"Long live the king!" connects to the heir who directly succeeds the throne after the death of the previous monarch. It means that the monarchy never dies even when the king does. When I saw the incredible bottle with such an extraordinary crown, I could not stop thinking about the crowned King Henry V.
To make a long story short, Prince Hal, rebel and heir to the English throne, is crowned King Henry V after the death of his tyrannical father.
Now the young king must explore the palace politics. The war that his father has left behind and the emotional strings of his past life.
I have no idea which king Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were thinking when they designed K. For me, this is the fragrance that I imagine the true British monarch King Henry V would have rocked these days. Prince Hal was portrayed as a hedonist, rebellious and irresponsible, a kind of party boy who spends most of his time with gals and friends. And K is precisely all this, respecting traditions and, at the same time, opening up to modernity.
K by Dolce & Gabbana has been my wanted since I saw it on a perfumery shelf last year. The minimalist and square shape of the bottle, the blue juice, elegant and clean, and the crown-shaped cap immediately caught my attention. I read that the crown, handmade and coated with 24-karat gold pigments, undergoes an aging process that gives each sample a different finish; true or not, the result is remarkable. And the first spray did the rest... I lost myself in a suggestive olfactory adventure between the woody and aromatic notes of the Mediterranean midday, the shining sun, the landscape of an Italian avenue lined with cypresses up and down the Tuscan hills. I immediately recognized the hand of Nathalie Lorson. She has made thousands of billions of adorable things and is one of my favorite perfumers.
On my skin, the perfume is dry and acidic, with the citrus freshness of red-orange, spicy lemon and dusty bergamot, which surrounds my soul in a zealous embrace. There is a lot of harshness and sharpness. However, the resulting accord is not the most impressive of the citrus fruits I have ever encountered. Not similar to any of the fragrances of the hot seasons that I have, very far away from Cologne's CD Homme or Burberry Weekend, for example. Perhaps, the unexpected dryness I received comes from the essence of pepper, which adds that warmth to the overall top. The citrus effervescence is faded by the strength of the juniper berries, green and spicy. The notes jointly create a vibe like a burst of mothballs, which is unexpectedly pleasant, by the way.
The sparkling and lively character is highlighted by the heart notes with the aromatic accents of clary sage, combined with bright geranium and smooth lavender. Geranium stands out, a personal note for me, very fresh, sweet, and modern. The notes light up with a sparkle of spicy chili, an ingredient rarely used in designer perfumery, which adds a touch of warmth by inflaming the heart of the fragrance. The way it is used here is like buffalo sauce on chicken wings to give the tasteless spicy kick. So the allspice sizzles at the sight as lavender and clary sage give a herbal base for this.
K becomes really interesting when patchouli enters the heart accord and dry down happens. The warmth of allspice and the earthiness of patchouli are an ideal combination. Finally, you are intoxicated by the sensuality of the cedarwood, combined with the elegance of two typically masculine ingredients: the aromatic notes of the living vetiver and the sweetly spiced patchouli. As it goes deeper, the combination of particular varieties of patchouli and spices makes it hot and sexy as opposed to leathery or oriental. Whatever ambroxan is here, it's really smooth. This perfume is linear but very pleasant. It smells a bit synthetic but not harsh, shrill, scratchy, cloying, none of this.
K has a maximum duration of 8 hours and an average sillage. Slightly better than the average projection and longevity. It stays close but can be sniffed without burying the nose. Spray clothing for better performance and will last till the day after. Pimento peppers help balance the sharp notes of citrus fruits, soothe the wood, deepen the fragrance, further diffuse the aroma and keep it longer. Even though I received K as a Christmas present, I couldn't wait to rock it in the hot spring and summer, which are the best seasons for me, in my free time and in the office. In the end, I am entirely perplexed in all comparisons with Bleu de Chanel, Invictus, Sauvage, and so on. K has nothing to share with them, nothing.
Stay well; stay healthy.
-Elysium
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