Jeck

It was a normal day, I went to work - same people, same coffee, same concerns. Everything was the same. My life at Nine to Five - simple enough.

After my same old day, I started my same old journey home. The same people always responded to me. Everything as usual - right?

Headphones in - world off. As always, the same songs play on the way home, I know them by heart, but they always save the day.
As always, I respond to the people I know with a smile and a friendly nod. I usually get the same back - but today... Today was different.

Many walked quickly, almost running past me. Their gazes were empty and almost fearful. What's wrong here?
On an advertising screen, not the latest trends or movies as usual - a newsreader with a serious expression. I take a pair of headphones out of my ear.

"It's... how shall we put it... devastating... don't leave your house or apartment! Protect yourself and your loved ones..." - Abort, blackout... people running, anxious calls for family members... the earth is shaking... sirens everywhere.

The earth beneath me is moving... Heat rises... the streets filled with black smoke. I run, run for my life, but what am I running from?

Out, out, out of the city! Everyone out of the city, I hear from a distance. Next to me a car with screeching tires "Get in, go!".

After hours of driving, suddenly silence. We leave an apocalyptic image behind us - smoke, fire, screams.

"We're going into the forest" - it's supposed to be safe there, one of the passengers tells me.
We arrive. A coniferous forest, densely wooded with fir trees - all seems right with the world here.

We are greeted by other people. "Glad you made it," many of them say to us.
A small radio on a table: "We have lost, the world as we once knew it is lost. *Noise* We don't know where from, we don't know how, we only know that the world as we know it will never exist again. *crash* hug your loved ones, tell them how much you love them, because in a way this will be the last time... *abort*

Everyone pauses, around 30 people sit around a campfire, perhaps the last of our kind? In this peaceful place surrounded by destruction, fire and grief... in this silence, a loud noise shrills from afar, the kind you only know from Jurassic Park.

"It seems as if the earth has taken back what belongs to it..." says a man by the fire, taking a deep puff of his cigar, a smile slipping from his lips.

"We were only ever guests here".

... immediately in love!

I have to say that this is the first Artisan fragrance I have both smelled and owned.

Heard a lot about Frederic and his work beforehand. Fascinated by his way of working and the comparisons with the great oud houses of this world.

Arrived yesterday, sprayed it on - wow. I immediately thought of a coniferous forest, rainy, somewhere with freshly felled trees and resin in the opening. The fragrance is in constant development on my skin, I could literally perceive changes every 10 minutes. From resinous-balsamic to fresh, sweet wood.
Pure nature! That's all I can say about it.

I often follow hypes and their fragrances, but here I was shown that that's not everything. You can't say that Frederic is competing with established houses like Xerjoff or Dior, because in my eyes we're playing in a different league here.

I thank you for this fragrance experience and it is somehow almost too good to wear, as I own one of twelve 30 ml bottles produced.

I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.

"... now I'm standing in front of it: ivy-covered, cool gray, a large wooden door with heavy handles. I step inside and take a quick look around. A cold shiver comes over me, I shake myself.
It's cold, wet and smells a little musty. Fascination grips me as I look up at the meter-high ceiling. So magnificent yet so frightening. It tells a story, a story full of suffering, marked by hard times.

A warm draught. Confused, I look into its center. Surrounded by magnificently painted windows and musty wooden benches, I perceive a soft light. I approach, the light... it flickers.
I recognize it from afar: three candles, half burnt out. I smell the scent of candle wax. Creamy, powdery, soft... a brief smile escapes me, so frightening, yet so fabulous, goes through my mind.

Now I stand before him. A magnificent altar adorned with incense, burning candles, dried flowers and covered in dust. "No one has been here for a long time"
It was silent, only the soft crackling of the candles interrupting the endless silence. I wipe my hand over the altar, the smell of incense dominates more and more, it's almost as if it wants to cover everything else in her with all its might. Then I see it: old, creased - pages bound in leather. I pause... examine them... I can't read anything, I don't understand what is written there, yet it tells so much.

Suddenly it comes over me, I sneeze... once, twice, three times... dust wafting into the air joins the world of its smell, it conveys a certain dryness and bundles the candles with the incense.

I have seen it all, it has fascinated me, frightened me: yet it seems inviting. I run my hand over its benches on my way out, a wet, woody smell fills the air. On my way out, I keep looking back, it's so beautiful.
Now I'm standing in front of it again, the big door... I open it with a loud creak... it clangs... I look down at myself - peppercorns. I have stepped into a bowl of peppercorns. An explosive spice surrounds me, which, paired with wood and incense, is almost masterful. The peppercorns are colorful, I can't filter the exact varieties but it makes me woozy.
I inhale almost intoxicatingly, I never want to leave this place again."

In my eyes, Toskovat' has created a true masterpiece here. The notes are incredibly authentic, simply amazing. As if you were really entering an ancient, almost dilapidated church. It lasts for days on clothing and around 9 hours on the skin.
There would be no reason for me to wear this fragrance, but I smell it almost every day and am fascinated every time.

An experience that everyone should have.

PS: It's my first review, don't be too hard on me. :)