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When the announcement of Agrias Vetiveris II was made, I was very excited to see a sequel to Agrias Vetiveris - I wanted to be part of it! At the latest after Ruby and Kenshitora, I am quite enthusiastic about the natural and intense fragrance experiences of Frederic Gieselbach, the creator behind Nebiru Parfvm.

Rarely have I been so excited about the first sprays of a new arrival. Now the time had come: a green sparkling bang of citrus, ginger and vetiver. Intense and fresh. Plus mandarin, grapefruit and blood orange. Pure joie de vivre. Not a pungent citrus mix, but a wonderfully balanced opening. And it all arrives on the nose with a really incredibly strong and valuable intensity. My first wow effect.

Then comes what this is all about: the vetiver. A green explosion of Indonesian, Paraguayan and Hattiwan vetiver come together. For me, the intense citrus opening makes this a great bright, green, earthy and yet very intensely rich smelling vetiver. Really wow again! I personally smelled the beautiful moss in the base and some light ethereal and earthy, woody incense. Here I suspect the hinoki wood.

I find the longevity and also the radiance of Agrias Vetiveris II very impressive. Through my sweater, I noticed it for a good 2-3 hours very intensely, but not penetratingly. It remained perceptible throughout the evening. I could still smell the vetiver, the moss and the hinoki wood in the morning.

I was so enthusiastic that I gave Frederic Gieselbach positive feedback on his Nebiro Parfvm Instragram page that same evening. I also took the opportunity to ask him what his inspiration behind Agrias Vetiveris II was. After consultation, I can share his answer with you here.

The idea for Agrias Vetiveris II was born during a meeting between Frederic and his perfume mentor. Inspired by his mentor's worn Néroli Outrenoir and the exchange about rare fragrance raw materials, the fragrance composition matured. Frederic's brother, who had just returned from the Camino de Santiago in Spain, gave the final impulse with the appropriate name. The fragrance is therefore a very personal tribute to the mentor and his brother, who accompanied him on his journey.

I personally loved Agrias Vetiveris II, from the natural and intense scent to the high-quality bottle with the deep green decoction, as well as the inspiration behind this fragrance experience. Thank you Frederic for this great experience and the insight for inspiration and thank you to you for following my first impressions.

Actually, everything has already been said about Imagination. Everyone knows it, everyone has already advertised it up and down on social platforms, promoting it as "the best summer fragrance" from Louis Vuitton. Every spring and summer again. Imagination has been with me since 2023 and was also my first fragrance in this price category.

But I would still like to share with you my story, my opinion and two experiences with Imagination that have particularly stuck with me. But first, a little background on the iconic fragrance:

Imagination was developed by Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, the perfumer who has been responsible for the entire Louis Vuitton fragrance line for years. The idea behind Imagination is already in the name. The fragrance is intended to stimulate the imagination. The rest is no longer a secret. Bergamot, orange, neroli, the black tea note and a hint of ginger. Plus a large portion of ambroxan with guaiac wood. Ambroxan takes the fresh top notes with it like a molecular carrier rocket and, along with a few other well-balanced ingredients, ensures that it lasts a long time. For me, it lasts a good 6-8 hours and is therefore a great performer for a freshi. It is noticeable on clothing for much longer.

Despite my fragrance collection, I haven't received many compliments in public yet. I also think I'm reasonably presentable and sometimes I can't understand why people are probably asked about their fragrances 10 times a day. I go through the world with an open mind. But there were two experiences with Imagination that I would like to share with you.

The first experience. South Tyrol. Breakfast buffet, full hall. Suddenly one of the waitresses shouts across the room: "Damn it, who smells so good here?". She runs through the tables and gets closer and closer until my 10-year-old daughter calls out to her: "That's my dad". The waitress then stopped by us and confirmed this by sniffing me. Yes, I did a good job that morning, but at that moment I was already a little bit upset. My daughter loved it.

Second experience. Company party. Hipster hall rented. 1000 employees partied the night away. Pre-meeting with three colleagues at my place. They smiled a little about my fragrance collection. Everyone got a fragrance from me anyway. One was Green Irish Tweed, and the evening hit was Tony Iommi Monkey Special and Imagination. When we arrived at the company party, our colleagues had at least three groups of female colleagues smell us and wanted to know what smelled best. It really was Imagination every time.

I wore the fragrance in summer, in winter, in the office, in bars, in my free time. Really everywhere. And although I now have an extensive fragrance collection, this is the only fragrance that I have bought twice since then, or had refilled at Louis Vuitton.
It's not cheap, it's also not unique, there are probably many, many similar fragrances in the meantime. But it is still one of my favorite fragrances. It always works.

