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08/15/2014
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
Grabazzi Ragazzi!
A very special niche is covered by the US perfume house Gendarme. They mainly focus on gents' colognes, and within that frame they try to attract those men who do not want to smell too intense and too perfumed. No matter which fragrance family, the Gendarme colognes are usually very light, if not to say - diluted.
Their lean and clean bottle design reflects that style - as if they were selling a sort of men only Clavin Klein perfume. Let's call it understatement!
I bought Grabazzi about four years ago. At that time, it was quite a riddle for me. The overall impression was light, a little flowery with woods and maybe a light musk. But to be honest, I had no idea. In fact, the overall impression was that of a monolith. Despite all the notes given I could not detect much and my impressions were vague. The least I could say was that the cola berry that is mentioned on the website somehow relates Grabazzi to the idea of having a coke: the prickle of that beverage was also in it, together with an aroma that I found just as outstanding as that of cola.
At some point, I asked myself if it might just contain one single fragrant ingredient. Luca Turin mentions in one of his books that there was a scent ingredient that could also be found in turntable needle cleansers. When I read this, it occured to me that Grabazzi was just that. I remember the smell of the needle cleanser that I had had many years ago - it appeared to be the same. (BTW, the smell of this soapy-aromatic chemical was very pleasing and has stayed in my memory).
Today, I found out that I was wrong. Grabazzi has been in my collection for four years now, and it has started to age a bit. Suddenly, the single smell impression is gone, I do smell seperate notes. I smell aldehydes and carnation as leading notes. For me, this puts Grabazzi into the family of the good old aromatic fougeres, a true Barbershop fragrance. But unlike Kouros, there is only a whiff of carnation and jasmine. Grabazzi is not a stinker!
Many people avoid any Kouros-like opulence and animality, for good reason. But by transferring this style into a faint aura, Grabazzi is something unique. The idea of presenting powerhouse fragrance notes in the faintest possible way is brilliant! I strongly recommend to test Grabazzi, especially to those perfumistas who can appreciate a discreet fragrance. Personally, I overapply to get out some sillage and longevity.
Their lean and clean bottle design reflects that style - as if they were selling a sort of men only Clavin Klein perfume. Let's call it understatement!
I bought Grabazzi about four years ago. At that time, it was quite a riddle for me. The overall impression was light, a little flowery with woods and maybe a light musk. But to be honest, I had no idea. In fact, the overall impression was that of a monolith. Despite all the notes given I could not detect much and my impressions were vague. The least I could say was that the cola berry that is mentioned on the website somehow relates Grabazzi to the idea of having a coke: the prickle of that beverage was also in it, together with an aroma that I found just as outstanding as that of cola.
At some point, I asked myself if it might just contain one single fragrant ingredient. Luca Turin mentions in one of his books that there was a scent ingredient that could also be found in turntable needle cleansers. When I read this, it occured to me that Grabazzi was just that. I remember the smell of the needle cleanser that I had had many years ago - it appeared to be the same. (BTW, the smell of this soapy-aromatic chemical was very pleasing and has stayed in my memory).
Today, I found out that I was wrong. Grabazzi has been in my collection for four years now, and it has started to age a bit. Suddenly, the single smell impression is gone, I do smell seperate notes. I smell aldehydes and carnation as leading notes. For me, this puts Grabazzi into the family of the good old aromatic fougeres, a true Barbershop fragrance. But unlike Kouros, there is only a whiff of carnation and jasmine. Grabazzi is not a stinker!
Many people avoid any Kouros-like opulence and animality, for good reason. But by transferring this style into a faint aura, Grabazzi is something unique. The idea of presenting powerhouse fragrance notes in the faintest possible way is brilliant! I strongly recommend to test Grabazzi, especially to those perfumistas who can appreciate a discreet fragrance. Personally, I overapply to get out some sillage and longevity.
