Basenotes - Reviews by Mar Azul

Spain

Showing 1 to 30 of 73.

parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Ouarzazate by Comme des Garçons

Bitter, spicy cedar, herbs drying in the autumn and apothecary drawers. I still wonder where did I found incense the first time I smelled it.

8th September, 2011.

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Casual Friday by Escada

Since I read the review of Casual Friday in the Perfume-Smellin' Things blog I cannot escape this image of a public library in the morning: an urban shrine of serenity. Maybe it's the dry, dusty patchouli, cedar and cotton flower that I associate with old paper. Maybe it's the sweetened coffee with milk that enhances this image. Finally, maybe it's the anise balancing the gourmand aspects that gives this impression of a sunny morning, big windows, an early yet already busy day. It is an urban fragrance by all means and an intellectual one.
Were Casual Friday a little heavier on vanilla and sugar it would enter the lusty world of gourmands and orientals, yet it chooses another direction. Sweetness is tamed by patchouli and dry woody notes; and and behind anise and cappuccino there's a complex base reminding me partly of a creation form older world, partly of a Comme Des Garcons woody fragrance. By all means, not with the mainstream of its time or any time. There's no big wonder why it was discontinued by Escada. Still, in another world, Casual Friday would be irreplaceable for a busy morning in the big city - a situation currently maintained with all-purpose lightly colognes, speaking irrelevantly about either Italian citrus groves, fresh countryside laundry or seashores, none of them urban in the heart.

9th August, 2011.

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parfums*PARFUMS Guerrilla 1 by Comme des Garçons

A spicy-floral-fruity fleshy concoction not unlike Tom Ford's Black Orchid but plasticized, like the interior decoration of a fine boutique: plastic, rubber and aluminium. This synthetic finish makes it more hip and less sexy, as is in fact the case with all CdG fragrances. Yet no one can civilize champaca at 100%. Me, I'm a sucker for the raw seductiveness of this flower. As close to animalic as any CdG fragrance can ever get.

6th August, 2011.

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Salvador Dali pour Homme by Salvador Dali

You never have to smell this with your nose close to your wrist and then judge by this. Give it some space, some distance to pass by. It's the artsy cousin of Heritage and Zino and the wise uncle of Obsession. It's the grandfather of Tar and Garage with a spicy romantic heart. You can find him in his basement at night painting still pictures of flowers, using motor oil and burnt rubber for his art. He smells of darkness and cinnamon and he's aware of his weirdness. His nature is not actually of an animal: more like your surreal image of a dream fantastic creature. 20 years later, still not the coolest guy. Yet unlike Zino and Heritage, this one still deserves a talk now and then.

21st July, 2011.

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Encens & Bubblegum by Etat Libre d'Orange

I think probably because of the highly influential directions of Comme Des Garcons for most of us frankincense in a fragrance should always be something glorious and a tad serious, enhanced with woods and some other complex stuff. Between niche fragrance lovers frankincense is often considered elitist: hence by all meas worth the mockery.

And here it is. Frankincense without woods. Bubblegum instead. A realistic blast of bubblegum before it settles into simple and beautiful incense supported only by light fruity-ambery base. It manages to be dry and juicy at the same time yet these two characteristics are somehow separated, simplicity being the key idea.

This is also one of the few ELdO fragrances that doesn't utilize their powdery kinda signature mix to fill the gaps. On the contrary, there is a lot of air left, making this fragrance a successful example of 'does what it says'. No need to be too weird or shocking: simply intentionally putting a cult niche note in a profane context does the job just fine. In fact, this is extremely wearable. I like it a lot.

20th July, 2011.

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Time Uomo by Krizia

A 'white' , 'clean' fragrance but with a bitter floral-woody twist and somehow loud. Like with DSquared He Wood, the combination of woods and violet makes for me the overall impression of driftwood. Then there's something piney and herbal-fresh. This doesn't explain why the fragrance is 'white' but it is, and I wear it often in summer.

20th July, 2011.

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l'eau de parfum #2 Spiritus / land by Miller et Bertaux

Like someone was trying to make a spicy soap. Not the usual 'oriantal spicy' though, no clove or cinnamon or nutmeg. It immediately reminds me of 'clean' like a bedroom with linen blankets, semi-opened blinds, flowers on the window and some potpourri in the wardrobe. There's a church nearby and a garden with herbs. Not the big city by all means. Quiet happiness, lazy summer afternoons with a book.
The thing spoiling the deal for me is that in the drydown it becomes a carbon copy of Montana Parfum d'Homme with its freshly cut tobacco, oakmoss and herbs (being a rustic doppelganger of Aramis Havana). ANd it spoils the deal mostly because I remember how excited I was when I bought Parfum d'Homme and then how I was completely unable to wear it. If you don't think that Montana and Aramis are dated smells then this won't spoil it for you.

