![ClaireV]()
ClaireV
1
Orangey floral cashmeran
Interestingly, while Levant is billed as a fresh, citrusy floral bouquet, it doesn't smell that floral to me, at least not at first. If I hadn't seen the notes list, I would have pegged the fuzzy, mineralic opening as a mixture of vetiver, cashmeran, and citrus à la Terre d'Hermès. It smells like rain on hot pavement. This apparition might have something to do with the rubbery-peppery nuances of the materials used to build the peony accord used in perfumery (and also often by Ormonde Jayne). Or perhaps there is a bit of unlisted vetiver or cashmeran in the mix.
After a few minutes of this, the grey, quasi-industrial fog shifts to reveal a bittersweet orange blossom note that smells remarkably like those simple orange blossom waters the French buy by the liter to pour liberally into their babies' bathwater. This tender floral note is sharpened by pepper and a curl of citrus peel, which, although billed as bergamot, smells more like rosy-leafy pink grapefruit to me. The notes I'd previously pegged as rubber or hot pavement now come across as a pleasant, low-key smokiness, almost as if there were such thing as an orange blossom water-flavored cigarette.
Levant doesn't evolve much beyond this point, but maybe I'm laboring for meaning in a deliberately simple plot. In its bringing together of a simple, natural-smelling orange blossom water note with the clean twang of rubber-soled sneakers and a barely-there smudge of cigarette ash, Levant could be the haute luxe analog to Freeway (4061 Tuesdays), or the orange blossom version of Jasmin et Cigarette (État Libre d'Orange). All three perfumes perform the same trick of cutting white florals with soft-rubbery-ashy notes that provide just enough grit to render the scent fresh and urban rather than romantic or traditionally femme'. But to be perfectly honest, not only do the 4061 Tuesdays and the État Libre d'Orange fragrances do it better, they do it for less money.
Top Notes 
Mandarin orange
Bergamot
Minneola tangelo
Rose
Heart Notes 
Orange blossom
Jasmine
Lily of the valley
Peony
Base Notes 
Amber
Musk
Cedarwood
BamBamNYC
Einfinken
AtlasHugged
Telekinec
Donna214
Mymariamm
Dressed2Kilt
