Series Two - Ende/Anfang Six Scents 2010

Ende/ Anfang opens with a blast of cedarwood which is absolutely awesome. The cedarwood, however, recedes very fast and makes room for sandalwood and vetiver to shine. After about 10 minutes the coriander and cardamom are also very present, making this composition more suitable for men. After that it stays relatively linear until the end, which is about 3 to 4 hours on my skin. After a half hour it's more of a skin scent.

This particular Six Scents perfume is an all natural one and that's always a good thing for me. It's not really groundbreaking, but still very nice. Ende/ Anfang reminds me of PG Cozé.

Last week, I rummaged through my sample box, pulled out this fragrance, and then the next day I learned that Fortuna Düsseldorf is once again changing their coach. Why am I writing this, when it probably only tangentially concerns 99% of Parfumo readers? Because the penultimate coach was named Markus Anfang and the new one is Alexander Ende. No joke!

Many from the surroundings joked about whether this is the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? I have no idea what the club was thinking when they made this appointment, but you really can't make this stuff up, and apparently, any coach or name will do. As is well known, the goddess of fortune from the city on the Rhine is not only very capricious but also has her back against the wall or one foot close to the abyss of the 3rd league. Being a Fortuna fan means being able to suffer.

But now let’s finally get to the scent:

At the very beginning, there is the impression that all the ingredients - and there are quite a few - want to push forward at the same time. It comes off rather crude and somewhat unpleasant. However, just after a few seconds, it really takes off. After delicate green-creamy-resinous notes, the winner with the most assertiveness among the whole complexity is patchouli.

And it is that bright, soft patchouli that you would typically find in barbershop fragrances, which makes it all the more pleasant. There’s also a bit of sandalwood and light incense here and there, while the many other ingredients hardly come through or are recognizable.

It’s almost as if they had their chaotic appearance in the first second, and then they more or less dissipated. However, this should in no way imply that Ende/Anfang is a lightweight. On the contrary: anyone who appreciates the classic triad of patchouli, sandalwood, and incense will be well served here. The tiny components of other fragrance notes are exactly what make this creation rounder, more opulent, and more pleasant. At least it would fit and be within the realm of possibility.

Thus, you have a fine scent with the aforementioned patchouli at its core, along with light smoky/resinous to woody/animalic undertones, which seems relatively natural. Warm, pleasant, and very successful, I would mention in this context.

With these words begins the film "Dune, the Desert Planet," by David Lynch.

The story of murder, love, and intrigue takes place on a dry planet where a consciousness-expanding substance is harvested, the Spice-Melange, which brings us to this fragrance.

Beginning/End is not an easy perfume, and one must already enjoy smoky-resinous scents to appreciate this fragrance concept.

In the linear scent progression, myrrh, sandalwood, and patchouli are in focus. I suspect ginger is present at the start, as it is a bit fresher and has a certain sharpness.

Otherwise, Beginning/End unfolds a beautiful, sweet incense-like scent aura.

A little bit, Beginning/End reminded me of Incense by Norma Kamali, only this creation develops much more wearably on my skin.

What else is there to say? Oh yes!

The spice must flow!

So many fragrance notes are listed above that all seem to complement each other wonderfully, because from the very beginning I actually smell "only" a beautiful, strong sandalwood note. Dark, deep, a bit dirty, a little mysterious, magical, woody, and all very rounded, without any single fragrance note standing out loudly and tearing apart the overall impression. The beeswax note promises a sweet undertone, but I cannot perceive that. Instead, tar somehow fits in, but most likely as an enhancer of the sandalwood. Everything else can at most be guessed at.
Does Ende/Anfang actually qualify as a unisex scent? Perhaps because it is simply a rather unusual fragrance; unusual because it is a pure wood scent. However, for those who prefer cashmere-like wood scents, Ende/Anfang will definitely be too dark and too dominant. For me, it is a quite successful fragrance that I could imagine wonderfully on a less masculine person, because it has potential for surprise.