Myrrh Casati Mona di Orio

Desirability: Adoption by a more appreciative nose

Opens with a strong waxy note, literally like sniffing a candle-stick up close. There is the sweet and herbal almost medicinal smell of licorice which thankfully is moderated here as I like licorice only in smaller doses. Faint spices and a soft green mossy base.   

Myrrh Casati was an OK experience but not something I'm enthusiastic to repeat. The candle wax didn't sit well with me and I found the scent overall to be a bit too lifeless despite its promising roll call of notes.  Myrrh or resins in general invoke images of warmth and feelings of passion, both of heart and hearth but Myrrh Casati feels impersonal and dispassionate or in a word, bland. 

It has little projection and the longevity could be improved on, I got about a couple of hours tops on two different trials.  I've liked pretty much all that I've tried from Mona di Orio thus far and I love the reformulated Nuit Noire as well as a few from the Les Nombres D'Or range. However I hit a rut with Myrrh Casati which is probably a good thing for my finances. 

Trance J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin

Desirability: Sample

Source: Fragrantica

Trance has a boozy opening, thick and sweet like maple syrup laced with a fruity liquor. Fruity booze and maple syrup- a seriously powerful introduction! At the same time there is something that is strong and pungent as if herbs and leather were burnt together. All these potent and different smells create a dark (really dark) and deep fragrance, sweet yet medicinal, woody and fruity, heavy yet dry and definitely complicated. 

A faint rose appears midway but the most persistent and resonant is the unusual herbal leather note. As the scent evolves it feels dry and dusty like sawdust, the vegetal, leather and syrup notes enduring till the end. The drydown is dark and earthy similar to how patchouli can give that "earthiness" vibe. The rose is less timid now as if having bloomed over time but although it is easier to detect, I don't feel it ever becomes a dominant player in this scent. 

Trance was a weird experience with some nice bits along the way, the drydown being the most enjoyable part when things settled down a bit instead of out-shouting the other notes. Unfortunately the death knell for me was the herbal leather combination that was a bit too harsh for my stomach to handle ( I literally got waves of nausea smelling this each time). Good projection and longevity though and I am positive that on the right person this would be a commanding fragrance. 

PG02 Cozé Parfumerie Generale

Marijuana plants give off a lot A LOT of scent especially when flowering thanks to the aromatic qualities of the plant's terpenoids. Depending on which strain is grown, the smell can vary from green notes like leaves or grass or pine, fruit notes like berries or citrus, musky, skunk-like, spicy like cloves and cinnamon or any combination of the above, creating a smell that is almost indescribable.



So is Cozé almost indescribable. The opening is sharp and astringent, peppery almost and medicinal cloves burning my nostrils. When my head stopped spinning, I could pick up the woody aspect of the scent. The shrillness dries down into a very boozy patchouli with the spices and wood notes still lingering. I get no coffee or chocolate so I assume someone had the munchies and stole mine. Leaning on the masculine side, it is still comfortably unisex but not for the faint-hearted. Spicy woody, unconventional. Not quite chatty or cosy but an interesting trip for sure. This would be as close as I get to weed in this country.

Sillage is good so you might get arrested for possession. Longevity is decent, I clocked half a day.

Verdict: Haight Ashbury minus the incense.



P.S: to whoever stole my Grateful Dead tee, I want it back!