Because the opening is really so sexy and endlessly awesome. 12/10, killer scent, amazing!
This subtle fruitiness, Davana, cardamom, with the perfectly staged plum... to kneel for. (For those who can smell you even more... ;) And it falls perfectly into the sweet-fluffy base notes bed, tonka, ambrette, patchouli, benzoin, etc...
What disappoints me a bit, however, is that the fragrance quickly develops strongly in the direction of the sweet-dusty, (admittedly really beautifully crafted) Le Mâle Elixir base. I understand that they wanted to embed everything in the fluffy-sweet Elixir DNA, but why can't these really great accords from the opening linger more prominently in the DNA?
Moreover, in my own sillage, I suddenly had the moment where it smelled extremely like Dior Homme Intense (2011) during the drydown, as some people rightly point out. And this DNA is indeed really nice, but Dior Homme Intense (2011) is the best Dior Homme Intense, so anything trying to score here can only go wrong. (Except for consumers who don't look at Dior fragrances and don't know the DNA. For them, it's a catch! Well played, Gaultier... -.-)
But for me, the fragrance would simply be 1000x cooler if it just stayed in the note constellation of the opening and didn't get lost so much in this old-fashioned, well-known, super-redundant sweet-powdery direction. (Nothing against our beloved sweet-powdery iris hits, but the perfect iris fragrances already exist, that's it!)
I also find that in the drydown, you really can't distinguish the Elixirs much anymore, although I will get a small sample of Elixir in due time to follow up on this. :) So Absolu actually oscillates between DHI and LME for me... it's kind of both, DHI maybe more in the sillage.
It's a shame about the lost points, you could have been a unique 12/10, but unfortunately, you're just a redundant, solid 8.5/10, with the addition that people who don't have any other Elixir and especially no DHI will see you as a no-brainer with an instant purchase reflex.
But for Gaultier, #It'sGoingWell. ;P
I'm then waiting for the Le Male Elixir Absolut Platinum (or something) where the opening remains the star.
