21

Costume National 21 opens with a strong projection of ambery, floral, gourmand, and citrus accords. The saffron, cashmere wood, amber, and milk are the most noticeable accords. The amber and the milk combine creating a delectable milky sweet note, that makes the milk feel denser and more aromatic; the saffron is another prominent note which comes as floral, slightly green with a touch of honey; the cashmere wood adds a fresh wood touch which adds depth to the opening. The mid notes join supporting the opening notes, woods, citrus, and spicy accords. The bergamot note is short-lived. The base notes are prominent, the tonka bean and vanilla make all notes aromatic and sweet, the patchouli and vetiver add a noticeable pleasant green and herbaceous accord that is perfectly balanced and although is prominent, it does not overpower other accords. The most noticeable changes from the opening to the dry down are, the addition of the green patchouli and vetiver accords which occur towards the dry-down but they gradually fade away leaving behind just soft green traces of them, the change from a strong to a moderate projection, and finally, the noticeable gourmand sweet touch that the tonka and vanilla add to the fragrance. Once Costume National 21 has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a very complex, moderate projection, sweet, ambery, gourmand (milk, vanilla, tonka) fragrance with woody, spicy and soft floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, comforting, creamy, delicious, gourmand, milky, inviting, sweet ambery, mature, nicely-blended, rich, sticky, sugary, syrupy, warm, and very pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2020 WOW RATING: 9/10. Costume National 21 is a delicious fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The notes are well blended, inoffensive. Some could find it overly sweet. UNIQUENESS: 7/10. The market has many gourmand fragrances although this is a good one. MASS APPEAL: 9/10. Most people will find this fragrance very appealing. PROJECTION: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet around the wearer. SILLAGE: 5/10. Moderate, about 5 feet behind the wearer. APPLICATION: 3 atomizations will suffice. LONGEVITY: 4/10. About 4 hours with 2 of good projection. SEASONS: Winter, fall, colder nights, or climate-controlled environments. OCCASIONS: Outdoor gatherings, casual, holidays, romantic, dating. VERSATILITY: 5/10. Not the most versatile fragrance because of its gourmand nature. GENDER: Unisex, the notes found in this fragrance are neutral. AGES: Any. RECOMMENDATION: Costume National 21 can be found discounted for about $100, for 3.4oz which is a reasonable price for a quality fragrance. It is a nice-to-have, consider options before committing. BLIND-BUY: No, sample it first. SIMILAR: These are examples of gourmand fragrances, some feature gourmand notes. Dua Fragrances Beauteous Delight is the clone of Feve Deliciouse, very similar but with stronger citrus notes and great longevity; Kilian Black Phantom is a gourmand boozy fragrance, excellent quality, and longevity; Montale Chocolate Greedy bring cacao, vanilla, and tonka, but lacks performance; Paco Rabanne Black XS By Paco Rabanne is a gourmand fragrance that features praline and it feels chocolaty; Thierry Mugler - A*Men Angel Men Pure Tonka is another great gourmand fragrance featuring coffee, cacao, and other delectable notes; Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario is an exquisite malt, woods, cacao, and sugar cane gourmand fragrance; Tom Ford Noir De Noir is more floral and more chocolaty; Tom Ford Noir Extreme EDP is a sweet, dessert-like, floral fragrance but slightly tilted to the feminine side; Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille is a great boozy and vanilla fragrance; Costume National 21 is a delicious amber, milk, vanilla, and tonka fragrance. SUMMARY: A very complex, moderate projection, sweet, ambery, gourmand (milk, vanilla, tonka) fragrance with woody, spicy, and soft floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, comforting, creamy, delicious, gourmand, milky, inviting, sweet ambery, mature, nicely-blended, rich, sticky, sugary, syrupy, warm, and very pleasant.

