Esencia pour Homme

Green and lush. To me, everything in this smells green. It is nature in a bottle, and it smells natural. This is my “ahhh” moment. My moment of deep breath and calmness and satisfaction, and I don’t even know why. There are some days when I need this. Something about this perfume soothes me and comforts me and transports me somewhere I’ve either never been or have long since forgotten. It’s almost nostalgic for me, and I’ve yet to discover why. Perhaps my Father wore something similar? Perhaps as a nature boy it just provides the smell of something I need? It was love at first sniff for me, and it was an instant fragrance for life, and I shall forever be fascinated as to why. It has a short lived bitter opening, perhaps from the Galbanum and the Artemisia? That almost dry sour note begins to mellow after just a few minutes, when the other aromatics begin to bloom. In no time at all it is sweeter and lushly verdant. The lavender plays a part, and wraps its branches around wild mint, and juniper cools as it radiates from skin. It has pine needles and fir trees and warmth, but it also has some coolness, like cloud cover on a hot day. It has a green sugarless sweetness that could almost make you thirsty. As it begins it’s dry-down, and the sun sets on the fragrant afternoon it created, the dirty leather boots I took off as I sit on the mossy ground begin to warm in the sun, just hinting to be noticed amongst the subtle impression of freshly chopped young wood, but it’s still all the shades of green that carry this through. There are way too many notes to try and pick out and pretend that one can notice them all, but I do think on certain days and different circumstances some peep out more than others, but the overall scent profile remains quite consistent, it’s green. Green green green and I could bathe in it! It is a succulent green, a moist blooming spring green. Verdant, minty. A bag of freshly pulled herbs and aromatics. It has moments of sticky pine resin melting in hot sun. It is pine trees blowing in a summer breeze picking up the blooming aromas from the floor of a dewey meadow of mint and juniper and needles and lavender leaves. It is the foliage of flowers rather than the petals, which is why I think it’s just all so green. It’s not the greatest performer for longevity, but I’m happy to experience it exactly as it is, even though I wish it could last all day. I have a lot of it though, so I am happy to overspray. I have a round bottle and a newer rectangle bottle, and they’re both the same. Esencia is a polar opposite to my second favourite green which is Ajmal Verde, which is an arid burned smoked green, from bonfires of pine and burnt conifers. A winter green. A cabin in the woods with a fire green. Whereas Esencia might be the same woodland, but in the early summer. Oh, and don’t get confused with this EDT and the EDP - they are not alike at all. The Esencia EDP is often mentioned as a better Aventus. This EDT could never be. I think they made a terrible mistake with the naming. If they wanted to stick with the Esencia name for whatever reason, they should have made the EDP version a flanker I guess, with a flanker name. It doesn’t even go to the same school as the EDT. Then they recently released an Elixir of the EDP, which is the EDP on steroids. So this EDT is the only one of its kind in the current line up. I just hope this lives for another 36 years.

Stubby bottle. First impression (so-called maceration be damned). Nice fragrance. Yes, it is comparable to the green Polo. No one is imagining that, or being blindly misled by the colour coding that manufacturers have been using for decades. Still, probably most of the resemblance is in the opening stages, and even then this smells more uniformly green than the Polo, or at least the bottle of Polo I've had for maybe eight or nine years. This is conifer green the way I seem to remember myself finding Polo to be conifer green the first time I sprayed it. This is probably more restrained or civilised, in that it doesn't have any ashtray or ballsy leather or pissy chypre thing going on on the same scale as Polo. This is quite mossy and soapy with some throaty powder in the opening, and there is a kind of animalic layer to all that, but the fragrance calms down quite quickly and is very soon if not immediately much less assertive than Polo. It veers off in its own aromatic direction. It still has depth though. Stuff like the styrax? Yeah, nice touch. I suppose the greenness has to remind me of the green Jaguar too, but I don't find this as dated as the Jag. (What's wrong with complicated fragrances, by the way? You people never heard of Coco Chanel?!) This may be one of those fragrances that's almost so refined and modest that I struggle to form an opinion as to whether I find it outdated or not. I really don't think I do. I might if I used it too liberally and ended up feeling as if someone had attacked me with a powder fire extinguisher. Either way, this is not hypermasculine to me. (My dad trying his best to use up a whole can of Brut after every bath--now, that was hypermasculine!) Yeah, sure, it's masculine, but it doesn't make me feel like Tony Montana, or John Travolta in a disco suit. It doesn't make me feel as if I ought to be chopping down trees. It perhaps does make me think to myself that--trees are great, aren't they? Snow-topped conifers in still forests? With maybe the odd red squirrel running about? Great. I'm all for trees. We should all be all for trees. A valid alternative to Polo--more "wearable", though certainly presentable--except maybe if you're a manly manly man's man and planning to head out into the Scottish Highlands to kill a king stag with your bare hands or something.

