Portrait Café Noir

First Impression, Fresh out of the box. "Forget the name—there’s no barista in sight here." It opens very brisk and citrusy bitter. For the first few moments, it has that high-end 'barbershop hairspray' vibe. Within minutes that chemical edge disappears to be replaced by something strikingly green. Think freshly cut lemongrass and narcissus stems, surrounded by an earthy edge. The green notes are short-lived and the somewhat tart bergamot remains. As for the caramel? At the moment it's a shadow. It serves only as a filler between the other notes and it's a non sweet but rather a salty caramel. On the skin (mine is eating perfumes for breakfast) after half an hour, the tangy bergamot hovers above an earthy subsoil of patchouli and evernyl. One hour in, the dry-down is already peeking through, though the amber and musk are, at this moment, still just faint fireflies flickering in the dark. My verdict? It’s a spring-ready earthy freshie that still lacks a bit of backbone and power. Longevity is very short at the moment (±3hrs). Let’s see what a few weeks of maturation does to the development of the scent and the performance.