2 Rance

Rancé 2 is a light, clean fragrance, swinging between being masculine (the slightly animalic notes as noted by Bigsly) and feminine (the white floral accords in the middle notes) throughout the life of the scent. The opening, past a very strong and quickly fading alcoholic burst, is a bright citrusy accord, slightly bitter, but sweetened immediately by a honey facet (it must be both the magnolia and honeysuckle, as I don't see honey listed). It's very pleasant, slightly soapy and very much clean. I also get immediately some light blond woody feeling - and that's definitely the cedar wood coming ontop earlier than expected, as I don't get much of it in the base. I think the magnolia and the nutmeg are responsible for the animalic side of the scent - it's very subtle, and it comes up during the middle notes along with a clean and persistent tea note, which is much more powerful on a test strip than on skin. I think I've smelled something similar in the lobby of some Asian hotels - clean, subtle, persistent and neutral (as in gender-neutral) and I think this is what a Asian house depicted on Architectural Digest would smell like. The note lasts for a few hours before being accompanied by the sweet myrrh-like smell of the opoponax; and some *very* subtle cedar, still playing with the tea note. No oakmoss to my nose. Projection is not its forte; the notes remain on skin and on the test strip for around 6 hours before fading. My sample is a 4ml miniature but I haven't got the batch code unfortunately. It doesn't matter anyway, since it looks like this one has been discontinued. I would have not minded buying a full size bottle, but I think this would be a far greater home fragrance with its clean, uplifting tea note. EDIT: now that I smelled it, it shares some similarities with Banana Republic 78 Vintage Green, specifically the uplifting citrus/tea note and the some sweetness from the florals.

This does smell natural, though there is a bit of a sour quality at first, almost olive-like, that I'm sure many will not find pleasant. And there's also a clear animalic quality. Overall, I do enjoy it, perhaps because of the naturalness and interplay of the strong notes. However, I have a feeling many will think that the longevity is poor, but what happens is that the projection ("sillage") drops off considerably after one to two hours. The drydown is light but not weak. If you are a fan of traditional cologne type fragrances, such as Colonia by Aqua di Parma, then you might want to give this a try. If you are used to Le Male or Quorum type projection, this is probably not for you. Also, this is more of a warm weather fragrance and I'd call it unisex. It's not really special, IMO, but it's solid for what it is.