Él
Arquiste (2016)

Pleasant... but nothing original or intriguing. At the price point, I would hope for something more than just “pleasant”

Well made, good longevity. But it's like going to a Michelin-starred restaurant and just getting a salad. Sure, it'll be well made, top quality base ingredients, but there's no creativity to it.

Extremely nice spicy/woody/smokey masculine fragrance. In many ways it does reminded me of Kouros but maybe more refined and dressed up. Longevity and sillage are pretty low key on my skin.

This is an interesting scent, definitely in a really old-school style. I can appreciate its depth and richness, but find it too sweet to suit me. It is in the mode of some of the vintage Crown Perfumery scents.
Has a very spicy citrus opening. The spices dominate for a while. The honey adds a really rich, deep and sweet note. Then, an animalic musky note emerges. A bit skanky but in a pleasant, interesting way. The sweetness diminishes but the richness persists.
Finally, the scent settles into its hay-like fougere aspect, with a smokey, leather twang.
Not a green fougere, and as I said quite old-school. If a super-vintage style appeals to you, then check it out.

Buzzlepuff's existing review has a lot to commend it. El starts and ends as a soapy/aromatic fougere redolent of many within the same genre. It also makes a dispiriting tip of the hat to Sauvage, Nuit D'Issey and other modern concoctions that claim some connection with the fougere via the "darkness" of its geranium and patchouli notes. Thankfully, what appears in the middle - an animalic-driven second act - completely saves it. El goes on light and then accelerates through the gears to the point where it becomes a masculine that references Kouros, but most of all Yatagan, although in a smoother and more obviously "engineered" way. The final stages become more herbal and show off some of the shyer accords.

I had cause to use the term "humming" in my review of El's stablemate Aleksandr, and Buzzlepuff's use of the term "purring" captures the same feeling I get from both scents - they tick over like a powerful car engine with consistent performance. After a cross-section of two samplings, then, I get the feeling that this is something of a house style. The scents are not ostentatious but feed through enough potency to keep them at a good level for hours.

El is not cheap at around 135GBP or 190EUR for a 100ml bottle of EDP. Personally, I would part with the money for this as it is located at the intersections of all the areas I'm interested in.

EL is a soft green leafy fougere, that upon opening draws you into its verdant garden aroma with shaded green plant essences that are similar to the character of Patrick Cologne and also Villoresi Pour Homme. But after the green is established El takes a strong fougere turn with a warm, not too sweet honey + coumarin hay fougere base accord. This is what the really old fashioned "fern" fragrances were meant to smell like! At this point in development I'm thinking it's a re do of original English Fern, but no the story does not end with green and green fern. Providing solid ground for this soft green fougere is a very dried suede leather type base that stays consistent with very traditional masculine, old world perfumes. The base is provided by patchouli, oak moss, castoreum and civet for a warm low purring softness that provides sophistication and pinache for EL and without it this fragrance would be not too much more than a pleasant drug store fougere. The very good fougere fragrances of the past along with their warm herbal hay coumarin character always had the option of a bitter dark oak moss full stop ending that gave these fragrances balance and contrast. With the regulation of oak moss I am impressed to see the bold combination base notes in EL to add that much needed grounding for this type of scent. EL is a deep green fougere with a dusty suede finish that would be a great signature scent for any style confident lady or man. Rating is: 8 of 10.