Adan

The motto of Etat Libre d'Orange for "Cologne" was: "Now we give you nice."

Cologne, a nice scent.

Yes. Neroli waters are generally nice, but never so amazing that I would buy one. I also eventually gave up Chanel's Eau de Cologne after several baths (yes, baths).
In between, I considered whether I should give Neroli Portofino by Tom Ford another chance, but ultimately it's the same again, just a bit better fixed with other musk bodies.

But the Cologne from ELdO is something innovative; it is classic and modern at the same time, because what hits me at the beginning is a hybrid of the typical neroli water (Chanel's EdC, 4711, Neroli Portofino, Grand Neroli, ..., Neroli Bianca, etc.) and this clean, juicy-citrusy opening that you know from Mugler Cologne.

And the whole thing is fixed and supported with a decent dose of fabric softener musk (like Serge Lutens' "Clair Du Musc," for example).

All in all, it is truly an absolutely solidly constructed Cologne, which manages to not smell too boring or too functional (fabric softener, hand sanitizer) thanks to this modern twist leaning towards Mugler Cologne.

Currently, it would be my favorite among all Colognes.

The marketing strategy of dismissing the finale of the Nasomatto line as sloppy work, even though Alessandro Gualtieri - as shown in the documentary about him - invested a lot of time and energy, is for me somewhere between foolish and brilliant, because how does a disgrace smell? Can an embarrassing situation or a loss of face even be represented olfactorily?

Well, let's get to the scent itself: Blamage starts off somewhat fruity-floral, I would even say a bit gummy bear-like. This seems to be due to the interplay of tuberose and methyl grapefruit. Apparently, one of the accords is borrowed from Lancome's "Tresor," and Philipp Kraft's review reveals it: the "Grojsman Accord" in the heart note, consisting of Iso-E Super, Hedione, and Isoraldeine.

This opening is quite atypical if you are used to the other woody Nasomattos, but the transformation is phenomenal, because as soon as this fruity-floral start is over, you smell a lot of sandalwood. Now and then I thought to myself, "Ah, Pardon!" However, the sandalwood accord in Pardon is sweetened with cocoa and caramel, while here it is pushed in a more masculine direction by amber; I was faintly reminded of Paco Rabanne's Black XS or Byredo's Oud Immortel. Take a non-sweet sandalwood accord and pair it with a hint of Oud Immortel from Byredo, that is roughly the scent impression I get after wearing it for half an hour.

Somewhere in between, I also briefly had the impression of smelling parallels between Dries Van Noten and Blamage, but that probably simply stems from the sandalwood.

Furthermore, Alessandro Gualtieri seems to have developed an affinity for sandalwood in his recent creations, as his Bergamask from Orto Parisi is also a sandalwood bomb, but Blamage and Bergamask have a completely different quality, as the sandalwood accord in both perfumes is constructed with different components:

Bergamask: Javanol, Ebanol & Polysantol
Blamage: Bacdanol, Sandacore, Sandela & sandalwood oil

Additionally, you can find patchouli subtly (because synergizing with the sandalwood) in Blamage. And this sandalwood-patchouli combo is also present in Pardon, but is designed to be a bit more cocoa-heavy.

Blamage is somehow an olfactory patchwork, but it is all masterfully put together. The only pity is that the top note doesn't last very long; it makes the whole thing quite spectacular, but what remains is "only" solidly good.

I myself am quite trigger-happy with Blamage, 1 spray to the chest and 2 on both pulse points on the neck, so a total of 3 sprays. However, I noticed that you can let Blamage unfold in slow motion when you wear it on fabric. On my sweater, this fruity-floral accord lasted a very long time.

I believe Blamage knows no gender, and the question of type, as implied in the previous post, is not really applicable; Blamage is - I find - very straightforward and wearable in everyday life. The fruity-floral components brighten the scent up so much that it fits perfectly in spring and well into summer, and through this crisp sandalwood-patchouli-amber combo, it also performs very well in autumn and winter.

For me, Blamage is very pleasant because it also olfactorily reflects what it is: a festive and down-to-earth conclusion of the Nasomatto line, leaving a grand stage with honor and an upright gait, without a big bang. And you just want to say: Thank you for Nasomatto, Alex!

It has happened before that I have rewritten my perfume comments because I now know more about the fragrance.

Actually, it only requires a small correction, as Duro does not actually contain any Oud, contrary to initial assumptions (or as the fragrance pyramid here may suggest).

Duro is still a wood club, balsamic-medical with spices. And buried beneath all that lies a slightly caramel-like sweetness, somewhat reminiscent of A*Men. And all of this at quite a high volume.

At the same time, Duro has something dry and mineral about it. And after reading Philipp Kraft's GC-MS analysis of Duro, I thought to myself "Of course, it's actually obvious, how could anyone overlook that?!" Because Duro is a record-holding perfume: 25.36% Cashmeran, the polycyclic musk compound that somehow smells mineral-like. Like a damp cellar with slight mold or a stalactite cave.

The idea behind Duro is "Kashmir wood." It's probably a creation of the marketing departments, as it sounds better than "synthetic, polycyclic musk compound." Accordingly, it is also questionable whether the name "Duro" somehow contrasts with the concept of the perfume, as "Kashmir wood" should actually be something smooth.

Be that as it may, Duro is incredibly long-lasting and loud precisely because of this extreme dose of Cashmeran. Furthermore, I assume that this is also why Duro is generally so well-received, even though it smells quite extraordinary for a woody perfume. Cashmeran can also be found in Thierry Mugler's Alien, the ubiquitous perfume among women. Perhaps that is exactly why Duro is one of the fragrances for which I have received the most compliments so far, simply because there is an unconscious recognition value, so obvious that one cannot see the forest for the trees.

