Au Delà Narcisse

I was hoping that Au Delà Narcisse wouldn't be so beautiful that I'd need a full bottle, but I should have known not to test my self-control, sigh. I'm going to use up every drop of my sample and then decide, but it seems like a no brainer if you love photorealistic narcissus surrounded by a bunch of beautiful supporting florals, ambers, and mosses, as I do. Its projection is on the intimate to moderate side, but then again, so is the scent of a jonquil. Daffodils and their kind don't announce themselves the way lilacs, lilies, jasmine, tuberose, and even roses do. Their scent is green and waxy and alive, more sharp than sweet. I find the FZOTIC (I have no idea how that is pronounced, or why it's all capped--is it an acronym?) interpretation of the narcissus every bit as beautiful as the narcissus in Ostara, which is convenient because that one has been discontinued, I think. That one is also sweeter; this is more of a green chypre. I guess my search for the perfect narcissus is over! What a perfectly lovely fragrance. Update: On a full wearing, it's even better. I wish it were less expensive! Then again, it's less expensive than several inferior niche and designer offerings I can think of, so I might just have to bite the bullet. This would be very beautiful on the right man, too. Performance-wise, it is slightly disappointing. I can still smell it several hours later, but I have to bury my nose in my elbows. It wouldn't disappoint me at all if I wasn't so nuts about the fragrance, though. The drydown is so pretty, and so consistently photorealistic (the jonquil note anyway) that I will make this my next frag splurge probably. Update: used up the rest of my sample and feel a pang of regret that I didn't buy a full bottle. Maybe I'll lift my mandatory no-buy eventually and spring for a bottle. It is really beautiful, even though the longevity leaves much to be desired. The narcissus note is pure perfection.

Apparently, Fragrantica took down the other entry for Au Dela Narcisse. Too bad, because there are two versions, and they are quite different. The first version, the OG, is the one pictured above, with the square sticker on the front. The current version, is the one under the Fzotic name, with the etching on the bottle. I have the latter and a generous sample of the first and compared them many times so I can draw a parallel between them. The first one is earthier, a bit rougher around the edges, and it resembles something along the lines of Dryad without the bitter-green galbanum note. The Fzotic one, is smoother, with brighter florals and a better balance between the Chypre accord in the base and the florals on the top. I'd say the first one is a bit denser, the second one a bit lighter in character. Personally, I much prefer the Fzotic version, I guess it's one of the few instances where the reformulation turns up better(at least to me). The OG is still amazing, but has too much of a Deja Vu, while the second one feels more unique and it just plays a more finely tuned chord. Overall, this is an amazing Chypre that features a mouthwatering Narcissus note, beautifully complemented by jasmine and orange blossom. One of the best uses of Narcissus that I have come across, and Narcissus is one of my favorite floral notes used in perfumery. The price is more than fair for what you get also, great job Bruno!

A marvelous floral chypre from Bruno Fazzolari centered around one of my favorite materials, narcissus. What I love most about Au Delà Narcisse is how its floral repertoire extends beyond the narcissus. There is a good amount of jasmine alongside orange blossom, giving off the impression of a floral bouquet. Or it could be walking into a floral garden during springtime. I see bergamot listed as a top note, however the perfume explodes in its floral glory, and I can't pick up any citrus burst. The florals are balanced by a hefty dose of oakmoss, bitter and inky, chocolaty patchouli, caramel-like labdanum, and vanillic benzoin. The "Chypre" accord that makes up the base is tuned so well. It walks a fine balance that I have not come across often. Bitter and earthy yet with a slight dustiness and the perfect amount of warmth and sweetness from the resins. The jasmine and the orange blossom are major players and never let the narcissus lead independently. A true floral chypre composition that takes from the past and adds a significant touch of modernity. A compelling perfume that shines during Spring and Summer or, according to Bruno, in pajamas at home. It would fit any occasion. It has the refinement and the vintage flair to suit formal events and the nostalgic feel to caress your soul in the comfort of your home. IG:@memory.of.scents

