Lafro

TOP NOTES jasmine, mandarin, tarragon, afa MIDDLE NOTES cumin, lemon, goat milk, oxidized silver BASE NOTES incence, orange-flower, dry grass, musk LAFRO stays for italian L'Afro which means The African and it's basically a bold and insanely powerful concoction of herbs and spices laying on a solid animalic musky base and incense. It opens with an arresting accord of cumin and terragon joined by sour lemon. If you don't like cumin you should better stay carefully away from this... The opening is quite brutal and can result seriously challenging to someone. It's sweaty, unpretty and extremely spicy/aromatic. The typical sweaty espect of the caraway is emphasized to the maximum and, in this phase, LAFRO brings to mind of the hottest periods of the year in the most torrid zones of the planet. Markets of spices, incenses, african food, hay...a true to life experience. Be careful on the trigger as in this phase the fragrance projects for yards! Jasmin makes its appearance providing some balance and bringing the composition to a slightly more conventional territory. Herbs and spices settle down and assume a more "familiar" allure while musk starts lurking in the back together with incense. Now we're in and old [I]apotheke[/I] with all the aromatic herbs stored inside the ceramic jars. Handwritten labels, some dust, dark mahogany forniture, tisane blends... The animalic musk starts showing its presence more consistently joined by incense and hints of leather (the latter being very similar to the one in [B]Leather Oud[/B] but definitely toned down). The initial herbal/spicy aspect is still quite remarkable but the fragrance becomes definitely more approachable for anyone who's into dark musks. This is the final phase where LAFRO stays quite close to the skin for more than 8 hours. Overall LAFRO speaks of quality, smells very natural and takes the distance from the huge amount of pretentious niche outfits promising stereotyped luxury. LAFRO is about going back to basics. The luxury of a wild safari as opposed to a tuxedo at the opera premiere and a limo. It has the typical "crudeness" of those african votive wood statues. They're crude but nonetheless fascinating. Downside: Surely not among the most versatile compositions around. Rating: 7-7.5/10