GS03 (Geza Schoen for biehl. parfumkunstwerke)

To date, none of the fragrances by German composer Geza Schoen really convinced me. I had explored those of his Escentric Molecules line and then Paper Passion, the perfume inspired by the smell of freshly printed books created for Wallpaper magazine and I understood that he's got a precise and original idea on what a perfume should be, but unfortunately, his idea and mine had not met yet. I had always thought his fragrances are too intellectual, uneventful, lacking excitement, while perfumes for me should be a little more complex, rich and vibrant...

GS03 biehl.parfumkunstwerke however, is another story: original, crisp and complex, it reflects a Master's skill and an innovative "vision" that completely won me over.

I do love classic Colognes for their exhilarating, fresh, sparkling citrus accord, which generally shows no particular complexity, nor longevity... isn't it? Well this is not the case, since GS03 is in all respects a Cologne but lasts for hours, and most importantly shows an unusual level of articulation. Immediately after the spray I perceive a crisp citrus mix among which the sunny sweetness of the tangerine stands out with pink pepper and an exuberant neroli adding freshness, fruitiness, exhilaration. A dry, cool juniper note scales down what could have been be an excessive sweetness. The result is an intensely catchy opening, immediately "pulling" you in. Neroli then melts into an orange blossom absolute, which serves as a sort of "roundabout" leading the scent from the top to the heart accord due to its green, dry, almost woody facets, binding vetiver and iris absolute in a perfect and smooth way. At this point the fragrance loses its sweetness and moves decisively towards woods, with cedarwood and cashmeran (an amazing synthetic), benzoin, tonka bean and castoreum, a base accord clean, full of character and long lasting.

Geza Schoen has put his synthesis knowledge at the service of classic Cologne, turning it into an original, contemporary jewel: he has not immersed it into a cloud of steam and white musks (as others have done brilliantly), but has chosen the difficult way: working the basic concepts -namely fresh, crisp, bright, easy, fizz- in the top, heart  and base to keep the mood, and then dipping them in two synthetics he knows well:  Hedione and Iso E Super.

Five minutes of wear were enough for falling in love and crave for his other biehl's creations (website here). And since Mr. Biehl must be telepathic, he sent me samples for the whole line, so that I can try them all. This means other reviews are coming, on a line that I'm just starting to know and love, for a variety of reasons I will soon explain in detail.