Nero Profumo's Best Of 2013

From my point of view, 2013 has been a pretty interesting year for fragrance. Some expectations fulfilled as well as some very interesting new faces. Italy has done its part with what, in my opinion, is probably the best fragrance of the year: Montecristo by Masque. A sweaty/animalic concoction of spices, booze, woods and thick animalic musks that strikes for its tremendous character and immense beauty. Incredibly evocative, comfortable and daring at the same time. From the same house, Terralba definitely deserves a mention as well. Completely a different beast from Montecristo but nonetheless outstanding in its peculiar rendition of sand dunes and italian coasts. Extremely aromatic herbs and woods paired to a transparent and salty vibe throughout. Endless wearability and a great all-rounder. 

Nu_Be, which is known for their sublime quirkiness applied to very practical fragrances, delivered two of their most interesting fragrances to date: Mercury and Sulphur. The former is a crazy and avant-garde concoction of sparkling aldehydes juxtaposed to a warm sandalwood base while the latter strikes for its subtle animalic character paired to green and assertive notes such as vetiver and costus.

Beside all the controversy, O'Driù is still delivering pretty solid stuff and Peety gains a special spot in my list of recommendations for this year. A terrific spicy-woody-musky concoction that's vastly head and shoulders above the average quality available in today's niche offerings. French line Liquides Imaginaires introduces to a wider audience its former trio of fragrances Les Eaux-Delà enriched by a new series called Les Eaux Sanguigne. These fragrances, previously available only in very selected French stores, have been now re-launched also in user-friendly 100ml flacons of immense beauty. My personal standout is Sancti, a citrusy and sparkling composition built around a crispy frankincense base. Probably the most literal iteration of church-y incense to date.

On more *popular* territories, Tom Ford's Sahara Noir setted up a new standard for incense-centered fragrances by introducing what's probably the most straight-forward incense since Norma Kamali's infamous Incense. Neela Vermeire has setted the bar so high with her former trio of fragrances and I've been more than glad to discover my expectations for her Ashoka have been completely fulfilled. A trustworthy follower to her previous Trayee, Mohur and Bombay Bling with an incredible evolution from the top notes till the drown. Pure virtuosism.

Comme Des Garcons keeps on doing its own thing without disappointing. Both Black and Sugi have been two big winners in my book. The former is a viscous, and indeed dark, composition of incense, tar and unsweetened licorice which strikes for both its perfect balance and incredible versatility. The latter is probably my favorite in the Monocle series. A minimlisitc (as opposed to simplistic) concoction entirely based on bizarre synergies between few and pretty common ingredients that give birth to something absolutely novel. Kudos.

I will close this list with two fragrances by two houses that haven't impressed me in a while. Amouage seems to have found his way back to the old glory by introducing Fate Woman. Humongous, bombastic and absolutely perfect. Gucci, on the other hand, delivered *Forever Now* to celebrate the Gucci Museo in Florence. A collaboration with master perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi. Probably not a wower at first but definitely a grower after some wearings. Leathery, woody and spicy with a smooth vetiver base and soft floral patterns. It took me a while to completely get it but it has slowly become a favorite for this year.

--------------------------

Honorable mention to Vero Profumo for enriching its catalog with the Les Voiles D'Extrait versions of all Vero's previous fragrances. Fantastic options for anyone who loved her Extraits but prefer spraying over dabbing. Etat Libre D'Orange delivers La Fin Du Monde which strikes as an incredibly solid and easy to wear take on iris with *that* quirky twist that has become the house's hallmark. Perfectly unisex, perfectly sized, smooth and endlessly wearable.

Uncensored (They Suck So Bad) Pt.3

Profumum Sorriso

What? Are they serious? Considering the name of the fragrance, I don't think so. Italian word *Sorriso* stands for english word *Smile* but I think at Profumum they understimated the hilarious power of this stuff. It would have probably better be labelled as *Laugh* or, considering how juvenile this stuff smells, even *LOL*. 

A cheap and vile concoction of cacao and hyper-sweet vanilla with a tad of the sweetest sandalwood thrown in. It would suck even in the I Tesori d'Oriente's range. Meh!...with a laugh. 

Rating: 3/10

Juliet Has A Gun Anyway

Ambroxan. Period. If you're already familiar with *Not A Perfume*, Molecule 02 or Diptyque L'Eau Mage, you won't need this.

I think it would have probably be better named as *Whatever*.

I'll stick to L'Eau Mage.

Rating: 4/10

L'Artisan Parfumeur Baticada

Overly sweet and *cheap* smelling concoction of  coconut, calone and some booze with salty facets.

