Altamir Ted Lapidus 2007 Eau de Toilette
5
Very helpful Review
The Unsung Hero, Smart, Brilliant.
Altamir is both a simple and a complicated name and is a predominantly masculine name of Gallic origin, meaning "Old, smart, bright." And I think those adjectives fit well with this colony. I am not a keen lover of sweet and sentimental scents, even if they maintain a masculine and persistent style. However, I must admit that this perfume was a revelation for me, mostly because I bought it without smelling it but merely letting myself be convinced by the web's descriptions. It is my second bottle of Ted Lapidus Altamir. I bought the first one in 2015, blindly, in fact, after falling in love with the older brother TL Pour Lui, with those sweet, powdery notes of him. When Altamir appeared on an online site, I didn't hesitate to put it in my shopping cart. I was struck by its intense amber yellow color, the minimal rectangular bottle, and the notes that compose it did the rest. I remember as soon as I got it, I sprayed it. The scent seemed very sweet, decidedly oriental, opulent, intoxicating, and I was a little perplexed. But then, in two, maybe three winters, I learned to appreciate it, and I consumed it. Therefore, I bought my reserve bottle as soon as the opportunity arose. Although the flavor is the same, the recent one's performance seems a little weaker, but maybe I remember something different.
Altamir is the fragrance of an encounter as if two skins had suddenly merged, forming perfect alchemy of pleasure. Is it a man? Is it a woman? Or both at the same time? It does not matter. The only essential thing here is instead the sensual intimacy of this communion of genders. Ted Lapidus no longer places feminine or masculine codes at the center of his composition. It is merely a question of perfumes and, above all, of perfection. It is as if the power of man and woman were no longer the same thing, but a whole.
Audiences compare Altamir to a plethora of similar colonies, such as JPG Gaultier 2 and Le Male, Paloma Picasso's Minotaure, or Thierry Mugler A * Man and Pure Wood. For me, this sweet, oriental, and woody cologne awakens my senses with a powerful burst of mellifluous citrusy neroli, mixed with some green pineapple and a touch of bergamot. The sweetness of the white flowers is prominent, medicinal, and a bit like chalk. Neroli ends up stealing fire from pineapple and is similar to Fleur de Male, although the two scents don't smell the same. Altamir is also quite spicy, adding charm to the neroli. In this phase, I find an atmosphere in common with Nikos's Sculpture. But while Nikos is light and airy for hot summer days, Altamir is heavy and sticky for cold winter nights.
Cyclamen is a note that I love in nature; the smell of fresh forest flowers is so candid, pure, delicate, velvety. Here it is magically mixed with orange blossom, with warm indole jasmine swimming in malted coumarin, and that blend creates the essence of this cologne. The heart adds a delightful vanilla scent from Tonka and a little floral from jasmine. At this stage, it becomes sweeter and softer, but not an annoying precious. Now I can detect some vetiver and musk, but I think it is at this stage that the scent will run for a while.
As for the base, this is sweet tonka, chocolaty patchouli, a dirty musk, and a slightly woody rounded amber. The patchouli's earthiness begins to wander, along with a bit of a woody bite from teak, all dominated by amber. The last part adds some itchiness to an otherwise smooth sugar bomb. The amber is radiant and mysterious and reveals an absolute sensuality. Moss, on the other hand, becomes almost animal. Its erotic and delicately erogenous accents are compelling, evoking warm memories of the fragrances we wore in the early 90s. Finally, the tonka becomes smoother and smoother and is responsible for some nutty aspects of the composition. I can also feel a slight woody touch. Together with the modern floral, this classy atmosphere gave life to the best fragrance that could be bought for less than € 25.
