Realist

1st test report: I tend to not like marine notes. To me, they come across as purely chemical creatures, rather than natural. So, I am pleased to discover that the marine note I detect in the opening of Realist is balanced by the different citrus and petitgrain, to the degree where I find it pleasant. Some angles of the citrus take on the quality of bitter rind, its bite taming the chemical edge of the marine note I usually can't help but focus on. To me, it invokes a breakfast at the shore, where the ocean breeze is washing over the table, some fresh citrus and flowers before you. Then, I start to detect the smell of tea bridged between the marine and citrus opening. The light ocean breeze kicks up the olfactory stimulus surrounding you and swirls them together, now including dry grass nearby (likely from vetiver). The scene has been set... It seems it will be a wonderful, peaceful, day by the seaside with loved ones. Quite nice. This is described by the maker as a ceremonially inspired scent. After about 2 hours, the sweet incense and cedar does begin to appear. While the evocation of the opening is so far away from this, making it difficult for me to mentally make the leap to a buddhist ceremony, but I can easily imagine coming in from the outdoor seaside experience to an old beach bungalow with dark wood interior, steeped in the scents of years of burning candles and various spices... a rich surrounding filled with cozy tradition and comfort. It continues to work for me as it transforms.

It is a pleasant lemon scent (with a bit of aquatic pineapple). It can cut through the dull air immediately. I cannot get the Japanese zen vibe. It is not a calming but uplifting, energetic scent.

A pass for me. I get intense citrus, cucumber and rose.

It smells like spray on axe deodorant, lmao.

Unlike people that have voted, this is very weak on my skin. Too ‘green’ smelling for me too. It reminds me of trans,cis-2,6-nonadienal, the aldehyde found in melon and cucumber that I really don’t like. Also it has the overused citrus notes (bergamot and lemon) and an overused wood note, cedar. So definitely not for me.