Picture: Medival construction site.
Villard de Honnecourt, drawing of a buttress at Reims,
in his album of drawings, ca 1230 - 35. Bibliotheque Nationale
The perfume Rien is anything but "rien", instead it is very "très" as very much is going on in this blend. It starts by a very strong and almost overly harsh construction site note that I genreally like. But in Rien it's on the verge of being too much of that particular wet, putty, gritty and slight sweaty note. This note is also present but in a subtler and more pleasant way in Etros Messe de Minuit. There also a note of a tick, almost smokey and dry leather, as in a rough and heavy leather coat. As Rien is a very strong and potent blend one have to be very careful upon application. When sampling and wore a full sprits from the sample on the right arm and a half sprits on the left, I felt a difference in the scent. It smelled much better on the left, lower dose, hand, not as sharp and compact as on the right. But in the stronger concentration there on the other hand are some interesting animalic notes glimpse. As the first, strong blast tunes down, the fragrance turns into a pale pink almost withering rose backed up by a gentle cumminnote, musk and cold green whiffs that resembles geranium. This stage is slight powdery. The blend for a while gets even more dry to my nose and in this stage there is traces that reminds me of Aromatics Elixir by Clinique. But AE is a louder interpretation of the rose, geranium, moss and also distinguish the individual notes more apparently than in Rien, which notes seems to be more mixed together. In the basenotes there are also aimalic notes that is not as distinct in AE. There is an almost animalic furry note among the basenotes together with a distinct musknote and the powdery pale rose that remains subtle. In the middle and basenotes there are many similarities with the beautiful rose-musk combo in Musc Nomade by Annick Goutal and sometimes I'm almost thinking I'm wearing the latter even if MN is more refined and elegant in it's appearance. In the latest stage of the basenotes the rough leather from the earlier stages of Rien returns, but now it seems to be better in balance with the sourrunding notes than in the beginning.
Rien is an interesting frag where a lot is going on during it's dry down and there is no risk of losing interest. Even the picky Mr Parfumista gives compliments when I wear Rien, which is strange as he often complians about strong aldehydic scents beeing too "old man/womanlike"on me. But Rien is dry, with almost no sweetness in it and Mr Parfumista is appreciating dry-wood perfumes for himself. Rien is a must try for retro perfumelovers. I can't say it's officefriendly, not in it's initial stage anyway. This "offending" stage on the other hand dries down during the journy to work and when entering the office, the more pleasant middlenotes have appeared.
Rating: 5
Notes: Aldehydes, cummin, leather, iris, amber, patchouli, moss, incense, rose, pepper, styrax
