Byredo
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and lemon strike with immediate brightness, their citrus sharpness cutting through like morning light. Within moments, the leather accord begins its emergence, slightly powdery, slightly creamy—a suede glove held beneath a citrus lamp.
The suede deepens considerably, now the dominant player, whilst violet and mimosa add a dusty, almost cosmetic sweetness that prevents any earthiness. The composition becomes decidedly soft here, creamy rather than sharp, the leather losing its initial brightness and settling into a skin-worn warmth that feels lived-in rather than purchased.
Sandalwood and amber create a pale, refined base that's almost skin-scent territory—woody and warm but devoid of projection. The tobacco emerges subtly, not as smoke but as a drying agent, lending faint spice and complexity to the creamy leather that now sits close enough to require genuine proximity to detect.
Animalique announces itself as a paradox: a fragrance that whispers rather than shouts, that seduces through restraint. Jérôme Epinette has crafted something genuinely difficult to categorise—a leather composition that refuses the typical brutish swagger. The white suede heart is the crucial player here, transforming what could have been a pedestrian animalic into something approaching ethereal. As the citrus opening dissolves, you're left with a creamy, powdery leather that smells less of jackets and motorcycles and more of chamois cloth, of soft animal hide treated with delicate hand. Violet and mimosa dust the proceedings like talcum, lending an almost Victorian propriety to the whole affair.
This is fragrance for the contrarian—someone drawn to leather but repelled by its typical ogreish displays. The tobacco base adds warmth without smoke; the sandalwood and amber create a skin-like creaminess that makes the leather feel less aggressive, more like a second dermis. There's something distinctly unsex about its bearing; it wears equally on those seeking softness within an animalic framework and those wanting animalic character without volume.
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3.5/5 (105)