This Is Not A Blue Bottle 1.3
Fragrance notes
Character
Julien Rasquinet’s 2017 creation opens with a blood orange that is less juicy and more tart, almost metallic against the skin. That citrus bite quickly softens into a rose that is dark, jammy, and pressed against saffron’s dusty, warm spice. The heart feels like a rose preserved in leather and patchouli leaf, not a romantic bouquet but a botanical specimen tucked into an old tooled leather pouch. The drydown turns animalic and earthy, the leather unpolished, the patchouli soil-dusted and dry. The overall character is a single vivid image: a weathered leather journal left out in a spring rain, its pages stained with crushed rose petals and a single bitter orange peel. This is unmistakably niche in its refusal to sweeten the leather or brighten the rose. The saffron adds a savory warmth that stops just short of gourmand. With a longevity of 3.59 out of 5 and sillage at 3.39, it sits close to the skin and fades to a whisper after four or five hours, which is a genuine weakness for anyone wanting a bold statement. Who should wear it? The person who prefers their florals dressed in leather jackets and who finds comfort in earthy, slightly metallic textures. Skip it if you want a crowd-pleasing, airy rose or a big, projecting leather bomb. Absolutely wear this in spring and fall, its top-scoring seasons, and save it for daytime moments when you want to smell interesting without screaming for attention. One rhetorical question: does a fragrance this quietly complex even need to shout?
Smells similar
We matched these by the notes each one lists, giving more weight to the unusual ones they share. Sharing materials does not make one a copy of the other.
