Alter

Alter is so skanky and animalic at first, the initial blast will put you in heat. Be careful, lol. BUT... have patience. This is actually a very beautiful fragrance. Skip to my starred **** paragraph for my review/description. I was attracted to this as a jasmine lover, and also because of the "warnings" from reviews and from ThePerfumedCourt, from where I bought the sample, basically stating that this is only for seasoned jasmine lovers, and not for beginners in perfume. Well, I'm no beginner and I love jasmine, so I say "challenge accepted" and got my sample. Firstly, no... this is not for your average girl who likes her freshies, her fruity florals and thinks that flowers = candy because of modern perfumery. She will immediately write off Alter as "old lady". The thing about Alter is that it's natural. Raw materials, nature in a bottle. This is what perfumery actually was before it was industrialized, and that just shows how far removed we are from perfume artistry and nature herself. And no, I'm not a snob about my perfumes... I love my modern and industrious perfume collection. But Alter and fragrances like this are the meaning of perfume, and I hope for its appreciation. **** Secondly, the fragrance itself: a literal indolic jasmine with a potent, almost spicy animalic opening. Once it settles, the raunchiness disappears, and you are left with a beautiful ambery jasmine with a touch of mimosa for support. The sweet, yellow companionship of the mimosa is actually giving Alter a very honey-like quality. It is very seductive, indeed. Just give Alter time to settle. I'm really not getting much incense out of this, tbh, nor any obvious rose. My husband, hating all the perfumes I've been wearing as of late, actually really liked this one. He said I smelled like honeysuckle, haha... he was close enough! Alter is a great spring fragrance. It might be a little stuffy for humid days, but a cooler spring day just beckons this. It's surprisingly not a sillage beast. Fragrances that remind me of this are: The Crown Perfumery Co.'s Tanglewood Bouquet - different florals, but similar result. Tuscany per Donna - very similar indolic, animal nature and intensity, but Tuscany is fruity. Guerlain Terracotta Voile d'ete (vintage formulation, as I haven't tried the reformulation) - similar character as Alter, but softer and far more wearable for people who would find Alter to be "too much".

What makes a perfume interesting? I dare to say, against the grain: when it is all about the juice and not about a fancy storytelling. No weird backstory (we know how to read a text critically), no extravagant packaging (we are sick at seeing an avalanche of unboxing videos), and possibly no hypes. The poetry is in the juice, in its beatiful raw materials, in the perfumer's craftmanship. A perfume is intersting when it is intellectually compelling. And so Alter is. Alter is a supercharged indolic jasmine of a lost beauty. It is enriched by a subtle and properly used civet and an interesting note of myrrh that makes it bitter, fungal and hearthy. It is very warm, sensual, and iin a way also carnal, but in a very refined way. The opening is a head turner, white and yellow: a burst of jasmine petals infused with mimosa that seems to serve as a refinement: it is not "plasticy", but it really smells as nectar. At first, the bouquet appears as bridal, but suddenly you notice a dychotomy going on: the flowers are stained by blackness; ithey are too ripe, rich, thick, and voluptuous to be really "bridal". A hint of rose slowly emerges like a lace with a ribbon to keep the bouquet tight together. For me, the most interesting part is when the myrrh emerges: the bouquet is now tinged with earth, it is a little fungal; there is a sort of very interesting bitterness that reminds me a tiny bit of almonds: is there a micro-dose of heliotrope together with the mimosa? The civet makes Alter unisex: a leather undertone is quite evident in the drydown so that it can be worn with total confidence regardless of gender. Names bear meaning: alter is the latin word for the other (the other between two) so it points out to a specific distinction between two elements. I am left to wonder whether this alter is a choice between genre: a properly chosen name for the scent profile. For me, Alter is fascinating because it challenges stereotypes from within, without relying on fancy contructs, but on classical combo of notes. It is visceral, because it has obviously stroke some chords. It is educational. follow me on IG @alexolympia6

Sammarco is all about the juice. No verbose backstories, no fancy packagings and, most of all, no hype and no cheap-poetry. A bunch of extremely high-quality ingredients effortlessly blended into little masterpieces that are way more complex than an initial look might suggest. A great example of a lost kind of perfumery that relies on the main player: perfume. Alter is basically a massive indolic jasmine of rare beauty enriched by a subtle and yet quite remarkable civet note and something bitter and kind of almondy (mimosa or maybe heliotrope). The opening is extremely vivid and portraits the main ingredient in all its natural raw quality. Indolic, unprettified with a sort of freshly-cut mushroom facet and obviously very floral. The pairing with civet is perfect and instead of enhancing the potential challenging aspect of the combo, it provides a warm and carnal vein while other smooth yellow florals serve as refinements. It's a striking fragrance that doesn't need to rely on volume to make its statement. Instead it's calm, close to the skin and yet somehow, dangerous and daring. If you're up for a *pretty* jasmine, you should probably look somewhere else. Instead, if a true to life, high-end quality white floral is what you're after, Alter will most definitely fit your bill. A fragrance that's fascinating, visceral and educational at the same time. Think about some of the best JAR minus the pretentiousness and you're there. Sammarco doesn't need to promise, it just delivers. Rating: 8.5/10

Well.. it is trully jasmine incense at max with some metallic watery notes, I guess the metallic jasmines creates an animalic effect on the overall juice. Not bad although I don't like jasmine much and still needs more testing for me. Edit (12th Jan 2019) after 2.5+ years.. this is a smokey sweet jasmines with doses of myrrh mimosa and opoponax incense. Incredibly beautiful soft yet beast animalic, dark, and sensually captivating.

Its very intense,fresh, beautiful, fierce,intoxicating and one of a kind. Add the opoponax, myrrh, incense, civet, rose I love as a vintage oriental enthusiast--game over, this has consumed me. This is a white indolic lush experience. Moderate longevity and mixes great with Bond-t. I get a compliment every time I wear this 9.5/10