Bass Solo

First, I will state that I was one of the winners of the Bass Solo giveaway. I can't honestly say that it doesn't affect my judgment or review of this product. Though, I believe that it would for most. I didn't know that the owners of this website had a niche perfume line until after I reviewed/commented on the article. I'm fairly new at this fragrance passion I've acquired -so it is what it is. With that said, I love Bass Solo & I will cherish it for a long time. I wasn't familiar with who Bertrand Duchaufour is either. However, I did recognize a few fragrances of his that I use to love -Tralala by Penhaligon's in particular. Many people seemed to comment about his work positively & appears highly respected. I would think that it would behove anyone like Mr. Duchaufour, who is in the business, to create masterpieces for The Vagabond prince. Especially due to the popularity of this website & its correlation to fragrances. I believe he was successful in this endeavor. In my opinion, he was able to create uniquely elegant fragrances for the Vagabond Prince. They are hidden gems that I adore. Aesthetically, Bass Solo is absolutely stunning & it truly captures the essence of a wood/oud feel. All aspects of presentaion appear to be brooding with a classic darkness that envokes deeper mysteriousness. It's powerful in its simplicity. I almost thought I would hear a collaberation from Willie Dixon & Charles Calmese when I removed the wooden cap from the heavy black bootle. The fragrances wood notes have a milky base to them & aren't spicy or screechy in any way. I agree with Seachase's review when he stated that the woods are "well blended with the other notes" & create "a liquid symphony playing at all times". There seems to be several wood fragrances appearing to peek in & out throughout its longevity. I adored the birch & thought I caught glimpses of mahogany notes in this fragrance -they came across silky smooth & relaxing. It didn't last long on my skin or even on my clothes. It became a skin scent by 2 hours & was barely detectable after 4-5 hours. The complexity of this fragrance would have exhausted me if it lasted any longer than what it did for me. So, I'm happy with its longevity given the nature of this fragrance. I prefer to enjoy this more intimately & for it to be fragrantly subtle as opposed to loud & dominating. It has a sneaky aromatic character. Bass Solo seemed to play those trippy little mind games that few fragrances are able to do when they wonder from one note to the next. I could only detect the tinkling of specific notes long enough to enjoy them. I never grew tired of any captured note because they each played in perfect syncronized harmony with each other. Yet, they freely moved about creating an exotic solo amongst themselves. For me this is not a linear scent. It takes me on a cathartic journey every time I wear it. Final thought: Bass Solo is simplistically complicated & produces a divinely intimate experience that highlights a soft aromatic purity of woods. Enjoy!

I also received a bottle of this from the Fragrantica giveaway. I am very sensitive to overly strong scents, so I always begin exploring a new scent with a dilution, a gradual approach. On my skin, what came through this way was mostly cedar, both the rich cedar of the woodshop, plus a little tang of fresh evergreen, but not much else. So far, this was also coming across as very masculine, and I wasn't sure if I liked it. Next test was my diluted version on fabric. This also was only OK, but it was very nice when layered with the simple jasmine that I tend to wear most days. The faint whiff of Bass Solo was a very nice enhancement to the floral, so I was feeling better about it. Then I decided to take the plunge, and do a first test of this scent at full strength. One small spritz onto a shirt. Oh. OHHH! I spent the next five minutes with my nose just buried in the shirt. The wood is still prominent, but now beautifully complex with spice and amber and something a little creamy and sweet coming through. The balance is lovely, nothing is dominating too much. It no longer read as too masculine, either. I wore the shirt to work the next day, and the scent still hadn't faded out, and I was getting lovely soft whiffs of it all day. This is gorgeous! I'm very pleased that the bottle I won was a full 100 ML, because I think I'll be using this a lot! Thank you Fragrantica for helping me find this new favorite.

After the first spray, I thought to myself, “Thank God that I only ordered 2 ml vial of it.” I also almost immediately washed it off my wrist. But I thought to myself, let’s give it a chance. This is a complex and confusing fragrance to my nose. The opening brought me to the memory of my first European trip when I visited so many old cathedrals in France, the UK, and Germany. It is woody, dark, and damp. Something that I enjoy smelling in the air but not on me. But then, after 15 minutes, the heavy smell of dark wood dissipates and I’m left off with this beautiful smell of lavender, lemon, and Amber. The Amber in here is soft and subdued, which I prefer. This heart note blew me away. I couldn’t stop myself from smelling my wrist. I can still smell woodsy old book smell in the back, but I’m loving this. It is so different from anything that I own at the moment. However, I don’t think I’m going to purchase the full bottle. The reason is that this is quite a special fragrance that I would like to keep a small bottle of for its uniqueness. As far as I know, they only sell 100 ml of it. So that’s the drawback. If someone would like to decant it and sell it, please let me know.

I received a sample of Bass Solo with my bottle of Enchanted Forest from the fragrantica giveaway! Thank you again fragrantica. Well, i adore this scent! It opens with lots of amber and driftwood and a small amount of cedar. The cardamom is present giving it a sweet spicy woody smell. The middle phase is my favorite! I can smell nutty oppoponox and birch bark and cigars. My property has alot of birch trees and every year we collect birch bark to make a tea for medicinal purposes. Well Bass Solo smells exactly like freshly boiled birch bark tea! It's dry, smoky, nutty and warm. Occasionally i smell smoked campfire wood. It dries down to a musky cedar. I think this is amazing! Very cozy and unique imo. I have a dabber vial not a spray sample so sillage and longevity might not be perfectly accurate. I got 4 hours of longevity on skin and sillage started out at an arms length but within 20 minutes became close to the skin but others could still smell it if they are standing in my personal space. If you like the smell of real wood, cigars, and oppoponox, then I'm pretty sure you would love this. I don't smell any lavander or fig leaf.

I received this sample as a prize from the Vagabond Prince, along with samples of their other fragrances! Bass Solo opens as a gourmand, but of the savoury variety, due to the ginger, lime, and saffron, with just a hint of sweetness from the cardamom and "fig milk". I really enjoyed this, as it's unusual and sort of sexy. The perfume then becomes a very dry woodsy scent, with a touch of warm amber, incense and musk towards the drydown. There is also a "barbershop" undertone, thanks to the lavender. I also detected a rather dissonant but interesting asphalt accord, from the "birch tar". I also got the impression of a cigar box, like some of the other reviewers. Bass Solo's longevity is on the high end of moderate, while the sillage is less strong but good. Used very lightly it could serve as an office-friendly "skin scent". While I love Bass Solo, it is my least favorite of Vagabond Prince's offerings, mainly because it is a tad too "dry". I prefer my woods a bit sweeter. However, it is still an excellent, rather traditionally "masculine", but still unisex choice.