Paradox

4160 Tuesdays Paradox thoughts iris, violet, petigrain citrus fruit and musk It opens with a big shot of petitgrain and citrus that I find a bit too strident for my tastes. The petitgrain and citrus calm down after half an hour or so and then the iris and violet takes over. In its fading phase its all about the violet. It immediately reminded me of a little bottle of Devon Violet perfume bought for me in Looe when I was but a youngster. Gran decided to treat me as she could see how taken I was with it. The opening is a bit too much for me but I love when the iris and violets kick in. Its definitely unisex and I imagine would make a great refreshing summer scent. Not much sillage and it only lasts a 3-4 of hours on me.

I've been trying out my big back log of 4160 samples this week, and Paradox was the first I turned to. Initial thoughts were that this is a masculine, citrus and woods fragrance - not unpleasant, but nothing in the world like what I gravitate towards. After 20 minutes or so I get a powerful iris, which is a note I dislike in high doses, so I was ready to toss this on the rejects pile. But the dry down is better. My husband immediately said 'Parma Violets', and he is right! A powdery, old fashioned and very charming sweet shop violet. So, this isn't a love. I can't think of a day when I would wake up and say 'today is a Paradox day' (which would be a great sentence to say!). But it's interesting and worth a revisit down the line, I think,

Powdery violet and iris is one of my favourite combinations (I mentioned in other reviews how much I love violet). This seemed to have notes similar to Rendez vous by Teo Cabanel one of my favourites so I was optimistic I would like it. It is long lasting but the projection isn't as good as rendez vous. I find some citrusy top notes smell like toilet cleaner to this smells very realistic and the petigrain adds depth that stops it being completely airy and powdery which I think is a nice touch. I just wish the citrus notes lasted a bit longer I found they went very quickly.

This opens with a really bright citrus. I love the yuzu. I agree the opening may lean masculine but not too much imo. Then it sweetens up and becomes a violet candy fragrance-- not powdery/chalky like usual candied violets, but tart like a violet flavored jolly rancher. There's an herbaceous quality running through it I think from the petitgrain which keeps it from being too one dimensional. Not my cup of tea though.

This is a beautiful violet fragrance with added depth from iris and herbs. It's not overpowering, so you can wear it to the office, but it smells beautiful on a scarf. The petitgrain adds a light delicacy to it. Gorgeous.