15th July, 2011. (Last Edited: 16th July, 2011.)

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Blu pour Homme by Bulgari

Bulgari's tribute to the famous Nivea scent, so good that it stays unchanged for decades. No irony here: it just goes where I'd always liked Nivea to go, adding depth and complexity. Smells familiar, bringing memories, yet it's not the cream; it's a fragrance.

20th May, 2011.

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Catalyst for Men by Halston

Pure clove extract, a bit sweetened with cinnamon. A bit sharp and a bit synthetic but clove has never smelled natural to me anyway.
Its structure is really simple, like this is some kind of basic chemical ingredient used in a lab: a catalyst which accidentally also smells good, masculine, provocative.
Has this oriental feel without being an ambery fragrance.Warm but not cozy, it tingles the senses, keeps your attention, like a real catalyst should.

13rd May, 2011.

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parfums*PARFUMS Series 6 Synthetic: Skai by Comme des Garçons

It 'is', of course, the smell of a rubber swimming pool the moment you unwrap it, and the smell of burning paper extinguished in body cream, and the fake grapefruit normally starring in designer fragrances' summer editions; but it's also denser than that, and it's abstract.
Only when I really went clubbing with this scent that I got the 'great for clubbing' thing. It's that state of unawareness, light-mindedness and confidence that go so well with Skai.
Warmness is usually a thing that comes from the past or from another time: one either recalls ancient rituals and pleasures or cozy memories from his own past, fireplaces, kitchens, sweets and cakes. A warmness that is actually in the present or even the future is a rare thing. This is on the edge of being cool, non emotional but it succeeds.

1st May, 2011.

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Tom Ford for Men by Tom Ford

This feels sticky all way round, like a spicy liqueur of some kind spilled on your skin. Booze done in the 'whatever' way, then woods that are too generic to make sense, then unrecognizable "fresh, woody, leathery" base that obviously noone expects to be there. "Balanced" in this case means no individual notes; although there's change in time, this fragrance is way too homogenic. Like they were there initially but someone smeared the whole picture with an all-purpose liquid. Everlast 1910 Original dries to a similar base but better and with higher contrast. And while we're still on the topic, everything by Gucci is also better, etc.

14th April, 2011.

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Muscs Koublaï Khän by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

The most beautiful musk I ever smelled. Were it a woman, it would be one pretty well aware of her sex-appeal and keeping it restrained to a certain point never to be crossed. She embrace you warmly instead, making you feel comfortable; yet her deep animalic nature is always seen behind; she's not actually trying to hide it. She just shows you there's more than this.
There are dirty musks that easily turn vulgar; there are clean musks trying to equal cleanness and human beauty, thus suggesting there's light without darkness. This one knows both very well; it has intelligence. It has philosophy. It's a treatise on pure and dirty. And besides that, it's the scent of a warm skin. Dramatic.

13rd April, 2011.

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Cuba Black by Cuba Paris

If I have to visually describe it there's a big black something (tarry, almost bitter, similar to isobutyl quinoline found in Aramis, Bandit etc. but without the loudness and directness they bring) with a pale white spot on top (camphoraceous, medicinal, herbal). When I think about it, I always imagine two layers not so well matched - and I have a similar image for Black Jeans and Passage d'Enfer, and I actually like this type of structure. Gradually these two layers start to merge better and the fragrance becomes more plain and flawless, the 'bright' top turned to calming aromatic mix of lavender and flowers, black base remaining quite the same. No bitterness - yet all the time lingering on the edge of it, the aromatic layer not letting it to go further and become a burned tar monster. Quite an achievement. I had a brief affair with tarry leathers like the above mentioned; now I find them outdated and in-your face. This one manages to balance the film noir feeling with an 80's refinement. Good!

5th March, 2011.

