WF/20
A.N. Other (2020)

WF/20 by A.N. Other (2020) is actually pretty decent, even if I am still not completely sold on the concept of the house itself. I already went to great pains to describe my displeasure with the marketing schtick of A.N. Other in my review of WD/18 (2018) so I won't waste your time going over that again here. WF/20 at least feels more appropriately "niche" and doesn't just come across like another attempt at capitalizing on the success of "pickled sandalwood" that every Le Labo Santal 33 (2011) hopeful seems to have, and something which WD/18 was most definitely guilty of. At it's core, WF/20 tries to be a rose patchouli leather chypre sort of dealio, but modernized with avant-garde synthetics a la Charenton Macerations or Gray Matter Perfumes, which is just the right level of "Greenwich Villiage" gentrified bohemian hipster chic. Again, WD/18 went this route but doubled down so hard on the Smart Cars, bluegrass playlists, and CBD products I nearly stepped out in traffic to escape the existential meltdown I was experiencing having to smell it all coming from a nondescript bottle. At least with WF/20, I don't feel indoctrinated like I would at a visit to a Scientology center just by spritzing the bottle.

Catherine Selig is on tap to produce here, and she seems to "get" the Brian Eno-ness of this brand better than Patricia Bilodeau did with WD/18. The opening has a lovely rush of ambrette not unlike Chanel Égoïste (1990), with some light bergamot and saffron to round the gradual introduction to rose that comes next. This rose mixes with some peony and fruity tones described as pomegranate by the brand, but the effect is just a jammy rose, also not unlike Égoïste in my eyes. This is no Égoïste clone however, as a nice sour leather enters the mix, bringing in comparisons to Christopher Street (2012) until a bit of camphorous patchouli and a rather smart use of cashmeran arrives. The formula is relatively simple in smell to me, but the effect is elegant and interesting: a rose leather chypre with ambrette and cashmeran musks polishing everything up, patchouli adding body, and some fruity sweetness that injects tartness into the equation rather than going full showergel mode like you might expect. Wear time and performance are average, but the overall scent pierces warm or cold air well. Best use is probably casual or maybe romantic use because of the rose.

Value is unfortunately the same because prices are the same. Niche is as niche does but you could do worse than $85 for 50ml of pretty distinct juice like this. I don't know if I believe the story about this being a resurrected formula of a 19th century "Maître Parfumeur et Gantier" named Meinrad Hilfiger, passed down generations through the perfumer's family, but if it is true, she can blame my skepticism on the historical abuses of Creed, Eight & Bob, plus others. Bottom line here, this is a nice classic design mixed with modern presentation, does a neat novel spin on well-loved subjects (rose/leather/patchouli), and comes at a price point that doesn't totally suck. As such, I can stomach the low-effort crappy "artistic minimalism" that has been done to death by a dozen other brands but is just that much more overdone here with A.N. Other. Seriously, I'd sometimes rather have a pretentious theme anymore like the Louis XIV race horse nonsense of Parfums de Marly than an absolute lack of a theme being the theme. Even a choose-your-own-adventure story gives you choices, not blank pages to fill in by yourself. Notwithstanding, WF/20 is still pretty decent. Thumbs up.