HoS N.001 House of Sillage 2016

This sampling of the house of House of Sillage, HOS N.001, a sweet and spicy mix that immediately strikes me as a sort of cherried tobacco, an exaggerated variation of Mugler A*Men Pure Havane, though it lacks both cherry and tobacco in the note breakdown. Rather, it’s a mix of sweets (vanilla, tonka), spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove), and resins/woods (cedar, mahogany, amber, oud), the overall effective of which is largely more sweet than spicy or woody.

I wouldn’t say it’s a sweetness overload, however, as it feels reasonably refined, and reminds me also of Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia along the lines of smelling like effervescent root beer a bit. There’s something nutty, surely the tonka, in the way that that the almond features in the almond-named Mandorlo di Sicilia. The oud feels undetectable, however, as I do not get any of its animalic or medicinal twinges when wearing, and the spices are relatively tame—neither the cinnamon nor ginger nor clove stand out very much, though I could imagine each being part of the mix.

Overall, HOS N.001 is easy to wear for fans of sweet fragrances like me, I imagine, and is reasonably versatile to that effect in that it’s not so heavy to be overbearing on a summer evening but certainly strong enough for the winter cold. And while some might regard it as masculine, I could see it being unisex, particularly given many of its foody notes .

Sold at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and the house site, HOS N.001 retails for $285 for 75ml, though it’s currently on sale on the house site for $213.75, though I’ve recently seen it as low as $142.50 (50% off). At the lowest price (under $2/ml), it’s quite a good deal, albeit a bit more of a stretch at retail.

For me, personally, it’s a bit more of a “like” than a “love” and I feel it’s well-executed overall but a couple notches below Mugler Pure Havane, which it initially reminded me of, albeit comparable to Acqua di Parma Mandorlo di Sicilia, which might be a better analogy for what it does best, the sort of unrelenting, nutty, almost candied sweetness.

7 out of 10

I detected no oud in the composition.The ultimate feeling for me is like a high quality caramelized bubble gum in a positive way.This can be very addictive in the long run and the quality of the ingredients are pretty high.The price tag is some how above my limits for a 75ml but this house earns every penny in a world full of copies. I hope the future will bring us such unique quality combos. Also the good thing about this emotional sexy - eros type beauty is that it does not stick to your eyes and as time passes it stays with you like an original part of you. After I put this on I got the feeling of Jean Baptiste of the movie in the last scene. I personally in my whole life did not sniff such a delicate sweet man smell till now.

There’s nothing out there that smells like this. First spray is a cinnamon clove bomb. It’s delicious, but go easy because it’s strong and can be cloying at first. 20-30 minutes out and it smooths into some nice woodsy vanilla undertones. Very nice, but not for every man. Sort of feminine in its construction and execution. I absolutely love the box and presentation. And the spring loaded sliding protective metal cap over the spray nozzle is one of a kind. This lasts 10-12 hours and more on me, projects nicely and the sillage is beast mode as well. I love it.

Lilienthal is to blame for the title! I've been in Northern Germany for too long, and it took some help from Austria to recognize the joke in the name.

And the thick pants somehow fit the brand House of Sillage, or as I like to call it, House of Schnickschnack, due to the, let's say, flamboyant bottle design of the women's fragrances. And when I look at the special editions of certain scents, I automatically start whistling "Party like a Russian." :) I'm just not into bling-bling and hope that the bottle collectors will forgive me for that.

Before I got to the pants, I was able to get a scent impression of the first 6 women's fragrances from the brand, and it wasn't bad at all, even if none of the scents really fall into my preferred category. I also believe that the target audience of the brand doesn't really prefer quirky niche fragrances, but rather solid, well-composed perfumery. And one must give credit to the fragrances; they all fit their names, as they all had more than enough sillage. Unfortunately, I had the impression with almost all of them that I had smelled these fragrances before, even at a significantly lower price (but then with less performance).

The first men's fragrance from the brand is already a bit more experimental, but still far enough from being a quirky scent experience.

HosN. 001 is a gourmand for me with a woody soft base.

At first, cinnamon and a sweet, diffuse fruity note dominate the scent, which to me smells like a mix of plum and raspberry. I can't really make out oud and amber here.

The fruity note manages to persist for a while, and slowly the scent becomes sweeter, spicier, vanilla-like, and a ginger-sharpened clove tries to assert itself against the sweetness.

The woody notes then sneak into the scent experience, and if at all, oud has been used in more than homeopathic doses. Although I can't really say how mahogany smells, the wood note comes across with its rather reddish soft tone that matches the visual appearance of the wood.

Both longevity and sillage give me no reason to complain. The scent lasts a long time and is clearly but pleasantly perceived by those around.

As for the classification as a men's fragrance, I do think that the times when only men wore pants are long gone. And (some) men can also come across as masculine in a skirt. :)

Many thanks to Sweetsmell for sharing the sample.

At first, N.001 seemed quite distinctive. A peppery mulled wine spice meets a fluffy vanilla cream that has a citrusy touch from ginger. Everything feels a bit synthetic, but bright and still sweet and spicy.

The fragrance truly lives up to its name at the beginning, as the sillage appears to be really good. After just two sprays on my forearms, I could still perceive the scent well during a bike ride, even with a sweater and jacket on.

Barely arriving at my destination, I noticed that something Oud-like had joined in. Either there is a rather sharp, bright Oud synthetic involved, or the clove has simply developed in a very medicinal direction. The initially bright scent hardly darkens due to this Oud impression, as it is indeed a rather sharp, solvent-like Oud. This merely causes N.001 to smell less edible and gain a slight, herbaceous-masculine edge.

Many further changes do not occur, and after a few hours, I find the sillage to be quite close to the skin. The base seems to have been reached, and a lingering scent remains that slightly reminds me of baked vanilla aroma and cookie dough.

N.001 would be a great new release in the mainstream, but for the price being asked, I do not find the scent impression to be valuable enough. However, the at least initially distinctive scent impression, the tremendous sillage in the first hour, and the good longevity fit the niche claim.

Overall, a lovely, sweet fragrance for those who prefer pleasant, unexciting scents and still don’t want someone else to wear the same fragrance :).