Well, not much I can add to Zealot's detailed, comprehensive, and well-written review, other than to "declare" my appreciation for it!
Everything Zealot says in his positive review (excerpt provided below) tells you everything you need to know: "Déclaration is at it's core a spicy dry leather chypre under a cumin heart, with an oakmoss base and a floral top, but it had a cologne-like neroli head with a modern ozonic citrus accord grafted on..." That pretty much sums it up, even though his following paragraph provides even more detail.
I guess this is a citrus fougere/chypre hybrid of sorts. The comparisons between Declaration and Terre D'Hermes EDT are understandable. I would say that Terre D'Hermes takes some elements from this, taking the Vetiver and Neroli (or bitter orange note) to extreme in TdH, adds the flint note, and leaves-out the fresh, mild woodiness in Declaration.
To my amateur nose, I guess this sits somewhere between Terre D'Hermes and ESP, with some subtle fruity notes that provide some light perkiness from the citrus, and some mild, fresh Cedar/woodiness and Vetiver through-out. I don't pick-up on a lot of variation or development into the dry-down, but still very nice smelling. The subtle bitter-orange notes stick-around for the duration, which is nice.
Sillage is a little on the weak side, with average longevity. I think it's an under-rated winner (especially at this price), and just different enough from other more popular fragrances in this vein that it's still worthwhile. It's a great classic Spring and Summer frag, the best I've tried from Cartier, at a very affordable price that won't break the bank.
11th May, 2020 (last edited: 18th January, 2021)
From the opening through to the dry-down, I love this fragrance.
From a somewhat bitter orange to clean Cedarwood - Brilliant stuff!
I like it , spicy and orange ,great.
Kissing cousins with (and the progenitor of) Terre d'Hermes, both made by John Claude Ellena, it is very apparent. Dry bergamot over flinty, spicy, peppery cumin. White dry airy spices. I find it pretty powerful. One you spray it it spreads like a cloud around you, but because it is dry and not sweet it doesn't suffocate. After it dries down the vetiver and cedar shine more, in a very clean way. It rightly spawned a bunch of flankers (including Terre). I'm thinking a stainless steel spice rack. Similar. Fairly cold. This is a solid solid thumbs up. Not only is this a good fragrance, its a good value. Its got a pretty nice bottle, the only bugaboo I have is that thin neck below the sprayer.
Ok. So I hated Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme thinking it smelled like an old ladys handbag. Declaration is even worse since the old lady just lost her handbag, left her standing there smelling... just old.
No more blind buys for me, lesson learned. I'll just stick to my 35+ favourites. Until the next time I blind buy someting. Maybe.
13th August, 2019 (last edited: 17th August, 2019)
Reply to comment by Shlorpy (Re Declaration having little or no fragrance):
I wonder if some test bottles have been around for too long, in strongly lit stores and have therefore lost their strength.
I have also tested Declaration EDT in a store and found it to be virtually powerless.
I’ve seen tester bottles of Declaration Parfum on display where the contents is a clear fluid. Whereas it’s unquestionably a “light-tea” colour product when new. I’m not sure if the colour change means the strength has changed too.
My suggestion is to try to get a sampler that’s been kept out of the sunlight.
Declaration should be a strong fragrance. It’s a classic, even though I prefer the Essence and D’un Soir flankers.