Accra

I have heard a lot of buzz around Gallivant as a house, and I like their premise - travel, with each scent named for a city. City-inspired perfumes is not the most original theme (I can think of dozens of examples), but there is much promise about quality and craftsmanship here. Also, some of the city names are less obvious (case in point, Accra, Ghana). I chose this scent at random from my discovery set, and am impressed. I have never been to Africa, so can't attest to the inspiration here, but Accra is a multifaceted spicy-leather scent, beautifully-composed and featuring points of interest throughout. Accra has a sweetly boozy opening, thanks to the cognac, giving way to a prominent chilli pepper note on a tropical fruity background. I get sweet, fresh mango in particular, complemented by passionfruit. The tropical fruits are not the focal point of Accra, but they complement the spices to perfection, while adding brightness up top. The leather accord follows, developing slowly on my skin throughout. It is a smooth, dry leather that becomes increasingly smoky as this scent develops on my skin, thanks to the tobacco. It never becomes harsh or metallic, however. The spices becomes darker as it develops, with coffee an inspired addition here. Coffee seems to be a difficult note for perfumers to successfully use, but here it is perfect, warm, spicy and slightly chocolatey, melding nicely with the other spices, notably saffron. There is an earthiness to this scent as it progresses, with a cloud of patchouli coming to the fore. Carrot seeds enhance it nicely, earthy and orris-like. It becomes increasingly dry and smoky as it dries down, and I get the vinyl note - a chemical, almost rubbery undertone that is absorbed into the leather accord. Woody notes creep in, and it becomes predictably musky as it fades. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. It is masculine-leaning, and is best worn in autumn/winter. A dense, dry, smoky leather, laced with spices, Accra is as pleasant as it is compelling throughout, complex and unusual yet not deviating too far from the classics to be wearable. A high-quality masculine scent for leather fans. 4/5.

SOTD: sampling the latest release / destination from Gallivant Perfumes, Accra, a sport of spicy, woody, semi-fresh, semi-fruity blend. It has a sort of hearty, wheaty component to that conjures a field or forest, and the plant life within. It is coming off more robust and dense than I recall when I tried it some weeks ago at Perfumology during Gallivant creative director Nick Steward’s visit in advance of the Accra release, at which time I found it to be a little more paper-like in terms of the wood/leather/coffee blend, which I now find to be a bit denser and darker, and fitting in more nicely with the green and fresh aspects. It all seems to fit together like a puzzle, and to that point the note breakdown is diverse and a little difficult for me to sort out in terms of what I smell the most, but I’d emphasize the pepper, fruit, wheat, coffee, and leather most of all. Accra is not yet on Perfumology’s website (nor the other US boutiques’) but I expects its pricing will be similar to the current line, at $200/95 for 100/30ml, reasonable niche pricing in the current market, in my opinion, and I love the 30ml option as a travel companion. Overall, I’m a big fan of this fragrance and it’s among my favorites of the line, and I’m delighted that I like it more than when I first smelled it. It’s a multifaceted, lovely perfume. 8 out of 10

An old joke about the masculine leather fragrance (dating at least back to Knize Ten) - the guys are obsessed with wearing it, but their girlfriends hate it. This is that kinda leather - macho with the tobacco and cognac and coffee, desert-dry and spicy. I’m reminded a bit of Varvatos Vintage, a touch of Frank No. 2, but the quality surpasses those, this one’s sophisticated, exotic and masculine, but not cliched. Iris isn’t listed, but there’s that waxy makeup-scented overtone. And they don’t mention oakmoss (perhaps these notes are in the “vinyl” accord) but it’s there in spades at drydown. This one kills me. The ladies might hate it ... but I utterly need a bottle.

There is something really masculine and powerful about this scent for me. It lasts long. It gets me lots of compliments. I wear it in the office, out on site and around the night life of the East End of London for nights out. It's high up there with the best Leather fragrances I've had. Add this to your collection. Its a must have from me. It performs well and is great value for money. Get a sample from Gallivant which is really Cost effective . I love my masculine Armomatic Fougeres. This is not a fougere in anyway other than its masculinity. This is spicy, leathery, smoky scent. Last 6 hours plus!

Accra's opening is a genuinely unfamiliar smell to me; flinty? mineral? some very dry herb? at any rate it's earthy and hard and cold. A few minutes in, there's also a bit of tobacco smoke, like a cigar, and a dark leather core. In this phase Accra is all about cigar-smoky leather, in extremely dark brown and gray. At half an hour in I do get a faint aura of tropical fruit and occasional whiffs of chili, just as the twang of the leather is starting to come out. There's also the barest hint of dark cocoa, completely unsweetened, but giving the leather a slightly warmer character. The tropical fruit comes out more after a few hours, adding a touch of sweetness and orange-pink brightness to the leather. Accra is distinctly masculine, very confident, and a little romantically dangerous. He's invited you up to listen to his vinyl. He smokes cigars, has black leather furniture, and when he dances close you can smell something a little warm and spicy. This isn't my persona, really, but I've almost never met a leather I didn't like, and Accra is a solid leather with some original touches.