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Base Notes 
02/12/2024
Pawly
13 Reviews
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Pawly
4
Elegant old-school fragrance, wild performance and even wilder prices
Having tested many Henry Jacques fragrances now, including highly limited editions such as Oud Suprem, FanFan and Galileo, this one is by far the one that has stuck with me the most, and in this review I'll explain why.
Briefly about the brand:
Henry Jacques is a brand that until recently focused exclusively on bespoke fragrances. This means that fragrances are made on request, taking into account the wishes of the respective customer. As a result, it can sometimes take an incredibly long time until a fragrance is actually finished and the costs are correspondingly incredibly high. Even today, Henry Jacques still offers bespoke fragrances, starting at around 50,000 euros, with no upper limit. Henry Jacques has now opened several boutiques in the world's most famous cities and also sells a few selected fragrances on a regular basis. Much more affordable, but again, there is no upper limit. Now that I've tested around 30-40, Celima just won't let me go.
The impression begins long before you smell it, namely when you enter the Henry Jacques boutique, where you are given an incredibly pleasant and friendly welcome. Everything is shown to you in absolute calm, prices are not an issue at any time, nor is the urge to buy - it is emphasized that you should come next time before deciding to buy, as fragrances are very subjective and personal, which is why you have to test them extensively before deciding on one. Depending on your personality, you can quickly adapt and from clueless to professional perfumers, virtually every audience is helped here, without seeming like a sales show, which I was already incredibly enthusiastic about there, especially as someone who is rather shy in such boutiques.
About the fragrance:
Celima was described to me as quite complex from the outset, and this can be confirmed. More than 300 ingredients are said to have been used here, and even though I certainly couldn't smell them all, a few stood out. Starting with a bitter, tart, spicy orange, accompanied by smoky, dark rum, the fragrance spreads immediately after application and comes with an impressive sillage. From the outset, it is spicy and tart, with no sweetness to be found. Somewhere it is light, somewhere it is heavy and absolutely non-linear. The patchouli comes through relatively quickly with the ylang ylang, and as someone who really likes both notes, I really get my money's worth here. Despite the floral notes, nothing smells feminine here, but not super masculine either - absolutely unisex for me. The coriander certainly contributes to the spicy note, but also gives the fragrance something green - not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it very much as it tends to be in the background. The sandalwood rounds off the fragrance perfectly and is a great choice for an enormously spicy, tart and complex fragrance, as its softer nature brings the fragrance down a little, which it desperately needed after the rollercoaster ride. I personally don't really notice vanilla, maybe somewhere in the background, but then it's also rather tart and less sweet.
The fragrance is incredibly strong, somewhere old school and reminiscent of vintage fragrances, old bars, solid wood alcohol shelves in which expensive rums, whiskeys and cognacs are stored. The performance here is really amazing, the test strip was stored packed in two envelopes in a bag for about four days. After taking it out, the entire bag smelled of it, even the clothes, which then rubbed off onto other items of clothing after putting it on. At the same time, despite its incredible performance, Celima is elegant, not at all penetrating or even airy. It simply comes across as self-confident and in the right place - nothing has been contrived or an image built up here. The fragrance is what it is, and it is just right. The bottle is also very nice to look at, really great together with the darker oil. The packaging is okay, not particularly exciting, and the bag is also rather poor. The price is really painful, but it has become a real consideration for me. The only disappointing thing is the, dare I say it, artificial scarcity and exclusivity, which is why there are no samples either on request or when you buy. What a shame.
Nevertheless, when you buy Henry Jacques, you are not only buying a fragrance, but also an experience, a feeling, a service, and all these things are really incredibly great with this brand.
Briefly about the brand:
Henry Jacques is a brand that until recently focused exclusively on bespoke fragrances. This means that fragrances are made on request, taking into account the wishes of the respective customer. As a result, it can sometimes take an incredibly long time until a fragrance is actually finished and the costs are correspondingly incredibly high. Even today, Henry Jacques still offers bespoke fragrances, starting at around 50,000 euros, with no upper limit. Henry Jacques has now opened several boutiques in the world's most famous cities and also sells a few selected fragrances on a regular basis. Much more affordable, but again, there is no upper limit. Now that I've tested around 30-40, Celima just won't let me go.
The impression begins long before you smell it, namely when you enter the Henry Jacques boutique, where you are given an incredibly pleasant and friendly welcome. Everything is shown to you in absolute calm, prices are not an issue at any time, nor is the urge to buy - it is emphasized that you should come next time before deciding to buy, as fragrances are very subjective and personal, which is why you have to test them extensively before deciding on one. Depending on your personality, you can quickly adapt and from clueless to professional perfumers, virtually every audience is helped here, without seeming like a sales show, which I was already incredibly enthusiastic about there, especially as someone who is rather shy in such boutiques.
About the fragrance:
Celima was described to me as quite complex from the outset, and this can be confirmed. More than 300 ingredients are said to have been used here, and even though I certainly couldn't smell them all, a few stood out. Starting with a bitter, tart, spicy orange, accompanied by smoky, dark rum, the fragrance spreads immediately after application and comes with an impressive sillage. From the outset, it is spicy and tart, with no sweetness to be found. Somewhere it is light, somewhere it is heavy and absolutely non-linear. The patchouli comes through relatively quickly with the ylang ylang, and as someone who really likes both notes, I really get my money's worth here. Despite the floral notes, nothing smells feminine here, but not super masculine either - absolutely unisex for me. The coriander certainly contributes to the spicy note, but also gives the fragrance something green - not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it very much as it tends to be in the background. The sandalwood rounds off the fragrance perfectly and is a great choice for an enormously spicy, tart and complex fragrance, as its softer nature brings the fragrance down a little, which it desperately needed after the rollercoaster ride. I personally don't really notice vanilla, maybe somewhere in the background, but then it's also rather tart and less sweet.
The fragrance is incredibly strong, somewhere old school and reminiscent of vintage fragrances, old bars, solid wood alcohol shelves in which expensive rums, whiskeys and cognacs are stored. The performance here is really amazing, the test strip was stored packed in two envelopes in a bag for about four days. After taking it out, the entire bag smelled of it, even the clothes, which then rubbed off onto other items of clothing after putting it on. At the same time, despite its incredible performance, Celima is elegant, not at all penetrating or even airy. It simply comes across as self-confident and in the right place - nothing has been contrived or an image built up here. The fragrance is what it is, and it is just right. The bottle is also very nice to look at, really great together with the darker oil. The packaging is okay, not particularly exciting, and the bag is also rather poor. The price is really painful, but it has become a real consideration for me. The only disappointing thing is the, dare I say it, artificial scarcity and exclusivity, which is why there are no samples either on request or when you buy. What a shame.
Nevertheless, when you buy Henry Jacques, you are not only buying a fragrance, but also an experience, a feeling, a service, and all these things are really incredibly great with this brand.
