Fresh notes
Leather
Spicy notes
Woods02/11/2025
SouTHboy
7 Reviews
SouTHboy
3
Vanillic Leather
Gold flanker is the latest addition in the Twice lineup dating back to the 1995 progenitor. It seems like the line was ressurected like a Lazarus after a long hiatus, since 26 years passed between the original and the follower Nero (2021). We didn’t have to wait that long for the next one – only two years passed and Gold arrived in 2023. What’s even more fascinating is that all three are creations of the same perfumer Ilias Ermenidis. I’m not quite sure where he was employed in 1995, but Ilias is now a principal perfumer at Firmenich and this is quite evident both in Nero and the later Gold flanker. Having access to their own in-house ingredients, the nose behind this delivered solid fragrances even with low budget.
This is also the reason why Gucci Guilty Absolute and Phillip Plein No Limit$ are often listed as similar to this – this being no coincidence as the other two are creations of Alberto Morillas, master perfumer at the very same company. So the leather and wood notes come from the same cabinet and Twice Gold feels like a clash between both the Morillas’ creations and more. In the top I get the resemblance to the rugged leather note of Gucci, probably courtesy of the same Woodleather aromachemical, but here it’s toned down and playing second fiddle behind wooden notes (Goldenwood?). I also get some herbaceousness in the background not dissimilar to the previous entries – a dotted line connecting all three releases, so to say. The sweetened vanillic drydown is more reminiscent of No Limit$, sans the aniseed liquorice note thereof.
Performance is quite surprisingly more than you would expect with the skin scent discernible even after 20 hours. Any development from the top notes to the base happens within 4 hours, however. The remaining time is restricted to the somewhat “been there, done that” base accord of tonka-vanilla combo supplemented with the almost complimentary dose of amberwoods, but those luckily do not stick out their scratchy fingernails and remain well blended into the composition.
Overall, a nice little surprise from the house and a solid leather fragrance by itself. When considering the price, it’s quite a no-brainer, really.
This is also the reason why Gucci Guilty Absolute and Phillip Plein No Limit$ are often listed as similar to this – this being no coincidence as the other two are creations of Alberto Morillas, master perfumer at the very same company. So the leather and wood notes come from the same cabinet and Twice Gold feels like a clash between both the Morillas’ creations and more. In the top I get the resemblance to the rugged leather note of Gucci, probably courtesy of the same Woodleather aromachemical, but here it’s toned down and playing second fiddle behind wooden notes (Goldenwood?). I also get some herbaceousness in the background not dissimilar to the previous entries – a dotted line connecting all three releases, so to say. The sweetened vanillic drydown is more reminiscent of No Limit$, sans the aniseed liquorice note thereof.
Performance is quite surprisingly more than you would expect with the skin scent discernible even after 20 hours. Any development from the top notes to the base happens within 4 hours, however. The remaining time is restricted to the somewhat “been there, done that” base accord of tonka-vanilla combo supplemented with the almost complimentary dose of amberwoods, but those luckily do not stick out their scratchy fingernails and remain well blended into the composition.
Overall, a nice little surprise from the house and a solid leather fragrance by itself. When considering the price, it’s quite a no-brainer, really.
TheDunkPapa
