Civet Cat Chypre

Love it ! I'm very much a manly man but this has me thinking of Michael Palin singing the Lumberjack song. Blended to perfection. Beautiful, ever so slightly powdery with balanced, sweet, rich, dense, temperate and sub-tropical florals....perfect ratios/blending without any single note being overly concentrated or in totality of notes. The civet is there but veiled, not pissy or overbearing in any way. A chypre, yes, but there is a certain richness, density that takes you from the aldehydic feeling of green California hills and cool air of a blue skied Spring day to a warmer, slightly humid scene of a sub-tropical landscape with blue skies dotted with white clouds where butterflies and hummingbirds are sipping nectar from large, colorful, waxy leafed/petaled flowers.

When civet features so prominently in the name, you assume you're going to get hit with an animalic bomb. But that is far from being the case here. This is just a superbly blended work of art. An infinitely wearable work of art. The civet is there, but always in moderation against a gorgeous melange of florals and woods. Very slightly powdery touch from the orris, but not overly powdery, thankfully. Performance is outstanding with excellent projection, sillage, and longevity. Can't recommend highly enough. I own two creations from this house, The Canadian Gentleman being the other. Both are straight up stunners. I can't wait to sample more of what Matthew Meleg has dreamed up. Civet Cat Chypre Five Scale Rating: ⨷⨷⨷⨷

The opening of this may turn people off. I get a heavy dose of civet and bergamot and comes across as fecal/pissy for the first 15 seconds. When I say that, I don't mean in a negative disgusting way if that makes sense. Similar to a Jicky/Shalimar. The top note doesn't last long and after about 15 seconds you get a touch of indolic notes possibly of the jasmine. After 20 minutes you're smelling a blend of florals that mix with the civet and sandalwood that linger on for a good long while until finally settling with oakmoss in the background. It is a sensual warm, humid body smell that is very elegant. I feel like this entire fragrance is only one accord in both Matthew's Oakmoss & Forest Florals and Madeline Peach.

I am writing the same general review for my favorite Meleg perfumes - Civet Cat Chypre, Birch Tar and Russian Leather, Honey and Deer Musk, Madeline Peach, Oakmoss Forest Florals, and Mushin. I am very particular about perfume, and it is not often that I find something I really love. I expected to really like 1 out of the 10 samples of the sample set I received from Etsy, but there were 6! They are very special - unique, smooth, well blended, interesting, wearable, beautiful, and addictive! Nothing weird or harsh standing out, and nothing like I’ve smelled before out of the over 1000 perfumes I’ve encountered just in the last few years.

Meleg is a genius! Civet Cat Chypre is well blended, very modern but with classic ingredients. The oakmoss is not harsh and the civet is not "pissy." The main complaint I've read about Kouros or other musk heavy fragrances is the infamous "urinal cake" scent. But the musk feels pretty in Civet Cat Chypre. A work of art! The only weakness could be its high price. But given the small batches, the quality, and the artisan nature, it has to be expensive. You get what you pay for! You will never understand it by reading reviews. May be a safe blind buy if you love chypres. I recommend you buy Meleg's samples first. Support his work!