Zino Davidoff by Davidoff (1986)

Testing Zino Davidoff (vintage version, which now I happily own among my scents) has been one of those moments that reminded me why I like perfumes and testing new things all the time, without prejudices. I did not know this fragrance to be honest, until I received a miniature. I quite enjoy Davidoff tobacco, but I did not really think Zino Davidoff (the scent) was worth any rush to test it... well however last night I applied some on my hand just for curiosity, and – wow! – the very first thing that came to my mind was: this smells *great*. It surprised me – like it happens to me really once in a while. To make things clear before talking about notes and comparisons, the most immediate, solid and sound quality of Zino Davidoff is that it smells terribly, irresistibly, undeniably good. Then, it's also a totally peculiar scent, it just imprints itself in your memory from the very fist sniff. The people which compare this to Dior Homme are right in my opinion: in fact, it somehow smells like an "uncle" of Dior Homme, a desaturated, more mature and somehow darker version of Dior's contemporary classic. Which in 1988 is quite avantgarde. Basically, Zino Davidoff is a rose-patchouli woody scent with an overall dusty sweetness, creamy notes of sandalwood and ylang, and "something" all around which smells halfway tobacco and soft modern leather (but it's neither of the two). Superb drydown, cozy and refined, worth the waiting and as much beautiful as the opening. Not a powerhouse despite the age, fairly different from more canonic fougères: actually it's quite more similar to early '90s brighter/sweeter masculine scents, but even more modern than those, and also "manlier" somehow. Warm, versatile, cozy and relaxed, masculine for sure but with a subtle feminine vein (like Ténéré by Rabanne, to which in fact, Zino Davidoff slightly resembles to some extents). Not intrusive or challenging, but as I said, it's quite unique, so better test it and familiarise with it before eventually purchasing it – not a predictable and safe crowdpleaser for sure. An underrated beauty!

8,5/10

My favourite vintage Hermès...

... are Equipage and Bel Ami. Actually, despite the general hype which tends more towards the second, I am afraid I personally prefer Equipage over Bel Ami. Mostly because Bel Ami - undoubtedly a great scent, and probably my favourite leather of all times - has a lot of sons, grandsons, friends, brothers and nephews, while Equipage has basically no family and no heritage - pure uniqueness, which continues proudly to stand alone today (and I've a penchant for loners...). I feel it has always been a bit underrated and wrongly considered just "another classy scent". While to me it's incredible. Sometimes I sniff it even only from the bottle and I get this incredible whiff of humid pipe tobacco, stored in a high-quality leather pouch, lying in a woody closet  - which I've never experienced with any other scent (surely not the tobacco ones - but they go mad for Feuilles de Tabac and Tobacco Vanille out there... you get what I mean!). So soft, rich, wet, manly. Pure self-confident class and pure haute parfumerie.

(while about Bel Ami, I already reviewed the guy here)

The golden era of Etro

Three scents in their early and only magnificent version.

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Messe de Minuit (EDC, 1994)

Messe de Minuit opens with a really balsamic, vibrant citrus-herbal accord of aromatic herbs, candied citrus notes which manage to smell sweet and sugary but at the same time much bitter and fresh, on a resinous base of olibanum and "something" which I am unable to identify which smells quite dense, sticky and carnal, like a lighter version of castoreum. The scent is undoubtedly unique and intriguing, it's a dusty, Oriental, mystical blend, really luminous (in a rather unusual way – a "grey morning" transparent luminosity, forget any predictable "summer" light) but at the same time dark. The balsamic is all over: balsamic herbs, balsamic resins, balsamic incense. Finally the sugary feel is also peculiar and compelling, it's not a gourmand sugar and not fruity, it's more a really spicy, resinous, almost "fizzy" sweet note, with just a taste of citrus. A lot of interesting contrasts and nuances going on. In a way it's surely an "incense" scent, although more earthy, organic, spicy, herbal than most of others – plus the incense is resinous, thick, Oriental, so don't think of any dry, synthetic, austere incense à la Avignon (to which Messe de Minuit, at least this early version, has not really much in common). The incense here smells more of dry myrrh, church woods, stale nuances of dusty furniture, old books, with a thin breeze of cold air. It fascinates me a lot how this scent recreates a mystical mood avoiding a bomb of incense, it's rather a really well played harmony of other "ambiental" suggestions – woods, furniture, flowers, dust... really meditative and captivating, surely a memorable and unique fragrance. The only "con" is that it's quite bold and long-lasting, and being fairly peculiar, it may not be the safest scent for a blind buy – in other words, it's not really versatile and "crowd-pleasing", better try it. Surely worth it!

