Le Mitti

I bought the sample collection and this was by far my favourite, it has a wet earthy/clay smell to it, which is one of my favourite smells. Unfortunately (and deliberately it seems) it’s gone in minutes. Russian Adam says that this is a bottled emotion, but I wish that it was similar to depression in that it was hard to get rid of because I would for sure get a full bottle of this.

This is perhaps the least impressive fragrance I have ever tried from Russian Adam. It is so weak and longevity is an hour or two at best. I am fairly sure it is historically accurate but that does not mean it works well today.

Back about 7 or 8 years ago, I bought a whole heap of essential oils, and played around with them (diluting and mixing, etc), and I tried diluting vetiver to around 0.5% or so. I wanted to reach the point where it didn't make me gag (I just can't hack it at all, not offence to people into their vetiver scents, it just smells like rotting roots and rotting peat to me). Anyway, that's what this reminds me of, heavily diluted vetiver. I used some Indian Ruh Khus (I actually bought it from a boutique in Mumbai), and I could NOT find any redeemable features to it, and have since given it to a friend. What confuses me is why Russian Adam (a) actually RELEASED this, (b) included it in any collection, and (c) charged so much for it. It just doesn't fit the profile of what he usually offers, I mean, FFS, he GAVE AWAY a sandalwood attar in the attar collection, and yet he CHARGES for this? It is a little off-brand, and as such, I kinda feel confused as to what the intention is behind this. I have no doubt it will sell, I just don't understand the motivation behind doing something like this. It's really uncharacteristic. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think that this should be given away (maybe it should be?), but I can't imagine the logic of including the sandalwood attar as a FGWP, whilst this commands a price... Anyway, I have a bad feeling about this label. People are already 'calling it' -- claiming that the shark has been jumped and possibly other worse things. I don't think this at all, but I can't help thinking back to that part in Spinal Tap when the original concept for the cover of "Smell the Glove" is rejected, and they revert to an all-black album cover. The way the manager tries to 'sell it', as if it was planned and intended. It looks like black leather. It reminds me of death (death sells! Every movie in the cinema is about death!), and I can't help but think this Mitti EdP will be viewed as the 'Smell the Glove' moment in the ALD history we look back upon...

Let me start by saying petrichor is one of my favorites if not my number 1 favorite smell on Earth. Le Mitti... does not hit the mark in my opinion. I'm very glad this one doesn't last long. It sure doesn't remind me of rain. Maybe the dirt smells different on the other side of the planet. This is VERY astringent to my nose. Akin to nail polish remover with some clay from art class when you were in high school. You must need fond memories of living in an old city made of stone or something to appreciate this probably. At least that's my first impressions of this one.

This seems more experimental than anything else. Imagine your grandpa has smoked cigarettes his entire life and has a very old, heavy tweed overcoat tucked away in a closet. This jacket has never been washed and has accumulated many layers of stale nicotine over the years, and now it has hung in the closet untouched for decades. You decide to rummage through this closet, and you pick up this heavy jacket by the hanger and take it out of the closet. The smell that wafts up to your nose is Le Mitti. Your grandpa never wore cologne. The smell you are experiencing is just very old cigarette smoke and old tweed or flannel. I wish it lasted longer.