Hofpoet

The fragrance starts strong and opulently spicy. It then embarks on a journey of rose-oud of almost aristocratic elegance. The potential trap lurks with civet at the end! For me, the fragrance repeatedly smelled slightly fecal. The people around me perceived it more as elegant animalic notes. But for that reason alone, it's not a blind buy. Definitely test it!

I got a tester of this fragrance, honestly more out of curiosity as a Hannibal Lecter fan and less because I was seriously interested in actually wearing it. I imagined all sorts of things that could happen. Naked panic seizing me, paranoia all day long. Was that a well-dressed gentleman with a twinkle in his eye on the other side of the street, or just the shadow of a traffic sign combination? None of that happened. It was, one might say, worse. I seem to be one of those few people on whom this fragrance... works. Or perhaps not, considering the inspiration and intent. In any case, this fragrance brought me compliments—the first I’ve ever received for a perfume! By that point, I had already tested Bloody Wood (which deserves its own review), Torino 21, an Aventus Creed-inspired scent, an Ombre Nomade clone, Hibiscus Mahajad, and Venenum Kiss. Even an Imagination clone, and none of them triggered even a shrug from those around me. For the first 20 minutes, the scent is an opulent, almost shamelessly bold blend of fresh bitterness paired with the calmness of lavender. Fantastic. Simply fantastic. But like everything transient, it must soon make way for the heart—something I find beautiful in fragrances and a good inspiration for a fulfilled life: the head inevitably giving way to the heart. The heart of But Not Today is an extremely well-captured scent of a cold cathedral, whose walls are steeped in the characteristic aroma of centuries-old incense. A truly sacred aura that makes you carry yourself quite differently. Knowing the background of Filippo Sorcinelli, who was an organist in various cathedrals at just 13 years old, this shouldn't be surprising. In the transition from top to heart, you might briefly feel as if someone simply burned the lavender. But the moment is too fleeting to grasp. The experience lasts a good 6-7 hours before a combination of warm leather and wood inevitably lays the heart to rest. What the fragrance lacks is a slight warmth in the heart and better projection. The sillage is fine in the opening, and even the first 1-2 hours of the heart manage to occupy a few meters of space. But this scent deserves more. More presence, more attention. I decided to write this review today because I layered Mortal Skin with But Not Today; while it doesn't solve the sillage "problem," the two combine into something greater than the sum of their parts. I will keep experimenting with But Not Today. There is surely a partner out there that leaves no questions unanswered. Like Lecter, I just have to find him or her. Even if a few others get hurt in the process.

Rhyme impure rhymes // and search for love. // First in glass's wine, // then in what would then remain. // The warm floorboards, // polished from sandalwood. // Tears that fell upon them, // seized by rose red. // Knocking at the pane, // in a fireplace duet, // wet-cold raindrops. // Alone in bed again. // Time shows the eleventh hour, // thoughts stretched wide awake. // Will I find the other half // for which my heart yearns? ---- Bloody Wood was not the first perfume I ever used. But it was the first that gripped me. The first perfume for which I spent a lot - though what is "a lot" in this class - of money on a bottle. The opening with the head of rose and white wine yeast is so delicate and seems as fragile as the opening of a love letter. The writing perhaps simultaneously too cursive and unsteady but full of emotion. An opening that does not do justice to the term "top" note. Nothing about it is reason, everything is feeling. Accordingly, we glide quickly into the heart, where red wine and raspberry and cherry beat, although the red wine clearly dominates. Whoever looks for clear cherry and raspberry notes... I could not find them here. But it would also be inappropriately sweet for this fragrance, which is just as much at home in melancholy as in longing. This is also underlined by the base, an opulent orchestra of wood notes that drift beautifully into the smoky. The poet's study is still warm, but the fire is only a glimmer. Bloody Wood is breathtaking whenever I wear it. The fact that it is rather intimate fits very well; this fragrance must not have a brutal sillage. Love cannot be forced, but must be invited. Unfortunately, it doesn't last as long as it deserves. Long enough if you put it on for the evening, but it doesn't make it through a day. But it proves that there is a place, must be a place, for the special moments. The lonely ones, in which one is seized by inspiration, possessed, and entirely with oneself. The shared ones, in which loudness would be as inappropriate as it is destructive. Not a fragrance for the whole world, but for one's own world.