Caswell-Massey
Caswell-Massey
295 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The Russian coriander seeds burst immediately with sharp, almost peppery intensity, whilst Italian mint delivers a crisp, slightly metallic freshness that feels almost medicinal. This opening is deliberately jarring—no smooth transition, just green herbaceousness colliding with the rankness that gives the fragrance its unsettling character.
As the volatile top notes scatter, ambergris emerges with a soft, powdery sweetness that's undermined by black pepper's continued bite. The fragrance becomes warmer and slightly animalic, though never comfortable—it's powdery without being refined, sweet without being sugary, existing in uncomfortable territory between sophistication and roughness.
Crystallised moss and patchouli anchor a faint sweetness to the skin, creating a soft, slightly resinous whisper rather than a true base. However, by hour four, little remains—the cologne concentration proves regrettably fugitive, leaving only faint traces of earthy powder and pepper ghost that fade entirely within hours.
Casma arrives as a peculiar collision between a gentleman's barbershop and a botanist's fever dream. Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud has crafted something deliberately unpolished—the Russian coriander opening with an almost aggressive seed-like character before Italian mint crashes through with an unexpected greenness that borders on herbal astringency. There's a rankness here, quite literally, that prevents this from settling into comfortable citrus territory; instead, it smells like crushed leaves and damp stone, as though someone's dragged fresh herbs through moisture and dust.
The heart reveals the fragrance's true strangeness: ambergris and black pepper create an almost peppery-sweet fog that lacks typical cologne brightness. This isn't the luminous warmth ambergris usually provides—it reads murky, slightly animalic, as though filtered through ash. The pepper contributes a biting, almost medicinal quality that sits uncomfortably against the synthetic sweetness the accords promise.
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3.7/5 (890)