Tsar (vintage) opens with a mixture of sweet candied tonka bean, aromatic lavender and nose tingling bergamot citrus with green oakmoss support. Moving to the early heart, the tonka bean derived candied sweetness remains but is significantly diminished as the bergamot vacates, leaving the aromatic lavender joining with the now significant green oakmoss as it rises to co-star status with a hint of cinnamon spice, transparent vetiver, green pine and lily-of-the-valley add support. During the late dry-down the green Oakmoss takes control adding a slight powdery sheen to an emerging underlying moderately sharp cedarwood and hard leather co-starring duo through the finish with earthy patchouli support. Projection is average and longevity very good at 11-12 hours on skin.
Tsar (vintage) on paper looked like the kind of composition that would wow me from the get-go, but in actuality that wasn't the case. It turns out this is a composition that it takes many outings to appreciate to the fullest. The initial thing that made it difficult to love was the candied tonka bean derived sweetness that permeates the open and the early heart. As one who dislikes relatively sweet compositions this was more than a bit off-putting. That said, the sweetness only hangs around for the first hour or so before becoming nearly unnoticeable. What *is* noticeable, is the considerable oakmoss used throughout Tsar's development, driving the composition from start to finish in many ways. Early-on, it meshes quite well with the aromatic lavender and later-on it becomes a key linchpin to countering the rugged leathery finish. While there are a gob of ingredients in Tsar, one additional ingredient that bears mentioning is the very deft use of earthy patchouli in the base that works perfectly with the rugged leathery greens late. Coming back to the opening statement, Tsar takes a while to completely win the wearer over, but with each successive wearing, nuances like its florals, subtle cinnamon spice or even the barely detectable but quite key vetiver make for a very interesting journey, one that ended up impressing this writer. The bottom line is the approximately $50 per 50ml bottle on the aftermarket Tsar (vintage) may not grab one like many other winners from the 80s, but its slow wooing of the wearer ultimately succeeds, earning it a "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 star rating and a solid recommendation to vintage perfume lovers.
