Truth

Upgrading my review of Truth from a Like to a Love after letting this sit for a while in a refrigerator drawer. Where once she was fleeting and slightly generic, now she is pure magic. It sounds odd to say about such a green perfume, but it reminds me of the general smell of Pier One in the early 1970s, that delicious smell of exotic woods, soaps, and spices. As a small child, I used to gravitate to the soap, essential oil, and incense aisles and inhale deeply; I also loved to huff the rosewood and sandalwood jewelry boxes and curio cabinets. I didn't have a wide fragrance vocabulary back then, but I loved all the Pier One smells, which gave me a sense of serenity and joy that eluded me during the TM classes in which my mom enrolled my foster sister and me. Ancient retail reveries notwithstanding, Truth seems to have benefited a lot from its mandatory time-out in cold storage. It's still far from what I would call strong, but the evanescent quality is part of its charm. Sometimes it reminds me ever so slightly of Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea, but without that rhubarb note that kind of bums me out. I have been trying to think of a good perfume to wear to a memorial service this weekend, a fragrance that isn't likely to sicken or offend or even register as a fragrance at all. Truth might qualify for that. It could easily be mistaken for a luxurious European lotion or soap. It also contains a distinct but discreet lily note, which will surely be in abundance. Earlier today I put on Calvin Klein Beauty, and now I'm amusing myself with "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" affirmations, wondering, not for the first time, if Keats was dead wrong about that equivalence. At any rate, Calvin Klein's Truth doesn't have much to do with his Beauty, although both come in elegantly austere bottles and have enjoyably pretentious names. Beauty isn't very slutty for such a jasmine-forward frag, but she's much more of a cishet girly-girl than Truth, which smells like clean spaciousness and quiet luxury, perhaps like that meditation-therapy room presided over by the beautiful ageless Indian staffer in the last season of The White Lotus, before the gunfire abruptly shifts the vibe. I also pick up on the mimosa, which is quite beautiful, though I wish it were stronger. Maybe it just can't compete with the lily and lemon. Or maybe it will come out more as the juice ages. I wasn't sure I knew what bamboo smelled like, but I definitely get the clover and a kind of milky, almost sandalwoody-figgy accord that I think is the bamboo. Bamboo is horrendously invasive where I live, but I wish I had taken the time to smell some before my neighbor got rid of his in favor of something more regionally appropriate. Update: Applied liberally, after a shower, it smells of lemon, freshly mown grass, and an amorphous haze of florals. Clean but also a little earthy. I hope I'm not noseblind to the musks because I don't think this is projecting much beyond the skin, but what if I'm wrong? Every so often, I think it has faded away, and I get a sharp chlorophyll blast, like green stems and young leaves. I wish I got more sandalwood, but perhaps it is a green sandalwood that blends in with the more herbaceous and milky bamboo accord.

Whilst setting on a journey through olfactory memory lane, I just repurchased this beauty for an incredible discount. Regardless of amount paid, I feared a disappointment- that a scent with such a romantic personal memory when gifted 20 yrs ago, would feel now dated as my skin chemistry and taste in perfumes has changed. Happy to report its not the case. Quite the opposite. Truth, if anything, smells even more unique, and more engaging. Of course, summer is also a good moment to sample this. Whats even more incredible, it has stood the test of time proudly. Truth still smells relevant in todays overcrowded perfume scene and presents undeniable quality in the midst of all new niche houses popping up. It is expertly blended, well balanced and in a class on its own. I do think though that to appreciate it, one needs more experience with niche houses. For a beginner fragrance lover like i once was, it may-be too nondescript and subtle or damp and rainforesty. My new buy is not watered down or missing notes as far as i remember. Rather, like true 2000's child this freshie is quite heady with musk by today's standards but also delivers gorgeous dampness of woods with comforting herbal-white floral mix in the middle. On my skin, even the first spritz carries no lemon, its also not heavy with alcohol. Instead, i smell vetiver instantly with a bit of mint, and white clover thats such a childhood scent, someone mentioned "freshly mowed grass" and thats exactly it- freshly cut grass with lots of clover in it, after rain. Patchouli is very tamed here thankfully, but present all the way to the dry-down. I'm not familiar with the bamboo note, and this is probably the secret ingredient that gives Truth slightly metallic, almost rainy feel that still manages to keep warmth. Like during monsoon, you're wet to your bones, but still hot. In 30 min honeyed mimosa with white lily is taking over, throwing a thin flirty veil over the vegetal dampness, making Truth a bit more feminine and less unisex (i still think men can pull this scent off though). After an hour the scent is slowly starting to dry down with some more woodiness from sandalwood. This is the freshest yet most comforting phase for me, when i smell like just out of shower, or soaked by tropical rain, or after the evening swim in the lake. Freshness doesn't overwhelm and Truth becomes less perfume-like, more like your skin just smells amazing. Btw, no vanilla on my skin, or any sweetness for that matter. It lasts well, over 6 h is well detectable on skin and is quite a bit longer on clothes. Sillage is good, especially in warm weather as freshness of the scent cuts through anything else. Overall, i'm very happy to own it again and for this price, its much underrated beauty. I'd recommend it as a unisex warm weather scent thats fresh and unique during the day and charming and mysterious at night. A modern masterpiece.

