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Pale, watery-citric wood
I bought a sample of this from Nose.fr as soon as they had it in stock, that's how interested in this I was. Unfortunately, when it arrived, all I could smell was a harsh woody-rubbing alcohol smell that obscured the bright citrus and tingly, cool-smoky guaiac. I was so disappointed. But you know what? Years later, the wood alcohol notes seem to have settled a bit, allowing me (finally) to get a glimpse of what this scent was meant to be. I mean, don't get me wrong, there is still something vile about the woody aromachemical used here but it lurks just far enough under the surface to register in my nose as a faint unpleasant tickle. I can deal.
TDC does citrus notes well, and here they shine for as long as their little volatile heart will let them. The Palo Santo/guiac wood note is interesting here. It smells silvery, bright, like pale blond wood washed in cold spring water and left to bleach in the sun. I don't get any of the vaguely smoky, bitter (almost burnt) undertones of guaiac wood here, or indeed any of the incense notes, but I do pick up on guiac's slightly rubbery facet. It's clean and high-toned, though, not darkened or enriched with earthy cinnamon or clove, the notes usually chosen to accompany this wood. Surprisingly, for me, the wood goes in that blond cucumberish, almost watery-aquatic direction of something like Le Labo Santal 33 or Jo Malone's Mimosa and Cardamom. At times, I catch a tantalizing hint of Kenzo Pour Homme. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, a pale, blond wood scent with just a drop of wood alcohol for radiance, aimed squarely at those of us who want to smell radiantly and serenely of a block of wood freshly cleaved open in a forest clearing.
TDC does citrus notes well, and here they shine for as long as their little volatile heart will let them. The Palo Santo/guiac wood note is interesting here. It smells silvery, bright, like pale blond wood washed in cold spring water and left to bleach in the sun. I don't get any of the vaguely smoky, bitter (almost burnt) undertones of guaiac wood here, or indeed any of the incense notes, but I do pick up on guiac's slightly rubbery facet. It's clean and high-toned, though, not darkened or enriched with earthy cinnamon or clove, the notes usually chosen to accompany this wood. Surprisingly, for me, the wood goes in that blond cucumberish, almost watery-aquatic direction of something like Le Labo Santal 33 or Jo Malone's Mimosa and Cardamom. At times, I catch a tantalizing hint of Kenzo Pour Homme. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, a pale, blond wood scent with just a drop of wood alcohol for radiance, aimed squarely at those of us who want to smell radiantly and serenely of a block of wood freshly cleaved open in a forest clearing.