Reviews of Anvers (2003)
by Ulrich Lang

Very unusual indeed, sweet, flowery, smoky, leafy, musty and fresh all at the same time. I don't get a second hand smoke (in the air) smell but I do get the smell of a smoker that has finished their cigarette and is now chewing sage and mint gum.

At the moment I feel it's just not for me, but it is interesting enough that I'll definitely give it a try again in 6 months. I'll say neutral for now.

Oddly sweet and herbal that reminds me of a not as potent Hanae Mori at first. I smell leather and moss and well as violet leaf like in Narciso Rodriguez for Him. I think it's unique despite similarities of other fragrances.

What a bizarre array of notes. It's hard to believe someone thought this was great enough to bottle and sell, but then there's not accounting for taste. I absolutely hated this right out of the bottle. For the first half hour the herbal notes are very strong and they don't go well at all with the guava and lime. Anvers does eventually evolve into something more palatable, but it smells very dated because of the herbs and moss.

While this is a decent scent, it just doesn't do anything for me. It's fresh, citrussy, slightly sweet, and smokey...blah. I also consider it very linear with minimal evolution, although the sweetness does give way to a bit of spice. If I wanted to wear this type of scent, I'd stick with Terre d'Hermes, which I find much more complex and interesting. Anvers doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't stand out IMO. But to its credit, it has excellent longevity.

Very strong herbal opening—it has mint and sage predominating with a sweet fruity flavor. The violet is in there right from the start and adds both a sharpness and smoothness. How the violet is used here creates a very unusual accord: It’s strong and sweet and edgy—not the usual fare. The top notes last long and various aspects of them are traceable well into the heart notes where I get a little more floral, and the honey for sweetness. The dry down is a subtle accord of leather / amber, and finishes off with a perfect second-hand smoke note.
Anvers gets high grades for originality and longevity. I’m not sure that I like the primary note in the fragrance—it doesn’t seem that endearing to me. Since this note is so dominant, liking it becomes very important in accepting the fragrance. It will take a while...

I`d say it`s sweet fruity citrus in the beginning, then vibrant aromatic herbal-mossy beast (geranium, moss and sage) as you can see in a lot mens frags like Messer Jacopo, Succes Fou etc. The only differences I smell is more sweet (guava at the top) and more rounded (leather, amber) compared with its predecessors...
I`d rather like this contemporary chypre fleury scent.