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Lust by Gorilla Perfume

Ever since Luca Turin made indoles popular, revealing the chemical connection between jasmine and human decay, indolic became the new dirty and no review of a jasmine fragrance goes without it being classified as 'indolic' or 'non-indolic'. The whole idea of flowers being connected to flesh is somehow strangely fascinating even when the nose disapproves; it's like a surreal, symbolic fantasy has been scientifically proven to exist in the real world. I personally never managed to feel this analogy with my nose, or how jasmine connects to sexiness more than other notes.
Anyway, the point with Lust is that you start to appreciate its lustfulness once you realize what a myriad of non-lustful jasmine scents there is - starting with jasmine green tea, probably most people's first introduction to this flower, and ending up with the surprisingly clean and polite Jasmine et Cigarettes. Jasmine in Lust is heady like tuberose transposed in a different key and that's for me the more understandable clue to lust: its drug-like effect. Losing your rational self, losing control over yourself.
Of course this fragrance also shares the soapy, rubbery, 'natural cosmetics' smell which is so typical for each and every product in a Lush store. But then again, you don't have to actually wear it. Get it just for the sake of this rarely seen face of jasmine.

4th March, 2011.

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Givenchy Gentleman by Givenchy

To be honest I bought it in a hurry after smelling Bond No.9 H.O.T. Always and being amazed by it. I read about the similarities, smelled Gentleman and - true, it was almost the same and much more accessible so I bought under this fresh impression. S little later did I realize that although similar - well, Gentleman has this 'old world' feeling and H.O.T. Always manages to be contemporary. For some time I was actually repulsed by Gentleman and regretted buying it. It had this extreme opening of wet, oily Cuir de Russie and civet, almost like some liquid flowing in the veins of an alien monsterdog. Then it settled to something equally pungent but tamed, soaking oily patchouli.

It was months later when I learned to appreciate this fragrance and wear it outside. I can't remember under what circumstances exactly but the truth is after the pungent animalic blast that tickles the nostrils in a disturbing way, there are lot of nuances coming their way, not exactly sweet (de-sweetened honey, hypnotic patchouli), not exactly bitter (almost herbal vetiver, hypnotic patchouli), with the mildly smoky leather smelling like some luxurious industrial oil, giving depth. Gentleman actually depicts a whole story and yet it looks like composed of very little layers. It manages to completely envelop the wearer in its dark-brown aura. it's actually soothing. It's a masterpiece. Strange thing: aren't all smokey leather-dominant fragrances called 'masterpieces' as long as they're powerful and pungent enough?

1st February, 2011.

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Kingdom by Alexander McQueen

Well this fragrance has been so largely discussed that i don't feel capable of adding something substantial to note analysis etc. I can speak only about my relation to it.

Surprisingly, Kingdom turned out to be one of my most versatile scents, maybe topped only by Mugler Cologne. I can always put it on without any special occasion and without too much thinking as it fells right most of the time. And I have this abstract connection between Kingdom and Mugler Cologne, not by notes but - not sure how to say that - some kind of sensual freshness. Mugler Cologne has its citrus top, almost like real cologne would, but then it goes the the Eastern way with musk and then something which give an alien, sci-fi fell to it all. Kingdom does the same with its sweet citrusy opening which then reveals some kind of oriental structure but again, it's fiction not pretending to be authentic or classic, it's the sci-fi remake of an oriental base.

Rose and jasmine, myrrh and raw vanilla, they blend beyond recognition. As about cumin, hasn't it been discussed so vastly everywhere, i would never focus on it, i think it blends perfectly within the slightly smoky base. And I don't think I'm so tolerant to cumin in large doses: I can't stand for example the latest Al Oudh by L'Artisan Parfumeur. Definitely not body odor to my nose in Kingdom. In fact, no extremes at all because of its smooth blending, so smooth it even feels a bit defocused; which just makes it more wearable as it doesn't speak instead of me when I wear it, it just complements me, adds a beauty aspect to the air around me. Not happiness, mind you, not even joy; it's this beauty that always evokes longing so we never say we enjoy beauty as we'd also rarely admit beauty can make us sad. Me, I don't actually know how to feel about beauty. It's just there with its roses and myrrh to turn prose into poetry.

16th January, 2011.