I'm quite sure that oakmoss (edit: and also guaiac wood and acacia) are also in this fragrance...I remember looking up this scent on Basenotes about 11 or 12 years ago as a teen girl (I was that obsessed with it), and I actually memorized the notes (don't know how accurate the notes-list was in Basenotes though at the time, but mimose was definitely not in the list, I can't wear scents with mimosa). It used to smell deeper and more lush, more green and warm. Lately it smells more like lemon water...maybe it's reformulated or whatever old stock they had is turned, or most likely they are fakes...bottomline, the bottles being sold in some shops nowadays just don't smell the way it used to a decade plus ago (or maybe I've just been unlucky and there are still some good bottles around that I have yet to come across, who knows). It's funny, but when I first tried Dior Addict a few years ago, something in Addict immediately reminded me of Truth...maybe it's the silkwood blossom and blackberry, and the sandalwood. To me, Truth is Addict stripped out of her dark and heavy sweet velvet garb, warm, radiant and quivering, scrubbed down with moss and dew, showering under a waterfall in a humid rainforest...or rather, Addict is Truth dressed up to the nines with vanilla, velvet, flowers, spices and taken out of the forest into the nightlife of a wild city. A friend of mine who had Addict as her signature immediately fell in love with Truth, and it surprised her because she was usually not a fan of clean/green/citrusy scents. Now I realize why. There is a sensual, succulent vibe in this fragrance that sets it apart from the other scents in its category, it's such a unique scent, the bamboo note comes off so beautifully, the most sensual bamboo accord I've ever come across in any fragrance with the note. I miss this stuff, it was my first real fragrance, and was my signature scent in my teens up to my early 20's when it got discontinued. I had always gotten compliments on it (especially when I would layer a little of the sensual bedtime fragrance with it..OOMPH!) and I loved the fact that I smelled different from the other girls, most of whom were wearing fruity Escadas and Ralph at the time.

I got Truth back into my rotation from the back of the drawer and decided to finally say something about this one of a kind perfume. All the top notes listed are definitely there and very distinguishable from each other. All of them together also remind me of freshly cut grass with clover flowers. In the first 10-15 minutes after spraying the scent can overwhelm in any weather. And then in an hour or so it seems to be very faint, almost completely gone. Keyword is "seems". I've had this large bottle since the year it was produced, 2000. Yes, I get distracted a lot to other scents and rarely finish a bottle soon. So I immediately thought: oh well, it disappeared fast, must be because it's an old bottle. Nope. As I went on with my day the scent kept appearing out of nowhere, when the wind would blow, or when I moved faster, when I would turn my head I would sense this delicate aura of perfume just hanging around me all day, almost 8 hours, and surprising me when I would already forget about it. The initial woody/green notes develop wonderfully into tasteful floral mix - I am not a big florals fan, it has to be just right. And this enigmatic scent absolutely gets it right. I smell more of mimosa, lily and vanilla in the development stages. Don't get much of peony. The bottle annoys me though. I never paid attention to its design, but noticed it right now, that it's actually made at a slight angle, like it's bending in the wind or something like that. Unless, that's how the designer wanted to convey the perfume's association with a bamboo shoot, or a grass stalk. I'm almost done with my bottle from 2000, and thinking to get a new one, but I noticed that the liquid in the bottle in the photos looks much much lighter, than the one I have right now. Mine is darker, almost cognac-colored. And it was this color from the beginning, it didn't turn. If you bought Truth recently, is it really light-colored juice, and how does it compare to an older, darker version?

I'm new to this one and a bit puzzled, firstly because for years I had it filed with all the other CK releases of the 90-era with naff names (Escape, Eternity, Contradiction). In a vague sort of way I thought Truth would be a variant of Eternity, ie a nasty aquatic. Finally I started noticing favourable reviews of Truth which suggest that it is a minor masterpiece that has flown under the radar for years. People often mention it having been d/c but it is easily had online. Secondly, there are several notes in the there I'm unfamiliar with. Bamboo? Does that even have a scent? Clover? Hmmm ... so that's the green grassy accord. Peony? Don't know it well except that it's often paired with rose and I feel I can smell rose in this perfume, especially on fabric. I do smell lily quite distinctly and I enjoy its savoury, almost salty quality. I don't get much vanilla or amber or sandalwood, but it's early days. I feel that this is the sort of perfume that will reveal different notes and nuances as I keep wearing it. At the moment for me it is a clean, juicy green floral with interesting sweet/salty effects and moderate sillage and longevity. Although a green fragrance Truth does not include galbanum, hyacinth or okamoss, as so many greens of an earlier era did. I like old fashioned greens but they can be statement pieces rather than something I'd wear every day. And finally, for a clean fragrance the musk is relatively moderate. In Truth, everything is held in moderation, very nicely balanced. Perhaps that makes Truth an unadventurous Plain Jane of a perfume? The choice for people a bit timid about wearing perfume at all? Maybe. Or it could suit someone searching for something intelligent, subtle and chic. The distinction between the two is fine. A woman who wears Truth might include in her look one very particular signature accessory, for contrast: vibrant red lipstick perhaps, or statement earrings.