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.

21 di CoSTUME NATIONAL rimarrà fra i miei preferiti a tempo indeterminato. Così buono che mi mancano le parole per descriverlo. Rilassante e avvolgente. Lo zafferano è presente ma ha una base dolce più che speziata, persino il sandalo è molto cremoso ... patchouli e ambra molto morbidi e leggeri. Credo che il latte leghi queste note in modo armonioso. Sicuramente nell' insieme mi sembra molto dolce ma mai stucchevole e decisamente Unisex. Mi sembra indicato per i mesi più freddi o inizio primavera, sia di giorno che di notte. In realtà è molto difficile descrivere questo EDP perchè cambia notevolmente e ha parecchio tempo per poterlo fare... una durata di oltre 12 ore sulla mia pelle e una scia notevole ( intendo oltre i due metri se stai immobile oltre i tre metri se sei in movimento ). L' intensità sembra aumentare con il tempo anzichè diminuire... è un crescendo. Per tale motivo non lo indosserei per andare al cinema o al teatro o prima di imbarcarmi per un volo. Non avrebbe necessariamente un impatto negativo anzi è un magnete per i complimenti solo che potrebbe risultare un poco invadente. Un capolavoro. Bravissima Juliette Karagueuzoglou anche se poco conosciuta. La mia personale valutazione è 11/10

Testing a sample: Cedar. This is the first frag I have ever used where the cedar was totally easy to pick out. Its there from the start and all the way thru dry-down. I personally love the smell of cedar, so I'm good with that. I think this might be what folks are calling the "masculine" aspect. The dry down is a pleasant ambery/vanilla/tonka... not too sweet... the cedar actually feels like it is the sweet note here. Sharp and sweet if that's possible. A lovely fragrance. I can see why there is a lot of love in the comments for it. I just ordered a bottle of the deodorant. Mostly cuz its price point is phenomenal comparatively, and supposedly has a much stronger longevity which this little sample I have lacks. (2-3 hours and then it becomes very close to the skin). But I was dabbing from a small vial, so the spray could be totally different. I may be crazy about this whole deodorant spray thing. I tried to google reviews for it, but found none, other than a little something about "perfume deodorants" in general being much more concentrated. So, I'll check back after it arrives and I sample it. Might be a big disaster! But at least I can use it for my pits if nothing else!

It is very seldom that I stumble upon a fragrance that I really like. This was such a fragrance. It is complex and well blended. To me this is a extremly sexy fragrance, and its totally unisex. Im a man and have no problem of wearing it. As another reviewer also noted, there is something mysterious with this perfume. Its like I have smelled this before, but I cannot put my finger on what. Almost like a code in my soul that is activated. Its difficult to explaine how this parfume smell like, but I love when flowers and woods are mixed in a good way. It also have a prominent anis/mint vibe that I love. Gives it a fresh, nostral opening effect. And a smooth vanilla drydown. 21 is signature scent worthy. Image I get: a rich, confident person pass you at the airport. You turn your head and start to imagine the perfect life of this person. Where does he/she live? What is her/his name? How much money does he/she have? How is his/her life? You are left with a mysterious feeling. 21 represent this feeling. IMO. Its a love from me! Amazing scent. Maybe a masterpiece? 8,5/10

I make my own "Milky Vanilla" these days, but I found this on sale for $20/1oz so I tossed it in the basket with the other fragrance I bought. I'll compare it to my own "Milky Vanilla" fragrance and post a review here when it arrives. UPDATE: Okay...this is like my version of "Whispers in the Library" mixed with one spray of my "Milky Vanilla". Nothing I haven't already experienced, but glad I bought a small bottle for the experience. Not very milky to me...but I overdose on the lactones in my "Milky Vanilla" (20% overall) so I'm used to waaaaaay more of a lactonic feel when I wear something "Milky/Creamy". This ends up in the woody category when it dries down...which is nice. This is very subtle and office safe. I'd probably spray this on after a shower and wear it around the house. EDIT: This is almost EXACTLY the same as my bottle of "Kenneth Cole - Serenity" minus the lactones. I only use that for a "Smooth Wood" layering effect, I reckon "21" will be used the same.

21 by CoSTUME NATIONAL is a fragrance that truly captivated me. Created for the brand’s 21st anniversary by perfumer Juliette Karagueuzoglou, it feels like a perfect collaboration that blends the best of both their styles. The scent opens with an unexpected mix of milk and saffron, offering a creamy and slightly spicy start that’s both unique and inviting. As it unfolds, notes of orange blossom, cashmere wood, amber, and musk add warmth and depth, creating a sophisticated heart. The base of vanilla, labdanum, and cedar wood provides a warm, woody finish that lingers beautifully on the skin. What I admire most is how this fragrance manages to be truly unique yet completely wearable at the same time. It’s not just about being different; it’s about crafting a scent that stands out while still fitting seamlessly into everyday life.

