![Elysium]()
Elysium
Helpful Review
2
Elements of rock, earth, and root like the Roman ruins' white stones
To begin with, I know it might sound eerie to some of you but, I adore the aroma of fresh cut wood in the morning, the pungent odor of a summer rain touching the hot soil, the dirty odor of a moist ground covered with autumn leaves, and I am mad keen of mineral smell, like the Flintstone used primarily in Terre d'Hermés, a signature scent of mine.
Volcano, on the other hand, keeps this foresty-woody-mineral spell, it's spicy and earthy due to vetiver and peppercorn. I imagine this is an uncanny TdH clone, the bottle is very similar to the original, and the jus smells as if it was inspired by it, they both share that dirty citrus vibe, but Volcano is brighter and more mineral, that aspect is dominant here. If you are anything like me, you would like TdH and you should like this, and I expect it to be a great replacement.
Volcano is allegedly built around three main accords, which are decidedly detectable: the zestiness from citrus fruits, the minerality from rocks, and the woodiness from roots and leaves. The top notes smell very citrusy, fresh, with a blast of crisp oranges and bittersweet grapefruit, and a green cologne-like scent in the background. What makes Volcano's opening slightly different than citrus colognes is that the grapefruit note actually smells like the white part of the grapefruit peel, it is zesty and slightly tarty. This stage goes on for about half an hour until we get to the heart of the perfume.
This portion of the development really shows why so many people love it. It’s spicy, earthy, green, and somehow citrus like but much softer. The peppercorns begin to emerge and interact with the citrus notes to create a complex and rich picture of mellowing fruit. The minerals really twinkle here lifting the scent instead of making it musky like most masculine scents. It’s very reminiscent of the smells of the Tuscan coast. There is warm earth, and warm rocks, and wood, and a brief hint of greenery. After an hour or so, there is the suggestion of smoky-dusty gunpowder. This stage lasted for two hours on my skin.
The next stage got much drier with vetiver wisps and creamy benzoin. It's balsamic and slightly bitter with a flint mineral finish. The mineral quality was still there making it a slightly spicy skin scent sticking tenaciously to my wrist. Warm vetiver interacts with musky and earthy patchouli, neither one of them takes the solo or dominates the middle of the composition. They play more of a supporting role to recreate the scent of fresh earth, whilst benzoin creates bitter and aromatic vanilla accord. The dry-down is dominated by vetiver, woods and the mineral note. The notes include cedar as part of the composition, however, it is not sharp or pungent. Vetiver and mineral notes are what define the dry-down. Outdoorsy-airy feel is what remains on the skin until it fully dissipates in about seven to eight hours.
All the above being said Volcano is a great scent on its own. The few ingredients are nicely blended and it performs way above its price point. As ditto, it is an accurate clone, it smells closely akin and captures the essential good vibes of TdH. Whilst the sillage is quite tight and leaves only a faint trail, the projection performs remarkably well when the wearer is static. As for the performance, it offers excellent longevity with an endurance that will last through the working day. It is ideal for business meetings and special occasions all year long except in the winter, it performs best during the milder months such as spring or the fall despite being wearable in summer.
-Elysium
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
