Parma

A Detroit summer. All the industrial deck is blown away. Sunbeams fill every corner. Birds in the air. Picnic baskets in the meadows. Children's laughter everywhere. And a steel-blue sky bathes the world in pure bliss. It doesn't get any better than this.

From the middle of one of the most industrialized areas of the United States comes this orange scent, free of all worries and bubbling over with good humor. Refreshing like a sip of lemonade, tangy like a bite into the flesh. Grapefruit, melon, fresh water, musk. I smell none of it. Just the most beautiful and lively orange I have ever encountered. With a slight hint of freshness. The latter is the only feature of the fragrance that I don't like one hundred percent. In the long drydown, it tends a little too much towards the processed food area with its slightly increasing sweetness (but is still wonderfully refreshing). Without this development, it would have received the highest rating from me.

Years ago, the trigger for my fragrance journey was sniffing an orange scent on a fellow student. Until now, there was no equivalent. Now I have found it. The rare stroke of luck of a fragrance that pleases in almost everything. In the complete olfactory picture, in persistence and presence (above average for a pure citrus fragrance and without the use of noticeable aroma chemicals), in the heart and in the head. Like one of those rare loves at first sight that remain so unbelievably easy to handle afterwards. Always ignited by just the smallest spark. Inexplicable. Thank you Detroit. Thank you Dover Street Parfumes Market. Thank you John Pegg.

Tauer has several roses in his portfolio. This is perhaps his least recognized. And my favorite from it.

There is a YouTube video in which he presents his "Hidden Gems" and when he comes to the bright red rose (Rose Vermeille) almost at the end, you can see him smiling happily for the first time.

Because she is one to love. One to cuddle, snuggle and want to bury yourself in. A soft, playful rose. Simply structured and wonderfully uncomplicated. But with emphasis and recognition value.

At the center of this linear eau de parfum are three equally important ingredients: Raspberry, Rose and Ambergris. All are clearly perceptible from the outset. I would describe the overall scent as a waxy, silky-creamy raspberry-rose. Its texture is opaque, but airy and fresh, to which the listed lavender and violet certainly contribute. It has a lotion character - very comparable to that of its brand sister 'L'Eau' - and always reminds me a little of Malle's 'Iris Poudre'. But while that rose is soapy and slightly old-fashioned, Tauers is young and fresh.

This is largely due to the raspberry aldehyde used, which is fortunately used so delicately that it does not dominate the fragrance. It plays a part, yes, but does not dominate as it often does due to its intensely sweet character. The rose is supple, silky soft and makes me think of a body cream. However, the fragrance gets its very own character from a good dose of ambergris, as Tauer himself explains. It gives the fragrance a slightly distinctive, waxy, almost metallic tone, which adds a lot of lightness and airiness and prevents the fragrance from becoming too sweet. This substance-giving base is familiar from many Tauer fragrances, quite unique and certainly his trademark. In combination with the raspberry rose, it can be perceived as slightly inappropriate - even plastic-like for some - when worn on its own. In this effect, it is very comparable to the combination of orange (blossom) and the aforementioned base in his 'Orange Star'.

The longevity is, as usual from the brand, excellent (in rooms it remains present, but unobtrusive for days) and even when worn, the fragrance remains clearly present throughout without being overpowering.

For me, this carefree, cheerful yet strong, individual rose is one of my favorites. If I could choose a fragrance to cuddle up to, it would be this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEYfW7aA1wo (Une Rose Vermeille at 4:07)

Oud & Menthe fits seamlessly into the compelling works of the Les Heures Voyageuses series. It impresses with quality in ingredients and coordination, as well as with unagitated elegance. Whenever I am introduced to fragrances from the exclusive Cartier ranges, the differences between them and other brands become clear to me. From my point of view, there is hardly better.

Oud & Menthe combines a slightly stale but gentle oud with a wonderfully ethereal powdery mint. They meet in their medicinal properties, which are very delicately pronounced. The typically fermented woody scent is a bit more present throughout than the herbaceous plant, which reveals shy rose geranium nuances and gives the agarwood product a wonderfully light-hearted, light-woody aromatic character. In the drydown, this becomes increasingly softer - I assume due to the use of silky musk - and finally almost resembles a creamy, milky oud-sandalwood combination. The ingredients appear so valuable that the fragrance remains very agile, nuanced and interesting over the entire wearing time, despite its rather simple layout.

Offered in extrait concentration, the perfume easily lasts all day and constantly radiates slightly above skin level. In rooms, it leaves a long-lasting, pleasantly unobtrusive Duftaura.

Oud & Menthe is an elegant, minty-fresh, light, bright, wonderfully aromatic oud fragrance, whose fermentation smell is kept very tolerable. Qualitatively in all respects hardly better imaginable.

The world is at a crossroads in many ways. Environment, migration, wars. And the question: How should we go on in the future? How do we want to live together peacefully? Bond No.9's "Answer" is a pacifying fragrance. Jasmine. Celebrating the beauty of this earth. A sign that the good prevails. Something familiar, easy to understand in uncertain times. So far, so good. And certainly in this interpretation very far-fetched :) But basically I am shocked and try to illustrate that about a certain fall height, because he is for me in its triviality hard to beat. I would not condemn him so if he was not so completely lacking in ambition. It's just not a showcasing of beauty. No tickling of the senses. No impulse of anything really substantial. And thus equal to so many mainstream perfumes. The opposite of what would actually be necessary: New ideas, courage, departure. Especially from a so-called niche house.