8/10

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Palais Jamais (EDT, 1989)

Incredible, unique opening of oak moss (great, earthy, stale), vetiver, herbaceous notes, tobacco, a light leather note, dense and humid floral notes (the typical "masculine" ones, like lavender and carnation), a genius tea note providing a beautiful thin fruity aroma, then a nuance of licorice, which I also smell in Etro Vetiver. A real triumph of natural mysticism, hard to describe but easy to love, powerful and deep, "rural" somehow but incredibly charming and refined it its woody silkiness. There is also a slightly salty-animalic base note which adds ambiguous and dark sensuality to an already decadent and elegant carnal scent – a concoction which effortlessly manages to appear Oriental, exotic, savage and mysterious but at the same time, amazingly sophisticated, gentle, "European" in its austere, aristocratic meaning. The notes themselves may appear common, but this scent is truly unique, enigmatic, elusive, dense – to sum up and give you a "rough figure", however, a mossy-woody-tobacco Oriental blend with resins, flowers (as I said, the typical fougère ones), and an aromatic fog comprising nuances of leather and licorice. A bit linear and quite long-lasting, so be sure to try it before wearing it – otherwise you may get bored after a while. To me, an incredible gem totally worth at least a try (one of those scents which truly smell "niche" to me... you need gallons of today's niche stuff to reach such a creative zenith!).

9/10

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Vetiver (EDC, 1989)

My favourite from this trio. What an incredible vetiver. A salty, incredibly earthy, slightly humid vetiver note, warm and mysterious, with fascinating nuances of coffee, tobacco, incense, rich woods, a rarefied and captivating fog of smells and a thin sheet of old tanning leather. Utterly elegant, pleasant, refined, an oriental elusive potion with a bold modern personality, there is a slight contemporary feel (the salty note, the transparent incense) which brilliantly and silently flows among the timeless and romantic mysticism of the more "traditional" ingredients. While the very first opening reminded me of Annick Goutal's vetiver because of its humid and raw earthiness, the evolution is one of a kind, peculiar and superb, opulent and nondescript, with all these nuances brilliantly melting together. What fascinates me most is a veil of dusty, smoky and dense sweetness, somehow tobacco and somehow talcum, really noble and melancholic, narcotic and romantic, filled with the same Oriental elegance of Etro's patterns (at least, back then). Beautiful mineral/salty and discreet drydown. A solid scent, with a clear inspiration and great materials. Straight on the top of my favourite vetivers ever!

8,5-9/10

Another vintage galore!

Il by Lancetti (1990)

Two scents came to my mind instantly while wearing Il by Lancetti: Sandalwood cologne by Geo F. Trumper and, as other reviewers noted, Egoiste by Chanel. As Trumper's Sandalwood has already been somewhere spoken of as one of the many nephews of Egoiste... I guess Chanel is the first reference for this one. The opening is a fairly bold sweet accord of sandalwood, neroli, cinnamon, white musks, carnation, lavender, vanilla, in short a sweet, almost creamy woody-spicy accord with the usual "masculine" flowers. A tad humid too overall. On the base there is a really light mossy-leathery accord, which emerges better on the drydown, although it remains quite sweet, soft and floral for the whole evolution. Refined, really aromatic, a bit sweet but I guess it was the trendy thing back then, a good weekend-nighclubbing scent – not exactly my first choice for office, in other words. A bit derivative and also perhaps outdated, but comparisons aside, a nice scent indeed!