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Voleur de Roses by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Givenchy Gentleman has since some time became for me a reference "vile patchouli" smell. This strange note which I still find hard to believe belongs to a flower, is neither dry/earthy nor burnt-sugary as in other patchouli creations. Instead, it smells like some kind of liquid leather, warm and alive. More like wet animal than wet soil. First I hated it, then i started to appreciate it and have worn it so far 2 times in public. It's by all means easily memorable, especially when you smell it from close distance.
Now imagine Givenchy decided to make subsequent flankers of Gentleman the same way they did with other frags: first they water it down and remove the civet, calling it Gentleman Eau Legere. Next year they add rose and call it Gentleman Eau Legere Rose Harvest. Finally they come up with Gentleman Eau Legere Rose Harvest - Green Attitude.
That would be Voleur de Roses. The initial opening blast is wet, a bit oily and nearly pungent for a while, settling down to a dark yet fresh rose and patchouli combo with the addition of earthy and a bit creamy green notes which I think I recognize in the recent Nuit de Tubereuse. I always thought I was indifferent to roses but this is the second rose fragrance I really appreciate, first being Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme. Realy nice.

13rd January, 2011.

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Navegar by L'Artisan Parfumeur

I guess my mind just refuses to believe that there could be something so fleeting and close to non-existence, so I get back to Navegar again and again, thinking:
"There should be something there! I'm just fatally missing something. What's worse, I'm probably never going to see it, I know."
And in the moments when I actually manage to smell it, all I get is a lonely leaf from a lemon tree hanging somehow unbalanced in thin air, ready to fall and vanish in the next moment. It's like a construction made of a couple of tiny elements that don't fit, so the whole thing is really unstable and without any base.
I share the "green, grassy" impression half of the reviewers had. Lemongrass comes to mind, although rubbing yourself with a fresh lemongrass leaf would give ten times stronger projection. These are high quality traces of lemon cologne with a modern touch, ginger added, and that's all.
And when I shove my nose as close as possible, I smell additional cedar just a bit darker than that citrusy surface, more like complementing it in the same key, doing almost nothing to improve the weakness. Incense? Not if you know other L'Artisan frags that contain incense. Here there's just some kind of weak tea infusion with some spices boiled to death in there. In fact, it's all about traces of somethings, traces of this and that. Here transparency, so often discussed as a new direction in perfumery, is set to the level where you don't see the picture anymore. You just see some pale green-yellow, almost merged with the air. Why that name? Why the blue label?

12nd January, 2011.

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L'Essence de Cerutti by Cerruti

Just when I thought it's all about soft, velvet leather (I think I already recognize Antoine Lie's approach to leather and fancy it a lot) , a fresh unmistakable mint toothpaste accord joined the party. Not in a playful way though. It's a serious, formal fragrance. Pepper jumps in here and there, also managing to be somehow velvety. All in all, L'Essence stays in the typical Italian designer frag territory like dozens of others. Formal in the demonstrative way. Frag that would make your suit look more expensive.

11th January, 2011.

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L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain

Dust from the past

You know these stories about dead bodies found entirely preserved in their tombs? They kept all their beauty and all the glory of a time long past but once exposed to fresh air a single touch turned them to fine dust.
This is L'Heure Bleue. It has a bouquet of flowers, an ornamented box of make-up, a handkerchief still smelling of Mitsuoko. But they've all been mixed and turned to fine powder. And it projects like powder, not like a liquid. That dried peach taste almost impossible to chew from Mitsuoko is gone with its lively and unavoidable presence; vanilla is not that glorious dark mixture of, say, Shalimar, which would bring Eastern luxury and mysterious pleasures to mind. It's just there, almost vanishing, more like already saying "I was there before". Vanity recycled, dust to dust. Easy to wear, quite true to its name.

11th January, 2011.

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Dzing! by L'Artisan Parfumeur

A modern fecal. A smell constantly lingering between dusty resinous vanilla and pure warm manure, never both at the same time. Then, vanilla never approaches the Oriental zone and castoreum here never smells like the past or your grandmother.
It's a highly elaborated smell, but it's also a smell that can raise too many questions and I can imagine how it could drastically change one's social life if you wear this on a regular basis.
Social life: yes, that's what can stop you or (in rare cases) encourage you to wear Dzing! Here connections between personal taste and social life seem somehow more obvious.

3rd January, 2011.

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Passage d'Enfer by L'Artisan Parfumeur

First it's a beautiful white floral affair with a small spooky gargoyle in the corner to spice things up a little.
Then it's a luxury frankincense soap and you wonder how the guys from the Prada Infusion Division still didn't figure it out: Infusion d'Encens.

3rd January, 2011.

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Pi by Givenchy

Boozy vanilla and spice oriental concoction, aged the way liquors age: its sweetness is a smoky sweetness. Benzoin works perfectly here, adding incense character to the fragrance, but it's a 'liquid incense' as opposed to 'dry incense'.
Thick aromatic liquid, this is what it is. It creates a thick dreamy layer over your own persona though; then you'll certainly have to deal with it, move within it, speak through it. Better than Jaipur. Groundbreaking.

