revival, from that time whose cool minimalism I sometimes cursed. But the fragrance simply has style; and when looking at Guy Laroche's perfume line, one cannot really claim that a seasonal flanker was quickly thrown together to cash in on the cash cow. No, a wonderful fragrance, a bit mainstream, a little avant-garde, well affordable and presentable. Châpeau!
