PERSONNE

I read Homer’s The Odyssey as a child, and it remains my favorite ancient literary epic even to this day. Naturally, when I read about ICONOfly's ambitious project to create an olfactory reconstruction of The Odyssey, I was intrigued. We see this often, especially nowadays. Every day you get a quirky perfume with an equally catchy name and a striking concept, only to fall short in delivery. Therefore, I didn’t jump on the train immediately, but sampled beforehand. The way ICONOfly undertook this venture is how it should be done. Thorough research and preparation went into the project (and I highly encourage you to read further on that), as well as commissioning a highly talented nose (and Historian) in Alexandre Helwani. Later, when I read about the materials they decided to use and how some that are no longer available today were reconstructed, I saw the potential this project held. The perfume was cleverly named “Personne,” and it is one of the most unique compositions I have tried. I am not sure how to classify it since it spans such a vast olfactory ground, like the epic itself. It is its own thing, and what I can say for certain is that it smells like a brew concocted on the shores of the Aegean Sea using the native crops. It is aromatic, herbal, green, spicy, earthy, aquatic, woody, balsamic. It feels like a kitchen-sink perfume composition in the best possible way. There is an aromatic, green, and herbaceous component that feels like taking a mortar and pestle, stuffing it with all sorts of local plants, and grinding away. It is difficult to break down, but I detect a combination of laurel, celery, and davana, the latter of which also imparts a subtle fruity and boozy nuance. This aromatic mixture is generously spiced with fenugreek, an important material in Personne. I don’t pick up the immortelle, but the fenugreek with which it shares plenty in common (scent-wise) plays a major part. In addition to this spicy and aromatic dimension, there is also a salty-aquatic one. It is subtle yet detectable and synchronizes well with the story behind the fragrance, a part of which takes place at sea. The earthy part of the fragrance smells to me like baked clay. I’m not sure whether it was intentional, but again, it fits and recalls Ancient Greek pottery, so iconic and whose purposes went far beyond the household to decorative means. At times, this clay accord intermingles with the aforementioned aquatic nuances, giving me the impression of wet clay. Lastly, the fourth major component of Personne is a savory one, very cozy, and could be linked to Odysseus longing for the comfort and warmth of his home, Ithaca, and his wife, Penelope. It smells of grains (like porridge), wood, and a cocoa-like facet that I didn’t recognize at first but learned after some research that it was created using Carob resinoid (Ceratonia Siliqua). This material is described as “warm, sweet, roasted chocolate, cozy, baked-goods, similar to cocoa powder, but with a richer, slightly leathery, and earthy depth.” And now, I have to get some for myself and study it in its pure form, as it fascinates me in Personne. I would argue that it is the most important (and prevalent) note in this perfume, at least to my nose. Combined with the warm, grain-like notes, it feels like a cozy place to long for. However, do not think this smells gourmand or sweet. I say it is savory, at best. These are the major olfactory blocks that I pick up in Personne; however, I cannot speak of a cohesive evolution. It is very complex and presents slightly different facets or emphasizes others at various times. It is an olfactory epic no doubt. It also feels a bit as many artisanal and all-natural perfumes do - slightly unpolished, albeit in this case it fits well with the story and seems desirable. I was thoroughly impressed with this project. Not only does it do justice to Homer’s epic, but I absolutely love the scent. Is this a safe perfume? Certainly not. Due to its uniqueness and complexity, this needs to be sampled beforehand. The best comparisons I can come up with are Salamanca from Olympic Orchids and Eau Noire (neither is very popular). It shares some ground with both, but it doesn’t smell like either. Certain elements are common; hence, if you love those two, you might, and that’s a big might, love Personne. Thus far, I am delighted with this “LES JARDINS PROMIS” series of scents from ICONOfly, and I hope they will continue to deliver future brilliant work such as Personne and Pardes. And I also hope they will continue to appoint Alexandre Helwani as the nose behind them. The passion he poured into both projects shows in the final product. IG:@memory.of.scents

Personne is like a mosaic: when examined intimately, tints and shades are brought into relief, each integrant lending a voice, a texture. It at once reminds me of the visceral corners of my human brain transfixed by oils expressed from fresh leaves in an herb garden, imagining an age before modern science, where there was full-throated faith in plant alchemy, each plant had its own magic, its own properties of health and healing, aromas both stimulating and soothing. Bitter, sour, umami, mouthwatering, and tonic. I become locked into it, I examine and feel. I immediately imagine all the peculiar green scents I love like the leaves of lovage that smell of celery and angelica. I then imagine that this is the ivy fantasy I've long sought after, this is it! Then I think of chlorophyll-filled diatoms and what they might smell like—maybe like this. Yet, it shifts, and it sheds more muted shades that are juxtaposed with the saturated emerald hues. I have flashbacks of chewing wood sorrel as a child, finding tiny red mites making their way across lichen that ,at their scale, are huge forests of pixie cups and British soldiers. This makes me want to experience carob fruit resinoid in isolation. I sense a radiant, zesty, vegetal material and I will lean into that mystery. I must mention that over time, a salty skin perspiration effect surfaces among the verdure, then a sweetness from coumarin which means all five flavors are covered here in Personne. To say that there is an avant-garde fougere would be doing it a disservice: this wears like an amulet, protecting me from the modern malaise.

When you wish for something unique, here is your desire satisfied. Personne is what Ulysses replies to the cyclop when asked his name. “Nobody.” And I think this is so clever because the only note missing to complete the experience of this perfume is your skin. It’s a very green and aromatic scent, the color like a clear peridot crystal. It opens with a complex mix of celery and licorice, then imagine fresh herbs being ground in a mortar. It finishes and settles as if a witch is stomping on a carpet of fig leaves. I am so in love with this fragrance. It’s complex, deep, and spiritual, yet it achieves this with the most herbaceous of notes. To me, it’s a magical potion that cures the winter blues. And it’s obviously only for the most elegant witches in the swamp

This is unlike any Aromatic/Green fragrance I've tried. I can barely unpick the individual notes! The opening is a dense mass of deeply herbal greenness, bitter with hints of celery and an almost vaguely cumin-like note. Nothing here has any sweetness. It's literally like a mass of fresh (NOT dried) herbs and leaves have been harvested from nature and mashed-up in a pestle and mortar. As this dries down I don't notice much change other than a mellowing of the fragrance potency. I detect a saltiness that seems to slowly appear along with a kind of maltiness but it is a very subtle addition. All in all, Personne is a Herbalist's store cupboard full of fresh aromatic ingredients trapped in a bottle, even the colour of the juice has a chlorophyll green tinge! I just find the whole creation too... tiringly persistent in it's ode to nature, yet I fully respect what has been attempted here and the whole story behind it. It's just not for me.