Gong

Gong walks a sweet-spicy-musky-woody-vegetal tightrope act and does it with aplomb. The opening is both sparkling and cutting, with notes of green pepper and daikon accompanied by frozen blueberry with just a hint of lime. As it warms up, it opens into a warm blueberry compote fuzzed out by musk and ginger. The warmth here is always balanced by the vegetal notes of the opening, which mellow but do not disappear. Eventually, sandalwood, leather, and coumarin also emerge, imparting an air of luxury and helping to marry the fluffy berry-musk to the sharper botanical notes. There is also a salty note in the dry down that strikes me as distinctly JSP. This is a strangely nostalgic scent for me, evoking Dior poison, revlon Ciara, and even the fruity body sprays that pervaded my sister’s bedroom to near-nuclear levels throughout the late 90s. However, the potentially cloying fruity notes of those scents are here married to a chypric vegetal spine. I am also reminded of another perfume in my collection — olfactive studio’s panorama, which takes sharp greens and a novel wasabi note and blurs them out in a figgy haze. Though I enjoy that fragrance as well, Gong treats similar ideas more boldly and also wears more harmoniously, particularly in the dry-down. These references take one the wearer backwards journey through perfume history, beginning as an oddly alluring and strikingly contemporary niche oddity, passing through a bubbly 90s-esque fruity musk, and ending as a classically elegant leather chypre. Like other JSP fragrances, Gong thumbs through fragrance history but forges its own path. The result is a scent that is literate, inventive, and surprisingly wearable.

When sprayed on paper, this smelled bitter and awful. Just pure green bell pepper. When I gave it a second try and sprayed it on my skin, I could actually smell the different notes. The lime and bergamot are sharp but they dissipate quickly, revealing an intense vibrant green scent. The bell pepper is the strongest note by far, but the ginger and radish are detectible. I couldn't smell the blueberry at all. The musk and amber hang in the background after it dries down, adding a very subtle scent that smells clean and almost a little sweet when contrasted with the bell pepper. It's a bit challenging, definitely not something I'd wear on a night out where I want to feel beautiful and womanly. I typically enjoy feminine sweet gourmands and vintage florals, and this is neither, but I'm a little bit obsessed with this. It's just weird enough that I can't stop going back to smell it. It’s such a unique green fragrance, free from any earthiness, woodiness, or cologne / soapy notes. It’s spicy without being dirty—just really fresh and vegetal, with a touch of saltiness. Definitely unisex leaning a bit more male, and definitely not a crowd pleaser. Editing to add that I love this perfume so much I am borderline obsessed with it and I ordered another sample since the full bottles are still sold out. I NEED this perfume!

So gorgeous. I'm really sort of obsessed with it. Spicy and fresh with the ginger and lime. I can't pick up the daikon or green pepper very clearly but I can pick up the blueberry. It's a very realistic blueberry, like you'd experience if you were picking fresh berries. Not at all like artificial candy flavor blueberry. I love the galangal in this too. I will say though that it's almost too much of a good thing. It lasts so long. I've noticed it when I walk into my bedroom even days after spraying it. Someone else mentioned it lasting on clothes even after going through the laundry and I've had the same experience. My partner told me it makes them sneeze when I wear it :( I'm a bit worried about bothering other people with it because it's so strong and long lasting. I love it still. I just exercise some caution.

Was nervous to wear this after spraying the sample on paper. Had a strong bitterness, very green and almost juniper-like. However, on the skin and after the dry down, the bitterness melts away and it takes on a much softer, wearable quality. Quite beautiful. Hint of spice from the daikon and a definite saltiness. Prefer much more on skin than on fabric. I love it but not for everybody.

oh, citrus and aromatics but sweet and powdery, candied; at opening I smelled the green pepper bitterness but then it quickly was taken over by citrus then total sweet fruity berries with powdery powdery beauty; you wouldn't think this would work but oh does it; I want a full bottle NOW, this still has a very green aspect even with the fruit and sweet and powdery, what a unique beauty