Considering that Duro contains an incredible amount of Cashmeran and I still did not really perceive it, I find it impressive that this high dose could be so well masked.
A similar concept can also be found in Black Afgano, which Philip Kraft refers to as the "Black version" of Duro, as it also contains a lot of Cashmeran. But I need to research this further.

In any case, it is not surprising that some people are disappointed due to the fruitless search for Oud - but that is solely due to the marketing of the perfume websites. Allessandro Gualtieri consciously does not publish any fragrance pyramids. This way, he also does not "claim" that anything in his perfumes should be present, which I find quite good compared to all the other high-end labels, where supposedly the most expensive ingredients like Mysore sandalwood oil or Oud from Laos are supposed to be contained (which, to my knowledge, has only been confirmed by Kraft for the 3 Ouds from the Oud Mood series by MFK).

My rating does not change because of this, but it is nice when the perfume actually has something special about it, namely the high score in terms of Cashmeran.

And well, perhaps this realization helps others to interpret this perfume differently.

So, just using the halftime break to write down my praise for Bergamask.

But first, I have to refer to Erik Kormann's "September," a scent with a lot of alpha-Sinensal (an aldehyde from the peel of oranges that smells like orange juice) and Javanol (according to Philipp Kraft's GC-MS data, 10% Javanol and 14% Polysantol).
Erik Kormann showed me Javanol (which smells quite authentically like sandalwood) and explained that it was hardly possible to increase the content of Javanol further without throwing the scent completely out of balance.
In any case, September by Erik Kormann is a very solid and beautiful composition, with a remix called "Borobudur" (this time probably with sweet facets, at least it contains Ethylvanillin and similar).

Then I read on Philipp Kraft's Facebook page about his book "Scent & Chemistry," his review of Orto Parisi's Bergamask.

According to the GC-MS data, Bergamask contains 36% Javanol, 10% Ebanol, and 3% Polysantol, which means that Bergamask consists of 49% sandalwood components. The remaining ingredients seem to consist of orange and mandarin oil as well as musk bodies.

Since I already liked September by Erik Kormann a lot, I immediately fell in love with Bergamask; after 30 minutes, Bergamask is an absolute sandalwood bomb with occasional citrus breezes. It seems to me that pepper assists in the transition of the focus from citrus to sandalwood.

The quality is - as I know it from Nasomatto - very good, the scent is extremely long-lasting and always present (which is not surprising, as the odor threshold of Javanol is quite low, 0.02ng/l air).

A wonderful perfume, and since I love the smell of sandalwood (and it is also originally something typically Asian), I find the scent not only very beautiful in composition but also quite authentic on myself.

For me, the absolute highlight of the Orto Parisi series.

Tuscan Leather is probably the biggest hype monster among the more exclusive fragrances. Which label has a song dedicated to it by Jay-Z? Tom Ford. After which perfume was a hip-hop song by Drake named? Tom Ford Tuscan Leather.
And oh yes, all the clothes that Daniel Craig wore in Skyfall were by Tom Ford.

Furthermore, rumors are circulating on all blogs that Tuscan Leather is said to smell somewhat like cocaine. Lacking personal experience with cocaine, this remains a postulate for me.

If you take a trip into the secondary metabolism of plants, you might even find the cause of this interpretation:

Suede owes its scent in part to the tannins with which the leather was treated. These taste bitter and numb the tongue, seeming to constrict the mucous membranes in the mouth.

Cocaine is - like the tannins - also a secondary metabolite from plants, but belongs to the family of tropane alkaloids. Cocaine is also said to taste bitter and dull and have similar astringent properties. So perhaps it is all just a huge misinterpretation of the "tannin accord"? I don't know.

However, one cannot completely dismiss the fact that Tuscan Leather, due to this rather authentic suede scent, is also somehow associated with money, as a new car with leather upholstery smells like this or this scent is subtly present in every leather goods and luxury store.

At this point, I will attempt to close the loop of my comment, supported by another excursion into the world of science:

It was observed in a study that money activates the same brain areas as cocaine (Lea & Webley, 2009, "Money as tool, money as drug: the biological psychology of a strong incentive.", Behav Brain Sci. 2006 Apr;29(2):161-76; discussion 176-209.).
Conversely, this means that cocaine makes one feel rich and successful. And Tuscan Leather does that for me as well. Without ruining my brain. Hopefully. So is the parallel to cocaine to be sought here? I leave that to the reader.

The question here, of course, is: "Why would one want to wear this as a perfume?!" Tuscan Leather becomes more wearable over time with the raspberry, jasmine, and amber. Raspberry and jasmine give Tuscan Leather a somewhat sweet-floral touch over time, while amber introduces a certain "softness" and sweetness (at least I would attribute that to the amber). These elements also contrast the rough opening of Tuscan Leather very well.

As a closing remark, I would like to say that Tuscan Leather - if you take away all the hype - is a solid unisex leather fragrance with good performance (solid sillage, always present but never intrusive, and very long-lasting).
However, at this point, it probably cannot be separated from its hype, not only because of Drake's song and the cocaine myth, but because Tuscan Leather has been relatively often copied, either completely (Rasasi's "La Yuqawam pour Homme", Parfums de Marly's "Godolphin") or partially (Clive Christian's "C for Men", Dueto "Golden Boy", Byredo's "Black Saffron").

Imitation, the sincerest form of flattery - Tuscan Leather itself is a symbol of success. Bravo!