Ganymede Marc-Antoine Barrois 2019 Eau de Parfum

Yes, it’s a controversial one. Released in 2019 and composed by the Bisch himself, and replicated across several brands many times. And honestly, I get why.

More inspired by Greek mythology than physical celestial bodies, this fragrance stands out as archetypal. Despite a muted market debut, its relevance grew steadily, especially after Bisch’s started collaborating with Parfums de Marly.

Scent-wise, it might not be my all-time favorite, but when it launched and when I first experienced it it was truly unique - so, it gets an 8. I still remember spraying it for the first time at M-AB’s boutique in London 3 years ago.

Ganymede opens with a sharp metallic mandarin note, paired with what feels like lab-crafted florals that don't exist in nature. Usually, I don't associate fragrances with abstract concepts, but this one evokes images of fractal architecture and futuristic suede. Not the animalic kind, more like a clean, aseptic version of leather.

Sure, we can debate and critique some of Bisch’s more recent creations, but I’m convinced Ganymede will be remembered as a classic.
You might not love it, but if you’re into fragrance, it’s a must-try.

You know that scene at the end of Pulp Fiction when Jules finally opens the suitcase and reveals the glowing golden something inside?

It's a bottle of Ganymede.

This may very well be the best thing I've ever smelled. It's so smooth, balanced, blended, intoxicating. I don't know if I've ever wanted a FB of something so badly. I want to smell like this forever.

Strong in orange, leather, and spices, Ganymede Eau de Parfum (EdP) grabs your attention immediately, whether for better or for worse. This dwells in the Opus VII - Reckless Leather and Marrakech realm; a realm which I'm still trying to learn to appreciate more.

I've grown from disliking ouds and even sweaty, cumin scents to wanting those notes somewhere in my collection. So why can't I have a similar growth of appreciation for the type of scent family that Ganymede is in? Sadly I can't, not yet anyhow. With these spicy-orange-leathers, I'm still stuck on the perception of bad body odor, curry armpits, and a dirty vintage leather jacket that has been some old fella's daily draper for a decade. Not appealing.

Presentation and performance: Gorgeous flacon. Marc-Antoine Barrois is great with presentation. Long-lasting power — nearly ten hours. Spicier and stinkier than the extrait, which is quite sweeter. I like the extrait a lot more.

I'm afraid to wear Ganymede Eau de Parfum outside for most occasions because it makes me feel unhygienic. More so than I feel with funky and animalic scents. It's hard to explain. But trust me, I'm trying to open my nose pores and enjoy this type of scent. It just hasn't happened yet!

In Trosus, three noble sons were born: Ilus, Assaracus, and the god-like Ganymede, the most beautiful among mortals. Such was his beauty that the gods took him to live among the immortals, pouring nectar into Zeus' cup ever since (Homer's Iliad, Rhapsody Y, lines 233-235).

Ganymede, with his incredible beauty, was among the most handsome princes. The cunning Zeus, described as a highly impulsive god, transformed himself into an eagle and abducted the young man, taking him to Olympus and making him immortal (immortelle) and the cupbearer privileged to pour the nectar of the gods. One version of the mythological story about Zeus and Ganymede suggests that Zeus placed Ganymede, symbolized by the constellation of Aquarius, as the cupbearer or pitcher-bearer instead, showing his favoritism towards him.

Throughout the centuries, the mythological figure of Ganymede has been an inspiration for artists, writers, philosophers, and poets, including Homer, Plato, Pindar, Euripides, Goethe, Apollonius of Rhodes, Virgil, Cicero, Leochares, Michelangelo, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Thorvaldsen.

As a tribute to the ancient Greek myth, the largest moon of the planet Jupiter was named Ganymede. Being the ninth-largest object in our solar system, Ganymede is a world of mineral rocks and icy oceans, with a thin atmosphere of oxygen and a magnetic field.

If we do not know the story behind a perfume, we cannot fully appreciate it. However, I must admit that Ganymede reminded me of something "sterile and abandoned" at first, which somehow suits me. By nature, I am a bit introverted, born under the sign of Aquarius, and the perfume evokes a strange emotion that lasts for hours. From nostalgia and coldness to a sense of comfort, these sensations alternate, just like in a good science fiction drama. This is not a Blade Runner perfume; it is more like Interstellar, interplanetary love, visible yet untouchable. There is a lot of pleasant dry flowers, electrified cumin, and immortelle that acts as a fragrance chameleon, creating the magic of a salty wind on an abandoned planet. Immortelle pleases me because it reminds me of forests, moss, and the feeling as if I can sense the salty geological personality of Jupiter's moon, which is truly incredible. The connection between immortelle and Ganymede, the immortal, is also wonderful and shows how deeply the perfumer thought before giving this wonderful liquid its name. Immortelle has been significant since ancient Greece until today, cherished for its cosmetic and therapeutic properties, and is considered a symbol of eternal love and happiness. This fragrance is the scent of air we are not familiar with unless we climb high enough on a mountain and experience all the counterpoints of urban air, combined with violet and osmanthus. Ganymede constantly changes, it is not linear at all, even slightly masculine and self-assured. If I were to choose the perfume of the year, without delving into ten more perfumes, then I have found it. This is a true olfactory journey to Jupiter's moon and beyond!

To start off, I think this is a little too unique. To describe the scent, It smells quite literally like a warm server room with all the metallic wiring OR a freshly used solder station with the steam coming off the PCB, that warm metallic smell + leather/oud + some warm spices is Ganymede. It has absolutely 0 amount of sweetness which makes this fragrance absolutely unforgiving.

Smelling this invokes nostalgia: the moment when you insert a DVD into a warm plastic DVD-Reader with that static TV screen. It smells exactly like that but with extra leather.

Longevity-wise, this stuff is nuclear, I cannot go for more than 2 sprays. More than that can be a bit nauseating, especially in spring/summer. I can't even tell how it changes over time since it is just too strong. At the end of the day, I had to scrub it off...

Will probably will never get a bottle or even a decant because I can't think of any occasion or reason to why I would want to smell like that.