Basala

First tried this circa 1994, when Egoïste was the main scent-track to my life, and was sufficiently enchanted by its mysterious allure that Basala joined the rotation. For Shiseido, Basala was a big step up from Tactics, their previous men's fragrance (still available in Japan): Basala was a philosophical statement as much as an aesthetic declaration inspired by the way of the Samurai (Bushido) and its seminal text, The Book of Five Rings. A few years back was fortunate to find a first edition - "Basara" - at a reasonable price from an Italian vendor - for a bit of sensory time travel. The very first edition was "Basara", subsequently renamed "Basala". [A difference that does not exist in Japanese since "L" and "R" share the same characters in Japanese syllabaries and are written and pronounced exactly the same] Basara/Basala came out one year after the legendary Fémininité du Bois and its vivid scarlet compliments the rose-plum pink palette of FdB, so the full Shiseido product line for both FdB and Basala - including ancillary products like aftershave, deodorants, moisturisers, shower gel, self-tanning cream, etc. - made an eye-catching in-store display of crimson and pink Basala’s distinctive flacon was designed by Marc Newson, which he describes as “an anthropomorphic torso-like shape” - it reminds me of the classic Mitsouko bottle and was presumably intended to complement Serge Lutens’ similarly anthropomorphic flacon for FdB, likened to a woman’s torso. One thing I enjoy about Basara is its distinctive nature - it is unusual, innovative, and changes direction as it evolves, as if to defy attempts to categorise or pigeon-hole it since it doesn’t quite conform to stereotypes. It’s not traditionally aromatic, floral, woody, spicy, Oriental, Chypre, or Fougere, but a hybrid - a sensory mosaic of beautiful things. Basala is elegant sophistication - to my mind a tribute to the Samurai fascination with fragrance as both a sensory pleasure and one of the attributes of refinement (Kodo, the way of incense, was one of the five noble arts of Samurai culture). Basala's complexity and harmony is apparent in the way it evolves: first aromatic, then floral, spices, amber, resins, leather, oakmoss and wood, like a sensory kaleidoscope. A great example of the fine art of perfumery and a worthy companion to the iconic Fémininité du Bois with its Christopher Sheldrake-Serge Lutens pedigree. If only Basala shared FdB’s incredible performance and epic longevity. Basala makes me feel confident and serene, and elicits both curiosity and compliments from other people, a sensory pleasure for wearer and entourage alike. The dry down is lovely - an elegant pre-IFRA woody-amber-oakmoss. In Samurai Japan, the Sakura (cherry blossom) was revered as a metaphor for success (according to the Samurai philosophy of Bushido) quiet diligence blossoming into a brief but glorious and dazzlingly beautiful zenith - Basala is an olfactory Sakura that blossoms into beauty and magnificence. Basala is like a unicorn, or a rare and priceless diamond, a TARDIS in a scarlet bottle that takes me back to the days when I was young and hopeful. Admittedly my love for this fragrance is greatly affected by nostalgia and euphoric recall so this review is entirely subjective and extremely biased, nevertheless it really is sublime. Nowadays the Issey Miyake label is the primary focus of Shiseido’s men’s fragrance business, yet Basala is a timeless example of eternal style, a classy, quintessentially Japanese gentleman's fragrance, an incarnation of Bushido aesthetic values and an allusion to the five noble arts of Samurai culture. As a long-discontinued icon it's rarer than hen's teeth and, sadly, more expensive than platinum, so unless you have loads of money the only practical (and affordable) way to try it nowadays is via a decant, sample or mini.

This week I managed to get a pristine, vintage first edition of this beautiful fragrance - when it was first released it was called "Basara" - and it really is bewitching, sexy and extremely beautiful. An elixir like this is so wonderfully blended that the effect is one of sublime harmony and balance. Basara / Basala evokes the ancient Japanese art of Kodo - the incense ceremony - an intricate olfactory pleasure which (for me) elicits thoughts of luxury and comfort. A sophisticated fragrance opening with subtle aromatic, spice and floral notes, becoming a woody and oakmossy amber, but so unlike anything else that words don't really suffice. Basara is in some ways a paradox and the overall effect is one of rich, dignified elegance, of exquisite luxury and comfort, and of "dignitas" in the Ancient Roman sense. It is the embodiment of refined masculine sophistication, confidence and dignity, like a Samurai warlord. To my mind the epitome of the art of perfumery is the creation of fragrances whose components combine and develop in harmony to create a "symphony" and in my humble opinion Basara is one of the finest examples of an olfactory symphony. This has not dated in any way since it never conformed to any prevailing trend in the first place, so it remains timeless, a rare gem of superlative beauty and is without doubt one of the Crown Jewels of my collection.

