3
Playing hard to get
The TL;DR version of this is: If you like the smell of those tiny white blossoms and are not against strong resinous and dry resinous fragrances: you'll probably love this. Otherwise try and avoid. Either way prepare to be surprised by its complexity! It's not your classical easy to wear designer, would categorise it under niche, and your surroundings might not always agree to what you're wearing.
A harsh resinous opening, warm comforting and slightly creamy bouquet of spring blossoms in the heart, warm resins throughout. To me this is for the daring, and borderline unisex. Sillage is ok, longevity not so much.
—
To be honest I'm quite ambivalent about this perfume. No, it's more like having an internal argument whether or not I like this fragrance at all. But it's warming up to me and after a few times wearing it, I can't say I hate it anymore. I might even go so far as to say I quite like it. Maybe it's a Stockholm syndrome kicking in, maybe it's just a nice fragrance in disguise.
My first encounter with this fragrance punched me in the face with bitter bergamots and a cold, cold resin. These rough elemi-like citrusyresin notes together with a lot of peppery greens are absolutely the first line of defence before being able to conquer the heart. Also a pinch of tartness but less loud than the former two. This is what got me so riled up: The opening is so scratchy and jarring it might frame you immediately into an "ugh, horrible!"-mindset. And you will almost miss the slight saltiness in the background as it wafts through the opening like a soft sea breeze in summer.
But as time moves on, the heart becomes more pronounced and there things warm up a lot. This heart reminds me most of walking through orchards in late spring. When the sun is already warming and with bitter orange- and sweet chestnut blossoms making the air heavy with their heady beckoning calls for the bees and other insects. It even resembles sweet-scented bedstraw to a large degree (yes it's a bit of a reach, but we had those in our garden when I was a kid and remember that smell like it was yesterday). This is the soft hand that rubs the sore spot on your face that the opening had made a while back. But although this is a–for me at least–comforting smell, it's borderline indolic. I would even say it has a creamy nature. It gives off quite a heavy accord, and still has a lot of resinous undertones. Warmer and a bit sweeter resins, but still a lot of resins. This might put people off as well.
In the base: More resins! Quelle surprise! They mingle with woodier notes, some inky notes, and by this time I don't even mind the resinous nature anymore. It's much less complex and interesting than the earlier stages. This fragrance is by far not linear, it evolves massively through time and I respect it for that.
As for the sillage, It's not that great. Stays close to the skin once the opening dries down, and performance wise you'll get a few hours out of this. It becomes a skin scent quite quickly, so don't expect to wow (or annoy) people around you for long. Wear this in spring and summer.
This is certainly not a top-10 designer fragrance, so wear it accordingly. It's a bit daring and maybe a bit polarising as well. Not for the younger crowd, so 30's and up would probably be the safe bet. For me it's unisex enough to at least be worn by our female fragrance fans out there, but the base notes might be a bit too woody for some. I'm still thinking you'll be able to pull it off though.
Now to wear it again and again, so I can finally say it's actually worth more than an 'average' 5.5 for me.
A harsh resinous opening, warm comforting and slightly creamy bouquet of spring blossoms in the heart, warm resins throughout. To me this is for the daring, and borderline unisex. Sillage is ok, longevity not so much.
—
To be honest I'm quite ambivalent about this perfume. No, it's more like having an internal argument whether or not I like this fragrance at all. But it's warming up to me and after a few times wearing it, I can't say I hate it anymore. I might even go so far as to say I quite like it. Maybe it's a Stockholm syndrome kicking in, maybe it's just a nice fragrance in disguise.
My first encounter with this fragrance punched me in the face with bitter bergamots and a cold, cold resin. These rough elemi-like citrusyresin notes together with a lot of peppery greens are absolutely the first line of defence before being able to conquer the heart. Also a pinch of tartness but less loud than the former two. This is what got me so riled up: The opening is so scratchy and jarring it might frame you immediately into an "ugh, horrible!"-mindset. And you will almost miss the slight saltiness in the background as it wafts through the opening like a soft sea breeze in summer.
But as time moves on, the heart becomes more pronounced and there things warm up a lot. This heart reminds me most of walking through orchards in late spring. When the sun is already warming and with bitter orange- and sweet chestnut blossoms making the air heavy with their heady beckoning calls for the bees and other insects. It even resembles sweet-scented bedstraw to a large degree (yes it's a bit of a reach, but we had those in our garden when I was a kid and remember that smell like it was yesterday). This is the soft hand that rubs the sore spot on your face that the opening had made a while back. But although this is a–for me at least–comforting smell, it's borderline indolic. I would even say it has a creamy nature. It gives off quite a heavy accord, and still has a lot of resinous undertones. Warmer and a bit sweeter resins, but still a lot of resins. This might put people off as well.
In the base: More resins! Quelle surprise! They mingle with woodier notes, some inky notes, and by this time I don't even mind the resinous nature anymore. It's much less complex and interesting than the earlier stages. This fragrance is by far not linear, it evolves massively through time and I respect it for that.
As for the sillage, It's not that great. Stays close to the skin once the opening dries down, and performance wise you'll get a few hours out of this. It becomes a skin scent quite quickly, so don't expect to wow (or annoy) people around you for long. Wear this in spring and summer.
This is certainly not a top-10 designer fragrance, so wear it accordingly. It's a bit daring and maybe a bit polarising as well. Not for the younger crowd, so 30's and up would probably be the safe bet. For me it's unisex enough to at least be worn by our female fragrance fans out there, but the base notes might be a bit too woody for some. I'm still thinking you'll be able to pull it off though.
Now to wear it again and again, so I can finally say it's actually worth more than an 'average' 5.5 for me.
BeginswithaJ
