Odeur 53

This is the best of the synthetic genre, as far as I'm concerned. Abstraction is what modern perfume has been trying to reach all through the 20th century, trying to escape the conventionalism of the period. Odeur 53 is like a cubist piece of art. Abstraction is the main word here. It contains 53 different inert or inorganic notes as : freshness of oxygen, flash of metal, fire energy, washing drying in the wind, the mineral intensity of carbon, sand Dunes, nail polish, cellulosic smell, pure air of the high mountains, ultimate fusion, burnt rubber, flaming rock, and much more... My own nose could guess that more than 60% of the formula is comprised of hedione, a chemical molecule that represents a radiant jasmine odour in a dusty way. The rest is an absolutely amazing recreation of an electric feeling in the air, heavy and charged like just after a thunderstorm. I can even smell the electricity on it. The IFF describes it as “a perfume that evokes images, creating your own air around you,” and "a memory of a smell'", a olfatory deja vú. I couldn't agree more with this synopsis. There is no air freshener here, nor detergents or laundry cleaning powder. It's the capture of natural ozone odour. Hard to explain without the bottle in front of you; impossible, in fact. Odeur 53 starts ozonic but grey, but not heavy, light and airy, and there's not enough complexity yet to bring reminiscences of anything like a real flower, but something like the hint of jasmine floats through the airy, as a transparent blend. About the rest of the notes, I cannot detect even a hint of the cellulosic or fire energy, but there's a definite metallic accord, light one, and also a touch of linen drying in the sun. The nail polish is, maybe, evident in the alcohol-heavy opening but it doesn't last more than 2 seconds. Later, there is a vague hint of something such as lemon tang.The fragance turns more dusty now, even electric. I can visualize now, images of thunderstorms and heated pavement of cities, drying off after the heavy rain; maybe carbon accord here is getting obvious, but still heady remains the clean, transparent ozone dominating note. It is so incredibly easy to wear, at any occasion. The silage and projection are the best I've been experienced. A highly recommended scent.

Okay, so this is my first perfume review ever. I really felt the need to review this, so here we go. First of all: Yes, I own a bottle of this. I‘ll try to only review what I actually own. I don‘t quite understand the bad reviews of this, because I personally think it‘s fantastic. Now, this is something extremely odd and therefore hard to understand, but the concept is so unique that I really can‘t not like it. You get a bunch of descriptions on the packaging, however I don‘t really think all of them are true. To me, it smells like different situations. It reminds me of walking into a perfume store, a beach on a sunny day, fresh air, clean laundry, the waiting area in airports, sunscreen and modern clothing stores. My girlfriend just thinks it smells like her grandma. Odeur 53 really just smells like the definition of perfume to me. It‘s so generic and odd at the same time, which makes it undescribeable to me. I haven‘t sprayed it on anyone else but since I‘ve got a 200ml bottle now, I might as well do that and have some fun with it. I‘d consider it wearable but keep in mind, it won‘t last long. It‘s also more on the female side but since I‘m a guy, I think anyone could wear it and be fine with it. Just don‘t expect anyone to notice it. Odeur 53 is more like an art concept than an actual perfume. I like odd things, so that‘s why I got it. If you want a classic everyday scent, you‘ll need to look out for something else.

The first time I smelled Odeur 53 I was relatively new to perfume and couldn't understand why this was such a crowd pleaser for the weird and experimental enthusiasts. I thought it was pretty boring. Returning to it some time later, not only do I understand why it's so well-loved, but I now believe that it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece. There is something so nostalgic and whimsical about Odeur 53 that it gives me chills. I have a total dreamlike vision in my mind when I'm wearing this; I'm looking out of the window of an office unit in a tall skyscraper. Somehow, the windows are open and the cold air from the high altitude is gently washing over me. From my window I see the beach. The sky is blue but the sun is low and it's almost time to go home. It feels like the early 00's, and Aphex Twin's "Lichen" is playing in my mind. There is something quite unrefined and almost primitive about the smell of clay and sand, brought into a modern context with a metallic swell, somewhat static and electrical as others have mentioned. It is so beautiful and pure and clean. Not clean in an earthly sense, but clean in the sense that this must be what you smell like in heaven. So utterly serious in how whimsical this fragrance is. Call me dramatic.

This smells like the fake leather seat of a chair for visitors in a hospital room, sitting in a sunny spot by the window. There is an antiseptic vibe, or maybe the scent is so subtle that I am accidentally picking up alcohol. But I also think there is some vague warmth at the heart of this fragrance. It's definitely clean, but not fresh in any organic sense, and not very soapy, not detergent-like or aldehydic at all or powdery. Just a very very soft and just slightly warm scent. I do not smell wood or spice whatsoever. Skin-close. This smells like scent-free hypoallergenic warm washed hospital towel being pressed against your nose and mouth by a cold metal hand. It's weird in a comforting way, eventually. I find this scent really cuddly, somehow. Like a rubber baby I want to kiss. A way more pleasant scent than Odeur 71, but less wearable than 2. I don't think you could offend strangers in an elevator by wearing any amount of this, and I don't think it will get you any compliments either. Yet, I still think it's an extremely interesting fragrance to try out and talk about.

This scent isn't as 'ridiculous' as the notes might suggest. I find that it has quite a consistent smell, with not much difference between the top notes and its base. Everyone seems to find a different way of describing this smell, but to me it smells mostly like a combination of palm hearts and ozone (the smell you get of newly photocopied paper, after a lightning strike, or put your nose right in front of a regular CRT television). For the most part though, it doesn't really smell like a composition of scents as its 53 notes might imply, but once applied takes on a rather singular scent all its own. After wearing it for a month, I would recognize this scent in an instant. It's one that really must by tried to know if you like it or not. And like I said, although it definitely isn't like other perfumes, it's not such an unusual fragrance, and many perfume aficionados might very well enjoy it. It's quite likeable, and to tell the truth I actually love it.