VTrancoso

A beautiful floral/oriental, with a vintage vibe and a horse saddle leather and a skin accord. A soft and “clean” leather achieved by blending some of the notes. Surprising freshness, clarity and at the same time great complexity. As it has been classified as the fragrance of the three “S”: Seduction, Sex and Skin – according to the legend of Salome.
The image that comes to my mind is of riding in the saddle of a horse along a field of flowers that release their scent in the heat of a magical summer.

We know that it took photographer Thomas de Monaco three years (in collaboration with Fredrik Dalman, who was the in-house perfumer of the Mona di Orio brand for the last ten years), to create his first perfume - decanted in 1,400 numbered bottles (mine is nº 876) of 50 ml, in limited edition.

My olfactory memory projected me to an old palace in the awesome Sintra mountain in Portugal. I imagined myself enjoying the atmosphere of the famous and fascinating Chalet Biester (from the end of XIX century).
It is often referred to as the seat of various legends and mysteries, and was one of several scenarios in the movie The Ninth Gate, directed by Roman Polanski and where the main actor is Johnny Depp, in the role of a compulsive rare book hunter.

Raw Gold is a sweet-resinous, vintage / modern, super elegant fragrance, unfolding voluptuously in an aura of velvety seduction. A romantic trip surrounded by secrets. With a moderate sillage and an above-average longevity, it is an unusual, unisex and discreetly animalic scent that evokes a time when lust and love won.
The fragrance opens with a breeze of liqueur, coffee, smoky vetiver and black pepper. It was as if I could smell old books and parchments in a mysterious and labyrinthine library – where I sip a glass of vintage liqueur – in a palace lost in the meanders of Sintra forest.
There are no protagonisms of isolated notes but rather of the chords. Therefore it is difficult to define, compare or classify this perfume.
After an hour, a discreet and smooth civet appears arm in arm with a red lipstick (discreet and not giving a feminine touch) on sensual lips. Then there's the warm scent of skin dressed in leather and velvet.
A little later on there are balsamic notes, a vanilla tonka bean and chocolatey patchouli with a hint of dark honey that provide a sweet and animal heat wave. At the back of the room, the saffron in duet with the opoponax sings an exotic aria.
Of course, it's an environment for a very intimate tête-à-tête with the interesting girl with the plum-flavored lipstick - who smiles while we clinch the glasses.
The scent is warm and cozy, reminiscent of a warm embrace that reveals itself in the course of a last golden accord, intelligent and insinuating.

It and opens with a “glitter in the eyes” of lemon and bergamot. In other words, it's still Dr. Jekyl. But soon the startling convulsions that herald the transformation into Mr. Hyde begin. And these cheerful notes are covered by the dry, sharp and slightly “medicinal” aroma of birch tar of great quality. At this stage, I felt a beeswax vibe (I confess that at first it seemed like a Slowdive development) next to burning wood in the depths of a forest. Acacia, with its usual spice vibe (cumin and cloves?) adds even more radiance to the aroma.
The curious thing is that the “touch” of the acacia ends up dressing Mr. Hyde with a “tan” / sensual, deep, subtly “animalic” and super addictive leather accord. Here Mr. Hyde turns the corner in search of his own shadow and boards a 1954 Bentley type R sitting on its "classy", smooth and sweetened leather. The opposite of hard leather that smells like cow. All with the usual density/thickness of Hiram Green's 100% natural fragrances where you can barely feel alcohol.
The magic ingredient here is a fantastic birch tar. And the curious thing is that it “smells great”, and is sweeter and more “wearable” than we could imagine just reading the notes. Not by chance, it was one of the main components of one of the great myths in the history of perfumery. I am referring to the masterpiece “Cuir de Russie”, released in 1924 by Coco Chanel, which was intended to reflect her romance with Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, cousin of the Tsar of Russia.
The “leather” note is usually made from two options. Either from the smoky “birch tar” or from the synthetic isoquinolines that mainstream perfumery uses. And the curious thing is that the leather note from “birch tar” is used here in Hyde as it was in the original Cuir de Russie (in 1983 it was reformulated with loss of prominence and quality of the leather note). Both with a very soft leather. Those who managed to smell a vintage Cuir de Russie (one of Mick Jagger's favorites) say that it is a unique olfactory experience. The same can be concluded from Hyde. Basically a unique experience and the return of a myth.
The warm and elegant base of smoked labdanum, vanilla and malt melting in soothing oak moss - provides a sweet, seductive, elegant and comfortable support (where I seem to discover a discreet civet tone).
Hyde is definitely shareable – especially for souls in search of new adventures. Day or night it gives an “outstanding”, deep and fantastic aura to the character who uses it with a minimum duration of 24 hours and even a scent skin at 48 hours.