Violon Basse 16

The second perfume from the extrait de musique collection that I bought. Official notes list only woods and metal, yet it clearly smells smoky, especially in colder weather, in hot summer it is more woody. It’s one of the few smoky fragrances that doesn’t turn into a bacon scent on my skin. Surprisingly complex for such a simple note breakdown. I fell in love with it because it makes me smell like an old wooden puppet, or as if I’d just witnessed a blood ritual.

Upon the first sniff my brain went BOOM. How on earth did he manage that? I time travelled to the old music school of my childhood, the smell of the instruments, the sound of walking on wooden floors, I hear faint piano music in the distance. Or like being in proximity of of the pit of an orchestra, waiting for the opera to start. Extremely literal scent. A very impressive achievement.

Its a very simple fragrance with depth So, for someone else it could appear very complex. However its nothing to worry too much about. Its not at all satanic or Gothic in my experience. Its slightly sweet with a burnt charcoal-woodsy smell. A very stand alone and confident perfume. I like it very much 9/10

Smells like burned wood to put it simply...very smokey If you're into that then this is for you. Filippo never fails to impress

This is very complex (a word that some might confuse with loud and worrysome). So, for someone who might not invest sufficient time and attention to smell it accurately, it might indeed appear simple at first sniff. There are clearly 3 different stages. What I get is: - top: citric vanilla, with a hint of wood, vaguely inspired by Guerlain Habit Rouge EdP (vaguely!) - heart: some white florals (tuberose maybe?) with a metallic green aspect (a sharp lavender with « green base » I guess) - base: a bit more blurry and generic, but still a nice spicy wood note, maybe with a drop of amber/resins. Interesting that there is still a hint of freshness in the base (technically difficult to do). I definitely get the gothic church aspect. I kept smelling my arm. Addictive, and for sure a unique piece of art. That said, given how it morphs and its schizophrenic personality, I doubt anyone else than the wearer may fully appreciate it. That, added to an average (at best) projection, sub-standard longevity and high-end price tag ($170/50ml) doesn’t make it full bottle worthy for me. That said, I would strongly recommend to fragheads to get a sample of this one, because this is a demonstration of perfumery as an art, one to enjoy at home, egoistically, by yourself. Very unique, and thus, not very versatile imo. Cold-ish days, for trained noses.

To me, this fragrance is quite true to its name. The scent is very similar to what I smelled every time I opened my violin case: wood, a bit of dust inside the violin, metal strings, and resin used in the horsehair on the bow. Not for everyday use, but absolutely nice perfume to wear occasionally. I do not get the satanic wibes at all, but that is most likely due to the association to the instrument. This does start strong, very much incence-like, and smokiness. After a while I can smell lavender fairly strong, but it dissipates fast enough into this scent of a bowed string instrument which then lingers all day long.

opens up slightly metallic and rusty; while drying down it develops into a more greenish bitter scent, kind of like other green scents by sorcinelli (for example but not today or epicentro). its great but honestly forgettable, not my first pick from this collection 8/10

This is heavy. Also very linear the entire duration Metallic notes that have very similar kind of spicy profile to those in Unum but not today Along with some dry woods in the base Not the most wearable but certainly very long lasting and powerful

a scratchy fragrance, very balsamic, I smell liquorice and grease to lubricate the instruments as well as an antique metal. it does not make me crazy. excellent performance. church smell always positively present.7 / 10

A gothic masterpiece. I get the strong impression of coming home from a smoky club with cigarette smoke hanging to my clothes. After airing out a bit I can smell the combination of lingering smoke with the fragrance I put on prior to the start of the night. For sure not a clean pleasant scent but one that harkens back to an evening well spent. This would not be an everyday scent for me but I can see myself getting this out every so often to reminisce. Good art is often evoking a feeling and this accomplishes the job beautifully. 5 stars for the art but maybe only 2 for the overall smell.

