Humiecki & Graef - Askew short review

I love this one. I had to get a full bottle. Definitely doesn't smell like anything I've tried before.

I'm still very very intrigued by this. Looks like Luckyscent is sold out - else I'd order a sample immediately. I've read other reviews that also say the vibe of the scent is cold - does it ever warm up? A cold leather/suede scent that is smoky seems an odd mix to me.

Would you say this is then more suited for spring or summer wear? Or is it too thick and/or heavy for the heat?

Really curious about this house. Last time I checked, they did not do free samples. Looks interesting enough that I may have to inquire via the Lucky Scent.

Ordered samples of Askew, Geste, Eau Radieuse and Multiple Rouge from Luckyscent. Will give reviews of them after testing, as I think this house deserves more exposure.

I think saripatates did a very good job with his description. Askew smells good but it's nothing I'd wear. Could be something that Calvin Klein or Joop would come up with if they ever decided to do an exclusive line. Kind of like a better version of Eternity with a nice suede accord added. It's a bit too androgynous, for my tastes.

And yes, grapefruits really are crossdressers.

To me, the grapefruit smells plasticky and, unlike the smoke that lies close to the skin, projects out almost perpendicularly to the rest of the scent (hence the name?). It is unsettling and intriguing but to me off-putting because of the plasticky note.

Am I correct in that by plasticky you mean the note is synthetic smelling?

To my amateur nose, yes, it smells synthetic.

I don't find the grapefruit plasticky, personally. Mimosa has a waxy texture though (natural mimosa absolute, that is) that could easily be seen as plasticky. There's a synthetic in here that is in many men's scents, too - it's one of the synthetics used in A&F's Fierce (also done by the same perfumer, C. Laudamiel, so no surprise there) that helps Fierce to smell unquestionably masculine and metalic and a bit sharp and spiky.

So yes, Askew does hit my nose as being synthetic, but not in a bad way. It also seems quite natural at points - the mimosa smells natural as does the wonderful ginger note within. The leather in the dry down is surely synthetic (as all leathers are), but the suede accord at least smells natural.

Askew is a study in contrasts - synthetic and natural, warm and cold (this contrasting duality persists throughout the life of the fragrance and keeps it interesting throughout), spiky sharp and angry, leathery soft and smooth. Askew has more contrast within than almost any fragrance I've ever smelled, and for this reason alone should be sampled by fragrance aficionados.

As long as a person is not sensitive to one of the synthetics within I think they'll find Askew to be interesting, and perhaps even beautiful. (I used to be very sensitive to the spiky note, and it smelled like industrial metal shavings. My sensitivities have faded and now the note smells much more pleasant; metallic, but not disconcertingly so)

The overall color palette of the scent is quite close to the colors of the Caleche Eau Delicate bottle:


Although I also get some reddish brown tones at certain points of Askew's evolution thanks to the cardamom, and a sky blue note from, of all things, the interaction of the sweet grapefruit, the higher notes of the mimosa, and most prominently from the almost menthol-like wintergreen note of the birch tar.Mostly though, it's a sparkling and iridescent palette of yellows and greens.

It's encouraging to me that somebody likes it. I keep moving it back and forth between the "no" and "maybe" piles. It is growing on me, and I do see the appeal.

I'm intrigued by this thread. I've hauled out my sample and will comment soon.

I'm considering a bottle of this in the future as well. When do you find you that you're most inclined to wear it? To me, it seems primarily like a spring and summer scent, although it does have enough body to be satisfying year round (although I know once the colder weather hits I'll be reaching for heavier/woodier things most days).

Also, do you get that "generic men's scent" aspect I'm talking about? It's a sharp chemical and it's in many designer releases. I suppose that actually adds one more contrast to the list I find within Askew: a designer/niche contrast.

I really like the scent but just don't feel like it's worth quite what they're asking.

