Exhale (2007)
by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful

Review of the re-issue in 2010 by Gorilla Perfumes, previously B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful:

Simon Constantine's Exhale is an inspirational vetiver fragrance bearing serious leather credentials. Its key notes of vetiver, cedar, neroli and sandalwood are legible in a way that belies its arresting, Laphroaig-type peatiness: I can smell them all individually, but the outdoorsey magic of their combined effect is befuddling. The only comparison I know of is the smokey vetiver theme explored in Duchaufour's Timbuktu, of which Exhale is a more sombre, opaque rendition. A further, remote similarity is found in its leather vibe, for which Exhale makes use of black pepper oil in a way similar to Mark Buxton's Ouarzazate.

Exhale is an unpretentious scent of genius and feels like wandering through a forest so dense that it's forever dusk under its canopy.

25th March, 2011.

Notes: Lemon, neroli, cade, vetiver, patchouli, amber, cedar, sandalwood.

Exhale is as delightful as its stablemate Inhale is unpleasant, and that’s saying a lot. In fact, were it still in production, I’d rank it among the finest vetiver scents on the market. After a fleeting lemon top note, Exhale cloaks its vetiver in leather, smoky cade, an animalic amber, and neroli. Exhale’s vetiver accord is nutty and woody in the manner of Givenchy Vetyver, but the animalic and leathery notes leave Exhale smelling more outdoorsy, mysterious, and wild than the sophisticated, buttoned-down Givenchy. While smoky, Exhale is less so than Chanel’s Sycomore, and lacks the Chanel’s conspicuous frankincense.

Exhale is simple in structure and linear in its progress. The vetiver, smoky leather, neroli, and amber accord retains its shape and intensity for hours before fading off into its drydown of vetiver, patchouli, and creamy-textured sandalwood. I hope that Lush sees fit to bring this outstanding composition back under the new Gorilla Perfumes banner. It’s far too good to remain extinct.

19th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 17th August, 2011.)