Itchynose

The Moroccan citron in Cédrat Enivrant comes across as a very realistic citrus note, maybe due to Atelier Cologne's preference for using natural ingredients in their products. It's not an artificially sharp or screeching lemon like in a cleaning product nor sweet and cloying like candy drops or lemon drizzle cake: this is a fresh, slightly green and very zesty citron smell that starts and remains extremely fizzy, reminiscent of a high quality lemon scented bar of soap that has been scrubbed into a million little bubbles. Expensive fabric softener also comes to mind at some points.

Performance is discreet –it's a skin scent all the way– and this is one of those fragrances that some could criticize as linear but it's also one that is true to its label: Cédrat Enivrant, intoxicating citron, is a blast of soft, smooth lemony goodness for lovers of high quality yet simple citrus scents.

From the first spray of Pacific Lime a cloud of sweet and fresh tropical goodness takes over. It's a fruity smell that immediately evokes a few different images: a colorful Caribbean street market brimming with pineapples and bananas; the juicy, syrupy smell of mango pulp dripping down the arms and elbows; the coconut-lime sweetness of a boozy cocktail on the beach.

If what we ask from an evocative summer scent is to transport us to a dreamy faraway place that probably only exists in our imagination then Pacific Lime can only get the highest score from me; this is a wonderfully fresh and fruity fragrance that smells just like paradise. My favorite scent from Atelier Cologne.

Picture a wooden porch swing by a Louisiana bayou. It's the height of the summer season and the hot air is filled with the buzz of midges and grasshoppers. The only way to keep cool is by sipping the refreshing and intoxicating cold green juice of a mint julep. Here is where the similarities between the spirit and the fragrance begin. In both tumbler and flacon the green herb is fresh, sweet and covered in crushed ice, drenched in inebriating bourbon whiskey and sprinkled with sugar: an absolute feast for the nose and taste. There is a hint of tangerine zest and the subtle aroma of local southern magnolia too.

In our mental picture the sun quickly sets in the horizon and just as quickly this Saint Julep turns into a skin scent, slightly weak and short lived but retaining its voodoo magic when smelled up close. One may feel compelled to respray every few hours to allow this beautiful experience to continue as if mind-controlled by naughty playful fairies.

A fantastic little potion full of green, sweet, fresh and boozy Mississippi magic.

I find Black Afgano a bit too dark and heavy for me to wear comfortably and too sweet at times to remind me of any hash I smoked back in the day but there is still something special about it. It's mysterious and alluring in a rebellious, individualistic, uninviting and troubled kind of way, the kind of fragrance you would have expected a James Dean or Christopher Lee to wear.

The scent is strong, heavy –big cannabis, oud and resin notes–, long lasting and not to everyone's taste but it is ideally suited to a particular sombre mood: ominous, pitch black cold winter nights straight out of a horror movie when the fragrance can come to life like Dr. Frankenstein's monster.

One could say it's not as masculine as Nasomatto's Duro, not as wearable as Baraonda and not as pleasant as Pardon... but Black Afgano is the kind of scent that doesn't really care.

The cute little 5ml bottle of Attar AT is the kind of thing you'd expect to buy from the souvenir shop of an oil refinery. The concoction inside it is indeed something special: dark, leathery, animalic... pure tar in all its glorious smelliness.

When it comes to performance the small bottle size hints at the kind of power at hand: a couple of drops on the wrists will last for 24 hours or more. This is strong stuff that needs handling with care.

Like many of Tauer perfumes this is a fragrance looking for an experienced nose and certainly not the easiest scent to get started with Andy Tauer's creations, although those who dare unleash the genie in the bottle will be rewarded with a unique and powerful perfume oil.