I don't know either, but I do love the approach that Laudamiel and H&G are taking. I don't know if their claims of eschewing the traditional pyramid approach and going with a 'star based construction' is just marketing hullabaloo or not, but I do notice something very stylistically different in all of the H&G scents I've sampled. They all have a fairly synthetic 'core' that is fleshed out with naturals but never feels natural in the sense of say, a classic Guerlain. And yet they manage to avoid feeling overly thin or sharp as so many modern scents do. All the scents are fairly linear - or at least have a very linear "spine" that runs the length of the scent - and yet there are always enough subtle changes to maintain one's interest over the course of a full wearing.

I can't think of another house that has the same style or feel. Ellena is close but I feel he goes even more simple and more unabashedly synthetic all too often - not to mention his scents are far more fleeting than the relatively light but strong H&Gs (at least I find them all to have great longevity and moderate to good sillage). I suppose Ellena is closest in style, but there is a tangible difference that I can feel, if not fully articulate.

I've to be honest. As I take some of you guys in very high consideration when it comes to fragrance, I've been trying to warm up to Askew quite a few times but, noway. I've to agree with Nasenmann here when he says that smells like something CK would come up with if they ever decided to do an exclusive line. It has an overall generic citrusy vibe that really puts me off but at the same time the "artistic/weird" twist of many of the H&G here turns to be just "weird"...

Let's put it like this:

This is a generic CK composition



This is Askew



This, instead, would have been interesting...

Of course I wont But just the fact that you and some others found it nice, it was a good reason for me to give it some more chances...(also considering I quite like other compositions from this house i.e. Skarb, Blask and up to a certain point Bosque).

I can't honestly discern how it smells from how much it actually costs (they also just increased their prices). If it were an Avon, probably it could have been a best bang for the buck, but at these prices....

I am giving it one last chance by wearing it today. Plenty of it. I found myself taking refuge in the smell of Iberico ham and a freshly peeled orange at breakfast just to get away from it.

Pity the poor straphangers I'm about to offend.

I'm wearing it today, it is an interesting scent. Although it has a lot of modern/synthetic notes, it still has a restrained and even elegant character.
The juice is a light green. The opening is a kind of fruity-citrus note. I find this to be rather light. I got more on a second application but I would not say it is identifiably grapefruit, rather more a generic citrus. The scent opens to a very soft, delicate leather, almost a fine suede. The scent stays close to the skin. There is a hint of ozone brightness, but this is not overdone. At this point, the scent is fresh and a bit soapy. Birch tar is very restrained and gives a faint metallic note. Finally a synthetic note emerges which reminds me of plasticine.
What I can admire in all of the above (normally not notes I enjoy) is the restraint and smooth integration of the elements. I don't find it especially frosty or heavily leathery, and not at all smoky. Admittedly it comes across as a somewhat safe, generic men's scent in a modern style.
Ultimately it is not a scent I would seek out -- it isn't anything that gives me pleasure. But there is nothing wrong with it, in my opinion.

This seems to be the note that people either love or loathe.

I will say that after getting on the subway (and expecting some dirty looks), I ended up wedged against A*Men. I do not like this other scent, and as I stood there with Askew, I felt like it was engaged in conflict with the vanilla/sugar-cookie explosion of A*Men. In fact, it was a total beat-down. I may not be purchasing a bottle, but I can report that Askew is fighting the good fight. I wore it proudly.

haha what an uneven match, like the elegant acrobatic Chinese jian sword fighter against a medieval knight in full plate armor and greatsword.

Askew is interesting but I can't deal with even a little birch tar, so it's a no go. Skarb was even more interesting, but same problem with an ingredient, as I hate Calone. I respect what they're doing over there at H&G and I will look into their other offerings with curiosity.

Yep thanks. Unfortunately it has a bunch of birch tar, which registers in my nose/brain like sweet wintergreen with a smoky edge, rather than what others get, which is apparently oily, smoky bitter leather. So far I can't stand any birch tar fragrances at all, and I've gone through a few dozen.