Oh my this was magnificent! There is absolutely nothing quite like it. I brought this back from Europe in the mid-nineties, and being in my 20's I loved it, but perhaps a bit too much for me then. My roommate quite rightly stole it from me, lol and we both would love to get our hands on some today, but it's nearly impossible. This was indeed a true masculine floral herbal oriental spicebomb! The middle notes of caraway, cinnamon and carnation particularly stand out to me in my memory of this masterpiece. The bottle, by Marc Newson, is also noteworthy being by one of the most famous designers in the world. Not sure why he is not noted in the Fragrantica description.

It smells very unique, woodsy and sensous, it was a break through in the years that Basala was launched, goes without saying that it is one of the first avant garde perfumes in mass production perfume history, allthough counts to designer category by label , it would easily beat many niche and artisanal perfumes today, if it wasn't discontinued. (Sad but true) the carnation-oakmoss combo is incredible, smells mindblowingly authentic, and the patchouli-musk-coconut base defines the solid signature base of that masterfully crafted recipee. An absolute master piece, luckily I still can find it in vintage perfume shops.

Well! Basara was my husband's favourite perfume - and mine on him!! It was exquisite. It's such a tragedy that it is not made any more. It was the most gorgeous, unique, divine, sensual, luxurious, glorious, warm, oriental, sweet, spicy, herby, opulent, masculine, smooth, creamy, heavenly fragrance. Oh how we wish they still made it!!! And the bottle is the most gorgeous creation ever!!! Such a fabulous colour and shape, and so beautiful to hold. We have it on display (the empty bottle, sob...sob!) in our home, and I love gazing at it, and handling it. It's so beautifully made. Bottle and perfume: a masterpiece!!!

I’m also a very big fan go this fragrance. In fact this is my favorite one. It reminds me my first love, beautiful sunny but melancholic autumn, serenity and calming. Basala is so perfect that I cannot imagine better fragrance. All notes makes Basala the most sensual fragrance I’ve ever had. It’s combination of tobacco, wood, cherry, amber, leather and much more cause you can always discover something new in Basala... I’m so unhappy that it’s discounted and I can’t get in anywhere. I tried so many fragrances but I can’t find a similar one. So magical, so wonderful, so unique... like first love. I love Basala.

Another of my long-time go-to favourites. I've been in love with this fragrance for so long that it's actually difficult to try and prize apart why, least of all because the things I know about perfume didn't even enter into why I fell in love with it at the time. For example, I was convinced it contained ginger when I first smelt it, but it doesn't. Maybe that not surprising given just how vast its combination of spicy, floral and woody notes actually is. Yep, I know it was released "for men" , but I think that's rubbish: this is a deeply unisex juice. I love it on me and I love it on others.

One of the best perfumes ever produced ! Own a bottle back in 94 to 96. Great scent, absolutely love it at that time. Gorgeous. A sexy Fragrance and a Compliment getter. Suitable for a bit cooler weather and perfect for evening/night. Enquired Shisiedo outlet was told that frag was discontinued. Why discontinue such an amazing frag? Hope Shisiedo will be revive it or any Middle Eastern frag house can replicate this again, sure it will be a winner.

Complex and bold; not in an overstated way but certainly not understated either. It balances on that fine line of being overtly masculine while maintaining an air of refinement. I am not skilled enough to pick up on the individual notes but I get a wonderful opening of herbs with a drydown of very spicy fir and musk. This is a truly wonderful scent, one I will treasure for as long as I can get my hands on it!

This is an extremely powerful and masculine fragrance. It has a very strong personality. Too bad it's SO hard to find. HIghly recommendable for evenings.

Delicioso, muy masculino. Pero aquí en Argentina está discontinuado!! Una lástima...

Some say this fragrance is complex, and you'd certainly think so from the ingredients: Top notes are rosemary, artemisia, lavender, green notes, fruity notes, clary sage, basil, neroli and bergamot; middle notes are carnation, fir, cinnamon, jasmine, caraway and rose; base notes are labdanum, leather, amber, patchouli, musk, coconut, oakmoss and cedar. Wow, what a nose full you'd expect, right? But in my impression of it, I can't detect many of these notes. Perhaps it's their confluence that blends together so well. For instance, to me I smell sandalwood... but it's not there in the list. Its cousin is--cedar. Perhaps the intermixing of leather and musk with it ends up reflecting sandalwood? The middle notes are almost completely transparent to me. I do sense some rose essence, as well as musk and oakmoss. The base notes do seem stronger than the rest. While the cedar is prominent, it is very tamed and soft. And something about it combined with the musk is just delicious. In some ways I find Basala to be somewhere between Chanel Antaeus and a Musk forward fragrance like Royall Muske. Frankly, for the kind of crazy prices it has been going for on "that auction site", ultimately I do not think it is really worth it any longer. Unfortunately there are enough people feeling otherwise that keeps the remaining dwindling stock in the on-line marketplaces to be financially challenging. And so... I savor what little I have of it. :-/ 9.4/10 for fragrance, 7.0/10 for value (based on exorbitant market prices).

