Relief

Opens with a beautiful fresh tea note, then morphs into a stunning tobacco note, and the drydown is all about natural ambrette supported by myrrh, lavender and a pinch of woods, giving a perfect impression of hay. In the late drydown, the myrrh becomes dry and takes the lead with a plastick-y and liquorice/star anise facet. Modest projection, but last forever. This could be a darker flanker of La Curie Larrea. Not that these are identical, but definitely stand on the same shelf. Is it full bottle worthy? In terms of scent, absolutely. It is unique, with high quality ingredients, but it's not a daily versatile wear imo. Now, in terms of pricing, if you're used to spend big bucks for niche like Nasomatto (and even more, for frags like Tom Ford that cannot compete with this one in terms of quality), that will probably be a no-brainer. For others though (me within others), the jury is still out... In any case, getting at least a sample is a must for any fraghead! Fall days, 30+ ⁝

For me this is a beautiful crystalline brown; the spicy-sweet sun tea smell of decaying ancient live oak leaves warmed by the sun. It’s far more than that though...and people who are far better at wordings have already said more than I can if you will give it a quick google (please do). If you like tea, hay notes, ambrette...okay real talk if you like fragrance you should at least sample this. I have a back up bottle and that’s not something I typically do.

I bought a bottle of this when it was released but didn't really understand it until I tried a sample of Oriza L. Legrand Chypre Mousse. They are not the same, but both have a very natural and earthy quality. To me this is more of a chypre than an amber fragrance. Lovely, but surely will not please everyone.

Like with many of Chris Rusak's works, each wearer's experience with Relief will vary greatly. Some people's skin may eat it up and you may not be able to smell it. On others it may explode and fill the air. Some people may smell dank, damp, dirty, and wet. Others may smell fresh, green, resinous. On me, Relief is a beautiful resinous fragrance. I get waves of myrrh and oakmoss whose more aromatic features lead to a gorgeous fragrance of black tea leaves in the opening. Unmistakably earthy, I get damp, fermented, maduro cigar tobacco that is evened out by a punch of dusty orris root. This fragrance is layered, and varies in experience person to person. If you like resins, this is a must try.

What an interesting scent this is! From the get-go, I get a staid, stale scent. And not because my sample has turned, or because it's old, but because it's an interesting combination of ingredients that make this smell like old paper or clothes that have hung in a wardrobe, untouched, for decades. There is a mild citrus element running through this, and the hay-tobacco always creates some kind of nostalgia and memory lane revisiting. It's funny -- it smells like the grains of time, and possibly this is what is provoking this reaction. Great stuff, but not for me, unfortunately...

I got a sample of this expensive juice and regret doing so. It smells like wet hay and it gives me a medicinal herb smell. I tried giving it a few hours and its still smells like wet dirt and plants you just pulled out of the dirt.

This is probably my favorite release of the year I get tons of hazy hay, some earthy mushroom like qualities and tons of tea. Absolutely perfect.

On me, it smells like celery and licorice.