12/18/2012

Drseid
819 Reviews

Drseid
2
Sweet Wood...
Umbra opens with a blast of fresh clean vetiver, before giving way to a peppery geranium tandem. The scent then takes a sweet turn by adding a large dose of tonka bean to the vetiver and geranium adding faint hints of oak moss and other woody aspects. The combined overall vetiver, tonka and woody accord reminds me somewhat vaguely of the sweet woody scent in Micallef's Gaiac (not that Umbra smells like it, per se). Projection and longevity are both below average.
I really enjoyed the vetiver opening to Umbra as it is quite fresh and invigorating. The geranium is also done quite well and relatively discrete, not calling too much undue attention to itself while melding with the pepper, but ever-present. The part of Umbra I have the hardest time with is the prominent use of tonka bean in the heart notes that turns the scent quite sweet. This somewhat makes the woody aspects of the scent a bit less desirable to my personal taste. Still, while I would say Umbra is not my kind of woody scent, I can still appreciate it as a good composition and give it a "good" 3 out of 5 stars.
I really enjoyed the vetiver opening to Umbra as it is quite fresh and invigorating. The geranium is also done quite well and relatively discrete, not calling too much undue attention to itself while melding with the pepper, but ever-present. The part of Umbra I have the hardest time with is the prominent use of tonka bean in the heart notes that turns the scent quite sweet. This somewhat makes the woody aspects of the scent a bit less desirable to my personal taste. Still, while I would say Umbra is not my kind of woody scent, I can still appreciate it as a good composition and give it a "good" 3 out of 5 stars.