Vachetta

Very bitter and semi-pungent opening, as an explosion of spice (nutmeg, cardamom, and coriander) starts things off rather harshly. Guaiac wood and Lapsang Souchong tea offer smokiness to the heart, but unfortunately at the cost of overpowering the more delicate jasmine note. After drying down, the leather/suede accord comes through. I would dare say this is a prominently leather fragrance, despite its moniker. It comes across more spicy, woody and smoky in my opinion. If you can make it past the olfactory barrage in the opening, the dry down is worth the wait. Distinctively masculine scent. (40)

Sadly it's a non-event. Notes list promises much - tea and gaiac and yes sir I'm there - but fails to deliver anything more distinctive than a really mild, generic, pleasant, unobtrusive and unremarkable gentle wipe of warm wood. Lasts under an hour with perhaps a whispering after-whiff remaining for another hour. Seriously what is the point? I'd say unisex (though tending male and all wood all the way) if you are a big timber/woods fan - it's never less than OK but utterly underwhelming. Nice enough not to make me angry with it, but not so good I get angry with it for vanishing. "Meh" in atomised form. Mostly reminds me of other mediocre-to-disappointing mid-market niches (L'Artisan Fou d'Absinthe and Mazzone Scandinavian crime) and even they had more to say for themselves. Tom Daxon can do better with his talent and I can do better with my limited skin real-estate and time on earth. Next please!

Starts out identical to the smokey batch of Creed Aventus. It all goes down hill after that. I never tested a fragrance so fleeting as Vachetta. As soon as I dabbed this on my arm, I knew this would be a tire fire. 30 minutes into the frag...neither me or my coworkers could smell anything. You can buy that Tom Daxon stock, I'm selling mine. A complete dumpster fire.

I love the challenging opening to Vachetta. Dark, spicy and brooding, it goes on strong and fearless. Smoothed through by the cardamom in the first few minutes the fragrance softens considerably in the heart where the dry rasp of tea and woodsiness blends with a soothing patina of white flowers and musk. The musky leather dry down is a soft focus waft that lingers long yet quietly under the radar till fade.