Artisan (2009)
by John Varvatos

Casual wear that doubles as office wear. This is kinda like the men's version of Miyake's A Scent. It is very clean and happy in the opening, but the not so niche lower quality comes through as it dries down. But I can live with that. Evinick's review is right on with the picnic basket and sunny day description.

GROUP. Citrus-Aromatic. GENDER. I suppose a woman could wear it too but it is mostly for men. CREATIVITY. Well…what can you expect from a citrus/hesperidic scent in this field? Not much. DAYorNIGHT? A hot sunny day in the open, a picnic basket open on the grass, 2-3 kids play around the happy couple. Perhaps an ‘’intense’’ version could work in the evening. LONGEVITY. Good enough for a fresh scent like this. COMMENTS. Interesting opening with citrus notes (orange and mandarin mostly) make it fresh and pleasant. The heart is floral. Orange blossom, Jasmine and a hint of Neroli (I am still searching for the ginger root) may sound great as a combination but the result is still average. Great blend for a fabric softener though, I d love to smell it on my clean shirt. Despite the impressive names of the base note components (Kephalis, Georgywood, Belambre, Serenolide) all of them being synthetic, the drydown is more or less expected. Ambery and woody, perhaps more soapy that it should be. Nice try from JV having in mind how different this one is from his previous scents. A few words for this unbelievable bottle. A great idea, based perhaps on the weaven big bottles used for wine or olive oil in the Greek province (don’t forget Varvatos family comes originally from Greece). Truly a masterpiece.

Do not be fooled by the fantastic fresh-as-Spring-air orange blossom top notes. This scent, once it has dried on skin, becomes a highly synthetic and cheap smelling nitromusk, detergent-esque fragrance. Very disappointing - for a fragrance with such a great bottle!

Cool bottle, fresh, clean, and green smell. Medium longevity on my skin.

I love (LOVE) the bottle. I smelled the rattan on the bottle first and it smelled like leather and reeds, spectacular. The pewter engraved cap and nozzle neck fit perfect with the hand-woven rattan covering the bottle and the fantastic juice contained inside. Although I'm not exactly a seasoned frag-o-phile this is easily my favorite bottle design. I want to put it in a display case next to old 40s fedoras and a bullwhip... but the heat and light would probably ruin the goodness inside.

There is a definite citrus 'blast' others have talked about. It's not overpowering, it doesn't give you a headache. It almost feels like even if you bathed in the stuff it wouldn't be THAT bad; imagine sticking your face a barrel of freshly cut tangerines, no matter how many there are, it's not overpowering, just pleasant. After about 10 or 15 minutes the orange juiciness dissipates and what you're left with is a fresh, TRULY clean citrus that doesn't smell like any other citrus i've ever smelled.

Unfortunately the stuff is pretty tame, if you want a wave of 'white orange blossom' pelting passersby... you better be heavy on the application. I definitely recommend using an unscented lotion to help Artisan hold to your skin longer. Maybe 3 or 4 sprays if you're accustomed to only applying 2.

It was flying off the shelves in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, and it smelled light, fresh and different. So I caved in and bought a bottle. Big mistake! Artisan smells fantastic but has NO STAYING POWER so unless you plan on bathing in it, Don't buy it. Ever hear the one about if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Same thing here. If no one can smell it (the user included) then just say no. My boss likes it because he "doesn't normally like cologne that you can particularly smell". Enough said.