I absolutely adore florals as a man with rose and jasmine being in the forefront. But not just any rose… not the dewy, green, fresh with thorns. I am a sucker for jammy, red, honeyed, meaty, fruity and sparkly citric textured absolute. A bottled perfection in my eyes.
It opens up bold, opulent and unapologetic. It hits your skin like a nuclear bomb. Like with other MJ creations, we have an amazing top note of cooling cardamom with fruity rose in the centre. The rose is present top to bottom and is being enveloped by different nuances. It is anchored and its power never goes away (pretty spectacular knowing that rose absolute doesn’t last long on skin). It is in the realms of oud satin mood extrait which is my most favourite perfume of all time. Jammy, uplifting, nuclear, meaty whilst radiating soft velvety aroma.
It begins to morph with a strong black assam tea, slightly bitter turkish brewed coffee and booziness - the latter two being much less pronounced to my nose. The plumminess comes out more - succulent, velvety, nectarous and inky. The cardamom intesifies (picture cardamom seeds that already have a spicy cooling black tea nuance mixed with bitter black tea) very reminiscent of Intoxicated by Killian. Dry frankincense (not churchy) and sweet drops of dark brooding myrrh rise from underneath making this scent extremely diffusive and spiritual adding citric edge - I believe Jacob picked Ethiopian variety thanks to the inspiration he drew from his travels through the country.
Ultimately, the scent profile is borderline fruity incense gourmand, get that bianco latte and sugary crap out of your head. This is perfume for a well dressed elegant person. Someone who is not afraid to receive compliments and announce themselves before entering the room. It may come across more feminine, however the bitter booziness and earthiness keep it from being cloying and perfectly suitable for a man. Lasts about 8h on skin with above arms length projection for 2-3 hours.
Sits in my top 5 rose perfumes. I could bathe in this. The price is amazing too and comes with presentation that is arguably the best in the artisanal world of perfumery. It ignites my brain and flushes it with serotonin - this perfume brings calmness, relaxation and spiritual relief.
