Contemplation

Sweet freshness and elated-pleasant "Woodiness"... ... wonderful unisex smell... ... makes awake and opens for reflexion... (=Contemplation)! LOVE from LOUVE

*Special thanks to Pitbull Friend for including a sample of this with my Kabuki!* Love ya... On smelling this (from the vial), before looking at the notes, my very first thought was very "ZEN-like" (the concept itself, as opposed to Shiseido's superb perfume); not unlike something you would smell in or around a woodland Buddhist temple. On wearing it, I was surrounded with an amazing woody beauty! I was very happy to have another TMPC scent to try; and now I actually think I like this better than Kabuki!! On initially donning this perfume, I feel like I am standing on a wooded hill and, as the sun is rising, a brisk wind blows the dew from the green leaves, making a wonderfully herbaceous aroma greet the nose. Not really "after shavey", per se, but not too far from it. Crisp warm greens (coriander? a hint of sage?), usually so very masculine, are rather naturally unisex here. Cool, dark teak joins hands (branches) with warm cedar; further cementing it's genderless feel. If there are citruses here, it is just a "twist" of them; though it does have a bit of bright sunniness...but really Contemplation is ALL about the woods, for me anyway. As it does dry some, hints of foliage remain adding a green somewhat "misty" feel to this grove of gorgeous trees. It becomes a bit incense-like, but only in the most ephemeral way...like some offering of sweet smelling aromatics has wafted by from a nearby shrine. This is an excellent perfume for feeling centered, at peace (as la louve has said) and as an aid for meditation. Despite the fact that this SHOULD smell very manly, it does not...it just smells great!! If you haven't got time for a walk in the woods (or don't have any near you) this fragrance is the olfactive equivalent of one. It is NOT the scent of fresh cut timber, but living breathing ancient trees standing silent in a forest; with all of the leaves and twigs and a cool (but not "dirty") earthiness. There is something else, in the ultimate dry down, that is vaguely musky and almost coolly metallic here...perhaps a musk deer was by earlier, marking his territory. It is not something that overpowers the scent and/or feeling of this perfume...it actually adds to it! Sillage: okay (more "personal") Longevity: average Overall: 3.5/5 I have (after smelling just two) decided I like this House tremendously. Kabuki was NOT what I expected (at all) and neither was Contemplation (I expected a very HEAVY incense scent)...but both of them surprised me; not only with their originality, but also how the names of the perfumes do match the actual scents. I am reminded of the whimsical 1960's Jethro Tull song here, called "Singing All Day"; where Ian Anderson says how he is so happy and just singing all day, singing about nothing. This is a simple scent that just fills me with a quiet peace that makes me quite happy...*sighs*

tried it today. i felt like a reminder of we're of Shiseido! very attractive! but probably not going to buy it.

The best part about Contemplation is that the citrus doesn't linger forever. It mostly appears in the top notes, but the scent quickly evolves into a green, herbal, woody scent. Then bam--it's gone! Gone in less than an hour. I tend not to like this house's base. The perfumes always start out nice, but they always dry down into something that seems vague, bland, synthetic. This is no exception. The herbal/woody scent only lasts several minutes before it becomes an ISO e super kind of base.

It's fresh, it's woody... it smells like a million other things. At first spray it blasts you with citrus, which then disappears in about 15 seconds. Then, wood. Mostly cedar. If you really, really want what is basically a greenish cedar solinote, buy this.