Aqaysos Pierre Guillaume 2017

...if you read the fragrance name too quickly (like I just did)..."Aquasos"...which somehow sounds like a Greek sea and water god...but he was called something else entirely. Unfortunately, I couldn't detect much aquatic in the new Huitieme fragrance. Instead, there is a lot of blackcurrant. As a central note, I find it very challenging; similar to fig, if it comes across as intensely dominant, it can quickly become annoying, or the fragrance takes on too fruity-feminine a touch, with Berlin in winter, Aqua Celestia, or Aventus for her being good examples of this.
Speaking of Aventus for her, Aqaysos starts off just as lightly medicinally sharp-stinging and ambroxan-like for me. The sharpness also slightly reminds me of a medicinal alcohol, like Voltaren, which sounds strange-but it’s really delicious. I liked it in Aventus for her and in White Spirit, but it could also very well be white flowers soaked in alcohol.
Then comes the blackcurrant army, rolling over everything. While it is deliciously fresh-fruity-sour, it is still very dominant. It’s not exactly a whispered summer dream, but the fragrance does have something refreshing about it. Aqaysos is aided by a note in the background that I can't clearly identify; spontaneously, I would describe it as ambroxan-tuberose, since I can't perceive any of the other listed fragrance notes above. It smells somewhat floral, but it could just as well be salty wood...I suspect PG has withheld some fragrance notes from us.
It doesn’t matter at all, because Aqaysos has won me over on the third try and has really impressed me, which no other fragrance with this note has managed to do; I found Soul of the Forest at most "nice".
Just when the first blackcurrant tsunami recedes, the fragrance opens a tiny gap for other notes, for me these are the slightly masculine woods, which, however, do not remind me of any forest or lumber mill. This could be the crucial nuance that makes Aqaysos not annoy me quickly in everyday life, but rather wonderfully wearable. Only at the very end does a mild fruity sweetness reveal itself. I prefer to wear it in spring and on summer evenings; during the day in the sun and/or in the office, it could possibly be too powerful...and also perhaps too unusual for an untrained office nose. A lovely season could also be the slowly fading summer, which is already slightly transitioning into autumn; that should harmonize very well with the spice.
The longevity of this fragrance is completely okay at 7 hours; more would probably not be good, the sillage is just right, very decent but not overwhelmingly strong. I find the €110 for 50ml to be appropriate for this very interesting and unusual fragrance. Unfortunately, I still lack an online source, after all, you don't go to Hamburg every day, even if the temperatures there are currently very pleasant.
Aqaysos is a first highlight in 2017 that not everyone or not everyone will like at first!
I find it absolutely wonderful and will certainly acquire it in the coming weeks.