Io

Glorious geology! Rugged yet richly aromatic, almost fruity resins make up its incredibly strong backbone - lasts alllll day on me, which is horribly rare - and rule the roost here. Not a whole lot of frankincense to my nose, it smells more towards the sweet 'n sour, less airy feel of myrrh and labdanum, but at first you might be more distracted by the amazingly down-to-earth soil note - not muddy, not sandy, but somehow rich and loamy and deeply peppery in the first few hours. It's rough-hewn, challenging stuff - the earth & cypress notes combine at first to give an effect something like really strongly mentholated mud - but LOVELY mentholated mud - for a few hours. But this coarser edge recedes (?erodes?) a bit later to leave more fresh air for some really smoky smoke to waft about in, with the resins still thrumming away beautifully. Might be a bit too arty and odd to appeal to everyone - the twangier side of the resin mix can edge towards creosote and then on to urinous in some moments, and there's very little floral or gourmand to smarten up the rugged feel - but for me at least it's an absolutely gorgeous landscape to roam about in. Then it goes and confuses me completely by wafting something that seems like a much more eccentric, less sweet Baccarat Rouge 540 (whaaaat?) across my nose every now and then and all of my theories about it implode. Truly impressively individual, character-filled stuff; a really sincere nature-heavy scent which makes even some of D S & Durga's more outdoorsy adventures seem a little over-groomed, a little urban-hipster, a bit try-hard by comparison. Absolute love, absolute want. ETA: a dream realised, at great cost - because when I heard it was being discontinued, the idea of living without ever smelling Io again was horrific. In a few years I feel this one will have become legend. It deserves to be, for all the geological ages.

A little perplexed at where my review of this is? I'm sure I penned one way back when I first tried this but never mind. I can't really add much more than some of the brilliant reviews below, don't take my word for how good Io is, just read theirs. Io is my favourite creation from Chris and I will always associate him with resins and specifically the coulter pine resin that he gathers himself from his home in California. It's very weird smelling stuff, oddly sweet and almost myrrh like toffee and vanilla nuance, but highly medicinal and starkly modern smelling, like scotch tape or brown parcel tape. Not sure if it features heavily in Io but it's laden with resins regardless, translucent, and sepia stained and with a twang which replicates saffron in heat and impact, but not smell. As for the feel... This fragrance depicts an almost post apocalyptic, sci-fi landscape, the Dune novels, Tatooine, Mad Max, or ("get your ass to...") Mars. A barren, parched, place. I can hear sweeping, analogue synth pads and piercing, mock native riddims, or less cerebral and representing Io's rougher side, dusty, southern rock, like Kyuss or Clutch. The dry woodiness supplied by a smokey, lightly peppered, cedar and earthy tones but not bogged down or big smokey OD's. I like Chris's work and he's actually very eclectic despite having quite an uncluttered and minimal aesthetic. I said I feel he has an affinity with wood and earthy materials but that's perhaps because I haven't sampled his more floral offerings. He has control over his materials, unlike some indy perfumes that produce heavy soups & stews, he prefers to let the naturals have a little breathing space within a minimal, synthetic construction, and the mixed media approach is working for him. I think Io is a triumph, shame I didn't put my money where my mouth is now it's all gone. :(

This is the circle of life in a bottle. More than anything I've ever encountered, it captures the energies of the sun and the earth. As such, it's intimidating at first. I was afraid that it's dryness, intensity, and realness were too much for me. But when I first wore it outdoors, and realized how expansive and luminous it is when it has space to breathe, I understood that this is a truly special perfume. . Wearing Io makes me feel invigorated, it heightens all of my senses and awareness. I often find myself smiling in response to catching a whiff of it. It's so complex and long lasting, with swirling and tidal phases of dry sweetness, hot smoke, sharp woods, fiery incense, waxy resins, and a forest that's sometimes verdant, and sometimes burned to char and ash. I still marvel at its brilliance every time I wear it. . What I love about Io most is the fact that this perfume is so undeniably and lovingly born from trees. Not ripped from, squeezed from, or synthesized from, but respectfully gathered and respectfully used. This perfume speaks to a reverence for nature that makes it feel profoundly intimate to me. It gives me chills when I think about it. It pleases my pagan heart endlessly . . I also have to add that Io is *phenomenal* for layering -- it adds such depth and interest to anything that is sweet. My favorite combinations are Io with all of the Alien flankers (delicious) and Io with Tom Ford Urban Musk (debauchery).

The last perfume I discovered from this Rusak collection and once again, I'm quite transported by the discovery. On my side, I really have the earthy aspect, humus, manure, and decomposed organic matter. Memories of walking in the forest in the fall, picking mushrooms in a wicker basket, dry leaves, mud sticking to the boots; and then a wetter/darker aspect, a humid cellar, a wash house, an image of that kind... It's brown/black, quite beautiful, very smoky, freshly ground pepper, with incense waking up in the heart of this little mixture, making it something very enveloping, and above all totally out of time. It then evolves on a very resinous aspect, thuja, as if the little scene described above was slowly coming back to life. Like all the other perfumes tested by this perfumer, it's a painting, a picture, or a diorama. It's something you'd want to smell in a museum, in a gallery, and to experience at the same time as you look/listen to other beautiful things.

The top is all about an earthy/peaty sweet thing, clearly full of synthetics, but so well done. The base is all about a beautiful frankincense note, with support of resins, spices, cypress and most of all labdnaum. Great performance on my skin. The opening is quite unique, and the base is reminding me of several fragrances without being identical to any: Piguet Casbah (and several other incense fragrances), Piguet Bois Noir and ELdO Attaquer le Soleil. Masterpiece and, as expected for an indie house: not a masterprice... But I have to be honest: this has been a wow for me... everything has a price I guess. I bought a sample: my 3rd encounter with Chris Rusak, and my 3rd astonishment. Expensive but worth it. That said, given the great performance and the low versatility, even just 2ml will probably last me a life! Stunning. Colder evenings, 30+