Tellus Liquides Imaginaires 2015

A scream: "I am niche." The top note will scare many away. Unusual and not really like a perfume. Earth, quite clearly! Potting soil. Organic soil, with a bit of manure. But soon everything settles down and it seems that especially all the earthy aspects of patchouli have been pushed to the forefront.

It's a shame for me that this earthy impression only lasts a short while, as I could also perfume myself with potting soil. Certainly pleasant for many others, though.

A cuddly patchouli does not await you afterwards, but rather the medicinally robust variant. Grandiose! It smells a bit like iodine ointment, a bit like an old bandage and a doctor's office from 25 years ago, only significantly sweeter and resinous.

The further Tellus - Eau Arborante develops, the more it reminds me of scents I first tested ages ago or reminds me of how I perceived them back then. Memories of Eau Sauvage Parfum and indeed also of Duro come to mind. Both fragrances show hardly any similarities. But what is it that reminds me of them? Do both possibly contain myrrh? Or is it just the unusual deep, warm radiance? Perhaps they are simply associations that arose within me. However, they are important in that I find the scent somewhat familiar, also pleasant and well-wearable over time.

Despite the "deep, warm radiance," Les Liquides Imaginaires does not smell a bit ambery or balsamic. Much more, a leather association could arise, but certainly not new and clean leather. It could rather be the smell of a leather collar that you wore on your skin while rolling around, sweaty, on another body.

For the scent also carries a quite distinct, animalistic note. No, actually more of a "human" one. It smells astonishingly real like human excretions - really even like the most unpleasant ones! This note is not prominent, but rather diffuse. Yet it permeates the entire fragrance.

Only the distinct earthy note fades over time. After that, the scent progression is relatively linear. Patch, leather, resins, and dirt remain in a constant interplay, forming an surprisingly pleasant harmony.

And although I find the scent somehow pleasant, and I like to smell it, I would hardly use it. This is not a scent you simply spray on. It’s not really a perfume. Perhaps a smell for certain moods and moments. But it is not a perfume.