Nesami

Normally, I’m not into fragrances that want to pull me into the cuddle corner; they usually feel too little masculine for my taste. Of course, such a blanket judgment isn’t entirely accurate, as there are times when I can find less of the masculine side in a fragrance, yet it still captivates me. This is the case here as well.
I can’t identify the pyramid of geranium, ylang-ylang, and rose, and that’s a good thing, as the first two usually disturb me rather than bring me joy. Rose in masculine fragrances is a special case; I recommend checking out the comment series from Micscent.
I find the scent progression quite linear. A hint of smoke runs through from beginning to end; it’s not too strong for me, but perfectly dosed. For me, this small dose is exactly what prevents the fragrance from drifting into sweetness, which I dislike.
It’s still very cozy, though. The blend of a very pleasant oud note for my nose, amber, and benzoin, together with patchouli, creates a warm, soft veil whose sillage is by no means overwhelming for the environment and whose longevity delights the wearer for a long time. I give a clear recommendation for autumn and cooler days, and for those interested in oud who have found it too woody, dominant, or too animalistic so far. And for women who enjoy using men’s fragrances.

First, some general remarks about my experience with the fragrances from the Lehmann house. I am a fan of this shop, even though I only recently stumbled upon this gem in Berlin (of course through this informative community) and until now have only had three blind purchases sent to me. My conclusion about these three fragrances is somewhat mixed overall, but I wish this provider many more new as well as loyal repeat customers.

My acquisitions were:
100 ml of New York, Eau de Cologne. This is a top fragrance in my nose, but unfortunately, it is almost completely absorbed by my skin and neither its longevity nor sillage is acceptable for me. While this may be typical for a cologne, I had hoped for a somewhat better performance based on the descriptions and reviews. However, I have experienced similar issues with other perfumes (see my comment on Icon by Dunhill).

10 ml of Russian Leather. My favorite, and it will surely be considered with a comment and a rating, if not now, then definitely later. The scent, longevity, and sillage are all at a very high level.

10 ml of Springfield, which is what I will discuss next.

I deeply regret that I am not in Berlin more often, but I hope to arrange a visit to Kantstrasse next time. My phone order was received very kindly by the owner and sent with an accompanying invoice. The handling alone is worth the order. No email, no call center, no advance payment. And just like the handling, I perceive the characteristics of all three fragrances I purchased. "Old-school" in the best sense !!!!!

The headline indicates the direction of my comment. As Konsalik already noted, most of what needs to be said about the essence of this fragrance has already been said. Essentially, Dior doesn’t need advocates, and Lehmann surely appreciates every good word that is expressed here and hopefully translates into sales.

Nevertheless, I must unfortunately conclude that in my nose, Paris is ahead of Berlin in this direct comparison.

When I wore Springfield for the first time, I was immediately thrilled and thought this fragrance could replace my beloved Eau Sauvage when the bottle eventually runs out. The reason for this was not the price (which is about the same at 60.- per 100 ml), but that Springfield shows a bit more endurance (and possibly also sillage). However, today I conducted a direct comparison on each arm and am extremely astonished by the result.
Eau Sauvage is significantly more vibrant, fresher, without losing depth compared to Springfield.
Without a doubt, Eau Sauvage appears more coherent, less layered. That alone wouldn’t be an advantage, but Springfield has this warm spicy note coming from the orange peel that almost repulses me in comparison. Somewhere I read "almost animalistic" - that is not it for me, and I can understand that many find it exciting in combination with the lemon freshness, but for me, it strongly leans towards cumin and thus quite clearly into the musty corner.
What is quite astonishing to me is that this impression only arose during the comparison and not before. This tells me again that my nose still needs a lot of practice and experience. Why not, after all, I have not been infected with the perfume virus for long.
Without comparison, Springfield would easily have scored an 8.5, but now it unfortunately remains at a 7.0.

I became aware of this fragrance because of the bottle. For me, it is by far the most unusual and valuable of its kind. The reviews and ingredients also made me eager to give it a try, so I ordered a sample. Right after spraying it on, I was so thrilled that I immediately ordered the 100 ml bottle. However, this is already on its way back - much to my regret, I must say.

The scent itself embodies freshness, cleanliness, and elegance for me. The opening with citrus notes is immediately accompanied by a nuance that I perceive as a fine and sweet spice. A clean, not at all sticky sweetness in a form that I have not smelled before. Absolutely delicious and unique overall. Sweet, heavy perfumes are not really my thing.