27th December, 2010.

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L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme by Guerlain

This is the instant smell I get when entering a perfume or gift shop. I don't know exactly why. Is it the dark vanilla ambiance spray? The cocoa/chocolate, a smell imprinted so deep in our brains it's almost archetypal? Is it because the assistants keep spraying A*Men in the air showing the average costumer a new exciting path out of the beaten path of his beloved but overused Hugo? Or, on the other hand, is it actually the combined smell of the whole Boss and CK sections at once?
Anyway, it's a smell saying "I'm not in the drugstore anymore"; an instant sign of quality perfumery which, however, lacks any personality. You could recognize some Guerlainesque boozy-gourmand accord in the heart but only if you're looking for it and I also doubt that this is the point. There's a perfect green accord somewhere there as well but again you have to force yourself to appreciate it. There are many other things actually, none of them brave enough though.
Without being cheap or trivial, L'Instant just escapes from the radar, setting a new definition of "generic". It's perfectly wearable though, as is cocoa butter lotion.

27th December, 2010.

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SoCal Cologne by Hollister

My very first thought when I first tried SoCal was: "Christmas!", immediately - because of three things:
1. It smelled like pine needles.
2. It reminded me of Davidoff Cool Water Game which I received as a Christmas gift last year;
3. It was December already.
It's not a simple cologne by no means. It's fresh, but its freshness comes from cedar and pine. Then it's sweet but just in the right measure with pineapple, pear or I don't know what, this is the part that reminded me of Coll Water Game.
Then after a while an amber/vanilla accord comes on stage to surprise me completely. It's a complex scent with many faces, you could call it woody, fruity, almost oriental in the dry down.
(Dry down is actually the part that really surprised me with its almost gourmand presence, still accompanied by woods)
It evokes a beautiful picture of a beach with some clouds, driftwood on the shore, then a warm house with a view to the ocean. Not sporty, not cheap-smelling, it succeeds to be light and cozy at the same time. It's the type of perfume you would choose if you had to choose just one bottle for all places.

24th December, 2010.

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parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Kyoto by Comme des Garçons

Let black roasted coffee beans and vetyver play the incense part here.
Modern / ingenious.

30th November, 2010.

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Sienne L'Hiver by Eau d'Italie

A close-up photograph of wet winter soil in a field, in a place where it never actually snows. Definitely Mediterranean but from a quite uncommon point of view. Yes, there are winters in this region, too. Quite insensible on me although it's a beautiful photograph. I guess it would be miraculous on the right woman.You see, no man can be that tender, and it requires a pinch of tenderness to complement this cold but lively soil.

18th November, 2010.

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Brit for Men by Burberry

A smooth and warm oriental, a nutmeg enhanced with mandarins which later turns to raw cocoa on me. Perfect when sharing a bed with a lover. Yet it's just everywhere, which in this case makes me avoid it. Well, that's all.

27th October, 2010.

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Comme des Garçons 2 Man by Comme des Garçons

I often return to this one just to see how rough it is. Couldn't get more basic incense smell than this. Incense is often linked to religion. Incense in CdG 2 precedes any human use of incense. It's an exotic piece of resin from another planet, hardly evoking any kind of associations to other things human, rituals, spiritual practices. it's just there, raw and primordial, brown and smokey. Somehow reminds me of rocks and barks, autumnal shadowy landscape in a strange anomalous zone.

12nd October, 2010.

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Diesel Zero Plus by Diesel

First I tended to like it. Mostly because it reminded me of the 90s in a very warm and touching way. Maybe there were too many people wearing this around me back then and maybe it reminded me the smell of Diesel stores then although I just suppose this.
Nevertheless, this remained the only trick of this fragrance for me. It just somehow falls apart to its parts, no consistence. It's the cherry-cinnamon coke - spicy 'red' part and then the dry powdery base, a little similar to Burberry Touch but without any depth and much cheaper smelling. So it's like the fragrance is divided in these two layers and they never connect in a convincing way.
I thought Zero Plus would make a nice everyday fragrance but this doesn't work for me either: too obvious somehow . Maybe romantic, but in the way certain shots in fashion magazines are romantic: you don't actually see people with feelings, you see the clothes. But even if this is your kind of thing, you'd want to go for something more up-to-date.

12nd October, 2010.

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