Gomma (1989)
by Etro

I happened to smell Gomma by accident. I was in a store where I usually buy vintage fragrances and the SA, knowing my taste, suggested me to try this composition before leaving. As I was just showered and completely unscented I agreed for a full wearing...

Gomma's opening is quite impressing. A rubber effect (actually leather) that is penetrating but not too strong, slightly smoky with artemisia adding an astringent aspect that's pretty enjoyable but at the same time somehow challenging. After a couple of minutes some floral patterns and amber make their appearance and a strong sensation of "deja-vu" started to materialize in my head...it took a couple more minutes to realize that Gomma was incredibly similar to Knize Ten. Well, actually much more polished and toned down but I still quite alike.

Being a Knize Ten lover, I can't say that Gomma smells bad but I honestly expected something more original. Overall this composition could be a decent alternative for anyone who doesn't have the guts to face Knize Ten but be aware that the original name of Gomma used to be Knize Nine and Knize Nine < Knize Ten. It's not my opinion, it's mathematics.

3rd August, 2011. (Last Edited: 5th August, 2011.)

I agree that Gomma smells very similar to Knize Ten. However, there is one big difference: Gomma actually smells good.

Gomma is definitely a leather scent, but with a lot of powdery floral notes blended in. This is a light, tanned leather, rather than a dark, smoky black leather. There's also none of the gasoline-and-mothballs accord that Knize Ten has. I don't know why this is called "Gomma", because I smell absolutely no rubbery notes or pencil eraser smells in this scent whatsoever.

Like Knize Ten, Gomma smells extremely old school and powdery, and could even be deemed a dandy's fragrance. Its old-time, gentlemanly, straight-laced feel is very appealing, especially for me because I have very few fragrances of this sort in my collection.

This is a scent I'd wear with a suit and tie. Wearing this while watching NASCAR and chowing on pizza just wouldn't feel right.

MY RATING: 8/10

11th February, 2011.

Leather perfumes are often defined by the 'leather +' principle. Leather + citrus (Azurée), leather + green (Bandit), leather + tar (Lonestar Memories), Leather + cumin (Rien.) These scents are all so different to me, but I enjoy them all.

Gomma’s leather is defined by florals and amber. But its plus-one is really rubber. I find that the sweet, powdery, slightly burnt rubber that is prominent from the start lasts all the way through. I would categorize Gomma as a leather, but my nose remembers it as a rubber. The amber sweetness is powdery, but it doesn’t have vanilla, and therefore keeps off Bvlgari Black’s turf. Gomma is direct but not aggressive in the least, and so stays off Knize Ten's turf.

I appreciate that this fragrance is in EDC concentration. It allows the fragrance to remain light despite its peculiar timber. Gomma is not so much linear as a bit of a striptease. Initially the notes are threefold---leather, floral, amber. But the leather is leathery rubber with a bit of tar; the floral is violet with an abstract white floral; the amber is powdery, sweet and full. The accord remains even as components fall away and in the end, you have a sweet, violet rubber.

29th November, 2010. (Last Edited: 1st October, 2011.)

I really don't see a significant difference between Gomma and Aramis. Strange enough, when I first smelled it, I didn't know yet about that quinoline-tar-leather note in Aramis, Bandit, Cabochard, Knize Ten. So I really perceived the smell as rubber and it was rubber quite literally to my nose, as in car tires. Now that I've already became a fan of Bandit and similar fragrances, I smell just the same bitter raw ingredient here, almost left on his own. It's again those hot car tires smelled from the inside, but from reading a lot of reviews I had learned to call it "leather" instead of "rubber". Anyways, words aside, in this category Bandit takes all the action while Gomma and Aramis are the 'linear' guys who just deliver. Wish I could smell more flowers here.

28th September, 2010.

Gomma starts with a dry, pungent, leather accord with a faint smoky undertone and just a bit of lavender. It mellows quickly into a dry woody-leathery skin scent with an added astringent element that could account for the "rubber" some reviewers have perceived. Gomma is less complex than related fragrances such as Bois d'Ombrie or Etro's own Palais Jamais, but equally free of any prettifying floral or sweeter notes. Gomma should please anyone looking for a simple, unobtrusive, dry leather scent, but I don't find it all that exciting.

17th December, 2009.

Subtle burnt rubber notes mix up beautifully with leather and florals to create a pleasant all day scent. Mid notes very close to Knize Ten (especially the leather ones), but less dry, and more flower oriented (violet). At some point you have the feeling it will evolve into something different and more interesting but it doesn’t. The base is powdery and retains the nice light rubber note to the end. Average longevity. Overall nice but not exciting.

18th October, 2009.