7/10

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Armani Eau Pour Homme by Giorgio Armani (1984)

A nice, clean, soapy scent with a darker masculine heart. It opens with gentle floral-citrus notes, light herbs, spices. Classic, elegant, discreet and unintrusive, with a general softness which makes it remarkably graceful and relaxed. The darker earthy base is light, but detectable, giving the right amount of "masculine substance" to the scent. Nothing new or breathtaking, but surely a totally modern and versatile signature scent, refined and good quality (at least its vintage version). I agree with Luca Turin noticing a close similarity to Eau Sauvage – or better say, a bit of a washed down version of Dior's milestone. Still pretty good, though.

7,5/10

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Gianfranco Ferré for Man by Gianfranco Ferré (1986)

Ferré for Man is another good and austere masculine fougère with the typical Italian dark "gloominess" of many Italian masculine scents of its era. A dark and dry elegance comprising traditional accords of mossy, herbal, leather and earthy notes, with a hint of traditional masculine flowers. Although being quite a conventional dark fougère, it still has its own personality, mostly expressed in a slightly more restrained, lighter and more sophisticated look, if compared to other similar but rawer powerhouses like Quorum. And above all, a genius sweet/floral breeze all over, which gives the scent a breath of grace and gentle class. Modern and sophisticated.

8/10

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Yves Saint Laurent Pour Homme by Yves Saint Laurent (1971)

YSL Pour Homme opens with a citrus, slightly milky accord, dense and subtly musky, with a juicy dark note of carnation and smoky woody notes (vetiver, sandalwood, perhaps even a hint of tobacco), well softened and made more "gentle" by a heavy dose of lavender and herbal notes. A relaxing, friendly, elegant scent with the right dose of "masculinity" (mostly represented by a light chypre base accord), easy-going and refined – a sophisticated weekend scent, without the formal "austerity" of an "office-scent" and without the naughty boldness of a "night club-scent". A brighter and lighter version of a classic fougère, more herbal-citrus, still a bit musky. To be honest, though, nothing more than a good scent (in other words, in my opinion, not that memorable).

6,5-7/10

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Joop! Homme by Joop! (1989)

The initial notes of Joop Homme slightly reminded me for some aspects of Nemo by Cacharel, mostly because of the same kind of "nutty", white-musky creamy accord, more fruity and less woody (although the sandalwood is there). A nice and peculiar blend indeed, really spicy and somehow milky, in a quite modern synthetic way. White, artificial, a sugar candy from the future, fairly ahead of its time in my opinion. It does not evolve that much, though: on the drydown you have the same tonka, cinnamon, cardamom, sandalwood and other spices blend, just more dry and a bit less creamy. Basically a synthetic spicy-woody-creamy scent. A bit cloying for a while and perhaps not that "ahead of its time" anymore. Kurkdjian must have loved this when he was composing Le Male!

7/10

***

... and the best one for me in this round:

Krizia Uomo by Krizia (1984)

Krizia Uomo (vintage version here) has a really peculiar and memorable opening, a sharp and angular green accord of pine needles, wet grass, with a really light aqueous feel (not calone, think more of a "lacustrine" smell), classic masculine flower notes, and a subtle bittersweet fruity note. At the same time vibrant and organic, but with a really intriguing abstract and futuristic "angular" feel. On the base, aromatic woods (vetiver?), mossy notes, and a super sharp, black, cutting, discreet leather note. After a while the scent starts to become more and more dry, some green notes fade, and it all focuses around the leather note – dusty, austere, black, dry and linear, sophisticated and simple, more thin and modern than other leather notes from that era (which often tended to be more heavier and powerful). The green-mossy breeze is still around – a light, dark green which subtly surrounds the central leather note. The same futuristic, dark and martial elegance of Krizia Moods Uomo, really modern and versatile. A gem!

