Brocéliande

I’m surprised that this has not received as much attention as other fragrances from the brand such as Mandorle (which I also loved), Gladiator (which felt unremarkable to me), and Janny (which took my by surprise as I usually don’t like literal gourmannds but I loved this iteration). I got the sample set (which is a bit on the expense side btw, but...) and along with Mandorle and Janny this one was a clear standout to me and a complete surprise as I am a bit sensitive to animalics (this is not an all indolic btw, as least not to my skin. Thankfully!) and I don’t particularly like citrus and fresh scents so I did not expect to like this, let alone love it. But this is a fragrance for those that are looking for a fresh and citrus scent that still has some depth to it and is not straight up citrus or blue. It is a very complex scent that in the opening has a citrusy boozy vibe that is not too sweet and not one dimensional. You get the zinginess from the ginger, lemon and lime and the booziness from the rum but there is an underlying sweetness (very slight to my nose), a bit powdery and spicy. While it develops it becomes less zesty and more deep and sweet but never cloying. I cannot detect the animatic notes at all, so I guess they’re used in moderation to make the scent more complex and interesting. It is very interesting and uplifting and has a fun vibe to it while still being very elegant to my nose. To me, this is a summer staple, especially for those that are not typically into summery scents (like myself), but it can easily be worn year round. It’s in offensive, very likeable, and it performs quite well (8+ hours on my skin, with a moderate and not too loud presence). It was definitely a surprise as I did not expect to like this but after spending a few days with the sample I could not resist getting a full bottle for the summer ahead!

Very nice fragrance! Starts with that talked about citrus sweet note that could be compared to any type of lemon cake/pie etc smell... the citruses in here are more of the kind of realistic peel of the lemon smelling kind of like something like renaissance from xerjoff?? Maybe but lighter and also i get a lot of that sweet note which i pick up mostly a mix of that rum with the vanilla and the caramel so u get this mix of lemon peel like the one u add to the lemon cake if you are related to bakery or have made a lemon cake before... with that very wonderful sweet mix Dont take my word but i get like a very very far away similarity to the experience i get when smelling by the fireplace from maison margiela... has nothing to do since this is not smoky but idk why i got that in my head when smelling broceliande If you like sweet fragrances with a hint of citrus like a lemon cake mix then you will like this... i would wear this on a summer night 8/10 Dont know about longevity or other stuff... just got my decant and this are my first impressions!

Opens up *very* citrusy and *very* zesty. ...and contrary to what I'm reading online, on my skin, the scent remains citrusy throughout the wear, never developing to have these rich vanillic accords with rum and cinnamon, that other people seem to get. To me this is a spring/summer scent; I couldn't imagine wearing this during the colder months. Weird. And I have an official Sora Dora sample, so it doesn't seem likely that I would've gotten a wrong scent with my order. I found Broceliande to be the most underwhelming of the seven releases, despite having high hopes about it. I'm not saying it's a bad scent - it definitely isn't - just not at all what I was expecting and hoping.

So there's two versions of this, the first one from 2021 is more animalistic/smoky/woody which I quite like. But the one from 2024 is more boring and tame. Doesn't get as dark, and stays more bright with its citrus. I have a sample (the sample doesn't start citrusy at all) which I believe it's from 2021 but I got a full bottle and to my nose it smells like it's the later version 211145BE maybe someone can confirm for me, unless it needs to get macerated? So apparently I have the 2024 version which smells weaker and not as smoky, and more citrusy. Kinda boring.

From the brand website, in case you want to see what they consider to be the top, heart, and base notes. It's a wild ride...and I love it. Top notes: Essence of Italian Bergamot, Essence of Lime, Essence of Lemon Heart notes: Essence of Ginger, Essence of Coriander Seed, Essence of Ceylon Cinnamon, Iris Base notes: Sesame CO2, Castoreum, Civet, Essence of Pyrogenic Styrax, Vanilla, Caramel