"Silence is something you carry within you.
Not out there, but in here."
- from "Kafka on the Beach" by Haruki Murakami

Sometimes it's the books that lead us to a scent. That was the case with me and Kafka on the Shore. Haruki Murakami (*) has been with me for many years. i read "Kafka on the Shore" in 2006 and it was the inspiration for this fragrance. I am currently reading "South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami. I stumbled across the following passage:

"The smell of lavender was in the air,
mixed with the light aroma of old paper.
It was as if time itself had a scent."

This reminded me of a small sample that was first sent to me and my friend and was related to Murakami. So off we went to the sample box, searched, found and applied. My God, and I was so happy because I had the feeling that I had found one of the sources of inspiration for Kafka on the Shore.

It smells like old paper. Like the library cards of youth and books that have been read several times. Like cedar wood and oak. Lavender and iris make it creamy, earthy and powdery.
Amber, musk and patchouli blend with the vanilla and envelop you in a gentle, soft reading aura. Really superbly realized.

Kafka on the Shore is not a statement. It is a mood.
(M)A fragrance for reading. (M)A retreat. Murakami in molecules.

In addition to the wonderful fragrance experience and the poetic reference to Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore impresses with a very handcrafted and minimalist bottle. The perfume house Folie à Plusieurs is based in New York and draws inspiration for its fragrances from art, literature and films. Haruki Murakami's work "Kafka on the Beach" was one such inspiration.

So I end my review with a very nice quote about fragrances
from "Kafka on the Beach" by Haruki Murakami:

"Wrapped in the deep scent of the forest
i hear the fluttering of birds' wings, the stirring of ferns.
I am free of gravity and float, just a little,
from the ground and float in the air."

* The Japanese author Haruki Murakami is one of the most famous contemporary authors. Known for his books that hover between reality and the world of dreams. His novels have sold millions of copies and have been translated into over 50 languages.

Mystikum caught my attention in a perfumery because of its Art Deco-style bottles. Mystikum was originally founded in Berlin in 1906 and was considered the German "Chanel No. 5" with its perfume "Mystikum". Mystikum was revived in 2024 with the aim of bringing art, not mass-produced goods, to the market and attaches great importance to preserving its historical heritage.

Well, now I was standing in front of the various bottles and I was initially delighted by the very slight vintage vibe that subtly lingered over the fragrances I tested. I particularly liked Moonlight Ceremony, Tears on Mystic Sands and Saddles of the Silk Road.

For me it became Saddles of the Silk Road. A fragrance that captures the magic of old trade routes. I had the feeling of departure and adventure right from the start.

The adventure begins with a journey on a smoky leather saddle with dusty and dry earth clinging to it. Oud, saffron and lots of ladanum create an oriental atmosphere. And then there is my weakness for Nagarmotha. Its woody, smoky note runs like a red thread through many of my favorite fragrances. I also find a hint of walnut and cocoa in the saddle, beautifully present and slightly tart. Patchouli and amber frame Saddles of the Silk Road discreetly. It remains pleasant and unobtrusively sweet throughout. For me, this is really very successful!

And somehow the whole fragrance experience reminds me of my favorite book from my youth: "Wind, Sand and Stars" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Now my associations of memories, desert, adventure and Nagarmotha came together to form a coherent picture.

And the adventure with Saddles of the Silk Road lasts a really long time. I keep noticing it throughout the day. Unobtrusive, but very present. It's actually a fragrance for fall and winter, but I think it's also perfect for spring.

Some fragrances don't just come to you, they come in a roundabout way. Murkwood | Pineward" was just such an experience. I discovered it and became curious through a very exciting collection of a very nice perfumer. Inspired by a small bottling, I wanted to buy it.

Unfortunately, Murkwood was not available at the time. Then I posted a call for help in the Parfumo forum and was thrilled by the helpfulness of the community. A helpful Parfumo user offered to bring it to me on her city trip from Krakow and even wrote to me directly from the perfumery. At the same time, a Parfumo user wrote to a Danish perfumery, which then also delivered to Germany as an exception. I then did the latter. The nice communication with the many great Parfumos alone made it a great community experience for me right from the start. Thanks again to everyone who helped me with this!

I already knew roughly what to expect from Eldritch. But Murkwood was another intense pine forest experience. I am once again standing barefoot on moss in a deep green and smoky pine forest. Some light falls between the trees and despite the dark atmosphere, the scent has a warming effect on me this time. Perhaps this is due to the Lapsang Souchong tea. A black tea that is dried over pinewood smoke. In addition to campfires and resinous pine wood, it also smells of wiskey and leather. So it kind of makes sense to me and it fits very nicely into the overall picture.

For me, Murkwood is another intense and dreamlike pine forest experience. Direct, deep, very true to nature and with campfire vibes.

Murkwood is currently one of my three favorite fragrances from Pineward alongside Eldritch and "Coffee Tabac | Pineward."

For all those who don't know Pineward yet: The young indie label from Colorado was founded in 2020 by Nicholas Nilsson and stands for natural, forest-inspired fragrances. Nilsson also runs the artistically experimental perfume project Apoteker Tepe.