Anthracite (1991)
by Jacomo

Anthracite (which incidentally I love) comes across to me as a vaguely fruity floriental... I get a slightly fruity topnote but nothing in particular... it's not as fruity as some Diors (the Poisons for example... and even Dune, which is airy and fruity and woody all at the same time.)

Anthracite has a good deal of "body" (read sillage) through its development. The fruit in the topnotes is somewhat tempered by a bit of bitterness, heat, and spice that keeps the topnotes from becoming sweet. That fruitiness is somewhat overshouted by the floral which is present even in the topnotes and certainly makes this scent "make a statement!"... the floral keeps that statement at a fairly high pitch (but not an obnoxious level) through the heart, and the blend in the drydown is quite spicy, dark, woody, and musky. I believe that this scent is a great one for unisex potential and Bigsly's review supports this claim.

The powerhouse nature of Anthracite is probably the reason it was discontinued, what with the trend toward fruity aquatics with white musk bases these days... however this scent smells absolutely FINE on anyone with a bit of maturity who is looking to make a scent statement that will make an impression. Its longevity is also quite good. Glad I nabbed a bottle just as it was discontinued.

29th October, 2010.

This is a statement about this fragrance from 1991 (I think it's from a press release): "The women's fragrance is a floral-fruity blend which has a mandarine top note and fruity notes of taget and plum. Heart notes are lily of the valley, ylang ylang, spicy rose and jasmine with base notes of cedarwood, amber, sandalwood and musk."

I don't get much of the fruitiness that is supposed to be here, except as part of the overall blend. What is strong is the "spicy rose," which comes across as quite geranium-oriented to me. I'm surprised that there is no moss/oakmoss note listed for the base. I could see how some might find this a bit "soapy" or "powdery" (not in an iris/orris way, though). The floral geranium quality, along with the somewhat "hard" base make this potentially "unisex." I don't like musky fougeres with strong geranium, but I do enjoy this one once in a while, perhaps because I really dislike the lavender/geranium combination. It softens up enough to allow me to appreciate the complexity. Longevity and sillage are good (I have the EdT). Note that some men seem to have purchased this one instead of the men's version by mistake.

20th October, 2009.