The Writer

Another gorgeous but sadly underrated perfume from St Giles. My Initial blind buy of The Tycoon was a second choice (my first choice was The Stylist on coming across the note table That piqued my curiosity in the brand) - unfortunately at the time it was the only bottle I could source in Australia). Finally, I have been able to secure bottles of The Stylist and Writer. Both, as per my expectations have not let me down. Ironically The Writer May be the more captivating - somewhat coincidentally smelling a lot like Alguien which also arrived recently. A woody Teak - backed by a forest vibe morphs over a few minutes, enhanced by sage and rosemary after five minutes And brings a slightly urinic and animalic background into play. After another 5 to 10 minutes this softens and the herbal aspect is brought back into focus slightly refreshed with sliced ginger and a slight leathery feel - again the teak also reassert itself - it’s like it yo-yos a few times before settling on a linear path. By this point it smells like for all intents and purposes a traditional aromatic citrus herbaceous cologne but a damn good one. A very friendly old fashioned one. Amazed at how old school yet appealing it feels - I have so many and many for that matter that are wow in your face or impress but let you know they are the new guard. This one is more like a case for me if I have one for life in this genre - this will be my trademark - not too old fashioned - just a safe raucous well done choice...

The Writer is a woody aromatic fragrance with a twist. It starts off with a zingy note of ginger which is followed by a green burst mostly rosemary and clary sage. It tones down and you will get surprised by a beautiful inky accord, just like the name of the fragrance, the ink accord is very realistic and prominent. I think this one would be great to wear for the office.

Working from home with a toddler isn't easy by any means, but the power of comfy loungewear and a good fragrance to get you going is all you need. Rosemery to stimulate memory, fresh ginger, uplifting rhubarb and calming frankincense and woods.. It may be psychologicaal but i feel wearing this really motivates meto open my laptop and WORK!

I bought this one for my brother on his birthday, It was Tycoon or the Writer. So glad I went with this one, fair to say he loves it!!! Always telling me how many compliments he’s had.

Interesting all day (lots of spice). Very familiar whilst also being very unique - love it !!! - liked it so much i've just ordered another bottle.

I really like it! It smells like a woody forest where the pine resins dropping from the bark. Cosy and atmospheric!

The writer starts bitter herbal with a massive Rosemary note. It is a realistic and smooth rosemary that has been magnified and is slowly being burnt. This is when it transitions to an incense-y heart a very realistic and liturgical frankincense that is paired quite uniquely with the herbal and bitter rosemary introduction. In The Writer's dry-down you are endowed with its incense-y and inky base-notes a sharp and bitter, thinly metallic, sweetness characteristic of the petroleum distillate solvent in ink with the sweetness slightly emphasized by the smoky and resinous frankincense. But this is ultimately a dark and pensive fragrance. Objectively, The Writer is an incense-forward fragrance that plays with both the sweetness and bitterness of smoky incense smelling very meditative, rustic, and liturgical. Leather bound tomes, old and dusty oak shelves, candles and incense, a stroll through a massive library at midnight overwhelmingly large and open triggering a slight sensation of Agoraphobia. You are a scribe and The Writer is the smell of your studio at the end of this eerie hall. Although I really adore the artistry and blending behind this fragrance it really is not to my taste. The rosemary comes off a bit too bitter and The Writer decides to lean into this bitterness and further accentuate it with an ink accord made sparkly and metallic by subtle aldehydes rendering it a bit high-pitched for my tastes. I have trouble finding the time to wear this as it was too bitter and sharp in the summer and I hated it and wrote it off as unwearable. Now it smells too austere and esoteric for me in the Winter like I have been trapped in an illuminated image whose color has been washed out and scuffed drastically. But I have warmed up to it now and can understand someone really enjoying it. I am put in a contemplative mood when I wear this, like deep thoughts and reflections, nothing happy or necessarily sad either, just neutral. Possibly concentrated. And the bitter incense scent profile that The Writer projects, feels unapproachable like something you'd wear to designate authority and project into peoples minds that you are a no-nonsense individual. It is a long-lasting fragrance it is rendered to a faint skin-scent on me into the next day after wearing it to bed. I would say a masculine leaning fragrance for sure. Bertrand Duchafour has undoubtedly captured magic in a bottle with The Writer. I highly respect the story and profile of this creation... The environment of an ancient scribe or Benedictine monk who has spent their lifetime copying the scripture of the bible in a remote Scriptorium miles away from civilization. Hats off to St. Giles with The Writer, it is good but not my bag so I won't be needing this one. 8.5/10

