Tribù
Benetton (1993)

Tribu is truly underrated, in my humble opinion. It was released during a time period that many connoisseurs dismiss as a low point in perfumery, but on the contrary, I find the 90s to have some truly innovative explorations from perfumers. It was a time when we were finding the envelope pushed more so than ever before, experimenting with the "overdosing" of materials to create unprecedented effects. Here, Bernard Ellena (younger brother JCE), pushes ionones, particularly beta ionone, to their limit, and what results is something that reminds me almost of boronia, an Australian flower with deep maroon-brown petals, known for its distinct aroma, spicy, fruity, almost tobacco-like (beta ionone is most often used to build a boronia accord). I own some of the absolute, and it is one of my favorite botanical materials; it is unfortunately quite expensive and finds infrequent use in perfumery.

Here, this boronia sensation is accompanied by the feel of both redcurrants and blackcurrants, a chamomile accord not dissimilar to that of Vicky Tiel's Ethere, lots of hedione and sheer florals, almost watery in its effect. I am also reminded of iced black tea, sweet violets, wet stones, even clay. I also think of that aroma of being under grapevines in the summertime, with the scent of fresh clusters and sun-warmed leaves above mingling with the fermented fallen fruit below. Then I also am reminded of opening a fresh box of cigars and what immediately wafts out. Furthermore, there is a light, quenching geranium in the periphery, muddled with blackberries. Surprisingly, over time there it diverts to a sweet-accented rosy-cedar woodiness and moss that is heavenly.

This is unique and captivating to me.

An earthy floral-green accord focused on a basic tea-like note supporting a massive floral bouquet and a dark-mossy greenness. The juice is rich but relatively light and easy to wear. I detect something kind of secretly fruity (simil red berrish) in the background (but may be it's the violet-blackcurrant combination to provide this illusion) while ylang-ylang provides that sophisticated sensuous feminine spark which is typical of many old floral-chypre of the glorious past. Yes, I agree with Foetidus, this scent is interesting despite not properly intriguing. The floral-tea (jasmine-tea in particular) main accord unfolds a vibe remotely connectable to the one mastering Costume National Scent but while the latter has a modern minimal ambery structure Tribu' by Benetton is inspired by classicism and old-school mossy-chypre (in here fruitiness, patchouli's earthiness, a massive floral presence and the basic woodiness conjure me vaguely the main combination of elements I've encountered in the fruitier Cacharel Eden). Really a lovely classic mossy-floral, unfortunately discontinued.

Starts with a strong note of pastel crayons, together with red & black tea with the raisins cooked in the tea.In the middle I get he deepest sandalwood with a few figs, and dried fruits & tobacco, with sour rowanberry spiced up in liquor, so I guess rowanberry-liquor? This scent is **VERY AUTUMN**, the very scent of the year ending. Burning red, brown & yellow leaves, in the same color as the actual bottle! This is a very interesting "nichy"-smelling kind of perfume indeed!

i purchased my first bottle of tribu when i was 17 (1992) and have been wearing it on and off ever since. i suppose it might be one of my signature fragrances. it seems i can always go back to tribu. it's fresh, and ends with some peppery notes. tribu is good for work, but is also quite feminine. i always get compliments when i wear tribu. it has never developed a hard core following, so folks just don't recognize it all that much. my only concern at this point is the bottle. it's all plastic and bulky. they need to rethink the packaging into something more eco friendly.

Nice scent–peach, raspberry, rose, jasmine, violet, sandalwood. It's not intriguing but it is quite interesting. With as many notes as it has, the accord does not get muddied: The notes are surprisingly individually identifiable and they also appear to form shifting accords. I don't know whether to call Tribù strong or weak–it has definite body to it, but it doesn't seem to project very much. It is non-offensive. As to whether it is feminine or not, it's hard to tell. It doesn't strike me as exactly feminine, but I don't find it very masculine, either; regardless, it is an interesting scent.

Cedar and rose...a spot-on capture of the zeitgeist of '93. Not a bad scent, but really not my cup of tea. (Speaking of which, I don't get the tea note at all...) Again, not a bad scent--I could sit next to someone wearing this and not find it offensive--but I think it might be a bit too reminiscent of scents such as Liz Claiborne and... heh, perhaps castorpollux is right in saying that Tribu is one of the most recognizable smells out there... It's a nice, innocuously woody/rosy, earthy scent that accurately pins down the Benetton multi-color/multi-scent ethos.