You Para | Diso ICK Amsterdam 2010

Even if I had no idea who was behind You Para | Diso, I would have guessed Gualtieri. The fragrance immediately and strikingly reminds me of Black Afgano from the very start, so it doesn't require any sophisticated expertise. And despite some differences as it develops, we remain on familiar ground.

Is this supposed to be a fragrance that reflects a ballet (https://vimeo.com/13001093)? A hit of the caliber of Black Afgano? Such a performance must look more like the clumsy elephant dance from the Carnival of the Animals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsUQk-HcP6s) than underscore the lightness of Vaslav Nijinsky (to be sensed in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ1g7VAt-Nk), so the concern goes. Let's wait and see. Let's start the Gualtieri fragrance note guessing game:

Aside from the already broadly mentioned similarity to Black Afgano (in short: dark-warm wood from the guaiac sandalwood corner, dark-sweet resin, almost liquefied smoke - most will know the scent), I perceive a kind of marzipan-like bitter almond aroma at the start of You Para | Diso. On the second test, however, I feel more reminded of a shoe cream; there was one many years ago that emitted a similar scent. A childhood memory.

A brief appearance that within seconds gives way to a rougher character. Its origin may be patchouli, which, however, is not directed towards earth but rather (only towards!) leather. On the other hand, and primarily, Duro sends its regards: We are sanding and varnishing wood. In the second hour, I also note coffee that has been transformed into a saturated sugar solution. Along with thickened incense that is almost tangible. I cannot contribute anything knowledgeable about the heavily debated cannabis note from Black Afgano.

But as the morning progresses, the veil lifts... oh, what am I saying: veil. Nonsense. The thick brocade cover is lifted and gradually - for its standards - begins to float. The incense is not only dark; a lighter and more woodsy variant is now involved. And speaking of wood: As a new Duro reminiscence, light wood with the typically sweet artificial wood undertone appears. I actually like it better in this case than elsewhere, as it fits well into the already sweet environment. Overall, an aura of light, woody air now surrounds and underlies the robust malty core.

Thus, the fragrance has distanced itself from the heavy penetration that Black Afgano may be accused of. The woody sawdust note of the base... uh... sawdust? Wood shavings? Like in a circus? Hold on! Are wood shavings also scattered during ballet performances? Probably only during those of the mentioned elephant. Let's leave that aside. As a scent impression, it still fits. Just this wood gradually asserts itself more strongly in the afternoon. The airy-bright wood note shakes itself free and refers one last time to Duro. While the previously avoided synthetic intrusiveness increases somewhat, it stops just in time and never dances out of line (to stay in the marketing image). Sandalwood, I think, is struggling to push through beneath the sweetness.

The slow (very slow) demise of the fragrance from the eighth, ninth hour deep into the evening may set in early by Gualtieri standards, but it certainly does not give cause for complaints. I imagine a hint of musk as a closing note. Everything is just fine.

Nevertheless, You Para | Diso - this cannot be denied - represents a variation or blending of the well-known Gualtieri style. And this brings me to the title of the comment. The Ouverture solennelle "1812" is a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky that sets to music Russia's victory over Napoleon's Grande Armée. It was a commissioned work, and Tchaikovsky himself wrote to his long-time patroness Nadezhda von Meck that the overture had "no artistic value, as I wrote it without love."

I certainly won't go that far. Neither there nor here - what expertise would I presume! It is just that it seems likely that the artist, whose inspiration can flow freely, may achieve greater heights than one who must move along paths outlined by others or set (fragrance) notes for occasions chosen by others. Perhaps Alessandro Gualtieri, like Tchaikovsky back then, skillfully and routinely completed a commission using his tried-and-true compositional means.

And just as Tchaikovsky succeeded in creating an effective and therefore rightly popular composition with "1812," Gualtieri has delivered no less professionally. For those for whom Black Afgano or - with reservations - Duro was simply too much of a good thing (or whatever), You Para | Diso is indeed a genuine, albeit unfortunately discontinued, recommendation. And also, in a way, an original and not a clone from someone else's hand.

I should test Black Afgano again - perhaps half a spray.

Many thanks to Gerdi for the sample and for some additional information!