XVII Baroque Russian Coriander

I never had seen this before when looking at Clive Christian. The name really intrigued me, and the website’s notes sounded nice. Without a Clive Christian store with it nearby, I had to call around a lot to find ask sales associates their opinion. Some described it as old man. Some said a modern RL Polo Green. The only two reviews online were on the Russian Fragrantica site, go figure. I had to translate them. They weren’t detailed, but it sounded alright. I took a risk and found a bottle on eBay for over half off unboxed. Right away, the opening seemed nearly identical to Clive’s 1872 Masculine. Maybe just a tad refined. It’s maybe a little stronger, and that’s probably coming from additional 5% oil concentration. As it dries down, some moments made smelled a little like Clive X masculine (just faintly) mixed with 1872 and a touch of Polo Green. It definitely feels a little more mature than 1872. It’s a good professional scent. All in all, it’s essentially a re-release of 1872, perhaps even a reformulated version With more clary sage. I do quite like it, but I like 1872, too. Having both in my collection feels a little redundant. If I had to choose one, it would probably be 1872, especially considering this one’s price compared to it. This is my first day wearing it, so I’ll wear it a few more times before making final judgements. Longevity would easily last a workday into dinner with projection for about 5-7 hours at around 2-4 feet.

Clive Christian Russian Coriander is very similar to 1872. It is more rounded, more refined and more modern than 1872, but still very similar. Think of it this way; 1872 is the EDT and Russian Coriander is the EDP of the 1872 profile. If 1872 had an older brother, this would be it. This is 1872 but with slightly bigger muscles. It's a bit darker, a bit deeper and a little more fully fledged. 1872 has more of a "sharp" nuance. Russian Coriander is just rounder and more fully developed. I have to say, if I own one, I probably wouldn't need the other. However, 1872 has that little "sourness" vibe to it that I might seek every now and then. My vote goes to Russian Coriander overall. Seriously though, you cannot go wrong either way. 1872 = The OG. Clean, green, sparkly, classy. RC = Modern, rounded, refined version of the OG.

Update: I wore this and 1872 on each wrist today. I regret buying this now. Literally almost identical, just slightly strong. Kenzoh’s below agreement made me feel better. I agree that there’s more leather to it, but it’s almost indescribable. 1872 is the tiniest bit greener. Russian Coriander is a touch fresher, but it’s splitting hairs. My mom has a bloodhound nose and she thought they were basically identical. If I had to choose one, I’d probably choose 1872, primarily for the price.

Clive Christian Russian Coriander is fantastic reinterpretation of its 1872 masculine fragrance with some additional notes and improved performance. I agree with previous reviewer that Russian Coriander is 1872 plus clary sage and coriander in the middle notes.Also I get very strong leather note at the base which smells high quality leather. Very high class, long lasting and sophisticated scent. But if you already own 1872 masculine owning Russian Coriander would be redundant.

Was this really worth the price? Not really but I don't regret buying this. Russian Coriander is the second discontinued Clive Christian from the Noble collection that I buy for my curated mini collection (you're next Cedar Leaf) and, although I paid basically double what I paid for Papyrus, I think this is a really nice fragrance. I haven't smelled 1872 in a while but this does remind me of it, although 1872 had a noticeable spiciness that reminded me of the original Absolu Aventus. Russian Coriander opens with a sharp and almost pungent coriander (color me surprised) over mossy citruses, particularly grapefruit. It's a bit overwhelming and the early opening does come across very green and vegetal, yet also bright and juicy, but thankfully the coriander doesn't stick around so pungently for long, after around 15 minutes or so it greatly decreases to let the grapefruit shine a bit more, as well as the oakmoss and some clary sage. After some time I detect something like what I call "petrol leather" up close on skin, but dosed low enough that it isn't distasteful or unbalanced, but at the same time it doesn't really smell like leather to me at all either. Overall it's a really nice fragrance but probably not worth how much I paid for it ($360 approximately). In terms of performance this is considerably better than 1872 so it kind of lets me justify the price. Projection is moderate to strong and this projects for several hours instead of drying down to a skin scent in about 2 hours. Sillage is also more dense and persistent, I've been able to smell myself all day without much issue but also not too strongly. Longevity is really good too as this does go for a good 8 hours. It probably won't last as long as Papyrus but it's still a great longevity for a freshie.