First try of Bruno Fazzolari / Fzotic – Au Dela Narcisse, an elegant chypre that dates back to 2014 but that I’ve not yet tried yet until today, so I ordered a sample of it along with the new Corpse Reviver and Zdravetz. Once again, I love the custom sample pack directly from Fzotic—great presentation. Au Dela Narcisse is a delight, an elegant chypre that is well-crafted, using high-quality florals (narcissus, jasmine, orange flower) and a healthy helping of oakmoss, along with bergamot and amber, to yield a really beautiful creation. It’s fresh, floral, woody, and slightly herbal in a very interesting way. It’s dense and rich but not overpowering. As with many fragrances, it’s abundantly more elegant and balanced on skin than on paper, so I recommend trying this one out if you haven’t yet. Au Dela Narcisse is priced on the higher side, at $145 for 30ml, no doubt due to the floral absolutes that dominate it. I’ve a little less to say about this than usual but it’s a very nice fragrance that I’d highly recommend trying out. Zdravetz is a little lighter, so it’s a slightly easier-wear-floral than Au Dela Narcisse, but ADN is richer and I believe its payoff is greater. 8 out of 10

This is quite simply a Masterpiece. I just received this today 10/20/2014 and I am on hour five and I can not stop sniffing my wrist. Deadidol has composed such a great summation of this soon to be sought after classic that I must stand up and say Bravo! But in my humble opinion I differ with him in one important aspect and that is I like this one so much more that the original Au Dela, which is excellent in it's own right. It seems to be so much more potent in it's execution especially during it's introductory phase. I do know one thing from all of this that I am hooked on Bruno's narcissus adaptation as it goes hand in hand with the supporting cast. This literally takes my breath away. This is the best scent I smelled so far this calendar year. Excellent modern day take on a upper echelon & high society fragrance that would feel comfortable in the Lord Grantham realm. 10/10 Awesome!

This is a captivating, mesmerizing, floral and energizing scent, a real gorgeous number, bright bergamot, green galbanum, a heart of narcisse, jasmine, orange, and all based in sensual labdanum, benzoin and oak moss. So in here is everything sexy, seductive, more feminine than masculine, but really not gendered at all. Yet it has an effect of an old time perfume, that a very sexy, elegant woman might have worn, one who dressed in high-heels, wore gloves, and drove a convertible Sedan de Ville. My association with that kind of woman, (think of Tippi Hedren in "The Birds") does not preclude me, a man, from wearing this. It makes me all the more eager to want this scent on my skin, enveloping me in its notes all day and all night.

The opening is a beautiful milky spicy bouquet of freshly cut flowers. As it develops it deepens and rounds out as the amber base emerges. This amber, though, rather than just an accord of amber as typically referred to in perfumery, to me evokes the literal, natural material amber - fossilized tree sap - as if one could somehow dive into a smooth thick honey-golden pool of physical amber. When it's fully dried down, a green note emerges, leaning to bitter, but the sweetness of the florals is just enough to maintain a beautiful balance. This is gorgeous, refined - but approachable - not "too much" for daily wear to work - but interesting enough to wear for special occasions too.

Wow. This is truly beautiful. The narcissus has a hay-like, barnyard-y, musky aspect, which is what I smell first. It’s old-gold in “color”, complex, like a dense hot breath. The orange blossom comes out later, as an airy, summer-cool, graceful complement that also brings out the floral side of the narcissus. It’s stunningly beautiful. I love the balance of angelic floral notes and earthy animalic ones. It feels weighty enough to be a personal fragrance rather than just a pretty floral scent, but still has that impossible airy glory, like massive clouds backlit by the sun, that natural floral extracts can have. Longevity is ok for what it is, like 4-5 hours.