8/10

Milano Caffè by AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

Year: 2013
Nose: Dominique Dubrana

Milano Caffè opens with an almost gourmand accord of cocoa beans, coffee (real, bitter, earthy and round coffee smell – forget the Nespresso absolute several so-called "coffee" scents deliver), with also woody-earthy notes of patchouli, vetiver, oak moss, dry resins, spices which initially are quite light, hiding behind the "gourmand" initial feel. Overall is a really peculiar, edible blend with a leather accent, really soft, cozy, aromatic, dark and dry but also sweet and rich, which effectively reflects its name – a sort of exotic, but also "civilized" austerity and refinement, with a mysterious and tasty elegant smell of coffee – an ingredient which I love (mostly because I love coffee), but it is really rarely used properly in perfumery. After a while the spices emerge more clearly, notably cloves, which for a while bring Milano Caffè closer to some "No. 88" scents. Also the dusty, dry but soft and warm vetiver note is now more detectable. Basically, in broad terms, it is a dark, spicy, woody and warm scent, really masculine and classy, with a warm heart of sweeter notes – a light, elegant sweetness, also quite earthy and organic since it's given by cocoa and coffee. Top notch style and quality as we can expect from Dubrana's standards. Surprisingly, Milano Caffè has also a bolder projection and a longer persistence if compared to others of this line. Mystical and sophisticated, refined and cozy, a nostalgic reference to an "old Milan" which sadly (speaking as Milanese...) is not there anymore.

8,5/10

Uèrmì Fragrance Collection - Part I

Uèrmì ("wear me") is a(nother) new Italian niche line which is focused around the concept of offering olfactory depictions of "cloths", in a rather polished and minimalist way (I know what you are thinking while giggling - and you're right). I must admit I had the lowest expectations about this line (Antoine Lie, Takasago, another Italian niche line, those names) and so far they've been all satisfactorily confirmed. The line comprises 5 scents (Velvet, Suede, Cashmere, Silk, Denim), here's the first two I tested.

VE ± Velvet

Year: 2014

Nose: Jean Jacques

The opening of Velvet is nice, an abstract zesty tangerine note on vetiver, incense and Iso E, with delicate black pepper notes and a light floral and balsamic breeze. A sort of glossy, satin, restrained and "contemporary sophisticated" version of a classic citrus-vetiver scent, quite bright, dusty, even transparent, but quite compelling, dense and also decently lasting. Pleasant and elegant, not exactly the most unique scent around but nice. The vetiver note is not bad, by the way: it's clean, salty, moderately earthy, a bit rubbery but nicely lightened by lively citrus-spicy notes. A trendy scent which plays the card of "clean minimalism", but it's honestly pleasant to wear it – not enough pleasant to justify the price, though. 

6/10

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NO ± Suede

Year: 2014

Nose: Antoine Lie

No +/- Suede is basically a safraleine absolute, rubbery, slightly mineral, carrying the glossy smell of new leather-look (not real leather) shoes, with a delicate sweeter balsamic-fruity side. On the very base, besides a silky ambery note, a clumsy blend of industrial smells halfway chemical, dusty, smoky, sweet/sugary and dry (I think there's some evernyl which imitates dry woody-mossy notes). Linear, clean, dry-to-the-bone, almost a non-scent given the delicate minimalism (which in 2014 smells kind of "... again?"). Basically it smells like the drydown of many contemporary leather/suede scents (imagine Puredistance M or Roja Dove Fetish pour Homme after 4-5 hours). As a fragrance itself it smells completely dull to me, but if since this line is supposed to be used as a range of "bases" to be combined one with another, hence the "plain" personality of the scent. Not judging their marketing choices and the "concept" but I guess Perfumer's Apprentice or similar webshops already offer a decent range of "plain smells" to combine, at a fraction of this price... well however, to me, alone or combined, still a useless scent with a crazy price. Another proof of Antoine Lie's main talent.

