Art Homme Masakï Matsushïma 2011

For the first time in a long while, I dared to make an absolute blind purchase. As extensive as the databases of the relevant perfume websites may be, information on certain fragrances is still quite sparse on the World Wide Web. "Art Homme" by the Japanese-French designer Masakï Matsushïma is one such candidate. Frustrating, because ever since I discovered it while browsing Parfumo daily, it has not left my mind: the reduced, minimalist lacquer bottle! The fragrance pyramid that sounds extremely tempting to me! And then there's the currently low price at an online shop. The fact that Matsushïma has already designed for Björk and Madonna also added some bonus points. Eventually, my resistance became futile - I laid down 25 euros, added it to my shopping cart, and prepared to be surprised.

It was a purchase that carried a certain risk for me - because a glance at Masakï's fragrance portfolio shows him as a specialist in fresh, fruity, aquatic scents. Studying the fragrance pyramids of the men's fragrances, it becomes apparent that there is a lot of citrus (especially grapefruit), clean musk, and airy Far Eastern touches like yuzu, tea, or lotus. And that is really not my thing. "Art Homme" promises to be the woody-spicy outlier from this line. I was a bit nervous when opening the fragrance package, though. When spraying it on, I even braced myself for a poor man's Issey Miyake - watery, shower-gel-like, sharp. But it turned out differently.

Well, almost: the opening indeed features a thick wave of mandarin. Not entirely natural, with slightly aquatic undertones, but fortunately, thanks to some peppery accents, it is completely free of any shower gel associations. That spiced citrus top note recedes a bit after a while, but remains a constant foundation throughout the rest of the fragrance's development.

In the heart, there is primarily a generous amount of orange blossom, which makes the fragrance very creamy, almost reminiscent of sunscreen, which I find very summery - dark lacquer bottle or not. The iris adds some additional powdery nuances, but like the patchouli, it hardly plays a role. It is definitely very nice to be able to follow the individual fragrance phases so well; there was no wild mixing of chemical components, but rather solid work done here.

And for those who fear the value-preserving scent of a fir needle bath in the base, I can reassure you: the fir only slightly emerges from the background and gives the overall composition just a small ethereal touch. Much more dominant for me is a note that initially had me pondering: which fragrance that I used to be obsessed with does this remind me of? After some thought, the revelation came to me - it is "Diamonds for Men" by Giorgio Armani. Cocoa bean, exactly! Not even listed in the fragrance pyramid, it makes a bitter and slightly dry appearance here and, together with woods, ultimately shifts the previously very unisex scent impression towards the masculine. However, "Art Homme" never becomes truly "dark." It remains too much in the citrus-creamy spectrum - the woody and spicy notes are there for shading but do not serve as a foundation.

"Art Homme" is a modern fragrance that leans towards the mainstream, but unlike many of its designer counterparts, it possesses an absolute sense of subtlety and understatement. Nothing here is too loud, nothing too piercing, nothing too exaggerated. "Art Homme" is not brash or intrusive, rather contemplative and soft, yet knows how to seduce. It definitely has something "Japanese" about it, but not in an exotic way, rather in an urban manner. As if you are in a park in Osaka, framed by skyscrapers. A great all-rounder fragrance that actually suits any season and occasion and is, for me, a real value-for-money tip.

My compliments to Mister Matsushïma.
Mister Miyake, you are out.