Narcisse Taiji by Atelier Materi Eau de Parfum | Fragrance Review
Today I'm going to share some of my immediate thoughts on Narcisse Taiji by Atelier Materi Eau de Parfum.
Firstly it has a very elegant looking bottle. Blue-blown glass with a wooden cap that almost looks like a knob for an old chest of drawers. The distribution is good, and after a couple of pumps I was approached by the notes ginger and Narcisse.
It transmits a very green aura but it also escapes the confines of being 'too forest floor'. This isn't a herbaceous scent. I didn't embark on a remarkable odyssey where I was transported through wooded everglades. It's more cut hay, than cut grass. For those that took short cuts through farmers’ fields to the school grounds, this is that.
Sadly I can't offer you any connoisseurship and compare Narcisse Taiji to the other fragrances by Atelier Materi. Although I have it on good authority that there is a through-line, and the nose behind this fragrance, Marie Hugentobler, has her fingerprints on all the six offerings known collectively as The Discovery Set.
After the ginger and Narcisse settled down, there is a lot more to be unpacked with this fragrance. It's bursting with ripeness and that is largely down to the pear. An underestimated fruit and note. That marinades with me for a while, I think about desserts in restaurants and make a dinner booking for 2 down 6 Hamilton Place. I'll be wearing this.
Lastly the leather and the musk anchor the scent and establish a strain of masculinity that perhaps wasn't overly present in the branding.
Final thoughts
A true unisex fragrance that can be worth equally by Tuula and I. She'll be wearing it and I'll reach for it from time to time for sure. But I'm not a fresh-flower picking kind of guy. I once told a photographer to delete a whole reel of photos of me by some cherry blossom trees. True story, never hired the guy again. I'm not anti-flowers, I just don't have the look in my lexicon.
But good performance. I got 6-7 hours from a few pumps. I will wear this on date nights. Not overly sweet, not overly green. It is unique, not many Narcisse fragrances out there, and for that reason, I expect to get a few 'what's that?' compliments.
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