AtlasHugged

I was worried when I saw sandalwood listed in the notes- In my opinion almost nobody gets sandalwoods right, either using that awful acrid picklewood, or just poorly blending the sandalwood into the other notes such that it dominates the fragrance.
PdE thankfully proved me wrong.

The sandalwood in this fragrance was measured with a careful hand- it's definitely THERE, but it blends so seamlessly into the bourbon vanilla and ambrette musk that I originally mistook this fragrance as an oud scent. The florals take the formula to the next level, adding some needed freshness to cut into the sweetness and creaminess of the vanilla.

I don't generally enjoy summery, tanning lotion-type fragrances, so this was never going to be my all-time favorite, but I have to commend the craftsmanship that went into the making of this scent.

Parfum d'Empire is quickly becoming one of my favorite houses. Their amber accords are just so much smoother and richer than I've seen in other fragrances. I do love a nice dry, sharp amber, but the amber accords I've smelled from PdE are warm, full-bodied, and very distinctive.

A problem that I've noticed with "boozy" fragrances is that they leave you smelling like a cross between a distillery and a bakery. Far too much booze, far too much yeast, not enough nuance. This fragrance, despite claiming vodka and champagne notes, does not have this problem. These notes are well-blended and restrained and lend the overall fragrance a bit of sweetness and a bit of effervescence- very subtle.

The "russian leather" accord and musk are the real stand-outs, in my opinion. These give the perfume a slightly animalic quality that makes everything feel all the warmer, but isn't quite a barnyard scent.

I work in agriculture, and I am intimately familiar with the scent of soil. I'm fairly confident that I could make a reasonable guess at the quality of a soil on scent alone. All this is to say that this perfume smells like a very low quality soil. I smell pale, reduced and waterlogged clay. It smells like soil that has been leached of all organic material and soluble minerals it once held. It smells like fine silica dust damp with swamp water. Dank and earthy in a way that I personally find very challenging. I'm sure that this perfume might be nice for someone who loves heavy patcholi and oud scents, but I don't think this is for me

I wouldn't call this "photorealistic" as I've never considered chocolate strawberries to have a particularly strong aroma on account of needing to be chilled, but the scent is clearly designed to evoke the confection.

The strawberry component is very nice and surprisingly long-lived given its placement as a top note. The tartness of the fruit adds bite and balance to the sweeter elements of the fragrance. Strawberry pairs surprisingly well with the amber accord, as the sharp resins give the fruit a bit more oomph. Strawberry note start to smell a bit artificial as it ages.

The chocolate component is less nuanced. I would have preferred a more bitter chocolate to temper the sweetness of the vanilla after the strawberry note begins to falter. As it stands, its more of a slightly nauseating milk chocolate rather than a complex dark chocolate.

I wish could live in the first hour of this fragrance, where everything seems perfectly balanced to keep the frequently oversweet vanilla notes in check. After the chocolate and vanilla fade, it become quite boring. The same vanilla-musk snoozefest I've smelled a hundred times.

Performance is good, still projecting faintly as I write this on hour 9.

Conceptually very fun. The vegetal carrot accord and green notes and meadowy flowers and musk do clearly evoke rabbits. The "biscuit accord" pairs surprisingly well with the musk and greenery, but I feel that it is just a bit too sweet for my liking. I appreciate a nuanced gourmand, and I think I would like this a lot more if the juice had maybe 30% less vanilla and almond.
I don't quite think it remind me of carrot cake, as so many have claimed, but it does strangely remind me of the way boba tea pearls taste- only greener.
It is an above average performer, 7+ hour longevity with decent silliage. Not oppressively strong, appropriate for tight settings.