Killer Vavoom Azman 2022

Yes, Matos is annoying.
He constantly comes up with new, shrill stuff, combining banana with plastic, strawberry gum with soda, or jasmine with chlorine. But that's not all; these olfactory misalliances often wallow like pigs in a sty in a coarse, overwhelming animalism, preferably in fecal civet, also in stinky, filthy musk, then roll around in bodily costus wetlands, to finally deodorize themselves with a powder puff full of sweaty cumin.
No perfumer combines as much "yuck" in their creations as he does, a self-proclaimed one, by the way, because those who have learned the craft from the ground up, possibly even ISIPCA certified, who subsequently worked on the galleys of the major aroma and fragrance manufacturers, would never dream of exposing their artisanal skills in such a way.

No, Miguel Matos cannot measure up to a Jean-Claude Ellena or Bertrand Duchaufour, a Mathilde Laurent or Christine Nagel. He probably doesn't want to. His role is more that of an enfant terrible, a troublemaker in the self-satisfied, meandering perfume industry, where everyone is eager for a new hit, but no one dares to lean too far out of the window. That's where bold characters like Matos come in, who playfully tinker on the fragrance organ, causing the grandees of the profession to lose their senses - but, take heed: maybe something will come of it!
As explosive as the creative potential of the Portuguese is, it could actually serve as an impulse for the caravan, which watches each other with bated breath, to take that one promising step to finally escape stagnation.
Let others burn their fingers!

However, it's not the case that Matos only produces shrill, self-contradictory creations; he is also capable of occasionally catching up with haute perfumery without overly distorting himself. "Killer Vavoom" is one such fragrance that could genuinely come from one of the renowned houses. Essentially, behind its overtly flashy gourmand concept lies the classic plum-scented chypre structure of a "Femme de Rochas," a "Diorama," or a "Parfum de Thérèse" - all developed by perhaps the greatest perfumer who ever lived: Edmond Roudnitska.

Thus, "Killer Vavoom" can also be read as a kind of homage to the old master of chypre art, in Matos's style, of course. He approaches the slender, sinewy Frenchman in full diva regalia, on a grand frigate, with billowing sails. Everything that Roudnitska threw overboard throughout his life to steer the smaller, more agile ships with the more elegant lines is packed onto Matos's heavily laden three-master. Essentially, "Killer Vavoom" is the olfactory embodiment of exactly that opulence which Roudnitska tried to overcome, while Matos indulges in it unabashedly. But I find that indulging in it is certainly justified, just as one can revel in the opulence of Bruckner's symphonies while also admiring the filigree brilliance of Schubert's string quartets.

And Killer Vavoom is opulent, oh yes!
From the wasp-waisted, haute couture-clad ladies of the post-war era, it has transformed into a curvy model in chocolate delirium, with a full beard and in leather chaps.
Sounds quirky, and it is.
‘Vavoom’ (also ‘Va-Va-Voom’, when the engine stuttered on start-up, or in today's children's rooms: ‘Wrumm-Wrumm’) is an American slang or comic strip expression from the 50s that imitates the roar of curvy street cruisers and equally admires the no less curvaceous pin-up girls of that time. The sprawling tailfins of a Cadillac were met with "vavoooom!!" just as much as Jayne Mansfield's atomic bosom (another once common, now quirky term).
The "Killer" before it amplifies the libidinous pleasure in curviness to the grotesque, to the caricatured exaggerated, the "Deadly" - the famous drag queen Divine and Tom of Finland send their regards: Vavooooom!!!!

"Vavoom" here is indeed a lot: the juicy leathery osmanthus blossom, the rich sweetness of plum, the voluminous earthy oakmoss-patchouli base, the lustful-animalistic musk hint. And above all, the "Killer": a fountain of viscous, bitter chocolate that cascades from the top notes through the heart notes down to the base. It permeates everything without suffocating it, framing everything without covering it. Its presence is truly enormous, or in other words: "Vavoooom!!". Those who dislike the smell of chocolate - keep your fingers away! But those who do like it, along with the good old plum chypres, and appreciate a hearty twist into the leathery, could find happiness with "Killer Vavoom."
It is sweet, of course, quite sweet, but in a way that I like: dark, molasses-like, fruity, bitter. No cotton candy sweetness, no lilac or freesia sweetness, nothing light and sweet at all. Rather, everything is dark, almost black: the leather, the chocolate, the plum, the patchouli - voluminous dark opulence!

For me, the fragrance is a successful symbiosis of vintage vibes (Matos loves the old fruity ladies' chypres!), modern gourmand allure, and contemporary gender fluidity, because with the help of the leathery-animalistic additions, the Femme de Rochas has indeed grown a beard, and what a beard it is!

A mature Matos, an adult in a way, who leaves the youthful exuberance behind, who - still wild! - comes across as more composed, more at peace.

He doesn't annoy me for a second!