Smells somewhere between a long drink, laundry detergent and a mass market white floral.  Dreadful.

Rating:  4/10

Costume National Scent Gloss

Average quality rosey-powdery fragrance with the typical clean, laundry-detergent, musky base. Safe, mainstream-ish and, in the end, boring. Too juvenile. Nah!

Rating: 4-5/10

Gucci Guilty Black Pour Homme

I initially thought this was the Batman celebrity scent but no, it's still Gucci trying so hard to deliver an aromatic green fougere. Stick to Nobile.

Rating: 4/10

Guerlain Arsene Lupin Voyou

Eeeewk! A total scrubber! Harsh and strongly synthetic woody-patch-sandalwood combo with dreadful spicy notes thrown-in! MEH With a notes list like that, how can they do it wrong?

No No No!

Rating: 4/10

Be A Good Boy: Go to Church. Liturgical Incense Inspired Fragrances Pt.1 (The Classics)

Armani Prive - Bois D'Encens

This is a masterpiece! Dark, gothic, deep and mysterious liturgical incense. Together with  Avignon, this stays at the top of church inspired fragrances and it's surely one of my favourites. It's pungent almost astringent in the opening to turn much more smoother, warmer and earthier during  the drydown. Pepper, some coniferous, vetiver and animalic hints give birth to a multi-faceted incense based composition that while smelling dark and gothic it's incredibly elegant in its minimalistic approach. Not too powerful but definitely remarkable. If you want your incense to stay close to the skin but to result incredibly distinctive at the same time, there's nothing like Bois D'Encens.

The original packaging came in a precious wood bottle and was available as a 50ml EDP at a quite unaffordable price. They now made a "smarter/cheaper" version with a dark glass bottle coming in a 100ml EDP size. Highly recommended!

Rating: 9.5/10

Comme des Garcons Series 3 Incense: Avignon

Avignon is HUGE! One of my favourite scents of all times. The opening is absolutely distinctive with an intense explosion of severe frankincense and myrrh, almost harshing but incredibly fascinating. The catholic church effect is pushed to the limit and persists during the drydown while camomille provides an extra dose of mystery and warmness smoothing the general harshness. Cedarwood and Iso E Super are clearly remarkable throughout but they're never overdone. A meditative scent that surrounds you with its intense warmness and deep resinous allure. As a trendsetter, Avignon became one of the most imitated straight forward incenses of the last 10 years (Heeley's Cardinal, Mark Buxton's Around Midnight, Biehl's MB3, Montale's Full Incense). Another Bertrand Duchafour's masterpiece!



Note: Avignon has a wonderful sillage and an amazing lasting power!



Rating: 9/10

Etro -  Messe De Minuit

Stating to its name I was expecting a dark and mysterious interpretation of the church-y frankincense but all I got was a (no more than) honest spicy citrus-patchouli-honey combo with some incense. The citrus is mainly orange that while blending with cinnamon and honey brings to mind of those bags of potpourrì you receive as a present from you neighbours at christmas. Not completely bad, but absolutely nowhere close to other masterpieces of the same family.



Rating: 6/10

Czech & Speake - Frankincense And Myrrh


The main ingredients, also mentioned in the fragrance's name, are paired to a classic musky/citrusy cologne with a result that while is not particularly outstanding it's still remarkably enjoyable and pleasant. If you're looking for your first frankincense/myrrh composition there're many better options out there, but considering this was originally rleased in 1984 and it's still one of the few citrus-frankincense-myrrh combo on the market, it definitely deserves a good rating. Very Nice.



Rating: 7/10

Gucci Pour Homme I

1999-2003 (perhaps 2004) was the best period for Gucci, Tom Ford was absolutely genius and everything he touched became gold. After that, Frida came in and everything went "black", catastrophic. Gucci Pour Homme I, IMO, was the expression of those creative years when Mr. Ford saved the maison from oblivion. A good composition of spices, liturgical-frankincense and ginger, running on the edge between dullness and uniqueness (basically it's a perfect "product"). It could be not the most original perfume around but it's absolutely pleasant, above the average and kind of a trendsetter in mass market perfumery.This was one of the last good releases from this house, after that we've been filled with monograms and ridiculous fragrances and clothes.



Rating: 8/10

James Heeley - Cardinal

As much as I love liturgic-frankincense fragrances and I never get tired of them, I still find Cardinal to be among the weakest in this genre. It clearly moves in the same direction of Avignon or Montale's Full Incense but it's nowhere close neither to the magnificence of the former nor to the strong lasting power of the latter. Overall smells fine but lasts nothing. Sort of Avignon Eau De Cologne emphasized on the clean-lemony aspect of the biblical resin...



Rating: 6/10