Kenzo Jungle

Jungle L'Éléphant

Kenzo 1996

The exact words of my friend during the spray premiere. And this despite the fact that we live about 80 kilometers away from Cologne. But you really can't put it any better. Right after spraying, you expect any moment the bomb disposal squad to forcefully gain access to the apartment of the perpetrators, to take into custody the nose-explosive along with the accomplices of this scent conspiracy.

This fragrance is the opposite of subtle. And of average. And of mainstream. Actually, of everything that is currently considered "hip," "trendy," or however youth language might express it. An olfactory fist of God (no blasphemy), that first narcotizes every halfway functional nose within a radius of at least 5 meters, sending the olfactory cells to nirvana. Wonderful. Why kick down the door when you can just tear down the wall.

You don't have to like this scent. You have to pay it respect. An incredible thicket of exotic plants and dripping humidity. A real jungle, indeed. So dense that I can no longer recognize the individual trees in the forest. Mango, ylang-ylang, cardamom, clove, heliotrope, hit me with a stick... for all I care. It might all be true. But for me, it simply works as a total work of art. Very difficult to filter out individual notes. But you don't need to. The jungle is alive. And it trembles. With vitality. And it will find its own exotics. Definitely not for everyone. And that's a good thing. What should the gray mice do among the majestic big cats?

PS: The hypothetical disposal squad would probably just get lost in the jungle anyway. And until the thicket clears, well, that could take a long time...