Curium [Cm 96]

Strange...it smells like pure orris root, a realistic blackboard chalk, a mineral-fresh and lightly almondy note who evolves quickly into ambrette. Minimalist but overall comforting , a dusty musk with some warm spices who create a nice discreet cocoon type of perfume. Perfect for who likes Keiko Mecheri minimalisme but without her boring and bland style. Here the restrained approach brings meaning with a poetic technique. Nice

Something of those millions ”woody scents”. I feel vetiver. Quite ok.

I've to admit Curium left me a bit cold the first time around. As often happens with this brand, it's so easy to overlook their fragrances. Their restrained style and the fact they generally opt for a "everyday-wear" kind of approach to perfumery, doesn't help their fragrances to stand-out at first sniff but I've found that a more in-depth experience usually unveils their subtle twists and charm. As a matter of fact, after I had tried Curium for the first time, dismissing it as "Not My Thing", I realized I remembered exactly how it smelt like. There's something almost subliminal to it, something apparently irrelevant but that, instead, get stuck in your mind. I decided to give it another chance because something that get stuck in your mind like Curium did, surely deserves further exploration so I grabbed a couple more samples and I'm now discovering I'm growing very fond of it. How it smells like? Smells like the bone-structure of a modern floral musc that have been devoided of any frill. It's a super-dusty, kind of ambrette-seed-ish / iris-y / non-animalic musc. It's a subtle veil that keeps radiating all around you for a whole day. Smells like a tribute to Marie Curie from, say, Ryoji Ikeda. Something that would probably make perfume purists / classicists recoil in horror. I like it. Rating: 7-7.5/10

Smells like a kiss from my grandmother. Weak.