Chypre-Siam

I wanted to try Manny Cross's fragrances because they are so highly lauded, and because he has a great offer on Etsy for a sampling of ten among his line for Rogue Perfumery for a great price. This was the one I especially wanted to try because, new to fragrances, I have wanted to try what a _true_ chypre is like, since the type is so famous among perfume aficionados, and many have said this particular fragrance seems the closest today to what François Coty was doing when he popularized the type in the early 20th century with his famous Chypre. And, one of the things I have found in reading literature about fragrances is that it's apparently difficult to explain sometimes what a chypre actually smells like, especially since real oakmoss (its base) is so limited in use anymore. But Cross uses real oakmoss in this (since he doesn't export it and so isn't bound by international restrictions on using oakmoss), so this gave me a chance to see what the fuss is about. I still have yet to try the chypres to which this is so often compared, like Mitsouko or Derby, and my nose isn't sophisticated enough yet to describe all the notes in this yet. What I can say is that Cross's publicity material about this smelling like a Southeast Asian forest seems believable to me. The mossiness is the main note, with indolic jasmine behind it mostly to open up your nose, and the basil and the kaffir-lime at the top also makes this seem more Indochinese in flavor. This does not seem old fashioned to me because the ingredients seem fresh and powerful (be aware a very little goes a long way in terms of projection); but it does evoke another era nonetheless. I keep thinking this is something like what the protagonists would wear in Jean Rhys's novels of the early 1930s. I feel very adult in wearing this. The jasmine, though not overpowering, is slightly feminine, but this is balanced out by the moss and basil: this seems like a true unisex fragrance. I do keep sniffing my wrists all day to get a good whiff of it, which is always my hallmark of a fully lovable perfume. Even though this projects strongly, I seem to want more of it. I will probably eventually have to buy a full bottle (and are there cooler retro bottle labels than Rogue Perfumery's?).

While scrolling Instagram recently, I couldn’t help but notice a photo of Chypre-Siam, being the vintage Coty fan that I am. It reflects the 1940’s ish French foil label style they used, and the same green and gold colors used for Chypre, the chypre that started them all. So, I hit the brakes and started reading. The review was really positive so I immediately became interested. I commented that I it looked authentically vintage and the Instagrammer responded “smells even more vintage”. Okay, that’s all it took so I started googling. I found the website and was immediately sold by the up front, no holds barred, proud exclamation by Manuel Cross of Rogue as being “non IFRA compliant fragrance art”. No stammering, no dancing around it, no “I hope nobody notices we aren’t compliant”, none of that, he clearly says I make perfume the way I want. I like him already. Okay, back to Chypre-Siam. Cross completely nails the feel of Coty Chypre although it’s not a dupe or anything. But it’s that classically structured chypre. Fans of real oakmoss will be delighted by his “IFRA can jump off into a lake” stance because it’s full of it. This is a true classic chypre, masterfully created, and if you like true vintage style, run, don’t walk to try it. When I first smelled it I thought how can a new perfumer selling stuff on Etsy make something this good? Then I researched more and found that Manuel has been studying perfumery, fragrance history and aroma chemicals for 10 years. Being a chef by trade, I assume that skill transferred over into making perfume. I really can’t stress enough how good this perfume is. I’m a chypre fanatic, it’s probably my favorite genre, at least in the top two, and this is one of the best I’ve smelled. It’s perfectly balanced, opening is gorgeous and the fragrance hold steady and beautiful until the far drydown. It seems perfumers go for different things. Some for something offbeat, others for this or that, but there are some that go for perfected beauty. A truly “finished” creation, even if it takes years to perfect it. That is what I feel Manuel Cross is doing. Don’t let the Etsy fool you, this is seriously good perfume. PS, my rave is 100% honest. This is a completely unsolicited review as are all.

