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Sun-kissed leather.
Anther opens on my skin with a dry blast of bitter orange, dusty, sweet cocoa, and hot, dry, leather. The leather sings from the very beginning, and presents as warm, dry and sweet. Like an old leather jacket sitting in the sun. Warm, comforting and strong.
As the heart moves in the leather takes on an animalic facet, with a quiet, orange blossom undertone lending it a touch of lift. Still quite sweet, but with some teeth now, Anther hits it's stride here and really shines as a sweet, dry leather-bomb. It puts me in mind of classic cars, with their leather interiors and wooden dashboards, baking in summer sun. At once calming and a little austere. I can see why people have classified this as a 'work' scent. It projects an air of confidence, calmness and a certain 'professionalism'.
The longer Anther wears on the dirtier it gets. The leather turns from sweet, dry and dusty into something quite animalic and almost feral, with a noticeable civet baring it's claws here. A big, dirty helping of patchouli shows up here as well, blending wonderfully with the ever-present leather to provide grounding and support for the lighter, sweeter notes playing out above.
All in all, a wonderful, sweet, take on leather. After trying quite a few harsh, mineral/vegetal leathers lately Anther comes as a relief and a delight, with it's sun-worn facets and easy nature. Longevity, as with most Criminal Elements frags is excellent. Sillage is firmly between moderate and heavy. Completely unisex to my nose, enjoy on warm, summer evenings with good beer and good friends.
As the heart moves in the leather takes on an animalic facet, with a quiet, orange blossom undertone lending it a touch of lift. Still quite sweet, but with some teeth now, Anther hits it's stride here and really shines as a sweet, dry leather-bomb. It puts me in mind of classic cars, with their leather interiors and wooden dashboards, baking in summer sun. At once calming and a little austere. I can see why people have classified this as a 'work' scent. It projects an air of confidence, calmness and a certain 'professionalism'.
The longer Anther wears on the dirtier it gets. The leather turns from sweet, dry and dusty into something quite animalic and almost feral, with a noticeable civet baring it's claws here. A big, dirty helping of patchouli shows up here as well, blending wonderfully with the ever-present leather to provide grounding and support for the lighter, sweeter notes playing out above.
All in all, a wonderful, sweet, take on leather. After trying quite a few harsh, mineral/vegetal leathers lately Anther comes as a relief and a delight, with it's sun-worn facets and easy nature. Longevity, as with most Criminal Elements frags is excellent. Sillage is firmly between moderate and heavy. Completely unisex to my nose, enjoy on warm, summer evenings with good beer and good friends.
Burning antiques.
On my skin Hearth opens with a nuclear blast of sharp frankincense and sweet honey. Within minutes the prickly cedar/cade smoke floods in and the whole shebang becomes a glorious, sweet wood smoke. Like someone's burning antique furniture.
The heart settles into a thrumming camp-fire smoke, with creamy benzoin and sweet honey notes keeping it from becoming too harsh or ashen. The experience is rather like burning varnished wood. Smoke galore with a hint of sweet, resinous lacquer. The oud in this is very gentle, a shimmering back-note that adds to the sweetness of the honey and the richness of the tobacco and does an excellent, subtle job of tying the two together. I find the palmarosa more prevalent in the heart than the top, and it adds a slight dusty tone that compliments the smoke and keeps the sweetness from getting cloying.
As it wears on the wood smoke simmers down nicely into dry, sweet embers gently smoking in the afternoon breeze. The tobacco and honey join hands here and do a lovely job of bringing the entire experience to a close.
Completely unisex to my nose. Longevity is decent but not stellar, 6-7 hours on my skin. Sillage is quite aggressive, but doesn't feel overwhelming except for maybe in the first ten minutes when the smoke is at it's strongest. Not my favourite of the Criminal Elements line, but for those who like heavily smoky frags, this will be sure to please.
The heart settles into a thrumming camp-fire smoke, with creamy benzoin and sweet honey notes keeping it from becoming too harsh or ashen. The experience is rather like burning varnished wood. Smoke galore with a hint of sweet, resinous lacquer. The oud in this is very gentle, a shimmering back-note that adds to the sweetness of the honey and the richness of the tobacco and does an excellent, subtle job of tying the two together. I find the palmarosa more prevalent in the heart than the top, and it adds a slight dusty tone that compliments the smoke and keeps the sweetness from getting cloying.
As it wears on the wood smoke simmers down nicely into dry, sweet embers gently smoking in the afternoon breeze. The tobacco and honey join hands here and do a lovely job of bringing the entire experience to a close.
