War and Peace III

Stepping into the world of Areej Le Doré in mid 2025 is a bit like arriving at a sultry gala just as the host starts breaking out the "private reserve"... you’ve missed the early chaos, but you’re catching the most refined expression of the house's DNA. As others mentioned, War and Peace III is exactly that: a greatest hits compilation of Russian Adam’s career, showcasing the beauty of raw materials that would make a corporate IFRA-compliant paladin faint. Contrary to the violence some reviewers describe, W&PIII doesn't bite. The opening is a vaguely flinty puff of smoke that feels ancient... maybe my wife's musty moths? In reality, this could be the result of melting fossilized amber - instead of the usual amber accord - which turns the Eocenic resin into a dark, viscous liquid. As the smoke clears, the heart reveals a classic oud-rose structure surrounded by a lightly buttered orris. It is opulent yet predictable. This is also the stage where the "self-taught vs trained professional" question becomes more evident. The composition's progression doesn't have a "narrative twist," but rather relies on the sheer gravity of its materials. The transition is a slow decay from the opening into a velvety rose combo that feels embraced by dark resins. The base is a dense forest of animalics. The musk, castoreum, and civet combo is creamy rather than "pissolic," though there is enough substance in the scent's profile to satisfy any animalic supremacist. Very late in the game (we’re talking hour 16+) a ghostly, minty freshness from patchouli emerges, a surprising balsamic fume after a full day of heavy lifting. W&PIII is an interesting artefact that highlights both the brilliance and the ceiling of self-taught perfumery. In my opinion, the scent is a 9/10 because the materials are otherworldly and million year old, but the composition remains "blocks of gold" stacked neatly. It lacks the architectural sleight-of-hand found in (certain!) high-perfumery, but perhaps that’s the point. You aren't paying for clever smoke and mirrors, you're paying for the soul of the ingredients... and maybe a bit of Adam's soul too. Bonus performans reality check! - Projection: moderate for the first 3-4 hours, perhaps 5-6 if you dare spraying on clothes. No room-clearing "copium" here (i.e. paying artisanal money doesn't make something a 10/10 projection room filler... thankfully). - Longevity: semi-eternal, still very much alive on skin after 18+ hours. - Character: base-heavy, a slow-decaying glacier of resins and animalics. Ultimately, if you expect a "beast mode" room-filler, you’re mistaking price for volume. W&PIII is a natural, high-fidelity experience for the wearer and for Adam's USD bank account. It is an evident work of passion (also by looking at the boxes, stone caps and engraved bottles) that proves you don't need a PhD in chemistry or a long-stay in Grasse to create something beautiful... you just need the right stones to melt.

War & Peace III opens like the first strike of flint: fire smoke and metallic dust, sharp and bright, suspended in the air like sparks caught mid-explosion. A tart birch bite slices through immediately, dry, leathery, and resinous... before melting into sticky amber saps, oozing from wounded trees under a smoke-darkened sky. The heart is unmistakably martial: gunpowder accord, black and mineral, mingled with wood smoke and the faint sweetness of burning resin. There’s a tactile quality here, shimmering fire dust, scorched wool, iron filings... yet it never turns cold.... Instead, it blooms with a vintage Taif rose, smoky and shadowed, wrapped in fire and ash, as if florals were pressed into uniforms and carried through battle..... as it deepens, the animalic soul emerges in slow, rolling clouds: aged patchouli, dry hay-straw vetiver, and the ancient hum of 35-million-year-old amber resin. Deer musk and fur-like civet add a lived-in warmth ~ skin, leather, breath, softened by velvety orris root, powdery and solemn, like time settling over ruins.... War & Peace III is not a polite smoke...it is animalic gunpowder, resin sweetened and floral scarred. A scent that smells of history itself: the turn of the century, War echoes, fires on the horizon, amber bleeding from trees, roses wilting into ash. Brutal, beautiful, and profoundly human. It’s olfactory melancholic, devastating, and quietly sublime... my nose is glued to the scent.. utterly stunning. Perfumes like this are a rare treasure. I weep for its’ scarcity.. Russian Adam gets it. Longevity: 8+ hours on skin Unisex

