PHI opens with a slightly fruity apricot, with whiffs of piercing rose and bitter almond. As the composition moves to its early heart the rose remains in support, but moderately powdery, slightly creamy vanilla emerges as co-star with the slightly bitter almond. During the late dry-down the composition is all about the powdery vanilla that turns relatively dry, supported by rooty vetiver, light musk and remnants of the almond losing its bitter facet through the finish. Projection is excellent, as is longevity at nearly 15 hours on skin.
Let's get the positive aspects of PHI out of the way quickly... The composition has some great performance metrics and is obviously well-made. In addition to the impressive performance, the composition has a tolerable late dry-down that is unobtrusive and wearable. OK, now that is out of the way we can focus on the rest of the composition's attributes, and they all disappoint big time. Maybe disappoint is unfair because that implies one expected something better to begin with. I feel guilty panning yet another one of Mr. Tauer's compositions, but something about his trademark dusty vanilla base is just so annoying it ruins every one of them, and PHI is no exception. Also not helping matters is that while rose is supposedly the featured note (and it certainly is in the composition) the bitter almond mixed with the dusty, slightly sweet vanilla really is the focus and it doesn't smell good. I wouldn't go as far as to say the composition is a scrubber, but I did think about it several times, particularly in the key mid-section as the vanilla almond is at its strongest and most displeasing. At the end of the day the only one to blame for my torture in wearing this is me. I haven't found one Tauer composition I have liked yet, so why would I expect any different with PHI? The bottom line is the $160 per 50ml PHI Une Rose de Kandahar has a couple positive attributes easily drowned by an avalanche of negatives, earning it a "poor" rating of 2 stars out of 5 and an avoid recommendation.
