Lieber Gustav 14 Krigler 1914

„The wild and lavish world of 1910's Berlin“ is supposed to represent dear Gustav - a peculiar marketing idea. The last years of the Kaiser era before the First World War are hardly considered “wild and lavish.” Did someone not pay attention in history class?

Dear Gustav has dressed up nicely: In a chic glass bottle, he is dyed dark purple, signaling right away that he is a strong lavender scent. Wasn't purple a fashionable color of the Roaring Twenties? That would fit better with Gustav, not with the “dear” but with the “iron Gustav.” His famous carriage ride to Paris took place in 1928, ten years later Hans Fallada's sentimental novel about it was published, and in the 1950s the film adaptation starring Heinz Rühmann was released. In terms of advertising, Gustav Hartmann probably had quite an edge over the Krigler company - even today, the Berlin taxi association commemorates him.

Dear Gustav fits well on such a rustic coachman's seat with his pleasantly strong lavender note. I like that, as often lavender scents are too delicate and subtle for me. This one is robust; even in the top note, a rather rough figure appears behind the lavender. It’s slightly scratchy, what is probably referred to here as a leather note.

Lavender is fleeting - not many perfumes manage to carry this herb beyond the top note. Even dear Gustav struggles with that. After just half an hour, I no longer perceive any lavender. Instead, the rough and bitter notes now dominate, underpinned by a slowly creeping tonka-like note. This gives the fragrance a considerable amount of breadth and stability. After another half hour, the bitter notes recede, and the drydown unfolds with tonka, perhaps vanilla, and dry woody notes.

All of this happens on the skin and doesn’t really excite me. These broad tonka-wood constructions are everywhere, especially for significantly less money. Plus, with such a rough character - I was about to write a scathing review, see the title.

But wait, there’s more! At a distance from the skin, I perceive the note referred to here as black tea. I know that; elsewhere it’s called mate, namely in Annick Goutal's Duel. This fully reconciles me with dear Gustav. Not only are these tea notes rare, but here they are also placed in an unusual context with lavender. The tea note hides a bit and is very subtle - a nice contrast to the otherwise much rougher aspects. Unlike the Annick Goutal fragrance, the tea note is not placed at the center; it is almost played with. Thus, dear Gustav is indeed more complex than it initially seemed. After some hesitation, I quite like him.

You need to take some time for dear Gustav. At first glance, he presents himself as a rather unsuccessful lavender scent. I also find labeling him as “scratchy,” “cheap,” or “average” justifiable. Here, discipline is definitely required when testing - but that might be difficult, as the Krigler scent bar offers so many other interesting perfumes.