Wow. My best wishes were that this would be a decent approximation of War and Peace 2. My expectations were blown out of the water as this somehow improved on the formula. The wear experience opens up with a flash of Hindi oud funk and the roses begin to bloom. Dark, deep, subtly fruity roses. 30-45 minutes in, the roses become smothered by the increasingly prominent fossil amber and musk accords. The perfume takes on a greasy, dense, oily, somewhat smoky leather quality that I associate with the War and Peace DNA. The smoke is subtle and in conjunction with the amber, it gives off an incense-like experience. Spiritual. One of the improvements from WaP2 to WaP3 is the material used for the civet seems to be a big upgrade. The civet in WaP2 was sharp, somewhat "pissy", whereas in WaP3 it's much more round, smooth, and sensual. As the perfume dries down, the deer musk becomes more noticeable in conjunction with the roses, the amber and the sharper musks lose some of their gas, and you're left with a breathtaking deep scarlet rose bouquet, with a lemony taif, almost fermented grape quality, veiled behind a dark, mysterious, romantic powdery quality. There's even a moment where I detect the briefest showcase of ambergris. To my nose, the rose is much more prominent in the third iteration than in the second, where musks and amber reign supreme. I love War and Peace 2. One of my favorites from the house. I thought it would be tough to faithfully recreate. War and Peace 3 is not only that, but an improvement, with added depth and vibrancy. A masterwork.

To start, I get loads of castoreum and oud in the opening, but also deer musk. The oud and deer musk combined gives it a incensy type of scent, which I also smell in Antiquity II, however this one is more barnyardy and powerful. The indian oud is very prominent, with a slightly barnyardy character. I can also smell vetiver and oakmoss in the background, together with some orris, giving it a classic and powdery feeling. Together, they create a powerful and a very pleasant and oriental scent for me. When it starts to dry down a bit, the taif rose starts to bloom, and the castoreum becomes slightly more subtle. The civet starts to come forward more, and it becomes sweeter. The civet is not fecal or pissy, but rather sweet and indulging. In the dry down, the deer musk blooms, giving it a sensual warmth. The overall composition stays the same, until the deep dry down. Then, most components are gone, however the deer musk and oakmoss stay. Like any other perfume from Areej Le Doré, War & Peace III has outstanding performance, fitting very well for this type of composition. Only one singular drop lasted easily over 24 h on skin, including showers and everything else I do. What I found fascinating is that I recall smelling it during my sleep. Many times during my sleep, this perfume woke me up with its beauty. This is easily the best in the collection, and one of the best perfumes I have smellt my entire life. If you want to try something entirely new, this is it. This perfume is what I would call 'me'.

Grieving knight in a deserted castle ~ Gothic rose petals smothered in animalics... If you’ve been in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Anaheim Disneyland you know the smell of that 'old smelling' water, the smell of the dusty animatronics and the musty space between set pieces and the wall. This fragrance smells like that, yet is so much more since the effect is made with natural rose oils and musk and oud. This is tied with Antiquity for me. War and Peace is fresher (yet still dark with heaps of smooth incense) but has little sweetness. Antiquity is a bit sweeter but still just as musky. Love both. As a fragrance, Antiquity is more beautiful and memorable for me. BUT, War and Peace is still just as intoxicating--I just smell more incense in W&P and prefer the fruitiness of Antiquity-- and since both have real musk they both smell incredibly addictive and unique. I get a white rose, which is soft in texture and smell yet envelopes the whole composition in harmony with the musk and is further accentuated with iris and what smells like extremely high quality fermented or aged patchouli. Brilliant contrast of materials resulting in a fresh yet dark musk/oud scent with amazing longevity and intoxicating texture. From the atomizer I get a lot of civet, but as the fragrance dries the musk comes out more. It remains very unsweet throughout the wear and gets more and more musky