Not A Perfume by Juliette Has a Gun, 2010

Like it says on the tin. Ricci got so excited by the synthetic amber Ambroxan that he decided to bottle it (in the right dilution, of course). Now Ambroxan is not without its virtues. Andy Tauer writes of it thus: Ambroxan is a single molecule, but is smells very complex (amber, vibrant wood, floral tobacco) and not cheap like other synthetic ambers that you find in washing powder. It has a soft and polished satin-like feel about it. So far so good. However, most synthetics on their own even fairly complex ones dont have the variability over time that makes naturals exciting and lively. This is like a musical chord prolonged for hours on end stripped off any of the harmonics that would normally begin to dance around it. Or as my non-perfume-wearing partner announced rather bluntly: quite insipid.

I went to Romano's talk and he said it's good for layering. I just don't see the point in creating something so derivative.

I agree. It's not a perfume. There's a light scent-a warming of the skin- but that's it. I think if I'd bought a full bottle (rather than the excellent value set of samples from JHAG) I'd be feeling rather disappointed in what I'd got for my money.

I couldn't smell it so i used the whole sample. I still couldn't smell it. My girlfriend visited later in the afternoon and commented that i smelled like the smoky stuff they swing around in those globes connected to chain/rope in church ceremonies. she said it smelled strong. I'll have to take her word for it because I can't smell the Ambroxan myself. It just seems like such a novelty fragrance, not something to take seriously and spend money on.

Apparently Escentric MOLECULE 02, launched in 2008, is essentially ambroxan, and Juliette Has a Gun NOT A PERFUME, launched in 2010, is also essentially ambroxan. Is there a problem here? Well, I guess that everyone has the right to bottle an aromachemical and sell it at 10,000% profit if they want to. And, amazingly enough, some people really will buy it, even at niche prices! Although I have not smelled MOLECULE 02, NOT A PERFUME does remind me of my memory of MOLECULE 01: vague woodishness, a bit perfumey. Smells okay, which is to be expected, since this is used to boost the perfumic quality of perfumes, right? To my nose, NOT A PERFUME smells like the base of a men's cologne featuring cedar. It's not too masculine, but it's definitely not feminine. Okay, I think that this once original idea has exhausted its fifteen minutes of fame. Time to return to perfume, thank you very much!

Well made, simple, and sexy. Well executed and well balanced.