Completely unisex to my nose. Longevity is decent but not stellar, 6-7 hours on my skin. Sillage is quite aggressive, but doesn't feel overwhelming except for maybe in the first ten minutes when the smoke is at it's strongest. Not my favourite of the Criminal Elements line, but for those who like heavily smoky frags, this will be sure to please.
A unique take on pear.
Pyrus opens on my skin with a dusty-sweet green apple accord, slightly bitter, gently herbal, with the walnut in the base preventing it from being shrill. The opening is clean, dry, and evokes dried leaves in a apple orchard. Less a direct apple smell and more an impression of standing in an apple orchard in Autumn, complete with wild fennel and aromatic herbs growing wild underfoot.
As the heart moves in the pear begins to shine. I wouldn't class this as a fruit-bomb in the modern sense. Here the pear is restrained, pastel in colour, like sun-dried pears. The salty driftwood also kicks in here, and provides a beautiful, blonde wooden backbone for the composition. There's a gentle, glimmering magnolia in the background, which balances the salty driftwood accord wonderfully. The whole fragrance speaks to me of breezy summer picnics with a glass of crisp white wine, salt sea air and sun drenched rocky coastlines.
Later in the drydown the composition takes on a dry, almost papery facet. With the creamy walnut playing against the acidic salty pear. Pyrus is softer than the other Criminal Elements frags I've sampled so far, perhaps more office-safe. Sillage is still impressive, but the notes themselves are drier and more gentle.
This is without a doubt the most interesting take on pear in a fragrance I've ever encountered. Rather than juicy, fresh, shampoo-like fruit, here we get something dried, aromatic and complex. For a scent that features both walnut and pear, it doesn't read as gourmand to my nose. More of a shimmering, green-sweet, dry, pastel beauty. Perfect for brisk, sunny spring days.
I don't sense any lavender, accept perhaps as a vague, herbal undercurrent in the opening. The aniseed is present, but very light and dusty. Mostly here I get green dry pear, nutty warm walnut and salted, pale driftwood.
Longevity is impressive, a good 8 hours or so on my skin, sillage is moderate-to-heavy, but never feels overpowering or cloying. Completely unisex, oddly compelling and completely unlike any pear-centric frag I've ever tried.
As the heart moves in the pear begins to shine. I wouldn't class this as a fruit-bomb in the modern sense. Here the pear is restrained, pastel in colour, like sun-dried pears. The salty driftwood also kicks in here, and provides a beautiful, blonde wooden backbone for the composition. There's a gentle, glimmering magnolia in the background, which balances the salty driftwood accord wonderfully. The whole fragrance speaks to me of breezy summer picnics with a glass of crisp white wine, salt sea air and sun drenched rocky coastlines.
Later in the drydown the composition takes on a dry, almost papery facet. With the creamy walnut playing against the acidic salty pear. Pyrus is softer than the other Criminal Elements frags I've sampled so far, perhaps more office-safe. Sillage is still impressive, but the notes themselves are drier and more gentle.
This is without a doubt the most interesting take on pear in a fragrance I've ever encountered. Rather than juicy, fresh, shampoo-like fruit, here we get something dried, aromatic and complex. For a scent that features both walnut and pear, it doesn't read as gourmand to my nose. More of a shimmering, green-sweet, dry, pastel beauty. Perfect for brisk, sunny spring days.
I don't sense any lavender, accept perhaps as a vague, herbal undercurrent in the opening. The aniseed is present, but very light and dusty. Mostly here I get green dry pear, nutty warm walnut and salted, pale driftwood.
Longevity is impressive, a good 8 hours or so on my skin, sillage is moderate-to-heavy, but never feels overpowering or cloying. Completely unisex, oddly compelling and completely unlike any pear-centric frag I've ever tried.
Milk and spice.
Glimmer opens with a blast of spicy ginger and beautiful nutmeg. The ever-present milk accord is front and centre even in the opening, and is quite realistic. Warm, spiced milk is what I get from Glimmer. Almost like a chai made with milk, but not quite. There's a dusty, floral rose that creeps in during the heart that stops this from being a photo-realistic Indian milk drink.
The overall effect is one of sweet, lactonic-milky spices, with a dry floral undercurrent. Glimmer is certainly sweet, I can definately smell sugar as a note, but it's not a sugar-bomb in the usual sense. Here the sugar is quite dark, unrefined and even a touch smoky. It's a lovely contrast with the warm milk thing going on. Over the top of this, a dance of dry spices plays out. Towards the end of the drydown Glimmer gets gets drier still, with the milk now rich and concentrated, a suede note and a dusty cocoa start to sing.
The only spices I can pick out individually are ginger and nutmeg, and only in the opening. For the bulk of the wear time the spices are so well blended that nothing sticks out harshly, they blend as you would expect them to blend in hot milk.
