Stylessence Jil Sander 2007

It can no longer be denied: I have grown old.
Actually, my mirror tells me something different; I prefer to neither accept nor spread such unpleasant truths, and those who were born even earlier than I will certainly show me a bird.
And yet: My journeys into the past are getting longer; I have to go further back in time to locate a very specific memory, an experience, a person that comes to mind when the name of a fragrance is mentioned or when it wafts into my nose.

This is what happened to me today at the mention of "Jil Sander."
How long has it been since the perhaps greatest, but certainly the most famous German designer and her fragrances were part of my almost daily vocabulary, since everyone who cared about their image proudly showcased at least one Sander fragrance in their home bathroom?
Two decades and more have passed since that time when my passion for perfume was nourished daily by new encounters with people for whom a fragrance was an indispensable part of their wardrobe, who wanted to make a statement and often mark their territory.
This was not difficult at that time, as subtlety and understatement were not among the outstanding characteristics of the people, clothes, and fragrances that dominated the scene in the late eighties and early nineties.
With one exception perhaps: Jil Sander always celebrated a classically cool restraint in her fashion, a puristic severity - which, however, was not reflected in her fragrances, as these were very much adapted to the zeitgeist and were not meant to let their wearers go unnoticed.

They wore "Background" and "Man III," the men who crossed my path during that time, who were guests in my life for a little while or longer and enriched and shaped it in one way or another.
Colleagues and friends loved "Jil" and "Sun," my own heart was won by "No. 4" and lost again, while the wife of my then superior wore "Woman III" day in and day out, placing the fragrance on my personal "Mustn't have" list.
At some point, the hype subsided, at some point, other fragrances were noticed again, at some point, Jil Sander disappeared from my radar until she re-entered my sight and scent with "Sensations."
It was much quieter than anything that had previously borne the name Jil Sander on the bottle, gentle and sweet and once again catering to the capricious, fluttery zeitgeist, which I, in turn, could not relate to at that time.
And so it happened as it had to: Jil's fragrances slipped from my sight and thus from my mind.

Until at some point and somehow, through winding paths, "Stylessence" found its way into my collection.
How exactly that happened can no longer be reconstructed today - my memory is not what it used to be - but one day it was just there, the dark blue cube with the pink inscription.
For a long time, it stood undisturbed on the shelf, watching as my choice always fell on one or another of its many brothers and sisters, until it apparently realized that "falling" was its special keyword, and it boldly threw itself at me when I clumsily reached for its neighbor yesterday.
I just managed to catch it and save it from shattering - and thought that such boldness deserved to be rewarded.
"Pffft," it went...

...and I find myself amidst a cloud of the sweetest orange blossoms, drifting on a stream of orange juice - which obviously sprang from the Garden of Eden, as my brain immediately registers parallels to Cacharel's "Eden," which unfortunately did not seem paradisiacal to me at the time.
Fortunately, this similarity lasts only a fleeting moment and gives way to an increasing woodiness, without the dominance of the sweet orange being called into question in the slightest.
"Orange marmalade!" I think, but it is not the bittersweet English preserve, but that kind which seems to consist almost entirely of sugar and causes cavities just by looking at it.
I feel a little uneasy and hope for the promised green and spicy notes, which, however, do not want to materialize - instead, the sweetness continues to increase, and even the best of men crinkles his nose now.
At this point, it is clear: For the sake of cozy togetherness, I should better not apply "Stylessence."

A few hours later, the sweetness has retreated to a socially acceptable level, presenting "Stylessence" with a warm floral base, still bearing traces of orange, which gains a slightly more serious character from the wood, without significantly influencing the character of the fragrance.
It smells good, I admit, but it does not remotely have the recognition value that I once associated with the name and fragrances of Jil Sander - and so I am somewhat astonished to have to assign "Stylessence" to the same perfumer as the "Beloved" creations of the house Amouage, which seem to indicate a tremendous leap in development.
Perhaps he has simply grown older, the good Bernard Ellena?!