Usar

(review from a sample) Usar is the third Euphorium Brooklyn I've tried, and while they are all stunning and of great quality, this is the most easily likeable. The "main notes according to your vote" can give you a good idea of what it smells like. It starts off with lime, spicy ginger, resin and vetiver. In this phase it is tart and both earthy and very lightly bitter due to the vetiver. Then cloves, wood and more resin make it warmer, with the addition of sugar and the same earthy aspect. In the drydown I can still smell the citrus, but it is more subdued, while vetiver is always in the background. Usar has a cola-like feel - which I love - and is quite warm despite the fresh citrus-ginger combo. I could see this being worn all year round though, even in the summer, because the projection is soft to moderate. EDIT: oh God. I think I'm getting addicted to it. It is very hot outside these days, and I can't stop thinking about Usar. It is hot, smoldering, but also humid and airy, thirst-quenching even! It is a great perfume for summer, guys. It is tart, sweet, juicy, dry... Love it. Really.

Chicago TonyT is so right in immediately pointing out that this is NOT a citrus aromatic. I would categorize it as an Oriental with heavy woods. It's a fascinating fragrance. It first reminded me of the fire that destroyed my grandparents' house. It made me remember the smell of when the fire was put out--that odd scent of damp, charred wood. I did not notice any citrus in the top, but it might just be my perception in the warm weather we are experiencing. Several minutes later, I detect a beautiful, sweet aroma that somehow smells very familiar. It's a delicate sweetness, but it isn't creamy. No vanilla here. It blends marvelously with the woods as the smokiness subsides and smooths out. I find this to be a dark scent and quite the unique woody fragrance. I get more cloviness in the drydown, which enhances the scent of the sweet woods. Think tiny cinnamon bun fresh out of the oven, and it's served on a thick, charred oak plank. [Disclosure: I now sell this fragrance at aveparfum.com. But my words are always my own, and I am totally addicted to Usar!!!]

This is the crown of the house for me. What a gem! It opens up with smoldering myrrh, a mild yet tart lime, and strange earthen bitterness. It's at first a little rough around the edges, but shortly after it enters a smooth, smoky-bitter phase that's quite stunning. It's dirty and naturalistic yet somehow not oppressively heavy as smoky fragrances tend to be on occasion. The drydown loses the lime, and begins to recede in the smoky department as well. Out of nowhere this strange familiar sweetness rises up and joins the bitterness and it becomes a reedy, naturalistic sugar cane accord, specifically the sort of tea-like, brownish, earthy qualities of sugar cane. It's very enticing. Definitely worth a try! 8/10

This stuff is wonderful. Similar to L'Artisan Parfumeur's Tea for Two, but with kicked up lime and lacking the gourmand gingerbread quality of TfT. The ginger in this is spicy, the whole thing is earthy and smoky. The effect seems very woody, though none are listed in the notes. Smells amazing on men and women. Wonderful outdoorsy type scent. Reminds of Christmas in Maine with a fire burning in the wood stove. Love it.

It starts with a coca-cola splash, but it turns into a spiced wood almost immediately. The wood notes are really hard, but they should not scare away any gentle souls, the scent does become softer and sweeter with time.