4/10

Secretions Magnifiques by Etat Libre d'Orange

Year: 2006
Nose: Antoine Lie

Inoffensive musky-sticky-milky-calonic notes wrapped in a harsh bag of aldehydes. I approached this scent quite late, meaning that I've often heard about this one without having actually smelled it, and all the people who owned/used it said this was naughty, raw, animalic, truly "offensive" and provocative (those were people who actually bought this, so... well, no offense). So I expected something cool and challenging. Meanwhile I tested some other scents by Etat Libre and found basically no interest whatsoever in their fragrances, so when I came to this I was quite in a "prejudice" mood. And I was right, because well... this is it? This depressing tin can of aldehydes and randomly-assembled putrid aromachemicals should evoke "sweat, blood, saliva"? No. This is no way challenging. It smells bad, but in no possible creative or provocative way - just dull, boring, pointless bad. Not even that bad actually – more than bad it's a plain, uninspired, clumsy smell. Being provocative in whatever legitimate and credible way means to be able to structure your provocation and contextualise it into a more broad critical discourse – to use it as a tool, or as language. Doing random stuff like this is and giving it a meaning by mere marketing means is not art and is not provocation, it's just a depressing way to exploit a cliché - in this case, the "épater les bourgeois" cliché (and making money out of it). This said, as I said it's not even that bad or stinky - any obscure and cheap chypre from the '50s would kick this in the butt in terms of "animalicness" (or whatever effect Eld'O pretends to achieve). To me it smells more like if Antoine Lie found a disposal bag of Takasago waste molecules and – bingo!. I don't want to sound hateful, pretentious or offensive but personally it really saddens me to think someone really consider this "irony" or "avantgarde" or whatever daring stuff and is actually willing to pay for this.

3/10

Histoires de Parfums - Edition Rare: Veni, Vidi, Vici

Bah.

*******

Veni

Patchouli, vanillin, cardamom, cinnamon, resins, a dark, dry woody base, an odd note which I can not identify (something halfway aniseed and saffron?), flowers, green-herbal notes (sage?). A bold note of aldehydes, which gives the scent that peculiar modern, metallic airy-dusty vibe to the scent. Finally I also detect a slight leather-like note on the base, dry and shady but quite subtle and discreet (it may just be the drier side of resins). There is something sweet and floral that reminds me of L'instant pour homme by Guerlain, not the entire scent, just this note, something like violet and some sweet-silky resin notes (galbanum or caramel). To be honest this all appears a bit "mute" to me, a bit boring and monotone, heavily synthetic in a non-creative way. Some of the initial notes are pleasant, e.g. patchouli and the uncommon aroma of saffron, but they vanish quite soon, leaving the stage for hours to a sort of bold, monolithic "dry resins galore" with just some ultra light (therefore, pointless?) dissonant breezy floral-spicy notes. Frankly I don't "get" it globally, maybe it's me, but more than "bad" I guess I may say this scent smells confused and uninspired.

5/10

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Vidi

Vidi opens with an explosion of Iso E Super, ambroxan and most probably another couple of prominent aromachemicals (cashmeran, something airy-minty, something rubber on the base, and a slight iodine-salty note). Pretty much it, a bunch of ingredients used "naked and raw" as they are. Some salty, minty, woody and ambery nuance float around, all completely artificial, as pleasant as any supermarket scent can be (mostly because of being made with the same ingredients, and the same zero degree of elaboration). It tastes of cheap designer. Not stinky but to me, completely useless.

4,5-5/10

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Vici

The opening of Vici is pleasant and juicy, I smell a lot of aromatic, vibrant herbs (like sage, bay leaf, that kind of Ambre Sultan herbal accords), flowers, something tasty and fruity (blackcurrants, peach?). Then also quite a massive dose or aromachemicals (Iso E for sure) to give the scent that classy, sought-after ordinary plainness and predictability so many niche houses look so fond of lately. It quite reminds me of Daim Blond, less suede and more herbs (and less quality, less complexity, less elegance). It then evolves more or less on the same main accords, a dry herbal-hay base still with a touch of fruits and a slight mossy-earthy accord. Pleasant but plain and uselessly already-seen.

5,5/10

Stinky journey into niche!

An uselessly long and painful journey into some niche poop (because it's poop, not because it's niche).

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Noël au Balcon by Etat Libre d'Orange

Clean green-floral opening, sharp and metallic, already fairly dull from the very beginning, with also ginger, a sweetish base of vanillin, something resinous, slight delicate plummy notes with a sort of honey aftertaste. A smell which manages to be complex but boring, confused but uninspired, not even that pleasant to be honest, basically between resinous and soapy, with a silky metallic feel juxtaposed to a shampoo creaminess. Another Etat Libre d'Orange I am sadly unable to get – for me most of their scents are like looking at someone yelling and doing random stuff behind a window (you kind of see them, but don't hear them, so the whole thing does not make sense).

