It’s better to burn out than to fade away
This is my favorite MDCI fragrance and it really works well for me. As a lover of floral and woody, this gives me exactly what I want with a little extra nuance.
The first 15-20 min are a cold citrus before fading out. Then it moves into a floral bouquet- not one you give to your partner, but one you paint into a still life. Surprisingly, I get a very recognizable rosewood accord too- like a handmade dark wooded conference table with a quality lacquer. The rosewoods starts in the second stage, and persists until the end. Then in its final drydown it’s the same bouquet and rosewood but with some leather and amber.
Many people dislike this fragrance, and these are my personal responses:
1. It has a generic composition
That’s ok! Not every fragrance has to be unique, complex, and unfamiliar. It’s nice to just smell good, and your scent shouldn’t define your aura but rather compliment and accentuate it.
2. Longevity is poor
I’ve seen people say it only lasts 20 min to an hour. Anecdotally, on me it preforms strong, with a nice scent bubble and sillage, until the 4th hour when it seemingly disappears. It remains as a skin scent for another 2-4 hours after that. I’m okay with this. Ive learned it’s better to burn out than to fade away. Although I like when a spray in the morning takes me all the way to bed, it’s a lovely fragrance to have for the time it’s present. Given the lightness of its notes, it’s actually pretty good all things considered. But I’ve noticed MDCI varies greatly with skin chemistry so YMMV
3. It’s not an Amber
Who cares?! If you do any research, this is obvious. I do get a slight amber accord in its 3rd and final stage though. I read somewhere that it was named for how its color resembles the same shade of amber as a fine whiskey.
I really love this fragrance and I recommend trying it before writing it off because of bad reviews.
Just remember, fragrance is a personal thing and it should speak to you. If this does, great! If not, that’s okay too
Vercingetorix surrendering to Caesar, 1892 by Henri-Paul Motte
This review is not to discuss the notes, but the olfactory narrative and emotion I envision it exudes
I’ve come back to completely rewrite my review. My original description was that I was stumped by this fragrance in what it smelled like and what its agenda was. Today, I was watching Invincible, an episode about Viltrum, when it hit me. This is what the fragrance is.
For the longest time, I was confused on how this is suppose to be related to Rome, its power and conquest. But then I realized that this is the smell of empire and imperialism.
It is not concerned with flattery or classical beauty. It is the smell of brutal indifference. It does not try to explicitly smell of power, but it’s the scent of a man who has already won and is on to the next conquest.
As a whole it’s not overly complex, nor is it a burst of floral, citrus, etc.
It’s smells simple because the power it embodies does not care for grandeur. It’s here to display how little it cares for your approval. Not because it smells bad, but because it and its wearer simplicity states it’s just above you.
The image I imagine from IB, is a towering marble obelisk, wrapped by greenery at its base. Like the Column of Hadrian, engraved with reliefs of his power and success
It’s not Julius Caesar, or Caracalla (as seen in the stopper), speaking to their senate- but of the attitude he had at the surrender of Vercingetorix. It’s not the smell of a sweaty and brutal soldier, but that of his general accepting submission of his enemy.
Observe the painting, Vercingetorix surrendering to Caesar, 1892 by Henri-Paul Motte. This fragrance embodies the attitude of Caesar depicted
It says, I care not for your flattery, but for your surrender. My scent is of the palace I reside in, where spoils I have taken sit placidly in a store room- I care little for them in favor of further conquest.
I have finally pinned down the olfactory narrative, at least to myself.
Therefore, I would imagine myself wearing this after politically and strategically outmaneuvering my enemy. Watching him fall and wither, but without enjoyment, simple indifference and maybe even some pity
This review is not about what the fragrance smells like, but about the emotion it gives me
This is what it smells like
Close to the nose, this smells exactly like Dr. Pepper steeped with a hearty dose of fresh flowers. In passing, at a distance, or as a sillage, smells exactly like a dusty and chalky roll of smarties (US candy).
Definitely well crafted, with great performance and sillage, but don’t know if this is what I want to smell like
Tokyo in a bottle
What surprises me about the reviews of this fragrance is how no one has mentioned how Japanese it is. Not in the Western sense, where Japanese associated notes are randomly thrown in like Hinoki, Sakura, Moss, etc.
This fragrance absolutely checks every box in the Japanese olfactory pallet. To me, this is an extremely light Fougere. If I had to make a mental image, Imagination would be a clear glass pane with the slightest green tint, freshly cleaned with a citrusy ginger spray . Although I’m not here to discuss each individual note, I will say to those curious, the tea aspect smells more like fresh green tea than black.
If you’ve ever been to Tokyo, this smells like the lobby of (my favorite) high end Tokyo hotel, small boutiques, and Ryokans. Fresh and herbaceous of the cleanest and most transparent quality. In my opinion, this is the quintessential Nihon fragrance for the Japanese audience, not for a foreigner looking for a Japanese themed scent. I think it would be a home run there.
Wearing it, I’m instantly transported back to Aoyama, alongside families, businessmen grabbing a quick bite, and trendy store clerks. Not the loud, rebellious, and tattooed lot of Shibuya- although I think the fragrance makes a tasteful juxtaposition with this type.
I’m describing myself a bit here, I imagine the person who wears this is a relaxed but refined young man, living alone in a ground floor apartment nestled in an alleyway of a busy Tokyo district. His apartment is small but organized and he tends to the many plants strung around his place and keeps everything clean. He plays indie folk on his acoustic guitar, and likes to watch the people go by. His life is simple and quiet, but he is content and happy to be a still and quiet observer of life flashing in front of him.
This is not the smell of imagination. It is the smell of acceptance of how insignificant and tiny one’s life is in the world but nonetheless joy and peace in simply existing. Imagination captures the soul of the observer, the rock that has watch the water flow down the same riverbed for a thousand years.
Wish it was Dior Sauvage though
