Amber
Siam benzoin
Choya attar
Mysore sandalwood
Omani frankincense
Tiaré
Limoncello
Night-blooming jasmine
Oud
False sandalwood
Herbs
Colombian gardenia
Italian honeysuckle04/06/2015
ColinM
516 Reviews
ColinM
1
Kaleidoscopic!
Bohemian Black opens with a really peculiar blend reminding me of classic masculine warm citrus-floral-woody scents like Eau Sauvage or Caron’s Third Man, mixed with a thick, “round” and kind of nostalgic floral-aldehydic bouquet as in vintage chypres – say, Guerlain’s Chamade. This, with a sprinkle of modern creativity: a sort of sparkling boozy note (a boozy citrus, specifically), a sweet-resinous dark and warm choco note. That boozy note is supposed to evoke “limoncello” liquor, and – trust an Italian on this – it perfectly nails it: the smell in Bohemian Black is exactly that. A sweet, citric, thick and syrupy boozy aroma. I admire Christi Meshell’s work on this scent, which seems like a Rubik’s cube to recompose together: several different nuances, a sort of schizophrenic dark hybrid between an indolic-floral chypre, a pine-citrus barbershop fougère, a resinous gourmand, a fresh boozy scent. Joyful and summery on one side, somber and autumnal on the other. And a dozen of different tones singing together, from dusty warm resins to the citric booziness, through a classic jasmine-based floral accord and that “uncle’s aftershave” feel. Mad, if you ask me; but incredibly solid and really well put together, a really fun and clever “detournement” of several classic canons with a contemporary approach. A geometric kaleidoscope smelling refined and intriguing, extremely harmonic and pleasant despite the coexistence of so many different notes and inspirations. The main flaw? Just take a stopwatch with you when you spray this, ‘cause in a matter of some dozens of minutes it will be all gone. As much bizarre, colorful, interesting and bold at first, as then settling on a floral-woody, amber-patchouli drydown smelling quite plain, linear, almost openly cheap. Like many (too many!) niche scents, it “says it all” within the first hour, then a boring, weak drydown. Contrary to the inspiration which it seems to quote, since vintage chypres and fougères are often brilliant essays of how to master the drydown of a fragrance. Still nice overall, but too costly for being that cool for just one hour or so.
7/10
7/10
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