Incense/smoky bomb I don’t get the metallic notes at all, the lavender remind me of YSL Rive Gauche Very old school men typed perfume

Smells like human sacrifice; burnt, smoky, dark, woody. Frankly, this smell is evil. Deliciously so. A lawful evil scent for satanic priests who sacrifice virgins. This is a very impressive fragrance that captures my worst nightmares. Very well crafted yet hardly wearable. I knew it would be weird; I bought a sample just to know what it smells like and I'm completely satisfied with it for its uniqueness and power. an underworld 10/10

satan's Daughter would smell like this, the day you mate you would find out what hellfire smells like. scariest fragrance to experience in my last 10 years of fragrance sniffing. respect to the creative director for making this, its scary to say the least. i smell ash leather green blood soil burned charcoal motor oil thats black and metallic woody notes. not from this planet

I bought this because as a professional violist, I thought it would be fitting to the classical aesthetic. I have to say though, nothing about this is remenicent of any stringed instrument I have met, and I couldn't imagine anyone I know wearing this. It is VERY heavy, and really lingers. Its a little scary to be honest. You have to have a little bit of a twisted demeanor to pull this perfume off. It is very metallic and harsh. It does NOT smell like a luthier shop, and is much too harsh to represent a bowed stringed instrument, let alone a baroque instrument such as a gamba, which is even softer and rounder in timbre. I think the name is misleading. I imagined something more detailed and refined, but it is just so dense.

~hand test, decant, first impression Violon Basse 16 opens with a scent that struck me as unexpectedly familiar. After a few minutes, I realized it reminded me of Rook by Rook Perfumes (2020 Edition). That said, let me clarify-Violon Basse is by no means a clone. While there are some similarities, it carves out its own identity with a much woodier, denser, earthier, and greener profile. Notes like fir balsam, artemisia, rosemary, and frankincense steer it in a distinctly different direction. The addition of abundant lavender further enhances its aromatic qualities, lending the fragrance a notably masculine edge. As it develops, the mid and drydown diverge significantly from the opening. The composition transitions into a darker, resinous, and earthy phase, where frankincense takes center stage. In its final form, Violon Basse reveals itself as a profoundly dark, cold, and earthy frankincense-forward fragrance-aromatic and hauntingly atmospheric. Actual notes based on official website are following: SUBJECT: Labdanum, Vetiver, Cistus Absolute, Tonka Bean, Amber, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla COUNTER SUBJECT: Cistus essence, Fir resin, Precious woods, Iris, Smoky accords TAIL: Juniper, Cedarwood, Elemi, Rosemary, Lavender, Artemisia, Bergamot, Lemon, Incense

First off, Violon Basse 16 is uber masculine. I am a woman, so even though I would never wear this scent, it’s not a downvote as I realize it wasn’t created for me. What I smell: first stage is brighter with some kind of citrus, and I picked up the motor oil note another person mentioned below along with some kind of metallic note, reminding me of an outdoor BBQ heating up, pre grilling. Drydown brings out the smokey incense and wood notes, and I agree with Andy that their is some kind of herbal aromatic in the mix. I like this stage much better than the strange opening. Obviously this is a daring scent. I can imagine Violon Basse 16 working on the right, confident personality, and in a cold climate. I think heat would make it unbearable. I can’t think of another scent I have sampled that smells similar, but I’m on the fence regarding if I like Violon Basse 16.

Blind bought this based on the notes. First, I don’t get any metal here at all, it opens with a cade oil smokiness on top of a lavender base. The smoke is not fiery and is more like a balm, think Tiger balm overdose. The lavender base takes priority after 30-40 minutes and it becomes a bit more spicy and sweet. Funny enough I’m not getting woody accords, I get a labdanum, lavender and slight sour note. Towards the end. The fragrance notes for this one are totally off. This is an old school lavender fragrance with some cade oil. Age is 50 plus, very manly, you need the gray hair, beard, leather jacket and motorcycle for this one.

starts with the smell of varnish, dries to smoke and finishes on wood. Now, I have no idea what I went through, this is my impression overall. It's weird and it reminds me of Bois d'Ascese somehow even though there's no incense or rum here. On the limits of wearability. It's not something you would use to be recognised to my opinion - it's not a provocation - you would rather use it on yourself because you know you have something very special, you love concepts and research. Don't get me wrong it's a very good-smelling fragrance! just not for the everyday use, intriguing. Something for you to try out!

In the oppening it is very simmilar to Notre-dame perfume, smells like burned/smokey wood. In the interview are listed all notes: Top notes: Juniper, Cedar, Elemi, Rosemary, Lavender, Wormwood, Lemon, Bergamot, Frankincense; Middle notes: Cistus, Fir Balsam, Iris, Birch Tar; Base notes: Labdanum, Vetiver, Cistus, Tonka Bean, Ambergris, Benzoin, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vanilla. So the levander and frankincense note are very prominent in this scent.

For the first 30min it smells like smoked parprika then it takes a turn and just smells like balsamic catholic church incense for about 6hours with a projection thats between moderate and strong. Defenietly a head turner just because of uniqueness of the smell, value for price is a 5/10 that if you buy it full price:3