The sillage and projection were monstrous for the older batch, mediocre for the recent one, though Altamir gets cloying quickly with a heavy hand. The bottom line is that you mostly get an amber fragrance with patchouli, musk, and tonka in a sweet and creamy neroli bomb that will moderately feel when worn during the colder winter. We have a reasonably wearable floral amber, albeit sweet for men - but to me, it smells unisex - for a fair price. I like sweet ambers like these. Altamir is like a warm blanket in winter; it warms your heart during all those gray and cold days. Altamir is a friendly, sweet, soft, and enveloping wine. Simple but effective. A truly remarkable and convenient composition for gloomy days. One of the unsung heroes. Wear time is until you take it off, with the context being up to you. Still, I prefer to wear it during cold weather, late fall and early spring seasons.
This review bases upon a 100ml ( batch code 17i17 from Sep 2017) backup bottle I own since November 2018.
-Elysium
Altamir is the fragrance of an encounter as if two skins had suddenly merged, forming perfect alchemy of pleasure. Is it a man? Is it a woman? Or both at the same time? It does not matter. The only essential thing here is instead the sensual intimacy of this communion of genders. Ted Lapidus no longer places feminine or masculine codes at the center of his composition. It is merely a question of perfumes and, above all, of perfection. It is as if the power of man and woman were no longer the same thing, but a whole.
Audiences compare Altamir to a plethora of similar colonies, such as JPG Gaultier 2 and Le Male, Paloma Picasso's Minotaure, or Thierry Mugler A * Man and Pure Wood. For me, this sweet, oriental, and woody cologne awakens my senses with a powerful burst of mellifluous citrusy neroli, mixed with some green pineapple and a touch of bergamot. The sweetness of the white flowers is prominent, medicinal, and a bit like chalk. Neroli ends up stealing fire from pineapple and is similar to Fleur de Male, although the two scents don't smell the same. Altamir is also quite spicy, adding charm to the neroli. In this phase, I find an atmosphere in common with Nikos's Sculpture. But while Nikos is light and airy for hot summer days, Altamir is heavy and sticky for cold winter nights.
Cyclamen is a note that I love in nature; the smell of fresh forest flowers is so candid, pure, delicate, velvety. Here it is magically mixed with orange blossom, with warm indole jasmine swimming in malted coumarin, and that blend creates the essence of this cologne. The heart adds a delightful vanilla scent from Tonka and a little floral from jasmine. At this stage, it becomes sweeter and softer, but not an annoying precious. Now I can detect some vetiver and musk, but I think it is at this stage that the scent will run for a while.
As for the base, this is sweet tonka, chocolaty patchouli, a dirty musk, and a slightly woody rounded amber. The patchouli's earthiness begins to wander, along with a bit of a woody bite from teak, all dominated by amber. The last part adds some itchiness to an otherwise smooth sugar bomb. The amber is radiant and mysterious and reveals an absolute sensuality. Moss, on the other hand, becomes almost animal. Its erotic and delicately erogenous accents are compelling, evoking warm memories of the fragrances we wore in the early 90s. Finally, the tonka becomes smoother and smoother and is responsible for some nutty aspects of the composition. I can also feel a slight woody touch. Together with the modern floral, this classy atmosphere gave life to the best fragrance that could be bought for less than € 25.
The sillage and projection were monstrous for the older batch, mediocre for the recent one, though Altamir gets cloying quickly with a heavy hand. The bottom line is that you mostly get an amber fragrance with patchouli, musk, and tonka in a sweet and creamy neroli bomb that will moderately feel when worn during the colder winter. We have a reasonably wearable floral amber, albeit sweet for men - but to me, it smells unisex - for a fair price. I like sweet ambers like these. Altamir is like a warm blanket in winter; it warms your heart during all those gray and cold days. Altamir is a friendly, sweet, soft, and enveloping wine. Simple but effective. A truly remarkable and convenient composition for gloomy days. One of the unsung heroes. Wear time is until you take it off, with the context being up to you. Still, I prefer to wear it during cold weather, late fall and early spring seasons.
This review bases upon a 100ml ( batch code 17i17 from Sep 2017) backup bottle I own since November 2018.
-Elysium