It might just be me, but every time I smell Basala I'm somewhat reminded of Lutens' later Un Bois Sepia--aka the "weird man cologne one" that really stands out in Lutens' self-titled offerings. Sadly I don't have a sample of Bois Sepia to test my memory, but to me, I smell an aromatic lavender bolstered by some herbs and fairly well-handled/subtle aromachemicals at the top, seguing to a drier, sweet woody base with a resinous bent to it. Definitely well-blended and no one particular note stands out besides "well-done man cologne," but a hair more interesting than others of its kind.

Basala Shiseido (Skin test, EDT.) This is beautiful Barbershop-estique fragrance. That every note hitting the element in right time. Leather, Floral and soft fougere. It is smell like men care and sharing cream. But in the best way possible, Basala is just round-out and throughout product. It is very balance and have a beautiful across it-life. Basala is DNA transit to many brand, I believe. But Basala - as my heart insists - the most balance one. Blueprint of creamy Fougere using Amber.

This is a unique fragrance. I am fortunate to have one more bottle. And hope to find more. Its quite spicy and complexed. Leather, cinammon, musk and labdanum create an amazing perfume. It was a true gem by Shiseido.

To me this is not fresh at all, but spicy it is, thats for sure. Very nice and warm winter frag although I found it hard to go through the whole bottle.

IT. Ultimamente si può trovarlo soltanto su eBay ed i prezzi sono saliti ai livelli dei profumi di nicchia (€250-350). Peggio di tutto che hai un tasso altissimo delle possibilità di ricevere uno contrafatto, come successo a me. Strano che essendo così richiesto la produzione di Basala non viene rinnovata da Shiseido, che insiste invece di produrre il ZEN, che secondo me anche fra 100 anni non verrà apprezzato come Basala solo dopo 20 anni dalla sua prima uscita. EN. Lately you can find it only on eBay and the prices have risen to the level of niche perfumes ($350-490). I tried to order one and the perfume that was send me was the fake one. So be careful. It's so strange that being so required, the production of Basala still wasn't renewed by Shiseido, instead of the production of ZEN, which, I think even after 100 years won't be appreciated as Basala today, only 20 years after its first release.

This one was a dissapointment for me. After a really great and one of a kind begining it changed in the direction I didn't like. It was going weaker and weaker. It lasted - that's true. But I don't like the way it smelled after 2 hours. So I sold it...

So I got a job lot of 8 miniatures that looked interesting and a small 5ml bottle of this was there... wow! Stunning scent . I’ve always been an amber fan and the way this has been interwoven with green notes and spices is amazing. Far and away one of the most complicated male scents I have ever discovered. I’ve hoovered up another 22 mls of Basara ( 1st incarnation ) and Basala ( 2nd name) as I can easily see a long and carefully curated future for me and this. I love the way we can all related to and recognise what we call “ green scents” this one for me is "red". Pulsating warm and spicy but with a really complex shifting background. There is a lot going on and the ingredients all seem to take their turn as the dry down moves on...It's a strong one so no more than three sprays and you'll be set fine. I wouldn't use this as a daily wearer it's far too rare and special..This is an "event" frag. doesn't matter if its formal or informal. Moving round a room and wearing this will have women tilting their heads up and sniffing the air as you pass wondering if it's you that is wearing this sublime sexy scent. The word is oft used in reviews on this website but this is a lost masterpiece. It commands seriously high prices in the market but frag fans should at least make the pilgrimage with a 5ml minature once. Want something special for that late Summer wine and dine? Look no further.

Basala is a particularly well-constructed release featuring a plethora of notes, highly interwoven - this style of complex integration seems now a pretty much-forgotten skill in perfumery. Overall its dry, herbal, caraway and lavendery aspects are prominent, it's slightly bitter and warm, but there is so much more going on - it also smells perfectly civilised, soft-spoken and timeless. I cannot put my finger on what it reminds me off, having this familiar, cosy aspect to it. When it came out, of course, Shiseido's Feminite du Bois was receiving all the curiosity due to its genuinely innovative style. I imagine that Basala, even with its proper 'designer' bottle by Marc Newson and men's cosmetic products, must have suffered under this - together with the certain classicism, the fragrance has, attention in '93 was elsewhere. A shame it's been discontinued, it being maybe the only truly great men's fragrance by the company. Despite this strange familiarity I get each time smelling Basala - that recalls me of another, yet unknown scent, I cannot point out to anything similar - what resonates with it, however, is YSL's original Jazz, from a few years earlier around that time, and Frédéric Malle's French Lover...