Originally, I had planned to test one of the "spice bombs," but due to some comments, it ended up being an 8ml sample of Rehab. And for a change, this will be a more analytical rather than a creative or emotional review. So, let's get straight to the point.
Rehab starts fresh, and this freshness from the bergamot gets a refined spicy kick from the pepper. I initially perceive little to no lavender. Musk adds a slightly clean creaminess to the opening as it develops. The combination of cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver, guaiac wood, and sandalwood takes a correspondingly sweet, vanillic, woody, and slightly smoky direction. The transitions are actually very good. However, a certain, hard-to-describe note lingers. It somehow smells like chewing gum and slightly sour. Is that from Hedione?
Since I have been familiar with many individual fragrance materials as a DIY mixer for some time, I try to get to the bottom of it. Lavender, Hedione, and musk are quickly found in the drawer. But like with all perfumes, something is surely still missing. That means I need to quickly identify more ingredients. Here I find limonene, linalool, and citral, which are fragrance materials very close to bergamot. Next is citronellol, which, through certain leathery and rosy accords, likely rounds off the heart note. Alongside alpha-isomethyl ionone, known for its iris-like, waxy, powdery-woody direction, coumarin finally appears on the list as well. Oh no, I think to myself. So I pull that out of the drawer too, and off we go. First, I start with lavender. Initially, I spray two spritzes of Rehab on my left hand. With my right, I hold a pipette containing the respective fragrance material at certain intervals to the left and wave it around a bit.
And what can I say, there is definitely lavender in Rehab. The musk was no question, so I try it next with coumarin. The next "aha" moment follows; that definitely fits as well. Then I take Hedione. I should mention that Hedione is not perceivable for many people, meaning it has a very weak scent for many sniffers. However, it enhances other fragrance notes and creates connections between the three main notes. But when I hold the Hedione with the pipette next to my hand, it becomes clear to me that there must be a decent amount of Hedione in Rehab.
For me, that unknown scent ultimately arises from the combination of the previously tested fragrance materials, a certain sour note from the bergamot, especially in combination with Hedione. And this component won't leave me alone. So I go back in.
At first, I think that the sample of a perfume costing over 200 EUR is too precious to mix. But I am just curious, so I take 4ml with a pipette and fill it into an empty spray bottle. Next, I grab a few typical top and heart notes like orange, grapefruit, jasmine, geraniol, and lilial and wave them around again. Quickly, orange, jasmine, and lilial are eliminated. Grapefruit and geraniol fit best with the original. So, I add a drop of a 10% grapefruit solution. Instead of geraniol, I take a drop of Bulgarian rose, also a 10% solution. Now shake lightly and let it sit for a bit.
What can I say, the grapefruit makes the top note a bit fruitier and creates a better transition to the heart, while the rose adds more warmth overall. All in all, this results in a slightly more feminine scent for me. Rehab is, of course, a great scent without my mixing. I haven't had anything like this in my cabinet before. It is also, as indicated, a unisex fragrance, which unfortunately cannot be said for many other scents with such a designation. The masculine part is clearly in the refined, oriental spice that accompanies the entire progression.
PS: My now-arrived bottle is from a batch over two years old and is a bit darker, spicier, and I actually like it even better. Not a Spicebomb and ten times more elegant.
Conclusion: A remarkable scent with good longevity and sillage, which has its price but is wonderfully balanced, with a touch of the oriental spice of a Noir Extreme.
And in the end, I also like my own mixing, because with a little more rose, I was able to create a Noir Pour Femme from Tom Ford's Noir Extreme as well ;-)
