Wabi-Sabi

I had to revisit this fragrance after living with it for some time. It is resinous, woody and quietly elegant. Beautifully blended. What still confuses me is the presentation. The scent does not feel white at all. In my mind it belongs to the color of elemi resin, warm and translucent. To my Greek nose, it feels exotic. I smell jasmine, but not as a flower. It appears like nostalgia, something familiar yet impossible to place. The opening is slightly sharp. Sometimes I avoid it, sometimes I search for it. The perfume smells more like materials than ingredients. Less herbs and spices, more texture and atmosphere. The incense is incredibly smooth and airy. Present without being heavy. It has volume without strong projection. A fragrance for Sundays, visiting friends, being inside a home. In colder weather I would wear it outdoors, maybe layered with something stronger. This is not seductive. It is social. You wear it to feel interesting rather than attractive. The DNA is unusual but gentle. It reminds me of childhood toys, plastic wrapping, soft silicone mixed with a light vanilla warmth. Not benzoin exactly. Lighter, cleaner, almost abstract. Wood and incense hold everything together beautifully. One of my favorites, even if it doesn’t smell like anything I already knew.

I had to hunt this perfume down. I went to 3 Beams stores all throughout Tokyo. Finding beauty in imperfection perfectly describes this fragrance. Strong saffron and black currant at the top which quietly shifts to woody smell reminiscent of temples. Musky and addictive, possibly from Ambroxan, can be smelled all throughout the scent making it simultaneously linear and non-linear. I kept getting wafts of the addictive smell past 8 hours. It definitely underpromises but overdelivers; a rarity in these days.

Picked this one up on my summer trip to Japan at a Beams and upon my return I found myself waiting for the first colder day of the year to wear this one. It is a perfectly blended sweet, resinous, woodsy, with subtle musky and floral notes. Lasts all day on skin for me, is appropriate for most days and nights. One of my favorite winter and fall scents and isn't a head turner but does get compliments, but more importantly is a scent that makes you want to smell your own wrists throughout the day.

This is well blended and captivating. Perfect for winter as it’s such a cozy, woody sweet and slightly dirty warm scent. Each time I wear it I pick up different notes. On clothes it opens with that sweet saffron before settling into a woody/ salty musky base. At drydown I get the grey musk with vanilla and ambergris note. The difference on my skin is that the ambergris shows up more prominently at dry down. I would test this before buying as it’s quite body chemistry dependent.

I smelled this with the whole line up and it stood out as my favorite. Sweet , ambery, woody, scent. There is an interesting element to it while being quite pleasant. Unfortunately, I was told it would be exclusive to Japan. I am considering a trip to pick it up. I don't need much of a reason to travel. Smelled only on tester strip since I was trying to smell many fragrances at one time but thought it was worth letting people know it's good and the limited availability.

I purchased this from Beams in Tokyo on my honeymoon as I wanted something limited edition and unique! This fragrance is very confusing and complex yet I can't stop sniffing it! It has a very strong synthetic musky quality unlike anything else I've smelled. It doesn't change too much after the dry down either. It's quite medicinal smelling and I can't catch any of the florals on the top notes. It just takes me straight to a musky wood with little to no sweetness. It's definitely going to be a layering scent for me, when I want to add some depth to another fragrance, I think on its own it's far too musky, but this fragrance will keep you coming back because it's so interesting!

Smells like BR540 EDP with black currant. I like it but not enough for a FB

Juicy Wood. But not in a syrupy, sticky way, more like wood that’s just been sliced open, still weeping sap. It's resinous and a little sweet, almost ambery but not heavy, green around the edges too. Nuanced of citrus peel, crushed stems, something ever so slightly bitter, like petitgrain or the rind of an underripe bergamot. There's also that a spicy blackcurrant that sort of bursts through it all, and not the jammy kind but one sharp and a bit tangy like the spice of fruit skin and stems. I find it leans more to green cassis than the fruit itself. With a non-animalic yet not white-clean touch of musk weaving through the wood, it's a relatively put together cologne, but not quite artisanal. The musk is not quite Iso E Super, not quite ambrettolide, but somewhere in that soft liminal zone of warmth and air. A good guy scent in that very polished, nodding-to-the-forest kind of way. Its decent. It has structure. It wears smooth and doesn’t move much, the type of scent that might make someone say “you smell good”. But they won't be asking what it is. Which, depending on your taste, is either perfect or painfully safe.

Something about this profile is reminiscent of althair by PDM. A hint of citrus blended with sappy woods and vibrating spices. It smells like a party but also zen at the same time if that makes sense. Perfectly encapsulates the overall frantic nature of Tokyo that reveal little pockets of pleasure and peace. Highly recommend and smelled nothing else like it.

but i like how mine is a little off center