16
Top Review
The Exception
Everyone has their fragrance notes that they simply "can't stand," which can ruin the most beautiful scent and make one cautious even when studying the fragrance pyramid of a promising test candidate, noticeably diminishing enthusiasm.
For me, lily of the valley is such a red flag, as soon as it exceeds a certain intensity. This aversion is so strong that I didn't even need a longer study of perfumes to identify it; lily of the valley and I - no.
I first encountered Kelly Caleche at the beginning of my perfume journey. I can’t remember if I consciously purchased the sample or received it as a gift, but I do remember that after the first test, it was immediately clear to me that this scent was definitely not for me. Lily of the valley overkill; the rose could be as beautiful as it wanted afterward - simply no.
This could be where the comment ends, but it is not.
Because the sample, of course, did not end up in the trash but in the - probably found in every perfume household - sample box. A collection place for everything that comes into the house in terms of samples and decants and meets with little to no enthusiasm or at least indifference. At rather irregular intervals, I then feel the urge to rummage through the box, and I give some scents a second chance. Although, since the scents probably don’t care whether I like them or not, I’m more likely giving myself a second chance in that case.
So, after a longer time, Kelly came back under my nose, but with the same result - not at all - no remains no.
Some time ago, I shifted my testing focus to leather. That creaky saddle leather fresh from the tanner is not my thing, and that doesn’t need to change, but finding a wild leather gem would be nice. And so, while sifting through the perfume pages for the best-of-best-of wild leather, Kelly Caleche inevitably appeared on the radar again. (“Didn’t I have a sample of that? That was the stuff that didn’t work at all. On the other hand, if it’s still there, why not....”) Indeed, the sample was still there. And indeed, there is always an exception to the rule.
Because this time - no, I didn’t find the scent immediately super great, no, this time I didn’t find the top note so unbearable. Actually, rather interesting. Quite interesting. And above all, it was indeed quite short, and from the heart note, this lovely rose developed. Fresh, but not cold. A truly warm rose scent that still comes without oud or vanilla, doesn’t swing a patchouli club, and doesn’t smell overly clean at all.
Was the sample now spoiled? Or my nose?
Here, a decant was definitely needed. Despite Murphy’s Law (“The scents you urgently need to test are never available in the souk”), I received a decant from a nice perfumer upon request (thank you again at this point!).
And the subsequent intensive test revealed that, on the one hand, the sample had indeed lost some of its spritziness, but on the other hand, my nose could certainly get along with lily of the valley. To be precise, the lily of the valley lost its dominance with each further test; by now, I perceive the top note quite differently. So here is "the truth" about Kelly Caleche:
The scent starts cyphrig-bitter, in that sense very mature and for a brief moment also quite intense. The slightly bitter base note (probably grapefruit) is clearly perceptible, but as a pleasant kick, a "hint," so to speak. To me, this bitter note - whether grapefruit or not - already smells wild leathery.
Relatively quickly, the intensity of the top note fades away and transitions into the heart note as a (leather-like) base tone. Here, the rose clearly dominates for my nose, as already mentioned, fresh, non-soapy, and not at all sassy-cold, as fresh rose can often be for me. I assume that the tuberose and mimosa mentioned in the fragrance pyramid provide the background warmth that fascinates me so much about the scent. However, I can’t directly smell these two.
There is no direct transition to the base; the rose gradually fades away and gives way to the wild leather. I cannot detect iris in the base, at least not any iris of the usual fresh or even carroty kind. I perceive the base as pure wild leather in the best sense and very long-lasting.
The sillage should - depending on the spray amount - be in the rather medium range. In my opinion, Kelly is a scent that one wears for oneself and one’s close ones, not a party hit. A scent that envelops you in a warm, fragrant aura, but doesn’t leave a veil over four floors. I noticed that on my skin, the wild leather stands out more, while on clothing, the rose does.
The longevity is quite decent for an EdT, at about 4 hours until the base tone, allowing one to perceive the scent on oneself for a long time and let it fade away slowly or also reapply without any unwanted "doubling effects."
Kelly Caleche is certainly a scent that stays in memory, definitely stands out from the current sweet-oudy-edible fragrance scheme, and has the potential to be a signature scent.
In my opinion, Kelly is suitable and wearable for all occasions and also transcends seasons. Whether also in the height of summer, I will still find out.
