Hora de la Verdad

To me the central theme here is crushed stems+leaves of geranium, unspoiled by a usual composition around this note. It's green, citrusy and bitter, with only the slightest hint of flowers, probably added here out of politeness. There is nothing quite like it, and I went through 2 full bottles of Rose and Cuir. It is definitely niche, edgy, modern, it does not smell perfumey, it does punch you in the face with the first spray and it does kinda smell like a bugspray at first, true - and I still find it extremely natural, green, pleasant and wearable. The shocking quality of this is a cultural construct, in a parallel universe this could be a timeless classic. Unfortunately, obsessed with this and now voluntary will get robbed for >200 euro per each 50 mil.

A lot of tanginess and bite, not a comforting scent. Edit: This actually grew on me a lot. It's one of the most unique scents I have ever smelled. I thought it was discomforting at first sniff but now I see it's a very well-executed concept.

@Ionut Gabriel Israte The notes are not wrong. The notes you listed are for the Hora de la Verdad Sombra which is the more animalic/dark counterpart/sister to this fragrance.

This one will be extremely difficult to postulate. I will try to unpack while I have the general gist of my impressions after quite a long testing interval of wearing this. This offering from the line is quite strange in a good way. However there is also an undeniable truth about this fragrance that I cannot hold back on. So bare with me as I summarize my experience. Hora de la Verdad or Hour of Truth is a tribute to the novel Death in the Afternoon by the American author Ernest Hemingway. An account in which Hemingway uses metaphorically, the Spanish ceremony of bullfighting as a narrative for how a writer's pursuit of purpose, voice, courage and fulfillment, can be described by the nerves of the matador and the ceremonious slaying of the bull. Though the "running of the bulls" was already an established Spanish tradition in Pamplona, capital of Navarre, it was Ernest Hemingway's novels dedicated to bullfighting, The Sun Also Rises and Death in the Afternoon that brought global exposure to the event. Hemingway was a bullfighting connoisseur and had a deep appreciation for the tradition relating it to the discussion of virility and bravery, life and death. Hora de la Verdad is an incomparably magnificent concept. Once again Senyokô absolutely lands the target for excellent concepts. But the fragrance does not at all match the excellence that the concept establishes. Although, unlike Migration de L'Arbre and Duo des Fleurs, I can actually sense the real essences of the ingredients used in the perfume. But much like Une Île Pluvieuse, it is a quagmire of thick, oppressive and bitter notes vying for attention. On first blast we are met with a massively bracing and tangy citrus rind. Photorealistic, nicely bitter, nicely tangy, tart, and extremely dirty. Like orange zest ground off of an unwashed and dusty orange. I actually really love this opening. But as Hora de la Verdad settles I become conflicted as to whether I should tolerate it for its artistic qualities or I should berate it for smelling like an insect repellant. As a wearer of perfume I am always challenged to decide my boundaries in perfume. I try my best to adhere to these boundaries so that I search for things that I'd perpetually want to wear that make me happy. Things that I do not have to persuade myself to wear when I am clearly not convinced by them. Here is my objective approach: I love this as a smell and as a conceptual perfume. As Hora de la Verdad dries down it is clearly blended to realistically recount the scents that in theory may be present in an aggressive bullfight. A thick, smokey, metallic and bitter profile of what registers for me as rose oxide and a bitter, herbal, geranium manifest the smell of the blood from the open wounds on the bull. The lingering base of mouth-puckering, timur pepper (a material I am becoming increasingly interested in) provides a very dimensional tangy smokiness like the smell of spices dry-roasted on a pan and a grilled lemon giving Hora de la Verdad a significantly sour, sparkle. The timur combined with the rose also accentuates the nicely, shrill, bloodiness of this fragrance. There is a smell of sun baked leather lingering in the base that very subtly resembles the skin of an overworked oxen baking in the heat. If I was any the wiser and had communication to a parallel universe, I could imagine a perfume like this being a submission for Zoologist Cow or more aptly "Zoologist Bull" but I feel Victor's input would have made it less crass. Here is my subjective approach: This is blended way too aggressively with too much going on at once to fit the bullfighting narrative. Timur pepper is an extremely strong statement-making spice. I like to call it the "agarwood of spices" because it behaves as a through-line note that can easily be felt throughout a composition no matter the stage. Timur pepper can also, like oud, take over a composition. Here its bitterness and unapologetic citrus facets combined with a sharp vetiver render the timur pepper quite medicinal in Hora de la Verdad to the point of smelling like a citrus based wood cleaning solution or bathroom cleaner. Combined with the labdanum, rose and geranium the fragrance begins to adopt a similar citronella mosquito coils smell that I unfortunately experience in Areej le Doré's Malik al Taif, Beauty and the Beast and Bortnikoff's Oud Maximus. The leather turns this fragrance quite greasy giving it a kind of fatty varnish or lubricant-like smell. The sillage of this smells of an office bathroom that had just been sanitized by the custodian... It is almost boozy at times coming across absinth adjacent and at some point I am trying to decipher if Hora de la Verdad is trying instead to resemble Hemingway's own cocktail named after his novel. But for better or worse, Hora de la Verdad is undeniably unique and leaves a lasting impression that could remain with you forever, kind of like the adrenaline rush of watching a real bull fight. It is masculine leaning with strong sillage and longevity. A very long lasting citrus. I will give it credit for being significantly memorable but the perfumer's approach to blending is like patchwork, lacking the allure of a bull fight. They try too hard to thoroughly match the subject matter forgetting that the fragrance must be worn. More the bull, than the fighter or Hemingway. It smells good with nose to arm, but in truth, smells of RAID Ant & Roach in its bubble around me. I would urge, don't be completely off-put by my interpretations. Please, sample Hora de la Verdad for yourself. For the right person this may seem groundbreaking. Such extreme, extreme, potential here, but it leaves me disappointed! 5.5/10

I’m sooo confused I’ve ordered samples of this from 3 different sites and every time it smells like blood?? have they accidentally sent me Sombra all 3 times? I’m at a loss... why did they give them such a similar name

The notes on fragrantica are wrong: Top Notes: white pepper, thyme, Spanish saffron & blood accord Heart Notes: Turkish rose absolute, jasmine & narcissus Base Notes: hyraceum, leather, cedar, guaiac, birch, castoreum, musk, oak moss, civet, Spanish labdanum & oud.

Sharp pepper and roses... and intensive sharp pepper & roses mix with coriander, bergamot, saffron, touch of orange with big chunks of geranium. The colder it goes the more orangy it gets.

This one is hard to describe. I LOVE IT. So beautiful and strange. If you have the chance, try it on your skin.

An unknowable alien flower, dipped in freshly poured black latex, in orbit around a distant star.