Alfarom, I'd love to hear more thoughts of yours on Blask. I've been meaning to try it but it's still not available anywhere here in the US. I read somewhere that it's somewhat similar to Le Male - please, tell me that isn't so!

Hey SOS, sorry for being late at replying but I just saw this...

You know what? I'm having an hard time in describing Blask. They only list 4 notes: Walnut, Red Wine accord, Oud and Bay Leaf and, basically, I don't get any of them....

Here's what I get: Violet (sweet, srort of candied violet petals they put on top of Marron Glace), no wine but more like the typical fermented aroma of the "must" (again sweet). Oud? well, ohm...uhm..ohhh..naaa (?!?!???). There's surely something resinous and woody during the drydown but I probably wouldn't call it oud. Bay Leaf? There's an aromatic, slightly pungent note that works like an ultrasonic whisper...could it be the Laurel? If it's the Bay Leaf it's nowhere similar to the real thing...Some generic parfume-y things like mixed flowers (???) show up throughout.

On top of all this you have to add a huge amount of weirdness provided by what to me are obscure ingredients. Pretty challenging indeed and not exactly what I usually define as "wearable", yet somehow intriguing. Anyone who tend to use the phrase "I never smelled something like this", they should probably test Blask.

if really forced to compare it to another scent, I would probably say that the flowery aspect and its overall power reminded me vaguely of Rien (I'm talking about the late drydown).

This thread got me to pull out Multiple Rouge sample and try it.

Even though you all are describing Askew, a lot of the descriptions I've read in here for Askew are spot on with what I'm experiencing with multiple Rouge. I was expecting juicy fruits, but instead I'm getting "generic cold citrus", wrapped up in slightly heavy waxy soap with a hint of suede. There is something metalic in this, which creates a cooling effect that is in contrast its hint of cinnamon. I'm wondering about the metallic note it as its kind of distracting. I've noticed it in another sample from this line. My brain associates it with blood or when you have braces and bite tin foil. I'm also reminded of my one time sampling of Mazzolari's Zagara.... but I could be way off on this dejavu olifactory memory.... it's been awhile.

The base becomes a bit warmer and the cold generic lets up a bit, but I'm still smelling whatever I'm associating with ozone/water/blood.

Ok, I wore Askew yesterday and not only did I get monster longevity from just a few dabs, it turned into a very deep smoky vetiver in the base. It is a synthetic vetiver note, + a lot of iso e super, and this leathery/mimosa accord and lingering aldehyde (one of the same aldehydes used in Jubilation 25, I am sure!) and the accord was awesome. It was very very 'headshop incense' but still had hints of green and yellow thanks to the STILL present mimosa, along with hints of cinnamon and cardamom, and a slight purplish metallic note that smelled like the purplish metallic note that is very prominent in Silver Factory.

I was rather warm, granted, but this was radiating HUGE amounts of scent from maybe 7 or 8 swipes of the applicator stick on my chest, almost 12 hours after application.

Does anyone else get this deep, smoky, multi-faceted but primarily headshop incensey base?


(also, planning on wearing this again soon. If I perceive it as multi-faceted and rich as I did with this wearing, I'll be left with no choice but to call this scent a post-modern masterpiece).

Just sprayed some Askew. This is great stuff, I agree with what you're saying SOS.

It's a stretch, but I also feel like this is what Christophe Laudamiel would have made Ambercombrie Fierce if he had more creative freedom.

Up close, Askew smells much more complex and better quality and, well, different, from Ambercrombie, but the sillage trail that it leaves is very, very similar to Abercrombie's Fierce. Of course, a large part of it is the Iso-e-super, but there are other common notes too. Anyway, I don't know why I'm mentioning all this. I do love Fierce, I have to admit, and I like Askew even more.

As far as the marketing goes, I don't think it smells particularly angry, but it does smell very alive, like a thunderstorm, or a virile man in a fitted tux.