1904

Roasted coffee beans with lime zest and some spicy woods. And oddly, its smells fantastic and super wearable. Would be an outstanding signature scent because it could be worn really anytime. Really interesting and pleasing composition. I was easily able to pick out the coffee and lime, while the other notes (sandalwood, jasmin) start coming on through the mid. Good longevity (7 hours on skin and 24 on clothing), and that is with my fragrance-sucking skin. Not an overt gourmand to me, since the coffee note is subtle and melds with the other notes so well. FB worthy.

Fascinating and weird. Super creative, like nothing else anywhere. Every note he lists sparkles with pure clarity, even though they blend together as a distinct thing. And the story of the formulation is arresting, transporting, meaningful. I'm reminded of the opening lines of Gone With The Wind, which I memorized as soon as I first read them in childhood "Scarlet O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. In her face were too sharply blended the delicate features of her mother, a Coast aristocrat of French descent, and the heavy ones of her florid Irish father. But it was an arresting face..." The combination of lime and coffee creates a distinct accord that lasts on my skin far longer than the rest of the fragrance, and far longer than most formulations period. Also very potent on synthetic fibers. I wouldn't say I like this accord - it hits both at the front of my nose (lime, possibly fixed on target there in my sense organ by some mentholated cardamom?) and the back of my hard palate / tongue (coffee) at the same time, which is indeed a *sharp blend*. I don't revel in, but do appreciate, this distinctness. For hours, it continues to ground my lived sentimental experience in the story he's telling of 1904.

Big fan of this house- I love independent perfumers like Shawn and want to support what they do. This is where the true artistry in perfumery dwells. No corporate boardrooms, no mass-market testing, no hamstringing of the perfumer’s vision, freedom to draw inspiration from wherever the artist finds it. This is what 1904 is about. It’s not mass pleasing and combines notes that you wouldn’t normally find together. It’s a creative endeavor, to be sure. Upon first spray, you are greeted with a very unusual combination of lime, cardamom and coffee and you aren’t sure it’s going to work out at all. After some minutes, the lime subsides and what is left is a spiced coffee with just a vague hint of residual freshness. The florals come out after a while too, not overpowering, but just a hint. The dry down simmers all these ingredients together on a low boil. I can understand why 1904 wouldn’t appeal to some people- this is not a Macy’s counter scent- but props to Shawn for making some thing truly unique that takes us on a definite olfactory journey.

After the first spray, I thought this was going to be an instant scrubber. Smelled like wet cement. But after a couple of minutes the notes opened up and the cardamom, lime and coffee started to shine. After a while, the lime tones down and a hint of florals come out. Very interesting and creative and worth testing, but not full bottle worthy for me. But Confluence might just be full bottle worthy.

Yeah, no. There are some notes that just don't play well together and this is why lime coffee is not sold. Mostly cardamom with floral as it wears onward, or at least as long as I could stand it on my skin.