It’s not age that’s the problem, but my attitude towards it (freely adapted from Cicero). Maybe age is indeed the problem. First: what a ridiculous name! The company Sammarco is a Swiss company. So I assume that the people there can speak German, even if it’s a Ticinese company. The name already suggests to me that Alter has something to do with age, death, and dying.
On their official website, there is a young woman with a low-cut top, and they claim that Alter is a sensual, seductive jasmine. Many old people would disagree with that. They also write something about traditional beauty. Does "traditional" mean "old" in this context?
Age is irrelevant unless it’s a bottle of wine. Age is a sad travel companion. Age makes one white, not wise (Danish proverb). And what does age smell like? As a nurse, certain things come to mind. Besides, I’m already a tiny bit old myself, and from self-observation, I can tell that aging doesn’t improve my scent. Fortunately, Alter doesn’t smell like age but really like jasmine, the "crispbread jasmine" that I appreciate, so it’s not indolic. After about an hour, the mimosa makes its presence known. Shortly after, both fade away, leaving behind stale flower water. A green scent, not terrible, but also not exactly the pinnacle of perfection. After a maximum of 4 hours, Alter has passed away, uh, disappeared.
I don’t find Alter bad, although I’m not exactly looking forward to further aging. However, I definitely don’t think Alter is good. Although aging is always preferable to dying.
Family tester M was unbiased, as he didn’t know the name and declared at the "stale flower water" stage that it smelled like wild boar wallow. He loves the smell of the wild boar wallow in O. where it smells like that. Wild boar is probably better than Alter. They should have called it wild boar.
Alter is only suitable for women and wild boars. One can wear Alter in old age. When going to a senior meeting, to a tea dance, or on a coffee trip. One can wear Alter while gardening. It might also work for rehab sports. I believe one doesn’t need to test Alter, unless one wants to know what a wild boar wallow smells like.
And I smelled varnish here, like the kind used to preserve oil paintings. Maybe we last longer and are protected from aging when we wear age... Or should I go back to Spessart for some wild boar feeding and let my city nose breathe a bit.
I would have never noticed, tested, or bookmarked this scent, and I won't do it now either. But you are really funny, and your comments are super entertaining. "Dude," that was a lot of fun. ;)
There they were again, the animalistic notes: a story full of misunderstandings... will they ever reach their destination?
Thanks for the entertaining read once more!
Funny comment. Whether the scent (?) smells like old age or wild boar mud, I’ll spare myself the test.
A product with a built-in sales stopper (at least for the majority of German-speaking customers) is pretty rare. :)
Even before I saw the comment, I already knew your headline. Kudos for that ;)
Still, I have to disagree. "Alter" here is probably meant in the Italian sense, as in "alter ego," a second self, something different. Both. Unisex.
And "Alter" is supposed to be unisex according to the website.
@Precious, it's not really bad, but it's not good either. So, 7. I've smelled much worse. The family tester M thinks it smells like wild boar mud and gives it 7 points too. @GGaukeley got a sample of Leonessa.
@Jakobolino, I don't have a bottle to send you, but if I did, I would send it to you right away.
I'm also at an age where you don't comment on others' age ;-)
The wild boar wallow is described very vividly; it always smelled cool and sour to me, but not necessarily bad. I just wouldn't want to smell like that myself.
Where do you keep digging up these things?
Old Swede, I think that's an extremely funny name! Maybe part 1 of a fragrance trilogy about the three evils that Gautama Siddhartha faced on his first three outings from the palace: aging, illness, and death. Or it could be Latin, where 'alter' means 'the Other.'
Well written. The name and probably also the smell/stink (I don't even want to call it a fragrance) show how decadent and cynical the approach to "scents" has become. What do the manufacturers actually expect from such crap?
I'm definitely old enough to say that age isn't for cowards, but I think the name is silly. And I'm afraid I also find the scent silly. But I think your comment is great!
Thanks for the entertaining read once more!
A product with a built-in sales stopper (at least for the majority of German-speaking customers) is pretty rare. :)
Even before I saw the comment, I already knew your headline. Kudos for that ;)
Still, I have to disagree. "Alter" here is probably meant in the Italian sense, as in "alter ego," a second self, something different. Both. Unisex.
And "Alter" is supposed to be unisex according to the website.
Cheers, hey there! :))
@GGaukeley got a sample of Leonessa.
@Jakobolino, I don't have a bottle to send you, but if I did, I would send it to you right away.
The wild boar wallow is described very vividly; it always smelled cool and sour to me, but not necessarily bad. I just wouldn't want to smell like that myself.
Where do you keep digging up these things?