What a stunner! What opens as green and fresh with narcissus, bergamot and sunshine transforms into a smooth, luminous jewel. Orange blossom and amber are beautifully polished and bring this classic composition into the contemporary wardrobe. A touch of bitter oakmoss and the subtle sweetness of a petal of jasmine kicks Au Dela Narcisse into a scent of natural seduction. There's an illusory mimosa and ylang ylang nuance in here too. This is effortlessly elegant with a warm, feminine heart and laid back contentment.

I like this. I am always interested in floral fragrances that can be worn by men, especially if they are a bit edgy. This fragrance starts with narcissus and bergamot and dries down to a narcissus-oakmoss combo on my skin. The floral is rich and of high quality and not sweet, but rather dry and a bit dusty, perhaps due to the oakmoss. Unisex and perhaps even leaning towards the masculine spectrum. Recommended.

This scent straddles a lot of interesting lines! It definitely has vintage sensibilities but modern construction and components. It could be interpreted as sumptuous and "feminine" (whatever that means--gender is of course a construct!) and aromatic and "masculine." Narcissus is definitely the star of this scent, and it harmonizes so well with the citrus/moss/resins/floral chypre accord.

I get a really strong memory of picking daffodils from my grandparents’ yard in the spring. The classic chypre top notes smack like my grandpa’s aftershave as he leans over me to cut a bunch of flowers. The heart’s all narcissus - freshly blooming, roomy, watery and green. Such a sweet floral but I feel like a man when I wear it. Love this.

Starts off with a powerful floral burst, but my skin eats this one completely, within few hours. It's a shame because this is exactly the kind of deep, complex floral I like.

Au Delà Narcisse starts out as a dense, rich, dry floral perfume that feels very vintage. Like some of the classics from the golden age. And it also just feels golden- gold, cold, heavy and expansive. The narcissus feels so much weightier and meatier in this than it does in real life and in other current perfumes that feature it. If it was a fabric it would be stiff gold brocade. As the fragrance dries down it loses some of that feeling of grandeur and haughtiness and becomes a soft, powdery, friendly blond floral. Sweet and gentle and lovely. Perfect for spring. Now it’s a cotton blend. Au Delà Narcisse lasts about 5 hours on skin. The beginning phase is Marlena Dietrich and the end is Reese Witherspoon.

Quite an evolution with this one. On my skin it opens with heavily indolic white flowers and powerful projection. It calms down within an hour, after which this becomes a radically different scent: very quiet and not at all challenging. The pleasing, citrusy mid is somewhat reminiscent of the dry-down in Lampblack. Within a few hours, Au Dela Narcisse has become a skin scent of residues of the top and mid. That residue lingers many more hours. Overall, not my cup of tea, but the Fazzolari style and quality is there, and no doubt many will enjoy the big floral opening and the pleasant, if quiet, dry-down. Probably the most feminine of the six Fazzolari perfumes currently available.

An excellent showcase for weirdly wonderful narcissus—a fresh rotten thing. The top is very wet. Brown tinged blue, like a single crocus set against chocolate dirt. Matted yellow grass, the slight ferment of a swamp drying in the sun. And a furry drydown reminiscent of Papillon Dryad. Is this what true oakmoss does? Because I love it in both cases. Beautiful but not pretty. A little too thought-provoking for work wear.

I’m not usually a huge fan of scents that have a powdery dry down but something about this scent is very comforting. I do appreciate how this scent transforms as I continue to wear it. The longer I wear it, the more I can smell the amber and orange blossoms, notes that sit well on my skin.

A really excellent chypre that leans white-floral instead of rose. Also there isn’t any heavy dose of oak moss so the composition feels very fresh and light. Really nice quality but honesty is just more of a classic floral fragrance.

The beginnings of this remind me of Cancer by Strange Invisible Perfumes, a favorite of mine. After a good hour or so, it dries down to a powdery floral that's not my favorite.

Mmm Green and earthy narcissus. The amber and orange blossom are present, but the narcissus and oakmoss are the stars of the show and play wonderfully together.