21 Conduit St Jovoy 2020

Pfffft... "Ohhh ha." That was the spontaneous reaction. Fruit freshness, tangy, yes, definitely rhubarb, not lemony-citrusy, with the bergamot bringing more of a light teeny note. Then everything settles down, becomes calmer.

There is no need to be afraid of a waft of amaretto, I only notice a developing almondy-synthetic, but very light, exciting sweetness. The fir balsam is more perceptible to me. It temporarily imparts an earthy, masculine, somehow soapy after-shave note. Then the conduit soon becomes less needle balsamic overall, but generally woodier, softer and sweeter, and the tonka bean can also be clearly filtered out after a few hours. The ambroxan holds back here, fortunately - I have already tested other calibers.

Overall, I see the fragrance as truly unisex - sometimes it veers very slightly in a feminine direction, then again in a masculine direction, but only subtly in each case.

What I find pleasant, it was the second fragrance I tested from Jovoy, is that, as with Remember Me, the notes are really clearly identifiable for me. But that doesn't mean that it is somehow disharmonious. On the contrary. It creates a tension, a certain excitement and variety through the special partners that were chosen for each note. (e.g. almond sweetness and fir balsam) I don't know what would be missing or too much.

I would rather compare it to French cuisine, which relies on the strength, aroma and taste of the individual ingredients and components, preserves them in their individuality and allows them to work side by side, does not "melt" them together through heavy processing, does not over-season them, but conjures up great, surprising component compositions from simple individual ingredients that support each other, but where each still stands on its own. And depending on what and how much of it you put on your fork, the taste experience is always different. Except that here it is an olfactory experience...

The nice thing about it, here it was the second time, in the meantime I have tested more, that the fragrance undergoes a real development with me (exception in terms of development: Musc Pallas ), it changes a lot and that in a beautiful and quiet way (yes, yes, the sillage is good, but unobtrusive - not a statement fragrance).

Once again, wearing a Jovoy is like a real fragrance journey that lasts for hours and has many twists and surprises in store, and not just the first time you wear it. And even if you have to walk for half an hour on a route that doesn't really enchant you, there is hope that you will soon have another "oh yes" moment. It's not exactly the experience we've often had in the meantime, ah yes, the vanilla-typical, soft (beautiful, but very often somehow samey) base. Or, at the beginning of fruity fragrances, the sweet fruit basket, the cherry and leathery, sweet and sweet presentation. For me, this one smells unagitated, elegantly French and soothing, well, "simply" different - not at all reminiscent of so many other DNAs, as I have sometimes read. For me, this fragrance does exactly that. It starts off fruity and tangy, shifts back and forth between subtly sweet and oily, coniferous and ends in a slightly woody, tart tonka base.

I'm really looking forward to more discoveries from this house - and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank @Skimmia for introducing me to this fragrance in the first place with her surprise, a bottle of Remember Me, which is already the discovery of the year for me. I was immediately so blown away that I decided not to buy a second bottle and went straight for the bottle. Because the price-performance ratio is top in my opinion.

I didn't know anything about Jovoy beforehand, but it seems to be an incredibly exciting house that I need to look into more. They're not "beast" performers so far, but all in their vein are putting a new, different, special twist on the tried and true. Niche for fine beginner noses perhaps.

In the meantime, I have tested four fragrances, one hit the bull's eye, one just missed out on an immediate purchase, but ended up directly on my wish list (Fire at Will), Musc Pallas as a 10ml bottling almost used up (clean fragrance close to the body, which brought repeated compliments when hugging as a greeting) and the 21 Conduit St at least so good that it definitely needs to be tested in more detail and will go on the "could fit list" and at 60:40 also moves in at some point... I'll certainly test a few more.

Testing - that's what I can only strongly recommend to everyone with the Jovoys!