Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
04/15/2015
ColinM
516 Reviews
ColinM
Helpful Review
5
Glassy minimalism
Finally the first MiN scent I like, and aside from my personal taste, that I “objectively” find compelling, solid, “finished” and mature. It smells nice and unlike most of the others among this line, it smells like if someone actually put some care and creativity until the very last try before the final version. Basically for me this is a really interesting sort of contemporary mint-woody-ambery scent with a sweet, slightly creamy but at the same time woody-salty base which I guess contains notes of anise and vetiver. Perfectly blended with a crisp, bracing fresh top accord of mint, sharp balsamic pine notes, citrus, maybe other tart aromatic herbs like basil – “invigorating balsamic greenness”, shortly. So far, it may sound a quite conventional, astringent-balmy green-citrus scent with some added woodiness; the thing I enjoy is that they manage to “fit in” a truly pleasant and extremely sophisticated accord of smoky-musky and “ash-y” amber, with a slight nutty aftertaste. Quite subtle but definitely distinctive, providing a really enjoyable feel of mellow, velvety “grey roundness” to the blend. And it does not clash at all with the overall “transparent” and sharp balsamic-green mood; on the contrary it provides just a subtle shade of refined, slightly dark and dusty warmth – warm yet aloof - which goes just irresistibly good with the rest.
As others have noted Onsen shows quite a meticulous minimalistic work, which doesn’t mean the scent is light; just discreet, simple, yet creative and extremely refined – a whispered, quiet type of refinement. Vaguely reminiscent of some 2000s designers though (and a couple of deodorants too, but I want to skip that for once), but in a positive way; it smells like taking just some of that, well blending it with a “niche” approach. Maybe because I wore it the other day but it reminds me of Paul Smith London for instance; or better say, a “depleted” version of it, taking away basically all the creamy-sweet powderinesss (not entirely though; leaving just a grain here). Onsen smells like the olfactory portrait of some wealthy yuppie’s avantgarde “all-concrete” mansion in the deep woods; greenish and mineral grey, breezy and slightly pretentiously sophisticated, an artificial structure cleverly integrated into a natural ambiance. Or even better, the sculpture “Mirror House” by Altenburger, as Onsen does indeed contain a beautiful slight “metallic-glass” feel. Linear drydown, a bit cheaper than the way more interesting early stages, mostly focused on a citrusy-musky synthetic amber-woody note which may easily become a bit boring... but nonetheless, pretty well done overall for me.
7,5/10
As others have noted Onsen shows quite a meticulous minimalistic work, which doesn’t mean the scent is light; just discreet, simple, yet creative and extremely refined – a whispered, quiet type of refinement. Vaguely reminiscent of some 2000s designers though (and a couple of deodorants too, but I want to skip that for once), but in a positive way; it smells like taking just some of that, well blending it with a “niche” approach. Maybe because I wore it the other day but it reminds me of Paul Smith London for instance; or better say, a “depleted” version of it, taking away basically all the creamy-sweet powderinesss (not entirely though; leaving just a grain here). Onsen smells like the olfactory portrait of some wealthy yuppie’s avantgarde “all-concrete” mansion in the deep woods; greenish and mineral grey, breezy and slightly pretentiously sophisticated, an artificial structure cleverly integrated into a natural ambiance. Or even better, the sculpture “Mirror House” by Altenburger, as Onsen does indeed contain a beautiful slight “metallic-glass” feel. Linear drydown, a bit cheaper than the way more interesting early stages, mostly focused on a citrusy-musky synthetic amber-woody note which may easily become a bit boring... but nonetheless, pretty well done overall for me.
7,5/10
Finerthings8
