Top Notes 
Bitter orange
Calabrian bergamot
Cypress
Mediterranean lemon
Heart Notes 
Pepper
Carnation
Frankincense
Galbanum
Geranium
Lavender
Base Notes 
Amber
Bourbon vanilla
Cedar
Indonesian patchouli
Sandalwood
Vetiver
Virginia cedar
FvSpee
323 Reviews
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FvSpee
Top Review
17
Kaiser Rotbart
"Veteran" is an original, almost quirky, and somewhat crazy fragrance in every respect. It is hardly available in Germany and came to me as well - just like to my predecessor - through a sample from the friendly Angelliese, for which I would like to express my heartfelt thanks here.
Mirum (probably from the Latin "mirus", wonderful - a play on the Slavic root "mir" for peace cannot be ruled out) is once again one of those small Italian fragrance houses that one encounters from time to time when wandering around here. It offers only a handful of fragrances, all supposedly "handmade," and all with wise "hippie references" in name and design. The website is amusing but not very informative. If you want information about the fragrance, you have to request it via email and then receive an excerpt from an (Italian) book (without a proper beginning and without a proper ending), which does not necessarily seem to relate to this fragrance. To me, it reads like a diary of people like Giogrio, Jicky, and Michelle, who in September 1970 in London are doing something with Amore, Ganja, and Chitarra. There is also repeated mention of Vietnam and an Isola di Wight, which keeps appearing on the homepage.
Veteran (apparently working with the English or German word, Italian would be "veterano") is in the first seconds an ultra-classic citrusy fresh, spicy, woody, slightly green men's fragrance, somewhere between barbershop, fougère, and cologne, very nice, but a bit familiar, perhaps one can think of the good old "Azzaro."
However, it goes quite crazy in the following hours and holds a lot of quirky twists for the wearer, which ultimately make it refreshingly unconventional.
After about a minute, for example, a slightly stinky, somewhat biting, certainly twisted and tangled (but by no means really disturbing!) note appears for the first time, which might be related to the vetiver (to which I sometimes react very sensitively). This note also comes to the forefront from time to time later on. This interplay of a rather conventional citrusy-spicy freshness with a somewhat, well, not directly malicious, but still somewhat underlying and profound note reminds me of the much-appreciated Sunday Cologne by Byredo. However, Veteran is more playful - and above all, significantly long-lasting, more on that later.
After about an hour, I find peppery, strongly spicy notes in the foreground, and after about two hours, the strong aquatic undertones noted by other reviewers - albeit earlier - come to the forefront for the first time, which the fragrance never completely leaves. At times, the scent becomes quite sweet, almost a bit apricot-like, and even seems a little feminine. At this stage, I almost think, oh no, now they're overdoing it with the potpourri, this is too much for me.
After that, however, the Veteran returns to calmer waters - one can enjoy a nicely long-lasting, spicy-aquatic-stinky base that then becomes slightly sweet again towards the end.
What I really like are the sillage and longevity. The projection is regulated to a level that is just right for me. It seems as if the fragrance has some sort of overdose barrier; it feels stably present, nicely full, and substantial, without overwhelming the environment with a killer projection or hammering intensity that would annoy the wearer. The longevity is about 7 to 8 hours, which is actually quite accurate and remarkable for a rather fresh scent. I suspect that such a development can only be achieved with some chemistry, but well, it is not a bio fragrance.
For me, definitely an absolutely amusing, likeable Italian! And when I saw the cover boy, I thought of Frederick I. Barbarossa, who spent a large part of his reign in Italy and was quite an original character (although not quite as original and not quite as Italian as Frederick II. (of Hohenstaufen).
Addendum: "Veteran" would actually have been a fragrance for which it would have been worth reactivating the old friend and copper engraver Federico di Spé, who last appeared here on Parfumo with his review of Fleur de Bambù. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to consult him, so I had to write this comment myself, which has certainly made it a bit duller.
Mirum (probably from the Latin "mirus", wonderful - a play on the Slavic root "mir" for peace cannot be ruled out) is once again one of those small Italian fragrance houses that one encounters from time to time when wandering around here. It offers only a handful of fragrances, all supposedly "handmade," and all with wise "hippie references" in name and design. The website is amusing but not very informative. If you want information about the fragrance, you have to request it via email and then receive an excerpt from an (Italian) book (without a proper beginning and without a proper ending), which does not necessarily seem to relate to this fragrance. To me, it reads like a diary of people like Giogrio, Jicky, and Michelle, who in September 1970 in London are doing something with Amore, Ganja, and Chitarra. There is also repeated mention of Vietnam and an Isola di Wight, which keeps appearing on the homepage.
Veteran (apparently working with the English or German word, Italian would be "veterano") is in the first seconds an ultra-classic citrusy fresh, spicy, woody, slightly green men's fragrance, somewhere between barbershop, fougère, and cologne, very nice, but a bit familiar, perhaps one can think of the good old "Azzaro."
However, it goes quite crazy in the following hours and holds a lot of quirky twists for the wearer, which ultimately make it refreshingly unconventional.
After about a minute, for example, a slightly stinky, somewhat biting, certainly twisted and tangled (but by no means really disturbing!) note appears for the first time, which might be related to the vetiver (to which I sometimes react very sensitively). This note also comes to the forefront from time to time later on. This interplay of a rather conventional citrusy-spicy freshness with a somewhat, well, not directly malicious, but still somewhat underlying and profound note reminds me of the much-appreciated Sunday Cologne by Byredo. However, Veteran is more playful - and above all, significantly long-lasting, more on that later.
After about an hour, I find peppery, strongly spicy notes in the foreground, and after about two hours, the strong aquatic undertones noted by other reviewers - albeit earlier - come to the forefront for the first time, which the fragrance never completely leaves. At times, the scent becomes quite sweet, almost a bit apricot-like, and even seems a little feminine. At this stage, I almost think, oh no, now they're overdoing it with the potpourri, this is too much for me.
After that, however, the Veteran returns to calmer waters - one can enjoy a nicely long-lasting, spicy-aquatic-stinky base that then becomes slightly sweet again towards the end.
What I really like are the sillage and longevity. The projection is regulated to a level that is just right for me. It seems as if the fragrance has some sort of overdose barrier; it feels stably present, nicely full, and substantial, without overwhelming the environment with a killer projection or hammering intensity that would annoy the wearer. The longevity is about 7 to 8 hours, which is actually quite accurate and remarkable for a rather fresh scent. I suspect that such a development can only be achieved with some chemistry, but well, it is not a bio fragrance.
For me, definitely an absolutely amusing, likeable Italian! And when I saw the cover boy, I thought of Frederick I. Barbarossa, who spent a large part of his reign in Italy and was quite an original character (although not quite as original and not quite as Italian as Frederick II. (of Hohenstaufen).
Addendum: "Veteran" would actually have been a fragrance for which it would have been worth reactivating the old friend and copper engraver Federico di Spé, who last appeared here on Parfumo with his review of Fleur de Bambù. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to consult him, so I had to write this comment myself, which has certainly made it a bit duller.
Updated on 12/07/2018
11 Comments
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