Ok, maybe it's my penchant for rooting for the underdog; I don't know. But lately I've felt compelled to try as many of the newer designer scents as I can get my hands on and really give them a fair shake - see if they really are as bad as everyone has been saying or if it's just a case of the general BN crew growing cynical and jaded. It seems that the more we try, the more we need scents to be truly strange to be intriguing, and we often quickly dismiss something that smells similar to something we've tried before, or something that at first glance seems vapid and merely "light and fresh" - just as many musicians write off pop music entirely because of the general lack of substance in the genre. Of course, there are exceptions, and just like the true musician will at least learn from all he hears - even if not particularly favoring it - so to should we as perfumistas and colognoisseurs try to remain as open minded as possible and find the positives as well as the negatives in every scent we try. With that preamble aside, let me get into Deseo for men.
Deseo includes the following listed notes:
lemon, yuzu, red berries, cedar and tobacco leaves, guaicwood, orris, sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, amber and vanilla.
Deseo for men has a strange and unique opening. It's fruity and vibrant but not entirely transparent as many citrus openings are. In fact, I can't really call it a citrus opening. The yuzu is present, and offers a sparkling yellowy citrus aroma to the opening, but also present are the berries and a dash of cedar leaf (which alone is extremely aromatic, green, and fairly sweet). The midnotes also are present in the background, and the contrast of the sparkling yuzu, the berries and green tones, and the slightly muddled almost grayscale tones of the midnotes is really quite interesting. For some reason it makes me think of watching a classic TV show such as "I Love Lucy" - which was traditionally in black and white, and then having the same episode playing, in sync, on an adjacent TV, but in full color.
Over the next thirty minutes this accord fades as it transitions into the heart accord. The heart accord starts out cool and almost minty, which I believe is the orris playing with the lingering cedar leaf, and soon the tobacco leaves join the fray. At this point, from what I've sniffed, it most reminds me of the middle notes of Romance Silver for Men. The fragrance actually grows more intense as an almost metallic musk note starts to grow in the background. It's a fairly chaotic mix for a while as you've got the cool minty/orris notes alongside the slightly dirty tobacco leaf note and this metallic musk getting louder and louder - and just as you think it's all going to fall apart, the tobacco leaf nearly disappears and the whole thing quiets down. I don't know if the metallic musk note also faded but in its spot now sits a guaicwood note (which I am quite familiar with the oil of guaicwood - it's a fairly sharp woody note that dries down to smell rather tea like). Perhaps the metallic musk is just the way the synthetic guaicwood smells? Perhaps it was all an illusion created by the strange cacophony of notes? Well, whatever it was, it faded just before reaching the point of cloying.
At this point guaicwood is the dominant note with a slight musk still present and some vanilla sweetening the mix. Unlike many of the reviewers I don't think the frag ever gets "too sweet." That being said, I do think the opening to mid-notes would generally appeal to a younger crowd. The middle to base notes tend to smell fairly artificial but I think that's more due to the fairly accurate representation of guaicwood (which is a fairly strange smelling note on its own) than due to poor blending.
Within an hour the scent has made its way through most of its progression and has also quieted signficantly, and at this point I don't think I'll get more than about 3 hours of longevity from it. Perhaps just a lingering musk note or something. That all being said, this is definitely unlike anything I've ever smelled and has a really interesting use of contrasting notes that you wouldn't normally find paired together. I don't regret trying it.
To summarize:
Longevity - 3 or 4 hours max.
Classification - fruity floral over spicy woods.
Wearability - casual to romantic. I'm guessing it would appeal to the age range of teen - 35 or so.
Complexity - fairly complex although progression is quick. Chaotic progression, but interesting.
Deseo includes the following listed notes:
lemon, yuzu, red berries, cedar and tobacco leaves, guaicwood, orris, sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, amber and vanilla.
Deseo for men has a strange and unique opening. It's fruity and vibrant but not entirely transparent as many citrus openings are. In fact, I can't really call it a citrus opening. The yuzu is present, and offers a sparkling yellowy citrus aroma to the opening, but also present are the berries and a dash of cedar leaf (which alone is extremely aromatic, green, and fairly sweet). The midnotes also are present in the background, and the contrast of the sparkling yuzu, the berries and green tones, and the slightly muddled almost grayscale tones of the midnotes is really quite interesting. For some reason it makes me think of watching a classic TV show such as "I Love Lucy" - which was traditionally in black and white, and then having the same episode playing, in sync, on an adjacent TV, but in full color.
Over the next thirty minutes this accord fades as it transitions into the heart accord. The heart accord starts out cool and almost minty, which I believe is the orris playing with the lingering cedar leaf, and soon the tobacco leaves join the fray. At this point, from what I've sniffed, it most reminds me of the middle notes of Romance Silver for Men. The fragrance actually grows more intense as an almost metallic musk note starts to grow in the background. It's a fairly chaotic mix for a while as you've got the cool minty/orris notes alongside the slightly dirty tobacco leaf note and this metallic musk getting louder and louder - and just as you think it's all going to fall apart, the tobacco leaf nearly disappears and the whole thing quiets down. I don't know if the metallic musk note also faded but in its spot now sits a guaicwood note (which I am quite familiar with the oil of guaicwood - it's a fairly sharp woody note that dries down to smell rather tea like). Perhaps the metallic musk is just the way the synthetic guaicwood smells? Perhaps it was all an illusion created by the strange cacophony of notes? Well, whatever it was, it faded just before reaching the point of cloying.
At this point guaicwood is the dominant note with a slight musk still present and some vanilla sweetening the mix. Unlike many of the reviewers I don't think the frag ever gets "too sweet." That being said, I do think the opening to mid-notes would generally appeal to a younger crowd. The middle to base notes tend to smell fairly artificial but I think that's more due to the fairly accurate representation of guaicwood (which is a fairly strange smelling note on its own) than due to poor blending.
Within an hour the scent has made its way through most of its progression and has also quieted signficantly, and at this point I don't think I'll get more than about 3 hours of longevity from it. Perhaps just a lingering musk note or something. That all being said, this is definitely unlike anything I've ever smelled and has a really interesting use of contrasting notes that you wouldn't normally find paired together. I don't regret trying it.
To summarize:
Longevity - 3 or 4 hours max.
Classification - fruity floral over spicy woods.
Wearability - casual to romantic. I'm guessing it would appeal to the age range of teen - 35 or so.
Complexity - fairly complex although progression is quick. Chaotic progression, but interesting.
), and the review was great. That being said when I tested this about 2 months ago, I did not care for it. But I did not give it much time, your insightful review, has prompted my enthusiasm for giving it another go.