Costume National does amber that I can wear and enjoy. It's a powdery, slightly bitter sort of amber with a touch of pencil shavings. Not thick, sweet vanilla/benzoin rich amber. I personally do not detect patchouli in this fragrance, but I do smell moss and vetiver. Also sage and bergamot at the opening, but they fade and 21 becomes milky and musky. Well, the sage actually does stick around but sort of comes in waves. On my skin, 21 is not as intensely spicy as one might expect. Although sniffing the bottle and the first 5-10 minutes feature a semi-acrid cumin note, that definitely dies down. I love cumin, but it's a bit much even for me. Entirely unisex. I'd say it's a skin scent due to it's musky, slightly animalic qualities. Not a skin scent in the sense that it sits close to the skin.

21 is a singular and singularly delicious fragrance. It has garnered more compliments than any other scent in my library, and truly lives up to its reputation as a modern masterpiece. The amber-milk-patchouli-saffron-spice blend is a stroke of genius and comes together seamlessly. It's smooth, but sweet-spicy enough to stay interesting. There's something strangely sensual about it, but it's also resolutely casual and carefree. Definitely a confidence booster. It also seems perfectly suited for an age bracket that is only partially covered by other fragrances: the mid-twenties to late thirties. Perfectly unisex, and appropriate for most occasions and seasons, with the possible exception of high summer. The bottle is understated and chic as hell. Simply brilliant!

Strange and strong opening .. after 5-10 minutes for a soft,mysterious .. pepper beginning to feel in the heart notes gives the "hot" to the smell .. that evolves slowly and enters the Caraway ! at this stage develops creamy enough, the notes begin to join ... in dominating the patchouli base notes that, along with vanilla and tonka bean blend the fragrance and make it warm and elegant! ... Night and urban suitable for walking in the city ... I think it's a unique scent, which stands. Complex parfum and well done! I recommend it for the cold months .. I will use it in Winter! ;). The projection is moderate, and longevity is great (8-10 hours on me) .. Recommended !! Sillage: 8/10 Longevity: 8.5/10 Scent: 8.5/10 Overall: 8.5/10

Right off the bat, I get milky saffron. The amber is also there at the beginng and lasts all the way to the end. The opening is super unusual, very creamy and spicy. The spiciness fades some, after a while and then 21 feels more polished. Maybe the vanilla and tonka kind of smooth it out a little. In the final drydown, the patchouli appears and becomes very noticeable on my skin. This amber/patchouli-forward scent makes me think of ancient woodlands and gothic fairytales, but that milkiness gives it a modern, unexpected twist. I think this is right down-the-middle unisex and easy to wear. Like most offerings I've tried from Costume National, 21 is well-made and performs great. I love this stuff.

Got this one blind after geting it sugested to me and reading the reviews. I'm a bit lazy and live in a medium size Scandinavian town. Won't regret it for the world. The sent has it all and manages to balance it of. It has saffron, amber, pachouli, woods, it's warm and comforting yet sexy. It lasts long and stays close to the skin. It develops with out merging. It says that its wearer stands on his or her own two feets. It is my HG, the funny thing with that said is that I think the ad with the partly hidden white androgynus girl is genious because it mysteriously captivates the essence of the perfume. It can be used by any one, but I don't really want that because this is "my precious" ....

This is such an interesting scent. It came as an included sample, when I bought a bottle from Nose Paris. I think it is great to comfort loneliness or for an empty space. It smells like people coming together, late morning, early evening, light ambery glow, some fresh flowers put on the table, freshly washed blankets and a vague savory pastry cooking in the background. I cannot pick out the individual notes, but it really is an entire mood. I am thinking of getting a bottle for a home scent for certain times as it seems to fill up empty spaces, a different take on cozy for me. I can't imagine wearing it, but to me that isn't a requirement to enjoy.

This is really nice. I do love spicey fragrances but this is heavy on the saffron and has quite a dry feeling. Its warm and a little sweet. Im not sure if I get milk tbh. Its almost like a less intense, slightly sweeter, slightly less spicey Andy Tauer Moroccan desert air. A less intense version that is heavy on the saffron. I think its the amber that provides the sweetness. Its not patch heavy and Im enjoying the caraway note. Surprisingly for a spicy creature the sillage and longevity are no more than moderate. Id say it was very unisex but almost edging towards the feminine.

This one is pure beauty and originality. I cannot believe there is someone to dislike this creamy, cozy, milky, ambery, alluring, spicy deluxe fragrance. I know perfumery is subjective, but what a fantastic juice....I’m not saying you should blindbuy it but definitely give this one a sniff, buy a sample or whateva. I’m pretty sure for the most of the people who will try 21, the magic will work 101%. Performance really good, compliments for sure. For me this one goes straight in the “10 out of 10” fragrances category.

I hate to agree with everyone, but this is a really nice scent. Complex, would be a great one word description. Each note plays together like a Chicago Symphony Orchestra for your nose. It starts off smelling acceptable and improves considerably as it drys down. My nose can't detect any particular note, it only recognizes the combined effort of near olfactory perfection. 4.7/ out of 5

This is exquisite. I get the orange blossom and cedar wood right away, then it seamlessly blends into a close-wearing aura of creamy spice. Difficult to describe, but wonderfully unique and beautiful. Definitely a fall/winter scent. I don't think it develops well in warm or hot weather. Edit: I just wanted to add that I also think is a unisex scent, wonderful on anyone.