New York Flowers is a one-dimensional, slightly creamy, too sweet for me jasmine fragrance, strongly reminiscent of J'adore (EdP). A sweet florality on decent, ambrox-like fabric and diffuse detergent musk. A tad darker than J'adore due to the ambroxan vibe and slightly "dirty" in appearance - if you smell closely. Without the slightly soapy impression of the Dior fragrance. However, the floral and musky tones are confusingly similar. Only the opening with its nectarine-like fruitiness can convince me. After that, there is a "play it safe" without any life, where the synthetic plant becomes more and more evident in a never-ending uniformity. Cost point for 100 ml: 460 €. Normally I do not like to lose words about pricing, but this is an impertinence almost without equal. The only thing that sets it apart from Dior's women's bestseller is its durability. Neither quality of ingredients nor artistic vision fit here. A cynical declaration of bankruptcy. I'm partial to the house - although the pricing policy has never seemed comprehensible to me - but if this is the new trend after this year's first installation of an in-house perfumer (James Krivda, who hasn't designed this fragrance yet, though), then Bond No. 9 will stagger even further to the fringes of perfume happenings in the future. Perhaps comparable to Creed. Both brands without a real answer to the needs of the time. Lulling them to sleep and taking them for fools has never helped.

Purchased at the Yamamoto store in Shibuya, 'L'Odeur 77-05' always reminds me of my trip to this fascinating country, where the fusion of Western living standards and Far Eastern lifestyle creates a very special culture.

The fragrance reflects this tension in a certain way and is part of a so far unfortunately only in Japan published, limited edition of five Eau de Colognes. These can usually be purchased - there was a short-lived exception - only in sets and exclusively in 15ml travelsize flacons. According to the brand, they are designed for spontaneous, mood-driven scenting in between.

By far, I like the fifth fragrance of this series best. Which is because he meets exactly my fragrance preferences. He is namely a clean citrus aroma. More precisely, a citrus vetiver fragrance, which, however, very strongly emphasizes the citrus side. In this ratio, it reminds me most of Zara's 'Vetiver Pamplemousse', but its citrus note is much brighter and more pointed. In this respect, one can almost speak of a pure citrus fragrance at the Yamamoto, but one with pleasing independence, as will hopefully become clear in a moment.

'L'Odeur 77-05' starts with a very concise citrus note, which I would describe as bitter-sweet, juicy lemon. Almost candy-like and "tasting" like yellow Nimm2s. It reminds me in its potency of the lemon note in Yves Saint Laurent's 'pour Homme Haute Concentration' version from 1983. An incredibly rich, fleshy fruit. I attribute the high density - you can definitely call it a good ridge of 'popiness' - to the use of supporting fully synthetic ingredients, in addition to a generally high dosage, which give the note a long and strong presence that extends deep into the base. It is the clear scent-determining factor. It is joined almost immediately by a delicate, leafy facet. A shy, very clean vetiver that shapes the slightly green characteristic of the fragrance. In the middle section, the scent clears up a bit with the use of a minimally watery gingernote that is also bitterly oriented, making it a little more open and sharp before deep in the drydown, when the citrus note slowly fades, the vetiver can still reveal its gently grassy-woody nuances. There is nothing earthy or smoky about it, but on the contrary - supported by a very restrained musk - it still develops soapy accents. In this respect, the olfactory image of a citrus-aromatic clean fragrance stands at the end. Light green laid out.

'L'Odeur 77-05' is like 'Vetiver Pamplemousse' a casual fragrance with "everyday elegance". From the ingredients slightly above the usual designer standard and giving itself modern by the use of the fully synthetic - but never pressing - ingredients that I can not specify. Unadorned and unexcited. Which suits the Japanese way of life. As does its well-matched contrast of bitter, sweet and spicy, which makes it so special. In the citrus note by the synthetic substructure, however, unusually present. This makes it, in my view, also excellent for the international market and I hope that the line will be released here at some point.

As indicated above, the fragrance lasts surprisingly long for an eau de cologne concentration. On my skin it is well perceptible about five hours and beyond that even more hours with a quiet presence. The radiation moves only in the first hour slightly above skin level. Sillage has the fragrance as good as none. Here he behaves quite in the tradition of an Eau de Colognes.

'L'Odeur 77-05' is a clean, citrusy fragrance with delicate vetiver spice, which has a pleasing independence in its rich, bittersweet lemon characteristics. Especially lovers* pure, slightly green colored, citrus fragrances should come here at their expense.

The rest are also fragrances that do not reinvent the wheel, however - despite partially interesting sounding fragrance notes - in contrast to the fifth hardly make any effort to try something unusual. They are all rather light and trigger associations with familiar things for me. 'L'Odeur 77-01' is a restrained shower gel-fresh scent on generic dry wood. 'L'Odeur 77-02' features a slight Aventus vibe. 'L'Odeur 77-03' seems pale light citrusy and 'L'Odeur 77-04' doesn't seem quite coherent in its combination of light spice and floral. However, these impressions are based, I must restrictively say, exclusively on fragrance strip experiences. Only the reviewed fragrance I own and wear.