SebastianM

One of the very few aquatic scents that I like, very peculiar and unusual, not the 0815-Meeresevokation with alleged salt, etc.. You lie in the sunshine in a green hollow, the air is fresh, the herbs bloom, the stony coast is not far, a few hours ago you have sucked a throat gold (blue) and still feel a metallic-bitter taste. Boldly composed. The longevity is amazing: a loose 8 hours with 1x spraying, the sillage after an initial explosion pleasantly in the medium range. Fits damp-fresh early spring weather and is also in the summer a beautiful, invigorating fragrance.

The manufacturer's website is remarkable, there are also very atmospheric videos about the individual fragrances and their places of origin near Margate in Kent.

Very interesting, a memory of Fougeres from the 90s, but still very much from today. The house of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Connection at Cornell University is known as "Grey Stone Castle". The perfume was inspired by the desire to follow in the footsteps of those who are (or were) successful in all areas of life.

The fragrance starts off as invigorating as a cologne, with a hint of freshly whitewashed wall in the background. As time goes by, it becomes woody, the vetiver becomes more nutty, but the freshness of lemongrass remains and, together with oakmoss, gives an airy astringency. Absolutely no sweetness here, which I really appreciate. Tends clearly in the stereotypically masculine direction. The ingredients are recognizably of outstanding quality, mostly of natural origin. The shelf life is more than 6 hours, the sillage is pleasant. A fragrance that radiates class and sovereignty. A refined, modern fragrance with a vintage feel.

To the classification: I can hardly understand the statements written so far, none of them. I must have smelled a different scent. The heart notes are very "fougerig", this is not a rose scent, at least not more than one would classify the original Rive Gauche pour Homme as a rose scent. No trace of "compote". Even though I see how the disappointing "Chypre Siam" (whose Kaffir lime resembles the lemon grass used here) is hyped, even though it is so hopelessly inferior to "Grey Stone Castle" in its category, I find it unfair. That's the way the world is.

"Trance", that means high concentration and deep relaxation. In trance one can have intensive mental experiences. But you can also simply fall into a sleep-like twilight state, like when wearing this perfume. Sweet-flowery-fruity artificial. Later it becomes soft, with such a meaningless common wood, also fully synthetic. Just the right thing for little girls who don't have their lollipop liquid vaporizer at hand. In return they have a Sillage that the cute boys at the other end of the club will surely notice. And the stuff doesn't come off when you freshen up again. An esteemed correspondent described it as "somewhere between a residual head-drumming frenzy and the murmuring of birds". That's pretty good, although I think the hangover clearly drowns out the chirping. I give just 3 points, because this product still doesn't really stink.

This is now the second fragrance of the blackless I've come across after "Altruist." I also found it rather unoriginal, but at least not as bottomlessly banal as "Trance". Maybe I'm just not cut out for this company.

Rarely has a perfume moved me as much as this one. This is concentrated India beyond all brochure romance and spice clichés. At the heart of it is an aquatic-animal chord that has probably never existed anywhere before. I immediately smell the dirty water, the dust, the fruit wallahs, the garbage, the smog, the withering flowers. I hear the noise. It's like a movie. It's so directly Indian to me, an incredible emotional journey through time. Total flashback. After a few hours, when everything has calmed down, when I'm out of the plain and it's just humming from a distance, then I can even wear Varanasi as a perfume. Before that I prefer to be alone with it.

Sober addendum: Some synthetic woods have come into fashion recently. The longer it takes, the more "Varanasi" approaches "Lyric Woman", for example, until they can hardly be distinguished. Also a great similarity to the end of "Au Coeur du Désert" (another such durability monster) is noticeable. But Varanasi is more magnificent than the ones mentioned, and the warm spiciness also remains more vivid.

Very intense, slightly sweet, slightly creamy, I smell more jasmine than tuberose. The coconut makes the creaminess slightly exotic. After a while it becomes softer (gardenia?). I also get some cloves, that's interesting. A tropical night scent with a nice heaviness. Seductive and deep even without animalism. It stays with you for a long time, even if you think it has left you long ago, you notice it again.