Longevity is pretty good, I get 8-9 hours, a little less on hot days. Sillage is quite loud, but the dry spicy facets prevent it from becoming cloying. All in all an interesting take on a gourmand, and worth a smell if for no other reason than the startlingly realistic milk accord.
The overall effect is one of sweet, lactonic-milky spices, with a dry floral undercurrent. Glimmer is certainly sweet, I can definately smell sugar as a note, but it's not a sugar-bomb in the usual sense. Here the sugar is quite dark, unrefined and even a touch smoky. It's a lovely contrast with the warm milk thing going on. Over the top of this, a dance of dry spices plays out. Towards the end of the drydown Glimmer gets gets drier still, with the milk now rich and concentrated, a suede note and a dusty cocoa start to sing.
The only spices I can pick out individually are ginger and nutmeg, and only in the opening. For the bulk of the wear time the spices are so well blended that nothing sticks out harshly, they blend as you would expect them to blend in hot milk.
Longevity is pretty good, I get 8-9 hours, a little less on hot days. Sillage is quite loud, but the dry spicy facets prevent it from becoming cloying. All in all an interesting take on a gourmand, and worth a smell if for no other reason than the startlingly realistic milk accord.
2 Comments
Frozen Undergrowth
Out of all the Criminal Elements frags I've sampled, Hollow is far and away the most unusual - which is saying a lot, as none of them really fit into 'classic' categories easily.
Hollow is intensely green, wet, and cold. 'Aquatic' conjures up images of 'Sport' frags or tropical melon - but here 'Aquatic' reads more as damp. Damp and cold and frosted. It's all icy mornings, crushed green stems and damp soil. It's green without being fresh, Aquatic without being soft and entirely enchanting,
Hollow opens with sour blackcurrant, bitter juniper, and cold bergamot. The overall impression is one of icy, shaded patches in dark forests, complete with dew and hoarfrost. As the heart moves in there's a truly odd petrichor/wet soil accord that starts to sing, preventing the whole shebang from tipping into 'green, shrill headache' territory. Also in the heart the intense, green violet leaf starts to share the stage with a lovely, tremulous, green floral. The notes list Cyclamen, but there's definitely a green, wet violet floral in there too which becomes more apparent as time goes on.
Bitter green oakmoss in the base keeps the whole thing grounded in some sort of reality - but honestly - the entire frag conjures up images of frozen, Norwegian forests to me. Unripe berry bushes in the dark undergrowth. I don't get much vetiver in thebase, nor cedar personally. Late in the drydown all I can smell is dew-covered violet petals, cold, wet soil and green, bitter oakmoss.
Sillage is heavy, though quite diffuse. The first time I wore it, my boyfriend could smell it from the other side of the house - though his initial question was "is it raining?". Longevity is atomic. I sampled this at 5pm before going out for dinner, I was still catching whiffs of it at 10am the next day. That's 17 hours, and in truth, I was a little over it by that point - but still, cannot fault it for performance.
Totally unisex, totally bizarre. A gothic, whimsical take on a European forest at dawn.
Hollow is intensely green, wet, and cold. 'Aquatic' conjures up images of 'Sport' frags or tropical melon - but here 'Aquatic' reads more as damp. Damp and cold and frosted. It's all icy mornings, crushed green stems and damp soil. It's green without being fresh, Aquatic without being soft and entirely enchanting,
Hollow opens with sour blackcurrant, bitter juniper, and cold bergamot. The overall impression is one of icy, shaded patches in dark forests, complete with dew and hoarfrost. As the heart moves in there's a truly odd petrichor/wet soil accord that starts to sing, preventing the whole shebang from tipping into 'green, shrill headache' territory. Also in the heart the intense, green violet leaf starts to share the stage with a lovely, tremulous, green floral. The notes list Cyclamen, but there's definitely a green, wet violet floral in there too which becomes more apparent as time goes on.
Bitter green oakmoss in the base keeps the whole thing grounded in some sort of reality - but honestly - the entire frag conjures up images of frozen, Norwegian forests to me. Unripe berry bushes in the dark undergrowth. I don't get much vetiver in thebase, nor cedar personally. Late in the drydown all I can smell is dew-covered violet petals, cold, wet soil and green, bitter oakmoss.
Sillage is heavy, though quite diffuse. The first time I wore it, my boyfriend could smell it from the other side of the house - though his initial question was "is it raining?". Longevity is atomic. I sampled this at 5pm before going out for dinner, I was still catching whiffs of it at 10am the next day. That's 17 hours, and in truth, I was a little over it by that point - but still, cannot fault it for performance.
Totally unisex, totally bizarre. A gothic, whimsical take on a European forest at dawn.
