Cédrat Enivrant (2014)
by Atelier Cologne

[b]Cedrat Enivrant by Atelier Colognes[/b]
[b]Category[/b]: 3 Bright Citrus
[b]Rating[/b]: 3/5
[b]Longevity[/b]: 3/5

The Cedrat is sour and bitter (which I love), and it’s supported by a heart of melon and vetiver, plus a dash of mint and a base of woody aromachemicals. It was originally one of my favorites from this line and I used up most of a 4 ml spray. But once you smell that melon note, you can’t not. It lasts well, on a base of sour melon-vetiver-woods.

A refreshing opening blast: bergamot, lime and bitter lemon, with a minty undertone thrown in sin after the start. Lovely this first half hour.

The drydown adds a green side note, mainly basil and touches of sage. Further down the track a berry tone is present, with juniper berries and transient whiffs of mulberries around; by now the citrus has retreated into the background.

The base is developing and somewhat nonspecific woodsiness, and the other component is a restrainedly sweet vanilla impression, which is a bit on the mundane side.

I get moderate sillage, adequate projection and five hours of longevity on my skin, which is good for a citrus-centred composition.

A typical summer day scent, and as a citrus cologne quite well executed, although the citrus comes across as a bit too synthetic at times. It is a bit flat compared with the likes of the original release of Monsieur Balmain, the original Eau Sauvage or Creed’s Bois de Cédrat, but the development is more complex and the performance much better than, for instance, that of Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte. Overall quite good. 3.5/5

This was my first step into the world of Atelier Cologne. I purchased Cedrat Enivrant based on reviews and the notes, all of which are to my liking.

This is a very citrusy cologne to me, with parfum strength. It's marketed on their boxes that they came up with the concept of parfum strength cologne. It has quite good projection for a citrus scent, but to my nose is quite linear.

I don't get the variety of individual ingredients in each level (top/mid/base). To me, it's got incredibly natural orange and grapefruit, with some pomelo and lime thrown in. This is fairly sharp, almost more of the fruit's rind than juicy or candylike. It's pungent yet refined.

After about 30min., I find that a touch of cedar, mint and bergamot join the party, but merely as wallflowers. The star of this effort is the citrus, with a subtle backbone of the prior mentions. You really have to love summer citrus to enjoy this, but if you do, it will smell amazing sitting on the coast somewhere watching the sunset with a cold one in hand.

Wonderful for those who miss the effervescence of Guerlain Homme in it's eau de toilette concentration, this approximates the top notes of the former but lacks its complexity.

Very tart, bitter lime-bergamot opening: the strong alcohol opening makes it smell very close to a cleaning product, which is in no way pleasant to me. In fact, I found it somewhat nauseating for the first five minutes because of this mental association.

After that initial stomach-turning moment, the greenery of the mint and the softness of juniper berries do their best to help even out the jagged citrus edge. That edge, however, is always there and never disappears: even as the projection wears down (which it does rather quickly), that tart, stringent scent remains. I enjoy it, but only to a degree: if it were more natural smell and less medicinal, I think I'd love it. As it is, I'm more ambivalent overall as the other notes help out settle down the fragrance.

This is a scent that you'd want to combine with something else: it has very interesting elements but it feels incomplete. It needs something to refine its blow, but what to mix it with? Something for me to think about...cost is very affordable, projection is kind of poor and longevity is average. The synthetic quality of the prominent note would make me very reluctant to wear this in a more formal setting. Unisex, likely for an informal outdoor occasion.

6/10