Esencia Loewe pour homme... ...I was eying out this fragrance for a while now and now that I've got it I'm annoyed at myself for not having bought it so much earlier. I'm not that kind of person who throws around statements such as "best ever", "best of" ," top three", "best of its kind" because i firmly believe that each and every perfumer puts his or her best effort and knowledge into every single one of their creations. So it would be unfair to other green creations if go over board with praise for this Loewe's creation. I do believe however, that ELPH is a very special kind of green fragrance and I'm very happy that it is still with us. Imagine yourself anchored in a green luscious forest and all of a sudden you are part of a time lapse experience in where you go through spring, summer and autumn of that forest. Spring opens with a very fresh green blast with a minty touch created by the Artemesia and the grassy green of Galbanum. It is a nice crisp green. Summer follows with a deeper and less crisp green with the warmth of Geranium and very soft floral touches supporting the green pine elephant in the room. The florals warm up the green a bit. Autumn shows up after a while where dry woods and a herbal touch support the pine and fir to signal this fragrant year is nearly over. The green and herbal touches follow through all the way. The only criticism i have are the new bottles. Luckily I managed to get my hands on that round deep dark green opaque glass bottle and from a business point of view it certainly makes sense to only produce one bottle shape in different colors and sizes with one identical wooden cap and basic labels but i think LOEWE should consider to keeping the original bottle shapes at least for their most iconic fragrances. Old Spice and Tabac are examples of porcelain bottles still being produced....as iconic as those scents. I know Procter&Gamble changed the porcelain bottle of Old Spice to plastic but Mäurer & Wirtz didn't for Tabac. Loewe Esencia....three seasons in a forest in a bottle. It is a must for anybody who loves green scents. No, in fact it is a must for every collection.

GREAT CLASSY OLD-SCHOOL SPANISH FOUGÉRE "La Esencia de Loewe" is very masculine and sexy. It's the scent my wife prefers on me, together with BOSS Number ONE and YSL Sauvage Elixir. My impressions are a result of testing the previous reformulation that uses a green fat bottle with a big golden cap. The newest reformulation comes in a rectangular flask with a brownish colour and a wooden cap. Both reformulations feature a bottle size I enjoy: 150ml. It allows me to be generous whenever I apply it. Although the complexity and notes are different, this fragrance reminds me of "For Him" by Narciso Rodriguez, and both are aromatic fougéres. They do share some darkness as well but of different types. While "For Him" suggests a wet and dark twisty road, "Esencia" surrounds you with juniper, oakmoss and vetiver from an old gloomy forest. It attracts several compliments from the ladies and a bit of envy from the men. I always thought (and still do) this perfume to be too green to receive a lot of praise, especially from the feminine noses. I guess I have been wrong all the time. Even nowadays, this old-timer attracts a lot of compliments. Loewe has always been a brand with not a lot of acceptance, probably due to its pricing, usually a bit on the high side for a designer brand. However, its products have always been above average as well. It perspires pure old-school gentlemen's class. It's a complex perfume with all notes, and phases, very well mastered in a homogeneous blending. I consider it one of my all-time favourites and I wear it all year, day and night. Well... not really during the cold winter days. Performance is quite above average. Projection is powerful in all the development stages. ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ My global rating: 8.25/10.00 - between 7 and 8 =above average; - between 8 and 9 = recommended; - bigger than 9 = don't miss it; ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ My opinion: It's old school, meaning manly, powerful, green and gloomy; it's a real pine forest scent and projects like a beast. Try before you buy. Music: "Green, Green Grass of Home" sung by Elvis Presley

Fougeres are easily my favorite type of fragrance to wear. This is a problem, simply because there are so many damn good fougeres out there to try. Does Loewe Esencia standout? Hell yes! For the simple reason we stay on the upper end of the stem of the fern; Loewe Esencia is so perfectly green. The first spray vaults us to great heights (think leafy green tree tops) with a smooth lavender and a beautiful pine note, some tarragon and petitgrain and the smallest bit of basil. The extra fresh and herbal opening gives way to a spicy mid that gets slightly soapy.(that nutmeg note is so good!) The florals float in with a nice rose and jasmine that get a minty fresh push from the geranium. The base runs sweet and slightly earthy with some tonka, vetiver and patchouli. As for the dry down, imagine an artisanal shaving soap that was kissed with the slightest bit of incense. This is standard Loewe: rich, bold and beautiful. I get a solid performance from this fragrance; a good 6 hours. Esencia stays close to the skin and that's fine by me. This is a fragrance that can be worn inside or outside the office. Perfect for cooler weather, so think autumn through spring. To me Esencia lends more to day wear and is for the 30 and up crowd. Give Loewe Esencia a few sprays when you need a green, fresh reminder of spring during a dry and chilly autumn day.