Revolution

The ambitious, possibly deranged brief for this fragrance is that it's supposed to evoke the streets of Paris during the French revolution: smoke, gunpowder, houses ablaze, crazed horses and desperate riders, the leather of boots and saddles, oil for muskets and sabres, and touch of incense from churches offering sanctuary and promising peace after the terror. That’s a lot of drama for a perfume, and it really does feel torrid, rebellious, and uncompromising, but with an undercurrent of mystery and luxury. There’s an overpowering blast of dry, woody smoke off the top that’s a little acrid but also resinous, warm, sweet, and almost savoury—it could be gunpowder and burning buildings, but it has a touch of campfire and bbq, perhaps from the aromatic elemi, angelica, and juniper, which come close to suggesting grilled meat when combined with the flinty and fleshy smells of leather, birch tar, and cade oil. (Speaking of which, the official pyramid on this perfume seems frankly misleading—how can Lyn Harris possibly be wringing all this leather and smoke out of the five listed notes here: Elemi, Angelica, Papyrus, Juniper, and Cedarwood?) Moreover, once the ashy haze starts to clear, the warm, clean sweetness of a refined liturgical incense starts to emerge (I would swear it’s olibanum) and the leathery aroma starts to feel more like the bindings of antique books or the upholstery of polished mahogany furniture. The papyrus note begins to suggests the faintly musty, tobacco-ish sweetness of aging pages. All of a sudden, you find that you’re watching the street battle at a remove, from behind the sheltering walls of an elegant monastic library. At this point, Revolution starts to feel quite similar to another Trudon fragrance, Yann Vasnier’s Mortel, which is a delicious but much more straightforward Catholic-church incense. I’m quite divided in my opinion about Revolution. On the one hand, I find the opening excessive—I really don’t want such intense smokiness, even though I find the experience of it quite intoxicating. It’s a good perfume to apply 30 minutes before you plan to be anywhere, but even in the more tranquil drydown, a touch of the ashy charcoal turmoil persists. Mortel comes close to giving you just the drydown phase of Revolution, but it lacks the mixed threat and thrill of burning and the leathery-papery suggestion of books. Both are very good, and Revolution is a seriously impressive fragrance even if I’m not sure I could wear it often.

Firstly, I feel the need to express how content I am in Cire Trudon finally having a [beautifully thought-out] line of personal fragrances; since owning my first Cire Trudon candle, I've been praying for the day I could wear a Cire Trudon scent. Revolution is a wonderfully dark, abstract scent that is truly unisex. The narrative of this scent smelling like the French Revolution is one that doesn't seem too far-fetched. While Revolution is quite an herbaceous scent, the presence of resinous, woody, and incense notes assist in keeping it from smelling overtly 'green'; furthermore, the patchouli lends to an earthy quality. The very opening (first five to ten minutes) of this fragrance is especially potent and not entirely agreeable (in my opinion), I would recommend avoiding spritzing oneself with this fragrance immediately before leaving the home. After the opening, Revolution becomes softer, with the incense, juniper and patchouli enveloping the body. The scent of Revolution doesn't drastically change from after the top notes evaporate off, instead, it softens slowly over five to six hours until it becomes only detectable when placing one's nose to one's skin. Overall, Revolution is a luxurious, dark, and romantic fall/winter scent perfect for either a man or a woman.

Agree with the other reviewers here. While I like smoky scents as an environmental smell, I’ve never wanted to wear them other than rarely on a cold day. They tend to be a little too agressive and perhaps to hickory bbq smelling reminding me more of meat than the cool outdoorsy feel I’d be looking for. This scent most closely resembles the Cire Trudon Empire candle which is smoky and a bit green and aromatic. The smoke is initially strong and smells like campfire, or the smell left ion clothing after sitting around a campfire. It softens rather quickly into a comforting haze of smoke with some green, coniferous notes peeking through, reminding me of one of the CdG Incense scents in that way. There is only a hint of sweetness from the labdanum. Overall, it’s more subtle than others in this genre and a smoke that I would actually wear. Very well done, IMO. Also, probably a nice layering element for an amber or rose fragrance I think.

I just want to confirm what the other reviewers have stated: This premiere personal fragrance line from Cire Trudon is one of the most beautiful, thoughtful, cohesive and luminous collections I've ever had the pleasure of sniffing. They stay true to the Cire Trudon tradition of beautifully composed classical resin and woody notes, but are neither heavy nor cloying. There is enough projection to be noticed but not take up too much space. They progress, as fine niche fragrances often do, without falling apart or losing their appeal (in fact, the first few minutes if Revolution can be aggressive, but reward the wearer with something beautiful as it settles down). I am struck by the fact that this line of fragrances are each equally strong and independent, and yet retain a Cire Trudon brand cohesiveness -- in terms of style and taste level. Bravo.

I’ve used Revolution in my rotation for about three months now. On my skin, it opens with heavy, resinous smoke that loses its prominence after ~ten minutes, but then remains constant throughout the lifetime of the scent. Next comes the smell of fresh-cut grass, and eventually the scent dries down to reveal something reminiscent of worn, kind of dirty leather. There’s more complexity to it, but those are the most prominent notes to me. I love it, I think it’s such a unique and smooth combination of dark and green themes. Average performance, but I’m ok with that given the uniqueness. If you like smoky scents, it’s worth a sniff!