Dustymusky

The Polo Explorer was one of my first fragrances. In my now too large collection, it holds a firm place because it has a very distinctive scent. With its name and uniqueness, it reminds me of times gone by, of old stories, either read or told. The best ones are those that are well embellished, perhaps with a bit of light but creative exaggeration, and that stimulate the imagination. Water music ;-). Close your eyes, and you find yourself tracing the footsteps of Livingstone through the savannah in search of the legendary source of the Nile. You wander through the tall, dried grass, where something fruity-spicy is blooming somewhere. A mild, fresh morning breeze blows over from the lake. A few tree stumps, and it lightly smells of exotic wood. Just a quick sip from the tin water bottle hanging from the old leather belt before moving on. The water is still cool, but not for long, as the day will get hot again...

Anyone who makes it to Oxford to the Museum of Natural History can discover the Pitt Rivers Museum of Ethnography and Archaeology at the end of the impressive dinosaur skeleton collection, right behind the giant jaws of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. There, one could, at least some time ago, browse almost alone, open the heavy drawers of the long rows of wooden display cases, and among the seemingly randomly collected finds of numerous past explorers, surprisingly come across a few shrunken heads - not as well preserved, of course, as the exhibits in the glass case a bit further on.

Alright, back to the practical information. The brew from Rommel's old field flask opens with a mandarin-coriander seed mix that reminds me a bit of a clone of Gucci Envy, which I have in my sample collection. However, the Explorer quickly shifts to freshness, but I can't quite say where that comes from. Perhaps sandalwood freshness? Four to five sprays on the inside of the undershirt, plus the same amount on the chest, and the longevity issue is resolved. It easily lasts for a softly perceivable personal scent bubble of tropical wood and leather with a fresh undertone throughout the entire day of exploration. Not a knockout, but a persistent quiet presence, like a lone explorer on the long journey into uncharted territory, who doesn't provoke wild animals, and whose trail is hard to find. It's a shame, as the scent is unfortunately only rarely available on eBay.

What prompted me to purchase this fragrance was a good deal of curiosity about the many woody scent notes that are hardly found in the Parfumo database, yet clearly suggest a deep forest. Larch appears in eleven listed perfumes, while European larch is not even in the database. Searching for the white pine cone also yields no success, but entering "white" in the fragrance search engine leads to some surprising suggestions: Blue-green willow?? Only included in the scent "Leonore" by Red Dear Grove, along with sweet pea?! - Alright, moving on! Beaujolais wine!? Found in "Wine and Roses" by Soul Purpose. So far, all completely uncommented fragrances. After completing this unexpected educational journey on Google, I also note: Black pine and alpine cedar seem to be further unique characteristics of Amber Teutonic.

About the scent: A sample I purchased revealed to me a truly extraordinary aroma. Soft-resinous, with a slightly cool fruitiness, vaguely woody - and primarily a hint of sweetness that seems strangely familiar but cannot be immediately categorized. No matter - perhaps a bit dazed, but Teutonic in its boldness, I seized the bottle - uh - bought it, and upon the second wear, the sweet note immediately reappears. Which of these noble woods do you belong to? Yes, now I know what it is! It smells like coconut! Ouch!! Instead of being in the Teutonic forest myth, am I standing under a coconut palm? What a spoiler! And once you have a picture in your head, it’s not so easy to shake it off. Should I just get rid of it in the souk? That would be very un-Teutonic! The greatest sword-swinging Teuton of all time didn’t run away just because he couldn’t do anything with his sword; he threw tree trunks at the dragon. The direct approach with novel scents is not always the best. Self-deception occurs in one’s own mind, so why not deceive your own self-deception? When this sweet aroma jumps at me, I ask: And what kind of mystical coconut are you? Yes, now I smell it! A prominent, exotic-resinous aroma, with cool-bitter fruit and mystical, coniferous-ethereal tones right behind it. As the scent develops, the woody notes become more pronounced. There we go! My advice: Try it twice before buying.

Edit: Siegfrid can hold out a long time with the tree trunk. 12 hours at four on the chest!

The fruity, bitter cedarwood theme is, in my nose, one of, if not the most attractive scent blends in modern perfumery. With Cedrat Boise, the game begins with blackcurrant, which is also skillfully used in other Mancera fragrances. Anyone who has smelled the synthesized raw material in concentrated form wonders, after waking from a coma, how such a perverse smell can smell so good in small amounts. At least that's the case with the blackcurrant flavor.

Over the course of several hours, the initially barely noticeable wood note intensifies into this typical bitter to slightly smoky aroma. Very sexy! However, I always have to hold back and not apply more than three sprays, otherwise I experience a perception gap that lasts for several hours, and the smoky aroma at the end gets lost. One of the fragrance components temporarily knocks out my olfactory receptors when the dose is too high. Then, under no circumstances should you switch the bottle, otherwise you risk triggering an acute "batcheritis".

I find the many fruit variations in the different openings of this genre interesting, which can be found on the broad market. Always somehow different yet similar. I have a few from this direction in my collection and enjoy wearing them all. Citrus power in Armaf CdN, citrus-mate in Vilhelm's Black Citrus - which is more bitter than Jever beer - red berries in Steve McQueen's Mythic - a rarely occurring but very appealing variant - and then the pineapple. However, I only have that as a clone - almost an Eclat - because the royally overpriced short-livedness turns "pine apple" into "pain apple" for me.