Some scents just defy all reasoning for why you shouldn't own a full bottle, and to me, 21 is hands down one of them. By the time this dried down on my skin, I bought a full bottle on thE bay, and I never do that because I promised myself to spend time with using a whole sample of anything before ever buying. I just couldn't resist with 21... it really is that good. 21 combines the best of many of my favorite scents--the spiced incense of Tauer Marocain, syrupy oakmoss tarriness of Prada Prada, the bold patchouli and labdanum combination of Prada Intense, the deep, dark but soft spiciness of Gucci Eau de Parfum, the earthy woods and saffron of Lancome Magnifique and the mystery of oud in Montale Red Aoud. Overall, smooth, rich, soft, a little sour, and gently sweet; spicy, edible, huggable, at times aloof; full of pauses, muffled exclamations and other contradictions. Never loud, yet 21 is very present. On every level, it teters on a perfectly delicate balance. There seem to be some notes missing from the pyramid too. 21 is named so because it is a composition of 21 of the designer's favorite notes being bergamot, milk, orange blossoms, saffron, cumin (although I smell caraway), pepper, cashmere wood, royal jelly, moss, clary sage, patchouli, olibanum, amber, sandalwood, oudh wood, cedar, vetiver, labdanum, tonka bean, vanilla and musk according to a retailer's website--and oh, how all these notes blend so well! Floral woody musk it states here, although I'd most definitely also classify it as Oriental woody. A modern composition of ancient ingredients that culminate into a comfortably sensual experience that doesn't demand, yet humbly commands attention. The experience of 21 feels like being gently blindfolded by a stranger with a soft white chiffon scarf, then hearing a deep, warm, whisper in your ear from behind that says "I want to smell you all over," sending you into a soft undulation of hypersensitivity. Oooohh, I just gave myself goosebumps rereading that... Okay, time for me to go be alone with my sample now while I wait for my full bottle to arrive.

After spending significant time with 21, considering its affordability, I’ve considered it one of the most well-executed fragrances in contemporary perfumery. TOP NOTES The opening moments of this release remind me of the good old days from the earlier time in this hobby when I was experiencing everything for the first time. The initial spray releases an intriguing blend where I immediately detect the citrus notes intertwined with precious saffron, which I can’t get enough of, no matter which perfume. There’s an immediate sense of calm and comfort—like a cozy blanket in fragrance form. HEART NOTES As the fragrance settles, the heart notes emerge, revealing a spicier and more complex layer. The caraway and black pepper add a gentle heat that contrasts beautifully with the initial citrus and saffron burst, giving the scent an intriguing edge. Caraway does not produce a body odor smell here, and it is masterfully combined with black pepper and that slightly milky and animalic royal jelly. BASE NOTES I get a bit of scratchy old-school patchouli combined with tonka bean and amber, giving it that Coromandel vibe. Remember, this is not a clone; both came out in the same year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if 21 came first. Chocolate patchouli aroma is here if that is what you are searching for, but do not expect it too much. OVERALL Is this something new that will blow your mind? Probably not. That’s why it didn’t end up in my Holy Grail section. But it is worth checking out if your collection doesn’t have a similar spicy patchouli fragrance. Read the full review at scentgrail (.) com

You know that feeling when you try a perfume for the first time and after a short while it reminds you of something you know very well ? After wearing this for 10 minutes I started to recognize it... pulled out my Jaipur Homme (EdP) and put it on my right hand. After the minty opening of Jaipur, the similarity was very strong. Yes, Jaipur is more powdery and 21 is more creamy and the raw materials used in 21 smell more exclusive, but the overall impression is pretty close. The name of 21 originates from the 21st anniversary of the Costume National brand. The scent has several sides to it : sweet woods, resins, vanilla and spices, probably saffron and a dash of cumin or caraway. The overall impression is warm, comforting and creamy. At the same time mild, somehow complex and very well balanced. Unisex leaning slightly masculine. 21 is an urbanized exotic oriental for the 21st century (no pun intended). The projection is decent and the longevity very good. The notes are somewhat blurry and come like a blanket in several layers in their interplay, making the whole thing seem even more well composed. Overall a great achievement that's both delicious and luxurious. CN 21 is an excellent scent that will definitely replace my Jaipur Homme when it's empty - but if you're digging this but are on a tight budget, Jaipur will be an acceptable replacement.

Every now and then, smooth and creamy fragrances tend to appeal to me. They're my answer to the 'clean' fragrances where soapiness and sharp citrus fail to impress. Costume National 21 is positively amazing. It smells like sweetened milk, vanilla and spice. I think I was in love the first time I smelt it. It's a touch ambery and sweet at times, however the white creaminess of this fragrance is what stands out the most to my nose. This is the kind of fragrance that I find very relaxing. It reminds me a little of Diesel's Plus Plus Feminine and Emporio Armani White for Women. Costume National 21 opens rather creamy and luscious, in some ways innocent and pure. Towards the heart there is a touch of pepper, rich amber and caraway seeds, which later rounds out to a deliciously smokey vanilla incense. I'm amazed that I have rarely heard this fragrance mentioned on our forums. I feel that I could praise it to the moon and back. Although having hardly anything in common, Costume National 21 evokes the same soothing and cuddly sensation that DK's Cashmere Mist is so famous for. The longevity and sillage are equally impressive, being strong, without breaking down the intimacy created. I strongly recommend this fragrance.