5/10

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Pioggia Salata by Il Profumo

Another iodine-salty bitter and artificial scent, on a vaguely floral-ambery base. Useless as almost any other iodine scent on the market, with also a sour-bitter-rubbery accord of plastic flowers and leaves. I appreciate the short longevity.

4/10

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Charogne by Etat Libre d'Orange

At the first sniff: vanillin, ginger, a salty note, incense (well, sort of...), ambrettolide, tonka, a white-silky floral accord dusty and nice even if a bit dull, then tiny fruity hints which I guess are due to red pepper, finally suede (needless to say the leather note is a depressing, ready-made plain safraleine note). Overall a sweet-salty, chemical scent, with not enough creativity or elegance or whatever to turn this into a positive feature. This does not mean it's bad or stinky, it actually smells nice, mediocrely nice and clean. The only point of interest in my opinion is a musky-salty note vaguely "animalic" too that makes this close to a "salty sweaty skin" feeling, but as the rest is quite a big yawn, it's not enough for me. Nothing new, nothing deep, nothing provocative, nothing interesting... as most part of Eld'O scents and their trendy and derivative "avantgardeness", like an Italian way of saying goes: "nothing mixed with nothing".

5/10

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Horizon (new) by Oriza L. Legrand

Horizon opens with a nice, earthy and sweet patchouli note, on the Borneo 1834 genre but just more conventional and deprived of charme and complexity, with a dusty cocoa sweetness, rounded by a plain and elegant Iso E note of smoky woods, plus a warm and slightly humid accord of amber and tobacco. Initially pleasant, although not that original and a bit "pale", and from the very first sniff already "losing the battle" against some other more deep, raw or anyway interesting patchouli scents, without anything special to offer as added value. The worst part is however yet to come, far earlier than expected it basically collapses onto a salty, rubbery (leather? Oh...), nondescript sweaty drydown (that beloved synthetic taste of "aromachemicals overdose") with basically almost nothing left of the initial and still decent accords. Dull and clumsily rushed.

4,5-5/10

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Musk Extrême by Perris Monte Carlo

Pleasant, completely artificial, clean and soapy but desperately identical (and I mean it!) to pretty much any "white musk bath soap" – even the cheaper ones.

4,5-5/10

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I Love NY for All by Bond No. 9

The opening reminded me of Angel, a cloying tonka/cardamom note with cocoa, nutmeg, almonds, some light flowers to provide lightness and "colour", and a woody-resinous base (sandalwood?). So basically a sort of masculine woody-musky gourmand, with a prominent, persistent and incredibly sickening central "roasted" note which smells of burnt cakes and roasted caramel, on a more decent (but lighter) base of vanillin surrounded by notes of leather and coffee. The drydown is nicer – a silky vanillin-woody accord – but really not worth the plague of all that comes before.

4,5-5/10

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Wood & Absinth by Mark Buxton

In Italy we have a saying: "few ideas, but confused". Woods and incense notes, dry and linear (the usual aromachemicals), a hint of citrus, an accord of green-minty notes, quite dusty and silky. The "mood" is quite sour and dry, on a slightly sweeter floral-ambery base. Artificial, cozy, salty and "designer" drydown. Not bad (not even good, though), but uninteresting, uninspired and a bit confused too, especially in the head part.

4,5-5/10

Wet Dream with O'Driù

Today I'll share something different from my usual reviews. When I started this blog I said to myself I would have never "promoted" stuff or done anything different than posting my own reviews - based on samples/bottles I purchased/swapped/obtained by myself. And that is what I still do. This post instead is however not about reviews, but about a new "manifesto" drafted by one of my favourite perfumers around, O'Driù, which as you'll read, is focused on trying to draw a "new" concept of perfumery. Now I decided to share this because I strongly agree with every single words of it, and I strongly value Angelo's efforts in trying to keep up his work and his creative and intellectual reflections and thoughst on perfumery. He is a true outsider, and I highly respect him for that, and value his work, both as perfumer and as "thinker". Therefore, in short, I really feel like helping as (little) much as I can in sharing this. Just to be clear, I share this only as a friendly support for a nose I respect and appreciate, so there is no foggy "affiliation" or tricky and shady "favour exchanges" behind this.