The pineapple combo seems to trigger a psychotic repetition tick in some neighborhoods, with an avalanche-like amplification effect. Buy as many variations as possible blindly, write a critique, sell further. If someone writes a comparison with the supposed king and proclaims a renewed act of majesty insult, several more will follow within a few weeks. There are definitely more comparative opinions about Cedrat Boise alone than there are fruit varieties in perfumes. The one from ElWedo further down is really helpful. I quote the one true wannabe king of all time: I would rather go pineapple farming in Alaska than read another comparison.

Right off the bat - this is a completely fascinating perfume and I think it's great. No aspect of the scent, including the hunt, the order, the delivery, the payment, the catch, the unboxing, the spraying, and the wearing has been boring so far.

In search of a citrus-fruity oud, I stumbled upon this gem. After checking it out on Fragrantica, I looked it up on Parfumo: The description of mini-golf below is accurate and sparked my hunting instinct. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a dealer in Europe. Well, I ordered it on eBay from a dealer in Kuwait with good ratings. Two hours after the order confirmation, I receive the shipping confirmation - truly express, I think - from the somewhat Japanese-sounding dealer with the note: "You are a wonderful customer!" Oh-oh! Three days later, on my way home, I get a call from an unknown number: "Hello? Michaeeel!? We're bringing your package in 10 minutes - it costs 57 euros and 11 cents!" What? "Yes, package from Kuwait!" ... Oh, that was quick?... and ... man, they really charge at customs! ... and to the supplier: I still have to stop by the bank.... "Yaaaah, no problem, we wait!" I arrive at my driveway and before I can get annoyed about the shabby delivery van in front of me, a couple is bustling around the car, rummaging between another delivery - gray-brown rags and an old toolbox? - pulling out a package, from the glove compartment the customs invoice, and from the spare tire a bag with change - sic! Well, that was something!

Inside the house, I unwrap the perfume box from about 10 meters of plastic wrap - and open it. A heavy, oriental engraved metal lid sits atop the glass bottle. I had one like that on my powder horn when I used to capture Portuguese in the Strait of Zanzibar! The beautiful painting from the photo turns out to be blue, molded plastic and a kind of breastplate made of dark green plastic beads encased in plastic, as well as three large, flattened, hardened gummy bears with finely perforated holes. The spray nozzle comes as an aluminum injection molding, the pressure point must be overcome, and produces with an astonishingly resonant "clunk" a broadly sprayed, very fine aerosol that puts any direct-injection valve from BMW to shame. I give this Bahraini jet submarine every single rating from 1 to 10, making it 85.

The scent is.... a bright lemon with a slightly grape sugar-like undertone on animalistic oud with spice. Wow! Never smelled anything like it before! Cow stable? Absolutely! But hey - if you spray Far Eastern oud on your neck, you have only yourself to blame. Aim clearly below the neckline and under the clothing next time. Then the cow stable effect is like that of a kissed frog. The result is as mini-golf describes it (see below). The expert evaluation of this Arabic wonder orchestra on this page is as colorful as the bottle. The community's pie chart says: Place 1, woody: 24%. Place 2, oriental, creamy, citrus: each 12%, Place 3: animalistic, fresh, resinous, spicy, aquatic, floral, green: each 6%. Attention, you designer perfumers, you can get inspired here for the next flanker! Animalistic-fresh-creamy, hmmm, that would be something new! But now, let's be honest - who among you 17 gave this rating?
So, folks, this perfume is a certain risk. Something for pirates who want to smell good! It plays with the entire scent orchestra including farts and burps, but it's not too loud. Suitable for all occasions - really, but don't lower your gaze - and for all seasons, warmer is better though.

Hajar!
Your Dustymusky

Sunshine Man inspires most perfume lovers here to associate it with beach and summer evenings. For me, however, it is the perfect winter scent. Sun, yes of course, but preferably in the morning with biting cold. Why? Cold temperatures truly bring out the genius of this fragrance blend.

Sunshine Man is a modern interpretation of the classic lavender-vanilla combination in the style of Caron pour un Homme. It leans towards Serge Lutens Gris Claire, then goes further and adds a touch of sweetness. The lavender in Sunshine Man smells more herbal, probably due to the sage and strawflower. The orange liqueur completely replaces the vanilla at first. Only later on (that is, in the office 4-5 hours later) does the vanilla aspect come into play, but wood, juniper berry, and tonka bean, I suspect, give the vanilla a slightly bitter hue. However, all these aspects are blended in such a way that my perception always hangs in suspense: lavender herb, orange herbal liqueur, vanilla wood. A true masterpiece, in my opinion.

I love riding my bike to the train station with this scent around my nose in the cold, and waiting on the platform for the train. The usual delays don’t bother me at all. This herbal interplay between lavender and orange liqueur during the first hours is simply fantastic. In warm temperatures, the herbal lavender aspect recedes, and the vanilla-sweet aspects come to the forefront. It is now mid-February, and the day before yesterday it was 16 degrees in Cologne. It seems that the summer faction could enjoy Sunshine Man with its sweeter aspects for a long time this year. But I hope for a few more cold weeks at the end of February and the beginning of March. If that doesn’t happen, you’ll just have to wait, and you can only get to know the herbal, orangey sweet magic on a frosty sunny day next winter.