I purchased the discovery sample set of all 5 St. Giles fragrances - given these are small vials with not the greatest atomizers, no comment will be made on performance, sillage, projection or longetivity. The Writer If I had to buy one from the set, this would be it. Opens sharp and bold with ginger, incense & some kind of herbal quality. As the scent develops 15min or so later, the ink accord is in full force and it's definitely convincing. The ink accord is dominant for at least 1 or 2 hours after which the ink recedes a little and you get a woody character (cedar & maybe driftwood?). If you're in the UK, the price over there is more reasonable but here in Canada, it's quite expensive to get a bottle here after currency conversion. I think these St. Giles scents offer niche smells done in a way that's still wearable so they're not too challenging but definitely not mainstream designer either. Main highlight for me = the ink accord is so convincing to me that I literally get flashbacks to instances in my past where I've accidentally broken a pen that had ink spill out I rank this #1 out of 4 ("The Actress" is excluded since it's the only one explicitly geared to women) YT channel - The Scentrovert

Opens up big on the aldehydes, settles into a tame rosemary and light ginger smell, while still maintaining some sort of aldehyde (much less though). Somewhat incensey, but this isn't mainly what I'm getting. You could actually make the connotation with a very clean smelling piece of paper doused with spices and light aldehydes. Definitely true to name as it smells, though it's clearly not my forte, it's still a pleasant fragrance in this regard (a great piece of art if you will).

What an original composition. I absolutely love incense, so I was interested in exploring the work of Duchaufour, who is renowned for using this element. The incense emerges in the dry down, but it’s not really incense pure and simple; it’s more the smell of a cool, slightly musty church on a Tuesday. It’s a bit dank, and you’re working with the memory of the incense. There’s wood in the dry down too, again, a sort of musty wood - the inside of a chest perhaps, or the pews, choirs, screens of that church again. In the opening, it’s got very dry “in the jar for two years” rosemary and ginger too. There is a dusty remoteness to herbs that have been stored a long time, and it's here. I have been fortunate enough to spend hours, weeks, months in archives and libraries, and books that have fallen out of favour and been put in a basement store for a half or a whole century have a sort of parched mustiness to them that this has. I keep using the word musty, and you probably have negative connotations of that. But treasured paper, and cool, empty churches two days after mass, crammed full of carved wood - these are all exquisite things to me, things that last and mean something. This is not a scent that you just “like,” because it asks more of you than that. It’s not a challenging wear, but nor is it a swift and effortless, “Ooh, that smells nice,” when you put it on, or that Diane from accounts asks you about so she can buy it for her Dave. This is a remarkable creation, a real essay in perfumery. As such, I can perfectly see that it might be too considered, or sober, or clever, for even an adventurous nose. You could easily view this scent as thoughtful and well-argued, but unconvincing or cold. But I like it.

Note list is not entirely correct. Top notes are rosemary absolute, ginger, and aldehydes. Heart notes are clary sage, incense, and rhubarb. Base notes are ink, cedar, and driftwood. To me the opening is very green and spicy. The rosemary and clary sage are fairly strong in this one. The ginger adds a little bit of sharp freshness to the scent. I then get a woody spicy scent which is quite herbal and formal in nature. Definitely masculine. Well blended. I don't really smell any ink or anything of that nature, but the base has a cedar wood finish which smells pleasant enough. All in all a fairly decent scent which tends to be a little bit too spicy for my taste. The clary sage is strong so if you don't like that note chances are you won't like this. More suitable for mature noses, office or daily wear. Average performance. 6,5/10

I wish the notes weren't so "cliche". I guess the notes before I saw them. Of COURSE the writer is "smoky leather and balsamic"...I guess writers aren't supposed to smell like lipstick or coffee flower.

Agree with Tovah! Maybe the scents smell wonderful but it would be nice to see names+ scents that aren't so patriarchal. That said, the typeface is gorgeous and I can't wait to smell these.

Smells great, The Writers warm spicy aroma lasts forever, love this!