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MrHonest
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BooZe and SPiCe and everything NiCe (ʘ‿ʘ)
My first bottle from Nicolai and an exceptional take on a popular genre.
CSI opens up with a wonderfully grainy, slightly earthy-chocolatey coffee and tonka. Not exactly sure where that chocolate is coming from (perhaps the patchouli) but it's surprisingly prominent and immediately brings to mind a dark, yet sumptuous evening of intelligent conversation and partially roasted insights. The coffee is a tad smoky-ashy, but not exactly loud, nor particularly photorealistic and is quickly joined by a warm cardamom and clove. At the same time, a marginally medicinal but quasi-syrupy sweetness also begins to bloom spreading its fingers into the chocolate and spices. And that's only the first 10 minutes! Quite a bit to unpack. But even in that time, it's clear that the materials here are quality - a significant step above mainstream designer perfumery and on par with many of Patricia's other creations.
Within about 20 minutes, that tantilizing sweetness spreads out like a thin and addictive veil over the entire fragrance, chiefly showcasing the raspberry ketones and a beautifully blended sweet plum accord (even more so than Vasnier's Plum Japonais for Tom Ford). Strangely enough, that plum seems to play a mischievious game of hide and seek for a good 2-3 hours on skin, before eventually settling down into the base. It's actually one of the few notes that sticks around, perhaps even becoming more prominent as the fragrance evolves.
But here is where the fragrance takes a sudden and really cool turn. At about the 30-40 minute mark, in comes the ambrocenide (which Patricia admits to using), and combines with the ketones and plum to give the fruit this fermenting quality that brings to mind a partially aged fruit wine, virtually stealing the show and shoving all thought of dusty spices aside. It's like going over to a close friend's home with promises of coffee and chocolate, only to have the evening quickly cascade into tales of misplaced trust and shallow romance over a pot of chilled and boozy kompot. Good times!
For reference, ambrocenide is the same material Mathilde Laurent used in Cartier's Pasha de Cartier parfum to give the vintage spices a serious boost in sweet and boozy performance, to the joy of some and the bane of others. Luckily, Patricia uses it with far more care in this one, blending it almost seamlessly with the fruits and tonka, bringing balance to the force. But if you sniff up close, the spices are still there - especially the cinnamon, which is the last spice standing after a solid hour of wonderfully entertaining transitions. Ultimately, the finish gives me vibes of something dark-boozy-fruity from Parfums de Marly, Tom Ford or perhaps even the sweet cloves in Ropion's Costume National Homme. The coffee? Gone within the first hour and a half. The longevity? About average for this style of scent. Ditto with the sillage. And that's considering the superb pressurized atomizer that sprays out a very generous amount of juice.
What can I say? I'm a big fan of the scent. What starts off as a warm, spicy and chocolately coffee, transitions into a syrupy fruity sweetness, quickly fermenting into a clovey wine and ending as a perfect balance between dark plum, ambrocenide and tonka sweetness. Very much in line with the popular sweet fragrances of today, but infinitely more unique and interesting imo. Nothing in my collection smells like this, although I will concede that it may have to do with the higher quality of the materials. No doubt that many would consider it masculine-leaning because of the spices, but I still think it's perfectly unisex because of that awesome sweet boozy turn in the mid.
As for the bottle design, beautiful - the shape, the feel, the weight, everything. The logo is embossed and I love the added touch of the faux wax stamp. The cap is heavy metal, elegantly etched on the top and sides and the atomizer is amazing. The only constructive feedback I have is the seam that runs along the entire side of the glass. Eeep. I never have the same confidence in the long-term integrity of seamed glass bottles. But I'll get over it I'm sure. The fragrance is worth it.
Overall, I think Caravanserail Intense is a brilliant addition to the collection. It straddles the line of mass and niche appeal perfectly without becoming too much of anything, yet keeping the wearer guessing with its subtle twists and turns. Unfortunately, if you're looking for an out-and-out coffee fragrance like John Pegg's Follow (Kerosene), Cresp's Awake (Akro) and Coffee Addict from Theodoros Kalotinis - my personal favourites - this one might be somewhat of a surprise. Coffee really isn't the main player here. Nor is the Intense moniker necessary since it's anything but a screamer. Instead, what it does scream is quality and a testament to Patricia's skill. I can see it being an excellent introduction to the brand for those just getting into niche and artisan perfumery.
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