My father doesn’t do things by halves. For the summer holidays, he invited his two grandchildren on a short trip to Oslo. The pictures of the ferry (large swimming pool, shopping arcade, etc.) have triggered plenty of high-frequency squeals. Of course, there will also be a lot of the Baltic Sea to see. And that brings us to the topic. Vista Sul Mare - view over the sea. So how does this view smell?
A salty-brackish maritime note, including a just-washed-up piece of plywood, mixes with a relatively mild let’s-say fruit. The fact that this primarily reminds one of mandarin is probably no coincidence, as the proximity to a certain synthetic quality is simply the greatest here. See, for example, L'Eau Froide by Lutens, Geza Schön's Escentric 02, or L'Île au Thé by Goutal. Here, it doesn’t seem any less meager.
As it progresses, I can’t even identify much from the provided mixture, even with the help of the official notes. At best, there’s a nebulous spiciness, which, however, is simply overshadowed and thus devalued by the brackish wood note. That’s a pity, as its initial hints were promising, with pink pepper and juniper almost recognizable! A sort of lily-of-the-valley sweetness-sentimentality (I wouldn’t have thought of it myself, but it’s plausible) is not helpful either. To top it all off, the otherwise completely unremarkable bergamot occasionally emits a whiff of cheesy feet, at least that’s what I think.
The let’s-say freshness of the opening gives way to a diffuse, rough sweetness by the second hour, under which the character-strong base notes cannot unfold. After about two hours, I mainly smell synthetic driftwood, and by the third hour, the scent is practically gone. Not “silent” or “basic,” but actually disappeared, except for a barely perceptible wood-sweet hint.
Conclusion: This expensive short trip takes place - to stay with the image - in an inside cabin on a spice freighter that was decommissioned many years ago, and on top of that, the ship is just going in circles in some harbor basin. Shore leave? Not happening. Great.
I thank MisterE for the sample.
PS: Speaking of “no half measures”… Uh - why is only half of my family invited?
Maybe because you're always busy testing perfumes and writing comments. So let's say a "let's-give-it-a-shot" trophy with a cheesy foot. Yeah, it's unfair, but maybe they just wanted to give the parents a break from the kids for once.
Oh dear! That sounds terrible! As a consolation, here's a trophy for your collection, along with a "fresh breeze" from the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. You can choose!
Thanks!
As a consolation, here's a trophy for your collection, along with a "fresh breeze" from the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. You can choose!