[⁶C] Carbon One of those 2012

Carbon opens with a cinnamon-like ginger tandem before quickly transitioning to its early heart. As the composition enters its early heart phase the ginger remains, joining a starring fiery red and black pepper tandem with dirty cumin-like cardamom spice, supported by dry sandalwood rising from the base. During the late dry-down the ginger and black pepper fade as remnants of the red pepper remain through the finish with the dry sandalwood base note now taking center stage. Projection is average to slightly above average and longevity average at 8 hours on skin.

Carbon is a bit of an enigma. The composition (that never resembles carbon in any way) starts off nicely with its fresh ginger but goes south quickly with its prominent use of cardamom in an implementation that reminds one of curry powder. When the cardamom couples with the fiery pepper and ginger its dirty aspects are somewhat overwhelming and less pleasant than one would expect though not wholly without merit. One really needs to wait for the late dry-down though to get Carbon's payoff, as the composition improves significantly when the dry sandalwood that peeped into the background earlier takes over as star now unchained from the dirty spice assault. The late dry-down may be a bit simplistic but it does indeed smell quite good. The bottom line is the $150 per 100ml bottle Carbon is far from the success I had hoped and expected, but it does smell good with an even better late payoff earning a "good" to "very good" 3 to 3.5 star out of 5 rating and a modest recommendation to spicy woody fans in particular.

By the way, do you know that carbon atoms can bond together in different ways, giving rise to various carbon allotropes? The best-known allotropes are graphite and diamond, the former being opaque, black, and soft enough to form a streak on paper, while diamond is highly transparent and is the hardest known natural material. Incredibly, two sides to the same coin! Carbon [⁶C] by Nu Be is an oriental woody fragrance, and the nose behind this fragrance is Françoise Caron. I have some of her creations, including Azzaro’s Onyx-Silver Black which I love. Carbon [⁶C] features floral, powdery, resinous, aromatic, and woody-spicy accords, and was designed to capture the mysterious beginning of life.

The opening invests me with dark and cold aromas like graphite. Carbon [⁶C] starts as one of the most amazing things I’ve tried, with ginger, black pepper, and cardamom that arrive lickety-split and tickle my nostrils right away. I’m talking about the aroma of frozen ginger root, pungent cardamom, and tons of black peppercorns that remind me of Comme des Garçons Black Pepper. But there is not only pepper, because the spiciness seems to include hints of clove pods or better cinnamon bark, and a hint of nutmeg, like freshly grated powder over an Alexander cocktail; I feel it almost strongly. The dominant combination of the above notes creates this realistic bitter citrus and the alcoholic scent of overripe bloody orange, the pungent odor emanating from the peel of a fruit left for many days at room temperature. I’m not saying it’s disgusting, I’m just telling you my feeling of something reminiscent of a pomander ball, citrusy and spicy. I like the initial phase, so unusual and very niche.

When the soft and feathery heart arrives, it announces carnal notes of peppercorn flowers, which I first heard mentioned as a scented note, followed by powdery iris and a blend of aromatic herbs. The iris root in here has some violet leaf-like vibes, sharing the same green, moist dustiness. Also, the spiciness doesn’t end in the upper part, because I can feel sweaty cumin in the middle phase. I appreciate the body odor that some spices give off, but only when they stay in a safe and pleasant area.

The deep and creamy aroma of freshly carved sandalwood gives a formidable persistence and new nuances to the dry-down, soon joined by a handful of sticky and sensual resins, and a hint of white musk, not at all animal and quite clean and laundered. I love how the smooth and radiant woody sandal blends perfectly with the dusty, matte iris.

What can I say, I like it in all its phases, and especially in the end. So far, Carbon [⁶C] is one of the strongest nu_be scents I’ve tested, even though it’s much warmer and creamier. Performance is excellent. Both longevity and sillage are moderate, at least with my skin chemistry. I feel it is suitable for an autumn climate, both for the day and for the colder evenings. If you love a conceptual perfume, you better try it.

This review is based upon a 100ml bottle I own since March 2021 (27Y901 batch code), which I ordered here www.parfimo.it and paid €19.50.

-Elysium

"Where do I come from? And say: Where am I going? Was it the hen first? Was it the egg?"
Hardly any question occupies the thinking person more than that of their origin, the emergence of life, and ultimately its purpose.
And while there are still no truly secure insights about what comes after, the fog of where we come from has at least been somewhat lifted thanks to modern science.
Everything began with a big bang, we have been taught - and however it happened, whatever may have been before: At that moment, a development began, at whose provisional endpoint we stand today - humans, animals, plants, wind, and water.
Almost infinite in their diversity, yet connected by one element that unites them all: Carbon aka Kohlenstoff.

