Some time ago, I ordered the Discovery Set directly from the Marlou Online Shop. After writing my review of the Marlou Top Tier Ambilux yesterday, I will now share my thoughts on Corpalium. While Ambilux makes no compromises and is probably the fragrance that best captures animalic notes or the scent of raw, human instincts among the scents I have worn so far* - Corpalium takes a different approach. (*that is, of all...not just Marlou fragrances)
The opening here is distinctly alcoholic and "salty". Salt is, of course, olfactorily difficult to grasp...but I detect a salty note here (as well as in Ambilux and the other Marlou fragrances). Salty-human, to narrow it down a bit. The alcoholic note fades quite quickly and a hint of rose or a floral touch joins in.
After about half an hour, I perceive tobacco. Tobacco from a rather mild cigar, not lit and freshly taken from the humidor. There are already first hints of cedar.
What stands out to me much more and does not appeal to me at all is a distinctly synthetic note, which from now on and until the end, does not leave the skin. I am not entirely sure what causes this...but I would guess "Ambrette", a synthetic musk scent.
Alongside cedar, which is now clearly perceptible, lovage or a kind of Maggi accord comes to the forefront. This is also noticeable until the end. Linalool could be responsible for this...fenugreek somehow as well...but I am not quite sure about that. Very faintly and only very rarely, I detect a kind of burnt cable/singed rubber in my nose, but really only very faintly and hardly worth mentioning. Towards the end, I perceive a bit of patchouli.
Overall, I find Corpalium to be significantly more accessible and suitable for everyday wear than, for example, Ambilux. And alongside Canicure, it is certainly a recommendable introduction to the fragrance world of Marlou.
However, what I somewhat miss or hardly perceive is the animalic-human aspect. Unfortunately. It is...very faintly present...yes...but for me, it is not really part of the DNA. This piercing synthetic note actually bothers me a lot; I cannot tune it out, nor does it disappear on its own. In my personal ranking of the 4 Marlou fragrances, it only makes it to 4th place.
