Déclaration (1998)
by Cartier

I absolutely love this fragrance. The best one from Ellena of which I have tried atleast, and I never seem to be bored wearing this. Perhaps because its smell brings my home country to my mind more than any other fragrance I know. Really, it smells just like me sitting under a lush and fresh birch tree during a warm summer day, shirt open and a bit sweaty, eating fresh from the oven pulla! (pulla is a famous Finnish cinnamon bun with lots of cardamom)

I would say this is the safest scent Cartier has ever put out in the market. It is obvious that this is a scent marketed for the American customers, and other men who love linear, safe, lean, slightly bland fragrances, which had become increasingly popular in the late 90s and early 2000s, and still keep their popularity full intact.

Declaration does not 'declare' anything reasonably interesting per se. It is just a nice and comfortable scent, smelling slightly young, and to me, a little cheap. The scent works usually well with anyone's skin chemistry: it doesn't have that much climax, or originality to offer. A very dear friend of mine used to wear this scent all the time back then when, and I had always associated it with him. Maybe that is why I had only recognized the positive sides of this scent. Like I said, it is a well-behaved scent that doesn't say all that much. Unfortunately all these years, I could never see the subtle elegance of this scent that some people mention, even on him.

Years later, I met another guy who was wearing this scent constantly. He was, to say the least, was a complete imbecile. And I guess on him, I got to discover the not-so-pleasant side of this scent. It is woody, yet the woods are not well-balanced, and they feel raw, out of place. It has a very under-seasoned nature to it, quite wet at times, like an undercooked meal. The cheapness that I talk about comes from the very synthetic accord of citruses and flowers on the top notes. They are so tacky to be taken seriously. It is quite soulless in many ways, and far to safe to be anything remotely original. It is not loud, but also it is barely masculine. I feel like Declaration tries very hard to be a Bulgari scent with the beans like Cardamom as an ingredient, or like the tea note at the base, which are signatures of a true and tried Bulgari scent. Declaration really falls short of meeting expectations.

The have created many different summer versions of this scent, which obviously means that it is a crowd-pleaser. In fact, I even claim this may be the biggest selling mens scent of Cartier. It is not elegant like Pasha, it is not sexy like Must de Cartier, nor is it Earth-shattering like Santos. It is just not refined, and it is way too "I have too much money to spend on scents, but my taste does not necessarily match my wallet." I will test this scent again, on me, one more time.

However, I do not think that I will change my mind. It is painfully mundane, and even though I cannot say that it is a bad fragrance, it is far removed from being a true elegant jeweler's scent.

And one last thing, the bottle is absolutely atrocious, surprisingly so, since Cartier is known for their gorgeous and deeply-inspired Art Deco decants.

if sweet wood is your thing then look no further. a subtle masterpiece with good sillage that will demand compliments. it does stick close to you which is the the only downside of a perfect classy everyday scent. not for clubbing but work and everyday. now i must try the other declaration's.

Not very vibrant, very linear. A spicy dry wood that has the longevity and personality of a tortoise. Smells like an old classroom.

Yesterday i received a 2 ml tester with my Michel Kors buy. I tried it ( know cartier from santos....sweet,sweeter, sweetest).
The opening top notes immediatly took me away. My wife asked : what are you wearing now ?
In the middle note i smelled the pepper, combined witht he fruity's. It dried down to a very pleasant non toxicating smell, wich discretely fills the room. Nice, very nice ! On my wishlist, defenitly !

Top note : Mandarin, Neroli, Artemisia, Coriander
Middle note : Cardamom, Pepper, Jasmine, Orris
Base note : Cedarwood, Vetiver, Leather, Amber

What we have here is man-of-the-moment, scent-strip magic weaving and international perfume media hog JC Ellena emulating his idol E. Roudnitska by emulating the masters' venerable juice Eau D'Hermes. Declaration is more watery but the basic citrus-leather accord is present. Declarations opens with a pleasant juicy mandarin accord before slowly revealing an attractive spicy-peppery layer of notes softened by iris and jasmine - this is probably the juices' most appealing phase. 45 minutes laters, the slow march of the dutch-oven accord becomes more perceptible: hints of cedar with mighty sweaty cumin infused with light and smoky birch. The iris and jasmin soft palette is all but gone by this time, and depending on your skin, the cumin will bloom like a skunk in heat. I find the balance to be a bit off here...lengthening the iris-jasmin accord into the drydown would have provided some much needed relief against the fart attack.

Declaration is where it started it all .. you can smell the sparse signature Ellena accords: the pepper-cedar combo, the liberal use of cumin, the earthy tones...but nearly all of these accords now exist in better and more improved variations in the form of Ellena composed juices like Terre dHermes, Bigarade Concentree, etc. Declaration, at this point, serves nothing more than an Ellena fanboy trip down the memory lane, but for those who balk at Malle and Hermessence prices, thanks to Ellena's now repetitive and promiscuous use of signature accords Declaration is all they need to get their Ellena fix.

Rating: 7.0/10