Raspberry
Musky notes
Dry woods
StellaDiverF
213 Reviews
StellaDiverF
Helpful Review
3
Rose-Oud in Raspberry Disguise
I'd like to first thank Svensk Parfym for the opportunity to test their first six fragrances.
The opening moment of Virke is filled with tart-sweet lemon and a cool, almost medicinal greenery, of which the combined effect reminds me of frozen lime. Soon, a ripe, rosy/fruity sweetness arrives along with a slightly animalic woodiness in order to complete the olfactive profile of raspberry.
However, with all the pieces of a raspberry puzzle present, I was unable to claim that it smells like realistic raspberry to me. One main reason is that its texture is not juicy and sparkling to evoke the sensation of biting into a ripe raspberry, but a bit dry and powdery because of the prominent woody element, sometimes even a bit reminiscent of lipstick. Another reason is that the rosy sweetness and the animalic woody note employed here strongly remind me of the rose-oud accord in many western oud fragrances. Virke is not as heavy or aggressive as many of them, but the association is difficult to shake off in my mind.
With time, the animalic aspect and the ripe fruity sweetness becomes lighter and more translucent thanks to the infusion of a steamy, clean white musk. Virke becomes a rubbery wood and clean musk fragrance tinged with a light pink hue of raspberry sweetness about 3 hours in, and it remains so until it disappears from the skin. The sillage is mostly moderate, while the longevity is about 9 hours on my skin.
As I've become jaded with many western rose-oud fragrances lazily depending on this kind of raspberry-rose-oud accord, I have certain difficulties dealing with the similar accord in Virke. But I really appreciate the addition of musky animalic note to bring the raspberry alive, as many commercial fruity floral focuses solely on its fruity sweetness and smells more like artificial gooey jam. The strong presence of a dry wood also helps to keep the sweetness at bay. If you're looking for a woody raspberry and don't have the same aversion to a certain raspberry-rose-oud accord like me, I think Virke is worth a try.
The opening moment of Virke is filled with tart-sweet lemon and a cool, almost medicinal greenery, of which the combined effect reminds me of frozen lime. Soon, a ripe, rosy/fruity sweetness arrives along with a slightly animalic woodiness in order to complete the olfactive profile of raspberry.
However, with all the pieces of a raspberry puzzle present, I was unable to claim that it smells like realistic raspberry to me. One main reason is that its texture is not juicy and sparkling to evoke the sensation of biting into a ripe raspberry, but a bit dry and powdery because of the prominent woody element, sometimes even a bit reminiscent of lipstick. Another reason is that the rosy sweetness and the animalic woody note employed here strongly remind me of the rose-oud accord in many western oud fragrances. Virke is not as heavy or aggressive as many of them, but the association is difficult to shake off in my mind.
With time, the animalic aspect and the ripe fruity sweetness becomes lighter and more translucent thanks to the infusion of a steamy, clean white musk. Virke becomes a rubbery wood and clean musk fragrance tinged with a light pink hue of raspberry sweetness about 3 hours in, and it remains so until it disappears from the skin. The sillage is mostly moderate, while the longevity is about 9 hours on my skin.
As I've become jaded with many western rose-oud fragrances lazily depending on this kind of raspberry-rose-oud accord, I have certain difficulties dealing with the similar accord in Virke. But I really appreciate the addition of musky animalic note to bring the raspberry alive, as many commercial fruity floral focuses solely on its fruity sweetness and smells more like artificial gooey jam. The strong presence of a dry wood also helps to keep the sweetness at bay. If you're looking for a woody raspberry and don't have the same aversion to a certain raspberry-rose-oud accord like me, I think Virke is worth a try.
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