Because Kelly Caleche has now moved in with me as a bottle. I owed it to her ;)
For me, lily of the valley is such a red flag, as soon as it exceeds a certain intensity. This aversion is so strong that I didn't even need a longer study of perfumes to identify it; lily of the valley and I - no.
I first encountered Kelly Caleche at the beginning of my perfume journey. I can’t remember if I consciously purchased the sample or received it as a gift, but I do remember that after the first test, it was immediately clear to me that this scent was definitely not for me. Lily of the valley overkill; the rose could be as beautiful as it wanted afterward - simply no.
This could be where the comment ends, but it is not.
Because the sample, of course, did not end up in the trash but in the - probably found in every perfume household - sample box. A collection place for everything that comes into the house in terms of samples and decants and meets with little to no enthusiasm or at least indifference. At rather irregular intervals, I then feel the urge to rummage through the box, and I give some scents a second chance. Although, since the scents probably don’t care whether I like them or not, I’m more likely giving myself a second chance in that case.
So, after a longer time, Kelly came back under my nose, but with the same result - not at all - no remains no.
Some time ago, I shifted my testing focus to leather. That creaky saddle leather fresh from the tanner is not my thing, and that doesn’t need to change, but finding a wild leather gem would be nice. And so, while sifting through the perfume pages for the best-of-best-of wild leather, Kelly Caleche inevitably appeared on the radar again. (“Didn’t I have a sample of that? That was the stuff that didn’t work at all. On the other hand, if it’s still there, why not....”) Indeed, the sample was still there. And indeed, there is always an exception to the rule.
Because this time - no, I didn’t find the scent immediately super great, no, this time I didn’t find the top note so unbearable. Actually, rather interesting. Quite interesting. And above all, it was indeed quite short, and from the heart note, this lovely rose developed. Fresh, but not cold. A truly warm rose scent that still comes without oud or vanilla, doesn’t swing a patchouli club, and doesn’t smell overly clean at all.
Was the sample now spoiled? Or my nose?
Here, a decant was definitely needed. Despite Murphy’s Law (“The scents you urgently need to test are never available in the souk”), I received a decant from a nice perfumer upon request (thank you again at this point!).
And the subsequent intensive test revealed that, on the one hand, the sample had indeed lost some of its spritziness, but on the other hand, my nose could certainly get along with lily of the valley. To be precise, the lily of the valley lost its dominance with each further test; by now, I perceive the top note quite differently. So here is "the truth" about Kelly Caleche:
The scent starts cyphrig-bitter, in that sense very mature and for a brief moment also quite intense. The slightly bitter base note (probably grapefruit) is clearly perceptible, but as a pleasant kick, a "hint," so to speak. To me, this bitter note - whether grapefruit or not - already smells wild leathery.
Relatively quickly, the intensity of the top note fades away and transitions into the heart note as a (leather-like) base tone. Here, the rose clearly dominates for my nose, as already mentioned, fresh, non-soapy, and not at all sassy-cold, as fresh rose can often be for me. I assume that the tuberose and mimosa mentioned in the fragrance pyramid provide the background warmth that fascinates me so much about the scent. However, I can’t directly smell these two.
There is no direct transition to the base; the rose gradually fades away and gives way to the wild leather. I cannot detect iris in the base, at least not any iris of the usual fresh or even carroty kind. I perceive the base as pure wild leather in the best sense and very long-lasting.
The sillage should - depending on the spray amount - be in the rather medium range. In my opinion, Kelly is a scent that one wears for oneself and one’s close ones, not a party hit. A scent that envelops you in a warm, fragrant aura, but doesn’t leave a veil over four floors. I noticed that on my skin, the wild leather stands out more, while on clothing, the rose does.
The longevity is quite decent for an EdT, at about 4 hours until the base tone, allowing one to perceive the scent on oneself for a long time and let it fade away slowly or also reapply without any unwanted "doubling effects."
Kelly Caleche is certainly a scent that stays in memory, definitely stands out from the current sweet-oudy-edible fragrance scheme, and has the potential to be a signature scent.
In my opinion, Kelly is suitable and wearable for all occasions and also transcends seasons. Whether also in the height of summer, I will still find out.
Because Kelly Caleche has now moved in with me as a bottle. I owed it to her ;)
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5 Comments
How long will it take until it’s finally good - trophy
Best,
ViRa11