Year: 2005
Notes: mandarin, lychee, saffron, cardamom, mace, fir balsam, everlasting flower, patchouli, amber, Atlas cedar, frankincense, styrax, guaiac wood, oakmoss
After sampling the fragrances from Divine, one hasn't been left too impressed. After all, for a small independent niche house, one was expecting a few well-composed winners instead of mainly lacklustre releases. However, with L'Homme Sage, one is happy to report that it's an exception to a very disappointing oeuvre.
As a spicy woody-oriental, it's a compelling, sophisticated and seductive effort. With a spirited opening of fruits and spices, the lychee yields a watery rose-like pulpy sweetness that perfectly complements the saffron. The other spices are well-balanced, with a slightly green aromatic slant from both the cardamom and mace.
With a spicy tea demeanour, comprised of tender fruity overtones, the everlasting flower eventually emerges – setting the scene for a rich and complex woody base. The drydown is remarkably blended, with woody, earthy, ambery and mossy accents, all the while interwoven with tinges of incense and leather. From beginning to end, its evolution is impressively smooth and silky, with the amber substituting the lychee even before the fruitiness has completed subsided.
Situated in the same ambery ballpark as Tauer Perfumes' L'Air du Désert Marocain, with a woody base vaguely similar to Guerlain's Héritage, L'Homme Sage could possibly be viewed as the precursor to Puredistance's M. And while L'Homme Sage isn't as leathery, it's just as sensual and refined – sharing a similar spicy sweetness that resides on a beautiful bed of moss and woods.
But, for all its virtues, it does feel somewhat incomplete, but this could be due to its bare or minimal structure. And despite its apparent richness and excellent tenacity, its presence on the skin can be too demure for one's tastes. But, regardless of these flaws, it certainly deserves the praise it's been receiving over the years.
As a spicy woody-oriental, it's a compelling, sophisticated and seductive effort. With a spirited opening of fruits and spices, the lychee yields a watery rose-like pulpy sweetness that perfectly complements the saffron. The other spices are well-balanced, with a slightly green aromatic slant from both the cardamom and mace.
With a spicy tea demeanour, comprised of tender fruity overtones, the everlasting flower eventually emerges – setting the scene for a rich and complex woody base. The drydown is remarkably blended, with woody, earthy, ambery and mossy accents, all the while interwoven with tinges of incense and leather. From beginning to end, its evolution is impressively smooth and silky, with the amber substituting the lychee even before the fruitiness has completed subsided.
Situated in the same ambery ballpark as Tauer Perfumes' L'Air du Désert Marocain, with a woody base vaguely similar to Guerlain's Héritage, L'Homme Sage could possibly be viewed as the precursor to Puredistance's M. And while L'Homme Sage isn't as leathery, it's just as sensual and refined – sharing a similar spicy sweetness that resides on a beautiful bed of moss and woods.
But, for all its virtues, it does feel somewhat incomplete, but this could be due to its bare or minimal structure. And despite its apparent richness and excellent tenacity, its presence on the skin can be too demure for one's tastes. But, regardless of these flaws, it certainly deserves the praise it's been receiving over the years.
