Landlord

What a wonderful fragrance Didier Gaglewski, the independent and extremely sympathetic perfumer from the perfume capital of Grasse, has created here! He takes us with him en chemin, on the way. Quite obviously on one that leads through the south of France, albeit to more remote areas. I remember, from the Cote d`Azur to the Grasser Basin stretches a strip of surprisingly dense settlement about 20 kilometres wide. Gaglewski must have left that behind and roamed through the barren, northerly mountainous countryside, where the density of settlement drops abruptly and the bustling Cote d`Azur seems worlds away.

Early in the morning he sets out, the eucalyptus still smells fresh, dark spicy herbs and woods under the morning dew give an intense nose feast. But quickly the sun rises higher, the dark warm smell of the slightly dusty macchia asserts itself. Soft, earthy, spicy aromas linger in the air and make his nostrils flare. At midday, the earthy scents recede in favour of gourmand spices, among which clove pleasantly stands out. In the afternoon, light smoky notes join in. In the magical evening light, which spreads over the nearby Mediterranean Sea, he starts the way home to immediately pour this day in fragrance!

He succeeds extraordinarily beautifully. "En Chemin" is an absolutely solitary fragrance, which I can compare with no other (which is now rare enough), the best Gaglewski so far (as far as I know his portfolio) - and extremely masculine staged! The durability is enough for an extensive day hike of at least 8 hours, the sillage is really good for an hour and a half, then becomes a bit skin tight, but remains evenly present for the wearer until the drydown. After a long time once again a fragrance for my wish list - and not only because Didier is sooo likeable, but because he has really created quite great and very wearable fragrance cinema!

Who does not know the "nose" from Grasse yet, here our interview with him: https://www.parfumo.de/Benutzer/ParfumoBlog/Blog/Eintrag/interview-mit-didier-gaglewski-aus-grasse

Well, we know: more or less everything we smell in perfumes is chemistry, molecules copied from nature that fool our brains. Most of the time, fragrance artists strive to be so good at recreating nature that the illusion is perfect. In Fougère Furieuse, it is not the illusion of nature that is perfect, but nature exaggerated to perfection. Jean-Christophe Hérault, Créateur of several Les Exceptions fragrances, has truly created here the perfect DESIGNWALD!

Upon entering this 3-D animation of forest, a mélange of bergamot and rose geranium, green spicy with a slight floral stem note surrounds me. This disappears in favor of a more clearly empo swinging bergamot. I penetrate deeper into the forest, its aura sweetening, gumming up and souring at the same time, marvelling at lush "artificial flowers and neon moss "*. Over hours, the sharpness of the olfactory impression slowly fades, it becomes softer, more delicate, more ethereal.... Most beautiful is this fragrance after 18 hours, my skin feels as if dusted with delicate green powder...

Everything about Fougère Furieuse is waftingly artificially overdosed, a synthetic fragrance at its best, perfectly suited for an olfactorically enhanced 3-D animated cinema screening of "Alice in Wonderland"! Kind of fascinating - though not my world.

*
Quote taken from the statement of the highly esteemed Yatagan in his own conciseness (see below).

As a self-confessed Anglophile with a penchant for tweed jackets, I have been searching for a typical scent for English country life for a long time. Some Penhaligon `s, Floris, Taylor of Old Bond Streets` et. al. went through my hands, respectively my nose. None of them could really convince me. And if there was a nice one, its persistence and charisma were arguably British "understated".

But somewhere it had to be found, the scent that Siegfried Farnon, the beary, sly and just therefore terribly lovable veterinarian, passionately embodied by the now deceased Robert Hardy, put on. Because with the series start of "All creatures great and small" (or "The doctor and the dear cattle") my heart for everything British began to beat faster. At that time I was 13, now 40 years older - and thus exactly at the age when Robert Hardy filmed the first seasons. If that is not a good omen for a test of "English Lavender"!

So, enough nostalgia, what is there to smell? Well, lavender. Sure. In the opening by bergamot and sage spicy refreshed, becoming softer over time, warm rosewood, musk and tonka bean are not explicitly to smell, but provide a lasting soft lavender freshness. The fragrance never loses its conciseness. A fresh, damp meadow in the Yorkshire Dales in the sunshine. To lie in. And it even lasts for six to eight hours! Works even on a snowy January day. I'm curious to see how it will play out its qualities in the spring!

Matt black cardboard. Embossed gold lettering. A gentleman with stiff collar, top hat, monocle and cigarette in the tip. The motif that adorns "Raffish" looks a little out of time. But only for those who do not know the brand behind it: THE CHAP is a humorous men's magazine, which has been playing with the traditions of British style for twenty years and doesn't take itself too seriously.

However, the publisher Gustav Temple's excursion into the world of perfume can now be taken quite seriously. After the male-flowery cologne for strollers, "Flaneur", he has now launched his magazine's second fragrance "made in England" under the brand name of his magazine, as proudly emblazoned on the back of the packaging. In the top note, a floral flanked mandarin orange is appealing, which is joined by a little clove - the only spice I think I can smell. This fragrance really shows its qualities after about an hour. Unfortunately, I don't notice the black currant, which I really like in perfumes. On the other hand, the base of slightly sweet amber sandalwood is really nice and round. The longer "Raffish" is applied, the darker and warmer it becomes and seems to flow directly from the skin. A feel-good fragrance for the more mature man who - very neat for an EdC - lasts for the duration of a long evening!

The name "Raffish" (meaning "daring") may irritate us if we suspect that it is a fragrance for adventurous pirates or breakneck double-decker pilots. No, it is the audacity of the gentleman in top hat and monocle described at the beginning of this article who laughingly orders the best champagne after losing high stakes in roulette - and smells damn good at the same time. And, yes, he has fallen out of time. But that's what's so comforting about him in these times, when you'd like to fall out of them yourself...

After a long dry spell - when it comes to discovering a really inspiring scent - "The Tragedy of Lord George" is once again a real highlight. Although he doesn't really want to be one. And that's exactly what makes him... This Penhaligon´s does not impose itself and is nevertheless constantly present. One of the fragrances that manages to escape directly from my skin, warm, masculine, soothing... - with considerable "whirring factor".

The most attention-grabbing thing about him is the scent pyramid. The mention of only three, in their combination somewhat more bizarre, ingredients may fit the marketing concept of portrait fragrances, at least they do not reflect my perception of fragrance. Brandy...? Yeah, burnt smells already... alcoholic smoking notes at the beginning, which I would like to crawl into immediately... Shaving soap...? Well... if it is, it's one that's quite ambry and patchouli refined... woody, a little resinous, creamy... what harmonizes perfectly with the tonka bean and provides for a soft, but not too sweet finish... after 9 - 10 hours with a spray! Wow!

No, this fragrance is not "new" in the strict sense. It's more of a scent that's always been there. The scent of a gentleman just... of not obtrusive, but very present perfection... balanced surprising... and masculine. Definitely!

The first Penhaligon´s to make it on my wish list. And all the way to the top! He'll probably stay there. Gentlemen don't talk about money, but Penhaligon´s unfortunately already...