Narcisse Taiji
Atelier Materi (2021)

The notes in Atelier Materi often convey a startling purity to me. My first impression was that those notes then fade quickly, but after trying several samples, I have concluded that they move to dry down very fast, but remain potent. The reviews below give a good account of the complexity of Narcisse Taiji, with its pear, ginger root, and hay and bran absolute in addition to the Narcissus. For me however, this perfume has a very strong pure narcissus scent. If you love Narcissus, it would truly be worth a try. I am a little sensitive to flowers in the lily family, however, and for me this Narcissus was so strong that I got a taste in my mouth. Think twice before wearing Narcisse Taiji in a small enclosed space! It is a very lovely Narcissus.

Pleasant smooth white flower note leaning towards tuberose. There is an interesting wintergreen backnote. By this I mean a touch of salicylate (ethyl or methyl, the smell of surgical spirit in pure form). Whether this occurs naturally in narcissus I'm not too sure. It is more usually associated with ylang ylang and also with other salicylates as part of the bouquet of fougeres and 'clover' perfumes. Nevertheless, it seems to be quite at home as part of this fragrance.

Fruit, spice and floral, a peculiar combination at the start, which could be a dog's breakfast or an original set of top notes delivering an original first phase - the latter was the case. Pear, ginger, as a tuberose appear together - the tuberose is is a bit delayed - and their joint force result in an original moment of the synthesis of the three.

The drydown is based on dried grass in its core. Hay absolute and bran absolute are mentioned in the scent pyramid, but the hay is in the foreground on me. Then I get the eponymous narcissus, finally, and, quite unexpectedly, it remains in the background for a while, before becoming stronger after a while.

The base develop a smooth suede-kike leather, followed by an usually mild and soft patchouli. Towards the end it becomes much sweeter as a result of a large dose of white musks flooding the whole in the final stages.

I goer strong sillage, excellent projection, and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

A very good first phase in this spring scent is followed but a good drydown, but the base does not keep up this standard, as it lacks vividness and is a bit too generic. The performance is good. 3/5