Brise

No,
someone here thought
they could save everything with frankincense. A fallacy in my eyes and nose.
For me, a truly terrible representative of perfume.

At first; hey, mint gum, not bad. A good start.

But then quickly woody, smoky, underlined with a soapy cucumber. Yes, cucumber! Unbelievable. Is this the mélange of basil, lavender, rose, and frankincense? Cucumber?

In the end, any old frankincense covers sour aspects with a bit of pepper
only to mutate into worn socks. Socks from someone who spent too long in a smoking lounge. Really…

Terrible. I can't even recommend it for testing. A big disappointment from Amouage - for me - once again.
(Into the bin with Black Afgano ;-))

Living in the laundry with freshly washed curtains
and freshly ironed tablecloths.
The carpet foam has done a great job as well.
The carpeting is like new again.

This is how you sit down in a good mood at the laid coffee table and enjoy the delicious Black Forest cake.
The sun shines through the open windows into the bright white room,
and one enjoys the moment. The wind brings the scent of the garden hedge to the table.

Then it’s outside, and you feel the sun rays on your skin. Near the small woods with chirping birds, you settle down on a sun lounger and enjoy the day.

An unusual scent. Well done. It almost evokes a virginal cleanliness. In the end, the soap peeks through after all. Unfortunately, it’s not quite to my taste.

For a wood lover like me, Tam Dao is a revelation.

Normally, I turn away in disgust when I see "rose" among the suspects. Here, fortunately, it receives no further attention and is just an ingredient for the introduction. It gives the myrtle and cypress a certain ethereal aura for the entry into the sandalwood and has a slightly floral-plant-green effect. Very well done.

The heart note is truly impressive.
Since sandalwood, like many high-quality woods in our environment, is now severely endangered due to human exploitation and thus traded as extremely precious, the cedar with its similar scent has likely been added to support the heart note.
This tropical tree species can be found, among other places, in the Malay Archipelago, India - or as a cheaper variant (Amyris) in the West Indies of the Caribbean. However, the name Tam Dao refers more to a national park located north of Hanoi in Vietnam, so one is confronted with the original area (or here Mysore / South India). Here, the wood is rather white or yellowish.
The balsamic sweet, woody scent of these tree species essentially makes up the fascination of this perfume creation. The effect is fantastically calming, yet also simultaneously stimulating, spicy, long-lasting, and in "Tam Dao" with convincing sillage.

In the base note (see above), the substances almost change to an ambery-caramel-balsamic character without appearing overly sweet. Thus, the woody note remains extremely convincingly preserved.
If you prefer it a little "drier," you can layer it with ISO E-Super (Molecule 01). Then it gets (a bit differently) really interesting.

I can't help but write that I love this scent (unlike the moths in the wardrobe). Even though it is not my preferred subject. But it is a pure, beautiful warm woody scent in a captivatingly stimulating way. The base holds so many surprises that I could start the description all over again.
For wood lovers, perhaps(!) indispensable. For me, after multiple skin tests, an absolute must.

Whenever you think it can't get any better,
a really good little fragrance comes from somewhere:
Dry wood meets vetiver.

All my favorites on board and anchors away.

Frankincense? Alright, I'll take that too. It always pairs well with oud resin.
The labdanum and the (barely noticeable to me) date bring a hint of a certain balsamic fruitiness into play.

Then comes the wood.
Dry, uncompromising, sandalwood with ethereal birch and a touch of oud, leather-like and resinous.
Oh, how beautiful it is.
This herbal vetiver base - perfect.

And again, slightly bitter oud resin and herbaceous vetiver - until the wood gradually takes the lead, and the vetiver grass slowly retreats.
Now comes the moment of the green birch. Very well-groomed. Reserved and elegant.
The rough wood is finally polished and shines with a shimmering glow.
The good old birch. Great idea to revive it here because it all fits wonderfully.

I actually found this Heeley likable from the start. But it was only after several applications on the skin that I truly understood it.
If I weren't among the "fragrance enthusiasts" here, I would say, okay, that's enough (with my collection). I've got it. I don't need more.
But there’s always something new to discover here :-)
However, I must also say, this is something that comes close to my idea of a fragrance tailored to my very personal taste with a special touch.
I will have to reassess my previous ratings. Ratings that, however, make no claim to universality and perfume knowledge. I want to emphasize that here. It's all about preferences.

With frankincense, it's a bit of a thing for me. It's not necessarily my favorite. I have a bit of resin for smoking and distilled oil, as well as incense of it at home. None of it really convinces me. It must be due to the origin, storage, and/or composition - or simply my taste. Perhaps similar to agarwood, which can also exhibit various scent nuances - from sweet balsamic to bitter to woody-animalic. In Heeley’s Phoenicia, it fits scent-wise like a lid on a pot. Or rather, the frankincense perfectly introduces the following initially slightly bitter fragrance compositions.

One more thing:
The fragrance may lack any sweetness for some, although in the end, you can also detect something subtly sweet. A true "Oriental," I would be cautious about that. For people with a penchant for gourmand scents, this is not for them. It is essentially herbaceous - and remains largely so. The only relatively oriental aspect is the opening. And that passes quickly. In the end, in the base, it presents a fantastically balsamic elegance and throughout the whole range, with a lot of noticeable quality.
I love the long-lasting, softly fading, fresh - almost mint-like dry down effect. It has a very pleasant, comforting character that is still noticeable the next day and never feels intrusive.

Addendum (27.01.):
A nice lady who noticed the scent on me said: "That's how I imagine the scent of a marijuana plantation."
So be careful!
:-))

I had a sample of the stuff and couldn't get enough of it.

At some point, I told myself: Better something really great than just a few of those lukewarm old-timers or "modern" girly scents.
And this stuff is great. Exactly my thing.
Actually, I'm not really a convinced oriental fan because I often find the scents too floral, too sweet.
But this here... is different.
Dust-dry - ah, I love it.
I wonder where the "fragrance specialists" are. Well, nothing is written up there anyway ;-))

So the poor scent amateur draws a brief conclusion:

Coffee
Licorice-like woody spice (formerly called sweet wood) Oud? Maybe.
Tobacco, burnt rubber.
-
Leather jacket that tried to extinguish a forest fire, slightly peppery, bitter caraway. Patchouli gives the afterburn.
-
In the end, just a fine suede jacket/bag with wood and tobacco nuances, classic and yes, very well done.
Insane.

Maybe others smell something different, finer, or more. I ultimately don't care. It's just an idea about the fragrance components. In association, other things come to mind. Quite different and a little depending on the day.
Close to the body. I like that too. Arm's length is enough. "Come closer" is written on the face of the smelling partner of the wearer. A masculine, elevated scent.

Antoine Lie really hit the mark with this one. At least for me. So much so that I will immediately reorder the 60 ml version because, who knows how long this niche will last.

Do you find yourself ugly?
Take this scent - and you will only be beautiful. 100%.
;-))

PS:
Of course, the ingredients - which I won't reveal here (either) - are on the outer packaging. And of course, they differ from my subjective description. How could it be otherwise ;-)

I would also like to point out the high-quality packaging with magnetic closure and velvet, as the unusual bottle in the 17.5 ml version unfortunately cannot stand up and must be stored in the packaging. But then there's still the 60 ml...

Antoine Lie co-designed the Armani Code. Those who like that creation will also fall for this leathery-chypre scent - I guess.