Time for Peace for Him (1999)
by Kenzo

Feels like a variation of Bulgari Black which Annick Menardo also created. You get the impression that Menardo wanted Bulgari to release this as a flanker to Black, but Bulgari said no so she took her formula to Kenzo. Adds a delightful mandarin orange note to the Black formula that gives Black fans a scent suitable for daytime wear. Sadly, Time for Peace for Him is discontinued and hard to find.

20th March, 2011.

Like Yohji Homme, and many things Japanese, Time For Peace Pour Lui is an extremely light and inoffensive scent. Opens with a very thin Mandarin note that is accompanied lightly by some woods and spices, and rounded up with a small dose of vanilla. Extremely easy to wear and highly pleasant to the nose. Nothing sharp, synthetic, or harsh in this scent. It feels kind of airy.

16th January, 2010.

What I remember smelling about this fragrance was that I was calmed but I agree that it didn't last long that was the only drawback. You'd need a mini to freshen up with. Other than that a beautiful fragrance.

4th July, 2008.

Soft, gentle, muted, hushed. I take this beauty of a shiness inside of me.

11th December, 2005.

This is a limited edition scent from the House of Kenzo, produced on the brink of the new millenium. I must admit, I was intrigued more by the name and concept before even seeing the bottle or smelling the juice. What would Peace smell like? I anticipated something soft and surreal, perhaps even ephemeral, an intangible nuance that could not be seen, but only detected through the olfactory sense, to signify the evasive nature of Peace. Truly then Art imitates life!

I was not disappointed. This is one scent where the notes support the concept precisely. Perhaps too precisely! If this scent were to fail, it is will not be due to a failure of craftsmanship, but rather, a failure to convey the concept behind the fragrance to the mass market. However, this is probably why Time for Peace is a limited edition. It marks one of the few times when concept and purpose is put forth before the profit motive.

The perfumer for this project was aptly chosen – Annick Menardo. She is the perfumer who crafted such mass market successes as Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin, YSL Body Kouros, Boss Bottled, Bulgari Black and Dior Hypnotic Poison. You can see, she creates sublime scents of the Oriental family, my personal favourite. Her background in psychology is put to good use here. She certainly understands what the project requires, which is no easy feat, to distil the very essence of Peace. The one important thing her mentor, Michel Almayrac, taught her was probably how to find beauty in simplicity and she put that lesson to good use in creating Time for Peace.

Time for Peace is a soft, lingering Oriental with a balsamic quality. It is soft to reflect the ephemeral nature of peace and lingering to signify an almost obsessive ideal worth working towards even though the final destination is never certain. The Mandarin in the topnotes convey a message of hope for a bright future while the chestnut(!) and tonka bean midnotes provide the necessary body to both lift the sense of hope and provide the aura of a heavy obstacle along the way to attaining the objective of Peace. It dries down to a soft vanillic end which is the position of attainment, signifying heavenly bliss yet one that is so transient that it feels like the shadow of a dream sometimes, twice removed from reality.

You will probably like this scent if you enjoy Orientals such as Gautier’s Le Male and Montblanc’s Individuel but happen to be looking for something softer for a more casual, romantic evening. You could spring for Armani’s Black Code as well, or choose Time for Peace and wear a fragrance with a concept that works and enjoy the Art of perfumery.

19th August, 2005.

very delicious fragrance,one of the best oriental fragrances, but it's weak
and it's not long lasting. what a pity

17th June, 2004.