Drseid

Akkad opens immediately with the primary relatively sweet amber base note front and center, joined by a very subtle orange undertone. The amber remains through the heart, growing in strength and adding mild spices with the initial orange slowly giving way to a very strong frankincense note that now co-stars with the spiced amber through the dry-down, with vanilla rising from the base sweetening the scent to just shy of "too sweet". Projection is average and longevity is excellent.

Akkad is a very nice amber release from Lubin but I confess I expected a bit more. The frankincense and spiced amber combo is quite classic, and the orange undertone adds nice support early-on but I get the feeling that I have smelled this accord many times before. Adding to the mild disappointment is the amber used in Akkad is just a hair sweeter than I usually like, but it never goes completely off the deep-end, staying wearable throughout. It should be noted that the bottle used here along with its two sister releases is the same gorgeous design Idole de Lubin edp used and just like with that one it is an understatement to say the bottles are absolutely striking. I do wish the scent inside were just a tad more innovative to live up to its fine housing, but Akkad is indeed a very nice amber fragrance despite this, earning a good to very good rating of 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5.

Galaad opens with a very mild mix of spices driven primarily by a cumin-like cardamom that is deftly implemented to not come off like BO as many others do, coupling with a "just barely there" underlying tobacco note that is easy to miss if you are not really trying. The open is so mild and subtle that at times it is difficult to detect much of anything beyond just the faintest hint of spice. Things do open up in the scent's heart, as Galaad gets relatively sweet with the use of an ever-growing honey note coupling with myrrh incense and the remnants of the opening spice to create a very balmy accord that gives off the appearance of a powdery consistency. As the scent proceeds into the dry-down in its final stages, the sweet honey continues to pick up further steam, turning Galaad just shy of intolerably sweet but never completely crossing the line, with the powdery balmy nature continuing as well, only kicked up another notch. Projection is minimal (especially in the initial stages of the scent's development) and longevity is very good.

The first thing I noticed about Galaad was its open while extremely pleasant smelling seemed heavily watered down. If someone informed me this was an EdP strength scent I would have laughed and bet "big money" that they were wrong, certain Galaad was really an EdC based on the "weak as water" opening I experienced on skin. Then the scent grew more vociferous (well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves here; it went from a major skin scent to a relative skin scent) but that was when things scent-wise got much less interesting for me as the honey was just overdone; and when added to the myrrh it just came off as a bit of a powdery sweet mess and not something I particularly care to wear. I may have been disappointed in the weak strength (power-wise) of the open, but it did not hold a candle to the disappointment felt as to the rest of the scent (fragrance-wise). The bottom line is Galaad is a very average release on the whole and is not recommended for purchase at its $180 a bottle retail despite its incredible looking bottle. 2.5 stars out of 5.

Korrigan opens with a splash of warmed cognac liquor and gin-like juniper before transitioning quickly to its very strong lavender-laced ambrette heart. The lavender adds a soft powder sheen to the musk-like sweet ambrette that is rather overpowering at times and has a slight makeup-like undertone to it. During the dry-down the powdery lavender fades but the ambrette remains with a suede-like leather joining the party but always taking a back seat to that relatively sweet booze-laced musky-makeup vibe that dominates most of the scent's development. Projection is above average and longevity is exceptional.

I really thought I would like Korrigan based on the published notes but I just don't. While it has incredible longevity and quite good projection, the ambrette used is just so strong and cloying that it overpowers most of the rest of the notes in the scent, save the powdery lavender (a note I generally dislike when it comes off as powder) only adding to my dismay. I expected a more cedar wood and vetiver driven scent given the base notes, but instead I'm finding Korrigan a more warm boozy and somewhat sweet powdery musk-like scent with a poorly implemented iris-like waxy undertone. In short, I just outright dislike the implementation of the notes used in the $180 retail priced Korrigan and can't recommend it despite its great performance and amazing bottle, awarding it a below average 2 to 2.5 stars out of 5.

Tzora opens with just the faintest whiff of fresh orange before quickly transitioning to a sharp sparkling bergamot and Peruvian pepper tandem that dominates the heart of the scent with a very subtle mossy green undertone. The Peruvian pepper is deftly implemented, never overpowering the other elements but rather meshing with the bergamot in perfect harmony. As the Peruvian pepper slowly recedes, a very fine cedar emerges to take its place, mingling with the still remaining bergamot through the dry-down, adding shimmering vetiver support. Projection is below average and longevity is excellent.

Tzora is a late entrant to the 2012 party, but it captivated me from the get-go and the longer I wear it the more I enjoy it. It is officially classified as a floral chypre, but I think it is more like a citric/woody scent with spicy and earthy support. Tzora is quite the textbook prototype of executing a composition using minimalist restraint in its implementation; with Geza Schon showing off all his enormous talent here in what I feel is his best work to date. Terre d'Hermes fans in particular will most likely find Tzora quite appealing as while it is no Terre d'Hermes clone, it occupies a similar space and beats TdH at its own game (not an easy accomplishment). I confess after smelling Tzora I had to remove Terre d'Hermes from my Top 10, replacing it with Tzora. To bottom line it for everyone, Tzora is the one of the three finest new releases I have smelled in 2012, earning an extremely rare 5 star out of 5 rating from me. This one is an absolute masterpiece of the highest order and it would not surprise me if it stands the test of time.