Unruh

I rarely get along with Mr. Kurkdjian's fragrances. Whether creations as a commissioned work or fragrances from his own house, they are often too flowery or too sweet, to the border of turgidity. Nevertheless, well made in terms of craftsmanship.

After his futuristic fougère "masculin Pluriel" positively surprised me, I was curious about "Gentle fluidity". Especially the supposedly so dominant juniper berry gave me hope - a fragrance component that I love to smell. However, as often as I try it, I do not warm up to this fragrance.

Yes, the scent has a lot of juniper berry to offer, fruity and slightly sweet. Unfortunately, this note says goodbye after a few minutes. Then the musk enters the stage, minimally spiced, with quite an ambroxan punch. "Gentle fluidity" now becomes fresh, very fresh, almost spicy. Fortunately, after many hours, this sharp freshness recedes a bit and becomes a bit powdery-woody. Throughout the time, the fragrance is very present and well perceivable.

Too bad. I did get an unsweet, less cluttered Kurkdjian scent as I had hoped. "Gentle fluidity" offers me, however, overall too much freshness and too little development for us to become friends.

"Terre d'Hermès" and I - a never-ending story. I first bought the fragrance when it first came out. I was impressed then (and continue to be) by Mr. Ellena's will to innovate. At the time, for me, it was an unheard of fragrance, so completely new, with previously unscented accords. A spicy-citrusy opening, followed by an earthy-tart-fresh heart that creates the impression of stony earth. The individual components intertwine perfectly and create an individual fragrance experience. In my opinion, a concept fragrance par excellence, but one of the few unreservedly wearable, suitable for everyday use. Although the perfume is now widely distributed, but its fascination does not harm.

I wore "Terre d'Hermès" back then gladly and frequently. Just...at some point, the fragrance annoyed me, I do not know why to this day. What followed was a phase of abstinence. At some point I bought the Eau de Parfum. Fruitier, orangier, but also with the unmistakable fragrance DNA. At some point, the Eau de Parfum was too fruity for me, so it was back to the Eau de Toilette. Again the enthusiasm set in, I couldn't get enough of this perfume. Slowly, however, saturation crept in again, so I passed on the bottle. The fascination remained. I tested known representatives of this fragrance, such as "Red Vetiver" or "Ginepro Nero", pondered whether to buy the original again, used up bottlings. I remain undecided to this day. On some days, "Terre d'Hermès" is an olfactory Elysium, on other days, the fragrance annoys me immensely...

As Fettes Brot sang back in 1996, "Should I really do it or should I leave it alone? Yep..."

The life to match this scent: terraced house with rock garden, wife, two children, dog, once a year holiday on Malle or the other usual package tourism hotspots, in front of the TV in the evening, once a week 10 minutes of high-performance sport in the missionary position. Welcome to the philistine hell. Narf!

"Sauvage" is an ambroxan clunker par excellence. A bit of spice resonates, but it's all slain by this annoyingly monotonous showery freshness. Development? No way. Smelling freshly showered is something I can have more easily. And that name. "Sauvage" - wild. What's that? Wildly showered or what? Or is the fragrance supposed to evoke associations with "Eau Sauvage"? This classic with profile, with development, with heart and character; no comparison with this profiless laboratory birth!

This little water also clearly shows what the masses are clamoring for. Fitted, smooth, profile-less, unremarkable. I can certainly understand why the fragrance is the way it is. Few customers bother or have the time to put a fragrance through its paces. Especially not in an olfactory completely overloaded perfumery. Top note fits, all clear, off to the shopping basket. Much happens with "Sauvage" after the top note anyway no more.

It is not only the embodiment of boredom that drives me to white heat with this fragrance. It is also the despondency, the lack of inspiration, the lack of innovation will of the house behind it. Of course, mass taste has to be satisfied. Of course, that doesn't work with extremely conceptual fragrance compositions like leathery aquatics or scents that change direction every three minutes. But surely a middle ground could be found between satisfying mass tastes and at the same time innovating without the faceless laboratory freshness that can now be found in every second or third designer fragrance!

I think, the conscious olfactory socialization, speak the "calibration" on preferred fragrances, happens with many in adolescence. Girls become interesting, the first intoxication, boundaries and freedoms are explored, and because of firsts, it is tried to underline the still unpolished own personality with fragrances.
... then something has probably gone wrong with me. My youth took place in the 1990s, with the many fresh, aquatic, sweetish, increasingly unisex-aligned perfumes of this decade, however, I can do almost nothing. I'm more comfortable with tart, dark green, "classic" scents - oakmoss, galbanum, patchouli, herbs; perfumes of the 1960s to 1980s with rough edges.

Tom Ford's "Noir Anthracite" does a lot right in this regard.
The fragrance starts peppery and minimally spicy, with subtle citrus sprinkles. Underneath is already clearly wonderful herb-green galbanum. Galbanum determines then also for the next few hours the further course of the fragrance, supplemented by dark floral notes and pepper remnants, a little smoky it's also. Much development is not offered until the base, a wonderful sandalwood patchouli melange.

"Noir Anthracite" is for me a clear reminiscence of classic men's fragrances of past decades. I have long puzzled why Tom Ford does not convince me 100% here. The fragrance leaves but extensively trodden sweet or fresh fragrance paths of recent years, so to speak, "back to the roots"?
The solution: "Noir Anthracite" is too smooth, too well-designed. The above-mentioned classic men's fragrances - "Polo", "Bogart", "One Man Show", "Yatagan" times as examples - start with a wild potpourri, the individual fragrance notes must first pluck a few minutes until the fragrance becomes a fine experience. This sometimes cacophonous superstructure is missing from "Noir Anthracite", making it a bit boring. One knows directly from the beginning, where the olfactory journey goes.

A fine fragrance, no question. But sufficiently good for my collection? I am still undecided...

I'm currently using my year-end vacation to get order in my sample collection. Known, as interesting found fragrances undergo a new test, disliked / boring fragrances swap (looks gladly times in my folder "samples for a swap" *cough) and new perfumes extensively test.

Because of the latter, the Perfume Oil of "Smolderose" is spreading on my arm...and in the room...and in the apartment. Let's see when the first neighbors ring. My wife has probably moved out, I have not heard or seen anything from her for hours.

If the Eau de Parfum is still clearly characterized by name-giving rose and finely used smoke, the pendulum swings in the opposite direction with Perfume Oil. Right at the beginning, I smell a lot of smoked ham, overpowering, loud, intrusive. After about half an hour, rose, castoreum and a little oud join in. Everything else listed in terms of components is drowned out in this quartet. What remains for the next few hours is an animalic, sultry, slightly leathery, spicy rose incense ham of the very highest caliber. The projection and durability are (unfortunately) enormous.

From the January Scent Project I had meanwhile everything under the nose. Quite bold fragrances, usually with some contrast in the notes used, sometimes to the limit of the bearable. "Eiderantler" I still feel is the most wearable. However, this "Smolderose" variant is in last place, along with "Selperniku".
Nevertheless, I will continue to keep an eye on January Scent Project. John Biebel proves with his creations definitely courage and innovation, maybe sometime yet a fragrance pleasing to my nose is there