Anyway, the last two mods. I liked them a lot, but not as much as R6/T, one of the two previous mods, the one that I call Gardenia and Leather. When I reviewed R6/T, I asked Clement to make it a little softer, to get rid of some of the leather and to give me more, more, more gardenia. The two new mods show that the scent has indeed become softer. It is still, however, much too heavy on leather for my taste, and I don’t get enough gardenia.

So this time I would like to ask Clement to do just two things: less leather, MORE GARDENIA. heaps and heaps of gardenia, gallons and bushels of it. Basically, as much gardenia as can be possible.

After that, I think, we will be done. *sigh*

One of the previous two mods had me saying that it was the beginning of the end, one of the last two, specifically mod R6/T, convinced me even further that Holy Grail is almost within our sight. Like last time, the other mod, in this case R6/S, was great, but not exactly what I wanted. It was leather and not much else…not that it’s a bad thing, but, again, not what I wanted.

With R6/T, however, Clement hit the spot with amazing precision. I asked for gardenia and leather, he gave me gardenia and leather. Both notes were apparent from the start, intertwining like silky ribbons of creamy-white and black, weaving a luscious, nocturnal ornament. The base was earthy and deep and featured a little bit of patchouli, which I liked. The overall effect was that of a gorgeous contrast of lightness and dark, of the yin of the flowers and the yang of leather, of velvety softness and elegant harshness. I find the pairing of gardenia and leather to be incredibly appealing, even more so than the gardenia and labdanum combo (Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia, which I adore). Whereas the latter is prone to creating a “blue cheese effect” (which I admittedly like), leather does nothing of the kind.

While some of the previous mods felt – understandably- like drafts, sketches of a great perfume to come, R6/T strikes me as a perfectly finished product. If I were say, an owner of a famous niche fragrance line, I would have been proud to include this scent in my collection. Given its sumptuous feel, its forcefulness and an overall attitude of unapologetic luxury, I would say that R6/T might be a good fit for the aforementioned Tom Ford’s Private Blend line.

And that brings me to the question of what I would like to be changed in R6/T. I would like it to be somewhat less robust. I am not asking for an understated scent, but I feel that, on the scale where L’Eau d’Hiver would exemplify the subtle and Obsession would illustrate the too-powerful, R6/T edges a little too close to the Obsession territory. If on that same scale L’Eau d’Hiver is a 1 and Obsession is a 10, I want my perfume to be no more than 7. Strange as it may sound, the mod feels…too rich. Using Luca Turin’s comparison of chic and luxury, I will say that R6/T smells luxurious, whereas I would love it to smell chic.

Another change I would like to see in R6/T is for the yin of leather to be brought down a couple of notches and for the yang of gardenia to be strengthened further. In other words, I want the leather note to become less strong (quite a lot less strong, in fact) and I want gardenia a little stronger than it is now. And then… you never know, one of the mods from the next batch might really be last one…

Images: Yin and Yang by Peter Sanderson, avalongallery.com; Gardenia Garden by Rebecca Swanson, allposters.com.

Do not be troubled by the ominous title of this post. It is all good. I liked one of the last two mods so much, I believe we are now not simply on the right track but actually well on the way along the track towards the happy ending. The mod I am talking about is R5/Q. I suppose I should mention R5/R as well, just so it doesn’t feel completely left out. It is a great leather scent, a little smoky, a little salty. If all I wanted was leather and nothing but leather, it would have been wonderful. But I envision something more for my Holy Grail, with leather certainly being a prominent element, but still just one of many elements.

R5/Q, on the other hand, has the complexity and depth I am looking for. It starts on my skin with a sweet-n-spicy accord, which features a pronounced fruity undertone. Not sparkly-pink fruits, which I hate, but over-ripe, dark, exotic fruits oozing honeyed nectar. This spicy-fruity accord reminds me very much of that in Fendi Asja. In fact, R5/Q’s beginning seems to me to be a little too similar to Asja, and maybe just a tad too fruity for my taste. The middle stage is creamy and vaguely floral; about two thirds into the scent’s development a leather note appears. At first it is a rough, smoky, take-no-prisoners leather, but slowly it begins to soften and turns into the most delicate of calf skins or maybe even suede. Because of the “fruits”, the smell of which is still lingering even at the later stage, the mod at this point reminds me quite a lot of Serge Lutens Daim Blond, which is one of my most favorite scents of all time, but again, I would like a little less similarity. I am sure that if we toned down “the fruits”, the similarity would disappear.

To sum it up, what I want to be done to Holy Grail now is for the “fruits” or whatever it is that I perceive as “fruits” in its top notes to be taken down a notch or two. I also would love for the scent to have a stronger floral accord in its heart. Something languid, exotic and creamy, to compliment the general warm feeling of the composition. Perhaps we could try gardenia? Gardenia and leather…does it not sound wonderful to you? It does to me! As for the leather note, I think it is just perfect as it is now, not too smoky and forceful but not too wimpy either. So – less fruits, much more flowers, no change to the leather, and…we will be done!

Image source, mythinglinks.org, echonews.com

Thanks all, mods will be sent out shortly.

I’m just exaggerating about the refreshingly stinky note in R4/M.

So, who would be wearing this? I smell a chic European woman in her mid thirties who lives in an opulent apartment in the 16th Arrondissement. She doesn’t like jeans. She likes Fendi fur coats. But she has a classic sense of style without being boring. Unfortunate for me, she is not my type of woman, and I am clearly not her type of guy.

Your Holy Grail is now ‘locking in’ to a particular style which has a great composition, and I’m just talking nonsense here. But if you allow me, in the end, I’d expect an ambivalent quality echoing contradictions in your Holy Grail. Here’s very chic*k Gemma Ward wearing Fendi as opposed to an elegant and mature woman (hmm, sounds good, though) in Paris 75016.

Or is this totally not what you want in your Holy Grail?

Nobi