Now comes the big catch. The transition from top to heart note happens within the first few minutes; from then on, the progression is absolutely linear, and nothing else happens except that the intensity of the perfume quickly diminishes. Both the projection and longevity on my skin can only be described as underground.
This applies to both the sample and the contents of the bottle.
At first, I thought I could overlook the mediocre performance for the great scent and the heavy, stylish bottle, but a perfume that is almost completely gone after 2 hours annoys me rather than pleases me, even with a travel spray.
From the aforementioned ingredients, I can at best detect the bergamot, neroli, and petitgrain in conjunction with the spice of cardamom, sage, and juniper due to the lack of progression.
The base completely disappears on my skin, and I find that extremely unfortunate because I would have loved to sniff this top note together with the base notes. Unfortunately, for me, this whole thing has zero depth.

While reading the previous comments, I noticed that the fragrance is perceived very differently. This is naturally the case with other perfumes as well - we are always very subjective in our olfactory perception - yet it seems particularly pronounced here. I find it completely inexplicable how one of my predecessors chooses the headline: "The long-lasting nature is clearly a disadvantage here," while for me, the performance is as poor as with no other perfume. Overall, the performance is rated quite well, but I also notice that there are significant outliers.
Mind you, I am not concerned with our different perceptions of the scent itself, but with the fact that Icon must consequently be a fragrance that depends more on the skin type of the wearer than others. I have no other explanation for it.

I am (still) not very familiar with leather - but if this is mainly leather and well done, then it seems that this whole field might not be for me. Perhaps I should approach the topic again with "Tuscan Leather" or the alternatives mentioned below.
The scent starts off very uniquely, clearly smoky for me. But not pleasantly smoky, like the smoke from a well-burning campfire, rather it leans more towards cold smoke. Not off-putting for me, definitely not, but unfortunately also nothing that particularly excites me.
I can perceive raspberry, but only because I read it beforehand; I would never have guessed it otherwise. Very, very subtle, slightly singed and artificial.
Once the cold pub note settles down, it becomes quite a bit more enjoyable.
I can well imagine that this rugged scent has its fans, but I find it relatively one-dimensional overall. Frankincense hardly comes through for me; it mainly remains smoky-woody, but after an hour it becomes noticeably more pleasant, softer, and warmer. Those who are into it can look forward to an enormous longevity. So far, nothing has lasted longer on my skin.
Whether the whole leather category is not for me or just this representative remains to be seen.

I had Eau Sauvage even before I was infected by the perfume virus.
It is about as old as I am, and in my nose, it is simply perfect.
Although it embodies "Old-School," I don't believe that this wonderful scent can't suit younger people.
However, I also think that it is only suitable for wearers who have a certain understanding of the sublime,
those who always need it "full on the nose" should be advised against it.

The individual scent components have been described in detail and well by my predecessors, so I don't need to add any further details here.

However, I would like to mention that for me, the lemon in the opening cannot be compared to pure lemon à la "Allure Homme Édition blanche" or "Lemon Line" by Mancera. Here, it is so well integrated into the other components of the top note that it appears less pure and thus significantly more interesting and delicious to me. The whole composition, the progression, and the dry down is, in my perception, the embodiment of fragrance par excellence.
Elegant, light, and yet very noticeable, fresh and noble. At the same time, it is clearly masculine, and yet I am not at all surprised by the 7.5% female owners.

The scent works for me at any time, regardless of the time of day or year, mood, or occasion.
Of course, the EDT is more suited to spring and summer, and sure, when going out three hours after application, one would like a larger sillage. But the EDT doesn't provide that. For me, the performance of a fragrance always plays a role, but here I am happy to make an exception. The performance is appropriate for an EDT but could certainly be better independently. Still, the scent is just amazing, so what can you do? My last bottle surprisingly came as a splash bottle, another reason to carry a travel spray when Eau Sauvage is on the agenda that day.

At this point, it should be mentioned that the Eau Sauvage Parfum (2017) has a sillage and longevity on my skin like almost no other perfume. I love it too, but it is a quite different scent that merely shares the citrus main theme.

So, newcomers and younger generations: an absolute recommendation from me if you like it fresh and spicy.
This here is elegant and absolutely timeless.