Salamanca

Wow, this is such a complex scent. So many things are going on, it keeps changing and revealing new, fascinating aspects of itself. Many of the scents from Olympic Orchids are very atmospheric and evocative, and this scent is no exception. Sniffing it feels like watching a short film about Spain. It smells distinctly spanish to my nose. I've been to Spain several times, and I feel like I'm back there when I smell this. It's astonishing. The opening is incredibly strong and harsh. It smells very raw and unrefined, like leather and clay that hasn't been prepared for usage and sale yet. There is a chemical facet to the opening. It reminds me of the places where yarn, fabric and carpets are being coloured, in huge colour baths, usually outdoors. After the first sharp blast the scent softens slightly to a fascinating combo of rich spanish leather and wet clay. The kind of clay that is ready to be used in pottery or to be crafted into a sculpture or bust. It's a smell of creation and artistry. Towards the heart i detect facets of bitter almond. Slowly the perfume becomes more salty and savoury. The leather and the clay is still very much present, but keeps changing personality due to new, interesting nuances that comes and goes. That savoury smell brings to mind cooking. It's like I'm at a spanish hacienda. I can smell the dry stone walls of the buildings, the stables, horses, leather saddles, some bulls are out on a field near by, the kitchen door is open and whiffs of a slightly spicy vegetable broth or soup reaches me. I think I smell cellery, leeks, potatoes and cabbage. Towards the drydown the smell of wet clay slowly disappears, but the leather is still there. Softer now, a more approachable leather, not so masculine as it was initially. And the softness becomes even more pronounced when a beautiful, demure floral nuance appears. It's so unexpected. Such a wonderful surprise. It feels like getting a rare glimpse of a shy, yet sensual, spanish senorita hiding her face behind a black lace fan. The drydown is mostly spicy and savoury. This is a earthy, raw, unapologetic smell, a forceful creature full of contrast and colour. Highly expressive and energetic. If Pablo Picassos paintings had a smell, it would probably be something like this. Salamanca is truly a work of liquid art. Sillage is strong at first, but dries down to a medium. Longevity is fabulous. I get 10-12 hours out of it. A must smell for everyone who loves the unusual.

Salamanca has been a complete surprise. Seeing the notes didn't really appeal to me much, but I decided to try it based on a couple of reviews I saw and...voila! Finally I ended up going for a whole bottle, and that when I smelled the perfume directly from the sample it seemed horrible to me! Salamanca is, therefore, a beast perfumon! It is based on leather, which remains as the central note, giving the perfume power and great longevity. On the other hand, we find hay and vetiver in large doses that give it a green and earthy touch, and a very interesting balsamic and smoky part in the background. Immortelle is also detectable, giving it a dry floral touch that gives it a different hue than other green perfumes. Finally, the algae, an unexpected note that gives the fragrance a certain marine touch, albeit without any kind of fresh, oceanic, aqueous or ozonicom nuance; it simply has a slight hint of a sea smell. The performance is incredible. For the whole day and if you don't shower part of the next. In clothes it is eternal I find it a perfume to wear more during the day with moderate to cool temperatures. Totally unisex. Scent: 10 Longevity: 10 Sillage: 8 Versatility: 8 Originality: 10 Overall: 10

Oh, my. Sniffing the bottle, this is pure black leather. On skin, however, something really unique happens. The scent of sun baked clay, hot, dry grasses, buzzing dragonflies, and endless blue sky blows over like a wind at first application. It gets hotter and drier after a while, and leather, immortelle, labdanum, and a touch of farmland are the major contributors. Overlapping everything is a dry, arcane vetiver quite unlike almost any interpretation of vetiver I've smelled in the past. Everything is rendered in high-definition, the way one recalls sights, sounds, and smells from a memorable vacation. There is a sharp, poisonous quality here, and it reminds me very much of an even more difficult Djedi, if that can be imagined. Meama nailed it when he stated "Une beauté étrange comparable peut être à ces femmes qui se maquillent et se coiffent avec de la terre rouge ou le parfum d'un égyptien de l'antiquité." I often crave the strange beauty of this fragrance. The perfumer has it all; raw talent, great taste, great passion, and an incredibly wide range. A brilliant fragrance that is part of a brilliant line by a brilliant perfumer.

WOW. This is blowing my mind. I'm getting a lot of mitti attar, which I'm absolutely reveling in. Given the fact that a few nights ago I slept in a cabin made of clay and straw in the woods, I can confirm that this does in fact smell like actual clay from the earth (this is a compliment). There's a warm, hazy quality that accompanies the earthy and acrid scent of clay. This dry, husky element reminds me of hay bales warmed under the sun’s rays. Every now and then I catch a splash of marine seaweed funk, which is more than welcome. I pick up the molasses-like fragrance of immortelle in the late dry-down accompanied by sticky opoponax. Salamanca pairs dry, cracked earth with moist and wet notes along with a flourish of warm resin. The result is a delightfully unique take on leather that truly leaves me impressed. Wearing this makes me feel like a large and elusive lizard basking on a rock in the sun. Excellent.

What a peculiar perfume. very, earthy leathery, wet, dry and raw. It reminds me of my grandfather's barn where he hung and oiled all the leather harnesses for the horses he used to have pull the plow. something smells aromatic, (probably the hay) A very comforting rural scent. There is something sweet blooming that adds to it... mimosa? and clay. a very distinct wet clay. It's a wet and dry perfume at the same time, and smells totally different depending on the humidity of the air. I also smell the vetiver adding the old wooden barn to the picture. No animals though, I'm happy to say! There is also an oily undertone, like the smell of spilt oil in the machine shop. It's... like a summer in the barn out in the country, with your nose to the dirt. This is smoothe, rugged but raw. A delight for the senses. Not for the faint of heart, but for a lover of earthy unusual leather fragrances.