In the periodic table of elements, Carbon/Kohlenstoff has the atomic number 6 and is considered the second most important element after oxygen, without which no living being can exist.
The stuff that life is made of - and also of some dreams.
For even the diamond, at least since Marilyn Monroe called it "a girl's best friend," is made of pure carbon, which is perhaps why the feminine-great love for this kind of bling-bling lies in the nature of the matter.
"And you also write with carbon," says the geologist of my life, looking at my pencil. "More precisely: with graphite, a variant of carbon."
I sniff: cedarwood.
And an indefinable something else.
Dark, sweetish, almost oily.
Not a substance that makes me dream - but perhaps the one with which everything began?!

Francoise Caron is an ambitious woman.
She wanted to capture the emergence of life, document it in a fragrance that embodies the origin, the beginning, and perhaps the end.
Grenouille comes to my mind, involuntarily, uninvited, the protagonist in Süskind's "Perfume."
The essence of life here, the essence of love there.
Coincidence? Inspiration? Intention?
I wanted to see, I wanted to smell.

Light. Ice. Metal.
A supernova, crackling crystal, dazzling, glaring, clear.
Elemiharz, smokeless, anciently holy, bitter and strict and fine, so fine, gossamer fine.
No breath, a blink of an eye - the noise fades, the bright light dimmed.
Delicately cool powder, lilac mauve velvet, silkily breathed.
Light, light, almost transparent, only almost - imperceptibly melting into warm softness, into gold and amber, sandalwood and cream-me-up.
Cashmere, finely woven, butter-soft, like flying away.
Caressing, flattering, warm skin, gentle and sweet and kissy-spicy-soft.
A scratch of cardamom, tickling pepper, razor-sharp.
Iris floats, dances, swirls, spins my head, seduces me, seduces him, who comes close to me, closer, even closer, lured, docked, fallen prey to an eroticism that surprises.
Not blatant, offensive, no provocation.
Quiet, listening, dark-glowing cinnamon, black-dusted night.
Hours, two, three, four.
Gentle fading on cooler skin, softly, cleanly, softly, bathed, powdered, creamed.
Crushed flowers, a hint of smoke.
And your smile.

Anyone creating a perfume themed around carbon cannot help but note that the number six in the periodic table represents the atom of unlimited possibilities. It can engage in such an overwhelming variety of combinations with other elements as well as with its own compounds that carbon chemistry stands as a distinct subfield of chemistry: carbon and the rest of the world. Thus, we can expect a multifaceted scent to be offered to us.

This is indeed the case. However, we are not presented with an olfactory mishmash, but rather various impressions alternate continuously, gradually leading the scent, to give away the conclusion, in a sweet-balsamic-resinous-woody direction that, however, is never reached in the sense of a final stage.

But let’s start from the beginning. With a gasoline-like opening that underscores the theme of carbon even politically. After a few moments, however, a curry-like spice already forms. This will, in a sense, act as an anchor note throughout the duration. Cumin, as an extroverted component of this, provides a more or less latently unclean idea of sweaty skin or damp fur.

Alongside this, a rubber stink develops. On one hand, biting like a heated car tire, not unlike Tauer's rubber, likely arising here from bergamot plus iris bitterness. On the other hand, one can also interpret the sweet plastic smell of a fresh Barbie doll into the scent, undoubtedly supported by spices.

Meanwhile, 6C always finds its way back to the increasingly warm curry corner, and I have no doubt that our esteemed water lily has accurately captured this with "garam masala," although I unfortunately do not recall the specific twist of this mixture myself.

This is less a scent progression than a slow-motion scent crawling. Like streaks in a liquid, the aromas drift away, return, and pass by the nose again. What they reliably achieve is the generation of that I-need-to-smell-this-constantly urge, which we certainly know how to appreciate here. Strong.

I thank Ergoproxy for the sample.

I am a confessed cardamom fan and always on the lookout for it in fragrances. I love the two Ellena cardamom treasures (the Monsungarten and the Hermesreise), but so much cardamom hits me right in the face with the very first spray - fantastic!

Resins and herbs cannot be divided into individual components for me, but they create a wonderful spicy base that gives enough space to the ginger and the iris. The sandalwood becomes increasingly prominent, with the pepper providing just enough radiance to avoid being dull.

I am completely thrilled and will probably have to engage in serious discussions with my wallet.