So here's O'Driù "Wet Dream" manifesto, copied and pasted as-is from his press release which can be found here.

WET DREAM – COMING PERFUMERY

By O’DRIÙ, a new style is born, based on a creative fecundity, independent and free from ties and stereotypes totally

Milan, July 4, 2014 – the official date of the birth of WET DREAM – Coming Perfumery, a new phenomena of style that Angelo Orazio Pregoni aka O’DRIÙ created to define again the world of the perfumery just right from the inside, giving it a complete, real independence in the search for new expressive horizons.

WET DREAM – Coming Perfumery is a creative research, through which the sensory area, de-programmed from the stereotypes of mass market perfumery and commonplaces of that one “of niche”, finds centrality, authenticity, strength again and recovers the original fertility of sensations, emotions and thoughts.

That’s why, in order to define itself, this phenomenon uses the metaphor of an erotic dream: if the dream state is where the emotions are sublimated - of which the senses are both subject and object - in the same way in WET DREAMS flows and finds its way out the creative energy - or, rather, the creative fecundity - of the perfumery, embroiled in the schemes abused by marketing.

In this way, the perfume scent produces olfactory “orgasms” that are finally awaken from the sensory numbness and brings you to a conceptual reality, which is more interesting from the intellectual point of view also, not only just from the sensorial one.

WET DREAM- Coming Perfumery is not a company, an association, a movement or a consortium: it is a philosophy that that proposes a different approach to create perfumes. A continuous expression research and the constant transformations of its own codes make WET DREAM impossible to frame in the commercial schemes and the commercial reference categories: the only dogma are the key points with which it is founded. That is where the definition of Coming Perfumery comes from: a perfume that “lives” always one step ahead of the present moment, whose identity is defined by what it will be tomorrow much more than what it is in the instant, from which it is being observed.

The creative process has no restrictions and is no bond of sorts, but remains as free as an original mindset.

The act of creating a perfume is concrete act and conceptual act brought together. Perfume is a form of communication and expression and as such can join any cultural phenomenon, expressing itself by any language of society, culture or art. Perfume as a product is a result of a creative process that represents an expression in its entirety and has a value or disvalue in its totality. There may exist various forms of expression linked to the fragrance, these forms represent the habitat of a fragrance’s origin. Commercial categories do not exist , only categories of an expression are meaningful. The olfactory analysis of a perfume is a sub cultural distortion: perfume cannot be described through the ingredients, but only through the olfactory vibrations, unharmonious oscillations of emotions, not of smells.


www.odriu.com
info@pleasurefactory.it

Vetiver by Etro

Year: 1989
Nose: Unknown

What an incredible vetiver. A salty, incredibly earthy, slightly humid vetiver note, warm and mysterious, with fascinating nuances of coffee, tobacco, incense, rich woods, a rarefied and captivating fog of smells and a thin sheet of old tanning leather. Utterly elegant, pleasant, refined, an oriental elusive potion with a bold modern personality, there is a slight contemporary feel (the salty note, the transparent incense) which brilliantly and silently flows among the timeless and romantic mysticism of the more "traditional" ingredients. While the very first opening reminded me of Annick Goutal's vetiver because of its humid and raw earthiness, the evolution is one of a kind, peculiar and superb, opulent and nondescript, with all these nuances brilliantly melting together. What fascinates me most is a veil of dusty, smoky and dense sweetness, somehow tobacco and somehow talcum, really noble and melancholic, narcotic and romantic, filled with the same Oriental elegance of Etro's patterns (at least, back then). Beautiful mineral/salty and discreet drydown. A solid scent, with a clear inspiration and great materials. Straight on the top of my favourite vetivers ever!

8,5-9/10

(my review is based on a vintage EDC bottle)