Sparkling Sand Jacques Zolty 2017

"Have you been smoking again?" Peter snaps at me. "We have forest fire level four!" "Carsten will be at the door any minute!" Carsten is with the fire department. Peter is the village cat. I live with Peter. And no, I haven't been smoking.

"Sparkling Sand!" I explain. "I have a date." "With a nice perfume."
"Oh, that conspiratorial one?" "The one you talked about?" Peter is no fool.
"Yes, we want to swap. Samples. At the university."
"During the bright day?" Peter raises his whiskers. He's read too much John le Carré.
"And you're going to douse yourself with Sparkling Sand?" "Have you read what has been reviewed?"
"No, what?" "Besides, it's called reviewed. With a 'v' and 'ed'!"

"Well, then watch out!" Peter taps his paw on the mouse cinema. Opens a perfume page. Reads aloud:
"Medicine cabinet - wizard - scratchy lemon - herbal tea - grandma from the bathroom - dull apricot - grandpa's absurd pipe tobacco - ammonium pastilles …"

I have to stop him. "But there's so much more!" he interjects. Never mind, that's enough. I like this scent. What others write doesn't matter to me. To put it loosely. I enjoy the smoky aspect. It must be the incense. The leathery notes. And whatever else is in there. Lemon, for example. I usually don't like lemon. In real life, that is. But here, I do.

"Just copy the pyramid description!" Peter suggests. "Others do that too."
Sure, I could do that. But it goes against my grain. I want to convey MY scent impression here. Not what others think. Or what is listed somewhere. Period.

So: Sparkling Sand is a wonderfully niche (or is it nishe?) fragrance! Smoky. Leathery. Spicy. Fresh. Not sweet. Although "Sweet" is listed in the pyramid .. Tzzzz … It just doesn't sparkle. Unless you count the sparkle in the eyes.

A must-have for anyone who appreciates a perfume that is affordable, not hyped, not smelling like every corner, has a silly name, but smells incredibly good.
Warning, unsuitable blind buy candidate for the distinguished hype friend!