silencethesea Strangelove NYC 2016 Eau de Parfum

From the depths of the Ocean, Silence the Sea from Strangelove NYC.
I'd say this is the most polarizing perfume I own. Not for me, I love it, but to anyone else. I like sharing it with people only to observe their reactions. There's 10% of the population who loves it, and the remainder.

It's a natural Ambergris perfume that smells vividly of the Ocean. The reason why it's so polarizing is because of how accurately it captures that smell. Too accurately. It's not intended to be pretty but rather evocative. I think it's a marvelous achievement. It is daunting, sometimes too much, yet it has a sexual power to it that can't be denied. A mischievous scent. It's a composition blended so well that it creates an overall sensorial experience rather than an easy-to-break-down structure. The ambergris, I'd say brown or black, is always present right from the get-go. Earthy, aromatic, and floral elements orbit around it. The truffle helps with the earthy-like facets, the angelica and chamomile provide a slightly aromatic touch, while at times, tuberose and mimosa spark faint floral nuances. There's also a seaweed smell and an undeniable metallic facet to it. It almost makes me think of fresh blood. And it can be too much at times. However, the longer it blends with your skin, the warmer and silkier it becomes. Even though people hate it if they get a close whiff, they seem rather curious about what you're wearing whenever they catch your trail. It is one of those perfumes that when you smell close up the skin, it can be too much, yet it radiates beautifully in the air. With that being said, after it calms down, the strong oceanic smell lingers on. Imagine swimming around a wooden platform out in the open waters, resting on the wooden pillars occasionally to catch your breath, or swimming around a boat at sea. You get that smell of damp wood, iodine, seaweed, crustaceans, and much more. That's how Silence the Sea comes across, especially if you inhale too close. Brutally accurate, raw, unapologetic. A bold perfume, a call from the depths, for the Sea Wolf inside you.

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Although there are other notes or materials, to my nose, this smells as close to a pure ambergris tincture as it's possible to get in niche perfumery. Ambergris can smell very differently from piece to piece, grade to grade, etc., but the ambergris in silencethesea smells like a deserted beach in winter. Specifically, it has a dry, oceanic smell, like the smell of stones and rocks left to dry in the sun after the tide has gone out. Dry salt, minerals, a general greyness, and the stony loneliness of inanimate objects on a beach with no people around to witness it.

Silencethesea smells completely organic to me, elemental, and a bit wild. It has the type of aroma that one finds utterly normal in nature but does not expect to find in a personal perfume, and thus, it feels shocking. It is raw and slightly intimate. There is no warmth to the aroma, apart from the vague funkiness inherent to ambergris that reminds us that this is a substance that originated in the intestine of an animal. Wearing it is like wearing no perfume at all, because it smells more like the cold air in one's skin and hair after a long, solitary walk on a windswept beach than a perfume. This is not a perfume for community or cuddling or clubbing. It is for the pleasures of solitude.

Well, what to say about this one: I understand the concept; it wants to evoke a deep, dark, cold ocean water, with the strongest sea notes possible.

Maybe it's my skin, but it did smell like a can of sardines way past their expiration date. Total scrubber for me, an absolute no-go and an unwearable juice. It remains on your skin forever, so it's not even easy to forget or get over.

As an artistic piece of work, I get it. But if I wanted to smell like dead fish, I'd spare those 500€ and just go to the fish market.

The beautiful scent opens with a blast of airy freshness but in seconds it starts to show its character. Soon enough the oud starts appearing but it never dominates everything else. You just feel it is here.

This fragrance is very strong on ambergris, so for some, it might be a little challenging. It is animalic, but not fecal though. The perfume is very complex and so much is going on here. There is a truffle note listed, together with some white flowers. To me, it smells a lot like a chamomille, and it gets a little brightness to the scent. While sniffing the wrist, sometimes I grab some smokiness, so it doesn't let the flowers take the mainline and make the scent too sweet. This perfume also has a little aquatic quality, slightly salty. It helps to keep the freshness in here, and it is so different than any other aquatic fragrances I've ever smelled.

Talking about the performance, the scent is super strong. A couple of sprays are more than enough, and it lasts for hours. But one thing is that it never gets boring. Smelling this perfume is a journey, and every time you can get something different, find something new. This is true art in a bottle.

Is this my favorite from the house? No, I wouldn't say that, even though it is definitely amazing and a great experience to have.

Silencethesea is a perfume that is a bit different from the standard aquatic perfumes, which tend to be excessively saline, fresh and aquatic. This perfume is very well executed. The presence of ambergris is more than noticeable, I can also appreciate a citrus note and at the same time sweet, like an orange candy. There is a metallic part and also a dirty part.
Some people love it, some people hate it.
I remain in no man's land. I neither hate it nor love it. I think it's a great job by the perfumer.