Artisan by John Varvatos, 2009

Original john varvatos was my signature scent for a while. So when I red the news about this one I was really excited! jv wanted to shift from heavy warm masculine scents (jv original and Vintage) to something fresher and more wearable and I believe he did a good job in here. The first thing about this one is the bottle: one of the most fascinating bottles I've ever seen! The juice inside is really nice too! its a very well crafted combination of citrus and citrus florals. It develops to a gentle, fresh, clean and pleasant scent on my skin. I really like it! If you ask me about the originality of the idea, I should tell you that Jean Paul Gaultier was first among fashion designers who decided to make something like this in Fleur du Male. Apparently he wanted to make a masculine scent heavy on citrus-florals. While his creation is an absolute failure in my book, jv is a winner. jv succeeded in doing the idea in a way that the final product is really pleasant and wearable! There's also 'Artisan Black'; a variation on this one. I have both of them on my hands right now and I'm making a one by one comparison here. In the black variation the citrus-floral notes are sort of tamed to give way to warmer(woody-leathery?) base which smell a little artificial to my nose. While Artisan Black is warmer and maybe more 'sensual', I'll definitely go with the original which is brighter and more pleasant. Artisan has good longevity and projection on my skin. Overall: 8 out 10.

Anyone who lives in the warmer temperate areas should be familiar with the common garden shrub Murraya Paniculata, commonly called "Mexican Orange Blossom". The sporadic flowers have an exquisite orange blossom fragrance that perfumes the air on warm, still evenings. The wood, when the bush is pruned, exudes a wonderful bright green fragrance as well, highly reminiscent of Pemou or Siam wood. Artisan uses both the flowers and the wood of the Murraya plant and it's the first time I've encountered it in perfumery. I've always wondered why it's not more widely used as I imagine its production would not be expensive as the plant is a fast grower and responds frenetically to pruning. Significantly, Artisan captures the fragrance beautifully. You're smelling pure murraya flowers and wood, folks. And it's real. Those who accuse it of smelling synthetic probably have never experienced the real thing. It's deceptively light and fleeting on initial encounters. I was tempted to over-compensate, but have since learned that an application of no more than 4-5 sprays is best. Over-spraying in an attempt to get more out of it defeats the purpose, because olfactory fatigue will kick in almost immediately and you'll spend the day wondering where it's got at the same time leaving a trail of destruction behind you. Don't be fooled. This one blooms wonderfully in the heat. And the bottle is beautifully unique.