Asagiri

"When dawn rises over Mount Fuji in winter, it is foggy. The expanse of mist is so vast that the majestic mountain is out of sight." "The other day, we were again in the Jardín Japonés (Japanese Garden), walking with a bottle of our favorite Asagiri Fueguia 1833. I found that it was not in my notes, although I had spoken about it so much. This is an ode to the Cypress endemic family of the Land of the Rising Sun, consisting of the following species: hinoki - dull cypress; hiba - dolabratny tuevik; sugi - Japanese cryptomeria. When I was waiting for a meeting with it, I assumed that there would be a wood-resin theme, but no. This story is more about a cypress forest in the morning, wet all night in the rain, after a warm day. A wet veil hovers right over it and over its skin. It smells of damp tree bark, soft pine needles, moss filled with water like a sponge. Through this vapor, scents of lemon cut lengthwise, salty sea breeze, earthy vetiver, and camphor-spiced red basil stem rise and fall. The sillage remains as wet as the start. "A transparent raindrop on a cypress tree in a foggy forest before dawn" is how short Asagiri can be described. It is unisex and can be worn anywhere, anytime. It can give tone, become mystical and unreal, like an enchanted forest, soothing, light, and covering like a dense concrete block. Rather, this perfume reflects and enhances the state in which you are at the moment. Another treasure in the collection!"

An interesting and unique masculine woody musk fragrance that is meant to evoke the snow capped peaks of Mount Fuji. And does it really well. The perfume contains three central notes of trees native to this region: Hinoki (Japanese cedar), Sugi (Japanese cypress), and Hiba (Thuja cypress) in a base of musk mallow. It is a simple but beautifully constructed linear woody scent that glows on skin. Masculine leaning perfume with moderate sillage and very good longevity. Evocative and haunting and very reminiscent of the smells of this region which I have had the fortune of visiting. Enjoy!

what fueguia does, it does well. sometimes their intent to replicate something doesn't achieve the goal, but unwittingly accomplishes something entirely unrelated... sorry for (un)humble brag, but i've spent a RIDICULOUS amount of time in japan. ridiculous. boasting over, i have done a lot of isolated-mountain temple wandering in practically ALL corners of the country, and this does NOT replicate ANY sort of rural mountain, moss/mist-cloaked or otherwise, nor is there any tangible forest feel to this. what it does do, though, is replicate the scent of a particular stage of sake (rice wine) maturation that is quite spot on. the yeasty, earthy and booze-soaked barreliciousness, which, i have smelt before in fueguia's work... a few years ago, i bought another fueguia bottle from their italian store, and got it shipped to an airbnb apartment we were staying in on our trip to finland (hameenlinna), and i got about 4 of their 'musk' scents from their most recent series, and one of their scents, the bulnesia one, i think, had the same kinda yeasty-umami feel to it. if you've ever had a dry, unsweet, unfloral sake, ones from niigata, yamagata and akita, or even the norweigian brand Nøgne Ø, this is the spine of this scent. not nearly enough dry woods or coniferous green lushness, this speaks to my nascent love of sake and the subtle savoury aspects of it. probs not a full bottle, or even anything more than the sample i have, but, fueguia does what they do very well...

Asagiri, you spoke to me in verdant, sultry tones thematically. Then...O my beloved hiba! Even looking beyond your dull-as-dirt packaging, so enchanted was I. And then...and then...your cost. HAHAHAHA!! Sometimes ya gotta laugh at the ludicrousness of it all, dontcha?