Shadow
by JAR

I have to agree with at least PART of Jemimagold's review of Shadow. The opening is a big blast of hamburger relish! I'm told that they use only the spendiest, most high quality ingredients in their juice, so I guess this is pickle relish made from homemade imported polish dills, with artisan spices, triple filtered heirloom vinegar, etc...!! After a while I get a distinct layer of clove that persists for quite a while, and tempers the relish. There's lots more, but it's hard to discern, especially to my newbie nose. Despite the weirdness of the composition, there's something compelling about it. I keep going back to my wrist for another sniff, as if the fragrance itself holds a secret memory that I'm having trouble unlocking. Anyway, one of the most fun tests I've done in a while, and I will definitely be trying it at least a few more times, if only to unlock that blasted "secret" (which, of course, may be nothing more than additional burger condiments!).

Shadow is definitely the oddest scent in the JAR line. The recurring notes to my unsophisticated nose are dill pickle juice, mustiness and hay with a leavening of lavender and maybe eucalyptus towards the end. Yes, that all seems weird but it is not a “scrubber”. I had far worse experiences with Guerlain’s “Philtre d’Amour” and Miller Harris’ “L’Air de Rien” where after 5 minutes I was running for the scrub brush at my kitchen sink. But back to Shadow. Throughout its life on my skin, it kept that same weird high pitched sour/cool whine which was not awful, it was just deliberately strange. I would love to know how many bottles JAR sells of this in a year. I cannot imagine who it would appeal to.

After sampling this, I just had to visit the JAR store in Paris (not affiliated). The following is a brief account of my visit:

No appointments to smell the JAR perfumes at the JAR store on rue Castiglione are necessary, unlike the rules to view JAR’s jewelry line which is sold at a different location. Anyways, you arrive at the JAR store, ring a bell to request entrance and then are ushered by an immaculately dressed man into a silent room which has one small round table and two chairs. The room is sparsely decorated in the French ancien regime style and is painted a dark aubergine. The ceiling has an elaborate crystal chandelier and, as a touch of whimsy, a mural of a thunderous dark sky with a giant lightning bolt. Bottles of each JAR perfume sit nearby on an elevated lighted stand which seems like an untouchable shrine. I did not dare go near them. Once you are seated, you notice that on the table are a number of glass containers which look like covered petri dishes and each contain a piece of crumpled fabric doused in scent. The JAR representative’s role is to silently open each glass container one at a time and hold it up to you for a sniff of the saturated fabric. He is extremely courteous even though he will ONLY tell you the name of each perfume and nothing else. JAR’s policy is that they do not reveal any notes or comments about their fragrances. It is all meant to be a big secret, I suppose. So there you are, sniffing the contents of each glass container and you want to have a conversation about what you smell with your companion but somehow you get the feeling that it would be uncouth to say anything in the presence of the JAR representative about the perfumes.

On the whole, the JAR fragrances are extremely idiosyncratic and very expensive (for a 30 ml bottle, they range from 220 - 530 euros), and would not appeal to the mainstream consumer. For example, I cannot imagine what the average person would think of the distinct dill pickle notes in “Shadow”. However, I get the impression that the weirdness and cult-like secrecy is by design. It is almost as if the JAR perfume line is a side hobby for Joel Arthur Rosenthal and he really doesn’t care if his perfumes sell or not. There is certainly no pressure to buy anything but given the silence and somewhat forbidding atmosphere, you do not feel like lingering either. We thanked the JAR gentleman who graciously shook our hands and then left the strange little world of JAR perfumes.