12/14/2021
Elysium
837 Reviews
Elysium
Helpful Review
8
Don’t Look Back in Anger
H24 has been available for a few months now, and I immediately liked it at the first impact. It seems rather odd to me, with its overwhelming addition of Sclarene being a component I've never heard of before. The metallic nuance spreads powerfully, like a rush of blood to the head. And it pleasantly struck me. I instantly associated this particularity with his previous Terre d'Hermès Eau de Toilette, for its uniqueness, observing no similarity between the two. Unfortunately, samples were not available for some time, so I had to content myself with testing the tester on paper and my hand. But yesterday, unexpectedly, a colleague of mine kindly gave me a decant, asking me if I would like to try it. How could I refuse? I tried it for a long time and wrote these initial impressions of mine.
The initial H24 glows are brilliant, green, citrus-rich, dazzling, and not at all harsh. I get sweet orange and creamy lemon. The orange, however, is not comparable to that of Terre, where Jean-Claude Ellena has enhanced the mineral aspect. In H24, Christine Nagel put more emphasis on the metallic element. Thankfully, they are two completely different visions, as I would have expected. No matter how much I love Terre, I don't need another flanker of it. The citrus output is wet, almost moist, and makes me think of the unmentioned note of the violet leaf. There's an immediate serenity and a soft green element that hints at dry herbs. In addition, I get a pleasant floral touch in the background. I deem it is the crispy and slightly bitter narcissus. It is fluffy, with a cottony musk nuance, which still maintains the manly aspect of the perfume. Velvety clary sage leaf is also present in this beauty and oozes upfront. It is aromatic, with grassy accents, and works its way through the scent, more or less prominent but never entirely disappearing.
The heart takes some time to blossom, presenting all the herbal and minty nuance of the lavender, with a whisper of a hay note giving it a bloomy that stayed with me. And metallic shades of the Sclarene molecule and the pink ones of rosewood. The notes combine with a distinct, silvery freshness to create a metallic yet warm pink sense of contrast. Narcissus now explodes and increases a subtle metallic sheen and a thick, creamy sense of texture. It amplifies a soapiness that feels clean and comfortable. This middle stage brings in a floral and soapy vibe, which is nice and keeps the metallics from being too over the top. Yes, the soapiness I captured in this phase is so clean, vivid. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Why do I like this middle stage so much? Because it is a kind of steamy soapiness, a smell that is deeply engraved in my memory. It reminds me of the warm, humid, and metallic smell that filled the room where my mom used to iron our clothes, principally precious and delicate things that need special handling. Do you know that cloud of steam, released when someone places a damp cloth on top of a woolen garment and then puts the hot iron on it? Metallic, ozonic, a bit burnt. Besides, it is so light and pristine that it smells like the steam coming out of a clean, still, slightly damp white shirt as you iron it. Here, this is the aroma that I get at this point.
The more the scent matures, the more it gets powdery, woody, with herbal touches, too. There is a mossy vibe to it, slightly metallic, followed by the use of rosewood, which here provides a woody balance to the sage and narcissus that other woods cannot. Rosewood has a nuanced olfactory profile with a hint of what the name portends, rosy. I can't help but think of something slightly vanillic, creamy, and spicy, all but too sweet.
My last take on this, it's pleasant, has novel elements such as the Sclarene, and is undoubtedly a cut above many modern, mainstream masculines. It features plenty of flowers. Still, the floral aspect never falls into the feminine territory. A scent that is intimate, pared-back, filled with contrast and dynamism. I see this scent suitable for workdays from late spring, when the air gets warmer, until early fall when the air chills more and more. It has an average projection and lasts several hours, so you will feel clean and fresh all day long at work, as well as in leisure on weekend days.
I base my review on a decant I have owned since December 2021.
-Elysium
The initial H24 glows are brilliant, green, citrus-rich, dazzling, and not at all harsh. I get sweet orange and creamy lemon. The orange, however, is not comparable to that of Terre, where Jean-Claude Ellena has enhanced the mineral aspect. In H24, Christine Nagel put more emphasis on the metallic element. Thankfully, they are two completely different visions, as I would have expected. No matter how much I love Terre, I don't need another flanker of it. The citrus output is wet, almost moist, and makes me think of the unmentioned note of the violet leaf. There's an immediate serenity and a soft green element that hints at dry herbs. In addition, I get a pleasant floral touch in the background. I deem it is the crispy and slightly bitter narcissus. It is fluffy, with a cottony musk nuance, which still maintains the manly aspect of the perfume. Velvety clary sage leaf is also present in this beauty and oozes upfront. It is aromatic, with grassy accents, and works its way through the scent, more or less prominent but never entirely disappearing.
The heart takes some time to blossom, presenting all the herbal and minty nuance of the lavender, with a whisper of a hay note giving it a bloomy that stayed with me. And metallic shades of the Sclarene molecule and the pink ones of rosewood. The notes combine with a distinct, silvery freshness to create a metallic yet warm pink sense of contrast. Narcissus now explodes and increases a subtle metallic sheen and a thick, creamy sense of texture. It amplifies a soapiness that feels clean and comfortable. This middle stage brings in a floral and soapy vibe, which is nice and keeps the metallics from being too over the top. Yes, the soapiness I captured in this phase is so clean, vivid. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Why do I like this middle stage so much? Because it is a kind of steamy soapiness, a smell that is deeply engraved in my memory. It reminds me of the warm, humid, and metallic smell that filled the room where my mom used to iron our clothes, principally precious and delicate things that need special handling. Do you know that cloud of steam, released when someone places a damp cloth on top of a woolen garment and then puts the hot iron on it? Metallic, ozonic, a bit burnt. Besides, it is so light and pristine that it smells like the steam coming out of a clean, still, slightly damp white shirt as you iron it. Here, this is the aroma that I get at this point.
The more the scent matures, the more it gets powdery, woody, with herbal touches, too. There is a mossy vibe to it, slightly metallic, followed by the use of rosewood, which here provides a woody balance to the sage and narcissus that other woods cannot. Rosewood has a nuanced olfactory profile with a hint of what the name portends, rosy. I can't help but think of something slightly vanillic, creamy, and spicy, all but too sweet.
My last take on this, it's pleasant, has novel elements such as the Sclarene, and is undoubtedly a cut above many modern, mainstream masculines. It features plenty of flowers. Still, the floral aspect never falls into the feminine territory. A scent that is intimate, pared-back, filled with contrast and dynamism. I see this scent suitable for workdays from late spring, when the air gets warmer, until early fall when the air chills more and more. It has an average projection and lasts several hours, so you will feel clean and fresh all day long at work, as well as in leisure on weekend days.
I base my review on a decant I have owned since December 2021.
-Elysium
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