Caron - Yatagan

Caron's Yatagan is a strange, yet compelling fragrance. It strikes me possibly as Caron's most unique men's perfume, although thinking about it, I'd hardly call L'Anarchiste or the Third Man boring. There's something about the opening of Yatagan that reminds me strongly of an old man's cologne. That might seem like a disparaging comment to make, but I don't mean it in a bad way. It is an intensely, astringent opening, full of bracing herbs. This phase reminds me of a cologne I used to smell on a father of one of my childhood friends. I don't think that what he wore was Yatagan, but it was certainly the early eighties, which was a time when I'm sure a lot of men would have been wearing this excellent perfume.

Much is made of Yatagan's wormwood note, and I think it is this note that causes me to perceive that intense, herbal theme that pervades this fragrance from start to finish. I've used the word intense a few times already because Yatagan is quite forceful and, I'm guessing, most definitely not for everyone. The development is quite linear after the opening, with perhaps a slight smoky phase, coupled with herbs and woods. I'd also say that there is a slight conifer feel to Yatagan, which also becomes a bit leathery later on, without ever feeling to me like an out-and-out leather scent. The dry down is perhaps a bit woodier, but again, that wormwood, herbal green note never goes away, always the main player in my opinion.

I can't really think of any other perfume that smells quite like Yatagan. It is an edgy perfume to my mind, to the extent that it is almost, but not quite, disturbing. At one point I thought that Mazzolari by Mazzolari smells a bit like it, but having tried that one again not so long ago I realise I was wrong. Other perfumes with a wormwood note include Amouage Memoir and I think Serge Luten's Douce Amere, but again, neither of these capture quite that astringent, herbal tone that I find with Yatagan.

Would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely, although at the risk of gender-categorising again, I suspect that Yatagan might find favour more with men than with women. It's worth a try though, irrespective of sex. You certainly won't find it boring.

Image credit - http://www.ausliebezumduft.de

Mazzolari by Mazzolari

So far I have only sampled two perfumes from the Mazzolari line, Lui and the one I'm reviewing today, Mazzolari. I have to say, I'm not disappointed thus far. I think this is a very good perfume house. Lui for example, is an excellent, potent patchouli fragrance with an animalic twist to die for, in my opinion. Lovers of patchouli could do far worse than try it. The notes for Mazzolari include citrus, green notes, vetiver, sandalwood and spices. Fairly vague actually. What Mazzolari is to my nose is a green, spicy perfume reminiscent of Caron's Yatagan, without the fierce wormwood note. Having said that, I think the two are sufficiently different from each other to warrant at least sampling both. Mazzolari opens with a blast of green, herbal notes. There may be citrus in here but it is by no means dominant. I find it hard to identify exactly what the green notes are, but they are herbal and intense, with what I suspect is a hefty dose of galbanum and vetiver. There might be a wormwood note in here, with a touch of anise, but just as I think Mazzolari is going to ape Yatagan, a slightly creamy sandalwood enters, to shift it away in style, but not emphatically so. There is also a slight powderiness at this point, which surprised me and for a short while there were hints of Nicolai's New York, with perhaps a light touch of lavender. Thankfully for me this fades fairly quickly and the rest of the progression is mostly green and bracing, with some nice creamy woody undertones. I really like Mazzolari and think it is a well-constructed, interesting perfume. It becomes fairly linear through the heart and dry down, but is by no means boring. Although I suspect this might be preferred by men, I didn't think it was overpoweringly masculine and I can't see why a woman shouldn't wear this, particularly if she enjoys green notes in perfume. By the way, this perfume is not green as in a green chypre, and there are no mossy notes to my nose. This is green as in herbs, twigs, sticks and sap. Mazzolari is an eau de toilette, but has extremely good lasting power. I highly recommend this.

Image credit - Luckyscent.com