Steampunk

For me one of the most beautiful scent memories of 2013. This is true of every view details. It is soft, soft violets, he is romantic, not too much sweet, floral and its wooden base is indescribable. A beautiful, through-composed idea. Erik Kormann is an unknown perfumer. No advertising. But very proffessionell. Only very small quantities, the bottles are small works of art. Very interesting graphics. In Germany they are already collected. Is a very interesting niche.

This starts out with dirty cedar and violet leaf and it can be a little jarring. There is an earthy muskiness. The cedar and elmeni combine and make that slightly carmel-scent for a few moments. As it settles the violet emerges as a soft floral powder, but never candied. The cedar stays strong and woody. I have to admit that I am really fond of the damp smell of violet leaf. I understand how it could be off putting but I just find it woodsy and comforting. It's not the "most steampunk" thing I've ever smelled, but I have created soap scents for steampunk conventions so I am a little bias and the woody violet does balance a dirty/earthy aesthetic with a more refined one and an interesting dustiness that isn't out of place in the genre. The longevity seems to be right around 6 hours Upon revisiting in colder weather after I've been wearing a lot of cedar and woods the floral violet really comes out, and a damp note. It reminds me of the violet version of Olympic Orchids Sakura or the brooke note in Brooklyn butterfly. A true to life aquatic note that was completely unexpected.

From this virtually unknown parfumer, a violet treasure that is neither innocent nor dark and is the most aromatic violet fragrance I've experienced to date. Why is this not better known? I ordered a number of samples from indiescents and received two complimentary vials. Steampunk was one of the freebies and it is hands down my favorite. I'd have never thought to order it deliberately; what a welcome surprise! It is a lovely woodsy violet; cedar and cashmeran blend smoothly with the violet and ever so subtle citruses (I am guessing lime). I am unfamiliar with elemi; perhaps this is the equalizer that brings it all together so beautifully. I catch a distinct yet not screechy metallic note (elemi?) that ups the intrigue and is appropriate for the moniker of Steampunk. Unlike another reviewer, I get absolutely no candy vibe from this. It is not sweet at all to me. And I get none of the powder listed in the notes either. I strongly encourage violet lovers to try this; please don't let the steampunk association deter you. That was the reason I was not originally interested in it - I did not like the name and assumed it would smell awful. It does not. As I already stated, it is highly aromatic and that is what I love about it. There is an orange blossom vibe to it that delights me even more as I have great difficulty with orange blossom fragrances, though I love the scent. This is a sophisticated, sexy violet for those who are tired of uber-sweet, pungent or bland fascimiles of that bewitching little flower.

Where is the violet? Strangely, I'm not getting any. I smell a load of Cashmeran and elemi, a sweet and fuzzy blob of a scent, quite pleasant actually, and reminiscent of the atmosphere in an evergreen forest in winter. It combines elements of Cedre Sandaraque and Eau des Merveilles, that same sort of crackling dry woodiness, radiance, and sparkling, balsamic quality. This would have been so nice had the violet come forth better. The Cashmeran, elemi and cedar are doing a fine job on their own, but it's not exactly the kind of fragrance I would enjoy wearing; the Iso E Super is just too pronounced for my liking, infusing the composition with that specific type of generic masculinity. Still, I really quite like the sweet, woody elemi in this. I didn't know it can have such a sugary character--it smells quite a bit like burnt sugar to me, in a good way, though I can imagine it could get tiring after a while. I’m not very familiar with the steampunk aesthetic but the fragrance has a certain retro vibe about it that also feels very modern, a bit like sorting through tools and basic technological materials stored in a trunk in a wooden attic. An interesting fragrance for sure, and I'm glad I could sample it, even though it's not exactly my cup of tea.

I want to know what this smells like, but the name is so dated. As a branding strategy, this would have been really smart ten or fifteen years ago. Now, however, it seems like a marketing blunder. Nothing is as old as the recent past.