12/26/2014
MasterLi
375 Reviews
MasterLi
1
Green tea & geranium...
This is my first perfume from the brand 4160 Tuesdays, and from what I've read I quite admire the founder and creator and the attitude of this independent brand, so I had quite a few expectations beforehand. Needless to say that yes I do like this one.
The story with Who Knew? is that the person this was created for did not like rose perfumes, so the challenge was to present something which would appeal to her... and it worked! Hence the naming of the perfume Who Knew?
The scent opens up with a bitter green blast of bergamot, green tea & cut grass. Immediately it's very masculine and a little sharp and harsh. Going by the opening alone, it may be a little off-putting to some, but slowly a really nice drydown starts to appear. I get the earthy smoky vetiver, and a combination between rose and geranium. This itself is a tried and tested combination in perfumery, as the geranium has spicy, lemony and rose like aspects, so the rose here is given "sharpness" or "crispness" by the multifaceted geranium (or pelargonium). Another perfume with such a pairing comes to mind, Rossy de Palme/Eau de Protection by the infamous house of Etat Libre d'Orange. Here there is no earthy patchouli with the geranium & rose, but rather the dry vetiver which keeps it from becoming too sweet or typically "rose-like" in any way.
However it's not completely devoid of sweetness, as I do detect a hint of strawberry which works well with the rose to bring out the sweeter aspects. I find this one straight-down-the-middle unisex. For some it will be too masculine, but I disagree. We are told that traditionally vetiver was once used prominently in female-marketed only perfumes, usually abundant in the "chypre" category. With Who Knew? we again return to this classic green floral mix evoking older creations when "green" perfumes were a trend in female-marketed perfumes (the examples out there are almost endless). I don't think this one will be for everybody, I think the brief for this one was "lapsang souchong tea with rose petals", I would instead venture to say that this is a very bitter, almost over-steeped green tea at play here, with the rose around the edges. Never the less a nice creation and one which I would wear, especially as the drydown is very well done and pleasantly surprising compared to the opening. One to try first, and for people who don't like their rose perfumes too singular.
The story with Who Knew? is that the person this was created for did not like rose perfumes, so the challenge was to present something which would appeal to her... and it worked! Hence the naming of the perfume Who Knew?
The scent opens up with a bitter green blast of bergamot, green tea & cut grass. Immediately it's very masculine and a little sharp and harsh. Going by the opening alone, it may be a little off-putting to some, but slowly a really nice drydown starts to appear. I get the earthy smoky vetiver, and a combination between rose and geranium. This itself is a tried and tested combination in perfumery, as the geranium has spicy, lemony and rose like aspects, so the rose here is given "sharpness" or "crispness" by the multifaceted geranium (or pelargonium). Another perfume with such a pairing comes to mind, Rossy de Palme/Eau de Protection by the infamous house of Etat Libre d'Orange. Here there is no earthy patchouli with the geranium & rose, but rather the dry vetiver which keeps it from becoming too sweet or typically "rose-like" in any way.
However it's not completely devoid of sweetness, as I do detect a hint of strawberry which works well with the rose to bring out the sweeter aspects. I find this one straight-down-the-middle unisex. For some it will be too masculine, but I disagree. We are told that traditionally vetiver was once used prominently in female-marketed only perfumes, usually abundant in the "chypre" category. With Who Knew? we again return to this classic green floral mix evoking older creations when "green" perfumes were a trend in female-marketed perfumes (the examples out there are almost endless). I don't think this one will be for everybody, I think the brief for this one was "lapsang souchong tea with rose petals", I would instead venture to say that this is a very bitter, almost over-steeped green tea at play here, with the rose around the edges. Never the less a nice creation and one which I would wear, especially as the drydown is very well done and pleasantly surprising compared to the opening. One to try first, and for people who don't like their rose perfumes too singular.
