Drseid
1
Out of the Past...
Fetish (Parfum) opens with an orange-green citric petitgrain with significant ashy green oakmoss support before quickly moving to its heart. As the composition moves to its early heart the ashy green oakmoss takes the fore for an hour or so, gradually ceding the starring role to very leathery castoreum rising from the base that grows in intensity as time passes, supported by hints of cinnamon, deep clove and a subtle, primarily tuberose driven white floral accord. During the late dry-down the leathery castoreum fades as restrained cedarwood is unveiled with the remnants of the oakmoss turning slightly powdery in support through the finish. Projection is good and longevity slightly above average at about 10 hours on skin.
Fetish (Parfum) was a composition I sampled without any expectations one way or another. The "Pour Homme" version was supposed to be a big leather composition along the lines of Puredistance M, but I found it more woody than leathery in truth. After the surprise with its "Pour Homme" counterpart, I really wasn't expecting the significant leathery castoreum focus of the mid-section of Fetish here, but that is exactly what I got. What I also found surprising was the amount of ashy oakmoss found in the composition. In this age of dreaded IFRA restrictions, I honestly don't know how the folks at Roja Dove pulled it off. The ashy oakmoss and leather really work well together in Fetish, though I have to wonder if the composition marketed to Women could have easily been marketed more as unisex (or dare I say even as a masculine). If there is any real minor deficiency (apart from the above average performance metrics that are less than I would expect from a high quality parfum concentration), it would have to be in the late dry-down as the natural cedar driven finish smells excellent but is nothing new. All-in-all, I think I prefer its Pour Homme counterpart, but Fetish (Parfum) is largely successful as a very classically structured chypre with top-notch ingredients that one might have expected was released before IFRA meddling. The bottom line is the $480 per 50ml bottle Fetish (Parfum) could use a bit more oomph with its performance metrics (and a lower price point), but it represents a largely successful blast from the past that will appeal to Men and Women alike, earning a "very good" 3.5 stars out of 5 and a solid recommendation.