Oh, my god. Picture a hairy man wearing a loin cloth, standing on a tree stump, shouting, "I AM A GENTLEMAN!" That is the opening of this perfume. I have never had a scent actually make me feel more confident. What an amazing smell. I feel like I could hunt down a wildebeest. Or close a corporate merger. Either way. In my short time since I began exploring fragrance, I wondered what a "chypre" was. I suspected from reading that most of my experience had been with fougeres. Outside of the vast variation available there, I couldn't imagine a cologne smelling some "other way". Now, I remember. The second I put this on, I recognized it from... somewhere in the past. I might have been rightly turned down for a job that I made it to the second interview round of by someone wearing it. I think the lawyer who once won an unemployment suit for me might have worn something like this, or maybe the judge when I was arrested for criminal trespass 3rd degree when I was 16. Or maybe, just maybe, as a child, reading my favorite Doctor Strange comic books, watching him traverse the Dark Dimension in mystic battle against the Dread Dormammu and Baron Mordo, I imagined he smelled like this. Yes, I think that last one might be it. This is the scent of a man who can perceive an eldritch threat against this very dimension, and knows what to do about it. A man who saves an entire realm against the threat of the Mindless Ones and hardly breaks a sweat. At least, provided he can do it within the next 20-30 minutes. Because by that point, the scent already begins to fade. Two and a half hours later, it's a ghost of a scent, a barely-there nimbus of occasional warm spice. After three hours, it's not even that. The hairy gentleman's lunch break is long over and he's gone back to his desk in the accounting office, still content from the memory of the wildebeest he caught for lunch but beginning to feel that mid-afternoon drowse. He's still in control but glad meetings are over for the day. Here in the Dark Dimension, the Mindless Ones have broken through the barrier, the Omnipotent Oshtur can't be bothered to heed my summons, and I've accidentally stepped on the Wand of Watoomb and broken it in two. True story.

Outstanding. Amazing. Genuinely brilliant - because reviews below show real chypre-lovers, who know what they're talking about, love this. I am usually highly leery of classic chypres, which this is, and know hardly anything about them - yet I love Chypre Siam too. So it's just as great for a clueless newcomer as it is for a seasoned genre fan. This has all the complexity and punch and maturity of the real no-compromise vintage versions - a hefty, acerbic bite of oak moss always making itself felt - yet none of the harsh chemical aura, or almost metallic edge, which turns me off many of those old classics. Chypre Siam is the very best of 1930s-40s retro without the occasional frumpiness - a more mellow and flattering experience altogether. While it's strong and savoury in parts, things never get over-bitter. Plenty of real grunt and growl in the bottom end, still - this is so heady it's almost distracting, always flashing some new facet, always in full control. Just enough floral and basil to give sparks of sweetness amid the bracing, invigorating, characterful whirl. It's kind of a snappily-tailored skirt suit, with butch details, in green wool that's still sharp and sexy. Makes me feel as if Katharine Hepburn back in her prime is holding me to account and I'm loving every second of it. An unarguable, dominant, no-messing hit, made by someone who really cares and really knows how - and pretty miraculously priced for what it is, too! Bravo!! Could well be unisex on the right person; pretty large and solid sillage at first, though this shrinks in a couple of hours to arms' length, but still a robust presence; overall longevity a little less than its bossy beginning might make you think, but still pretty dang respectable at 6-7h in total. Well my my. It's really something special.

Chypre Siam absolutely old school gorgeous! This does remind me of something I smelled a long time ago on a stranger back in the 70s. An elegant woman in heels and a fur. Chypre Siam is a nostalgic perfume. This is BRILLIANT! All of the above accords are right except there should be a powdery accord as well. The composition is so well blended that the perfume swirls around you like a fine fragrant mist sent from heaven. It is the type of fragrance that creates a haze like effect around the wearer. An unforgettable haze. Not like many perfumes today that showcase their notes as if each one listed must be on neon display and PROVE it is there leaving nothing to chance. A predictably that I have really grown to dislike. Chypre Siam smells like old money, women in fur coats and the finest leather heels. But most of all chypre Siam smells like a mystery. The way perfumes are supposed to smell. Mysterious, something that stirs the imagination and inspires a person to dream. And most of all creates an aura of mystique around the wearer. The woman who wears this gorgeous creation will at least feel like she has it all. She will be the enigma that everyone will want to solve, to know, and aspire to be.. Absolutely bewitching, classy, haunting and sensual. Old school perfumery at it's finest. Full bottle worthy. Mysterious, and utterly beguiling. Edit: I don't agree with comparisons to Guerlain mitsuko. Are they both chypres, yes but that is about it for similarity. While I appreciate mitsuko I found it unwearable and in the end parted with my bottle. I personally find chypre Siam warmer, rounder, softer, and more sensual and much more enjoyable to wear. Mitsuko in comparison seems a bit harsh and desert dry. Chypre Siam is lush and fully alive.