Clive Christian
Clive Christian
154 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Pink pepper's citrusy sting collides with bergamot's brightness whilst nutmeg's warm spice immediately darkens the composition's intentions. Within moments, the floral heart begins its ascent, but there's no sweetness here—only green, slightly austere jasmine notes preparing the skin for something decidedly unconventional.
Mat's dry, almost chalk-like quality mingles with Sambac's creamy opacity and Chinese jasmine's bitter-green edge, creating a layered floral middle that avoids predictability. Gaiac wood's smoky, faintly leather-like presence weaves through, anchoring the florals within a woody, almost resinous architecture that feels both refined and slightly unsettling.
The spice retreats gracefully as balsam fir's coniferous, slightly medicinal character emerges alongside creeping musk and amber. What remains is a woody-amber drydown with persistent freshness—like standing amongst evergreens after rainfall, the fragrance settling into a cooler, more contemplative register than its opening suggested.
Matsukita arrives as a deliberate provocation—a fragrance that refuses the decorative prettiness expected of its floral heart. Pink pepper and bergamot's initial brightness is immediately tempered by nutmeg's warm, almost medicinal bite, establishing a spiced intrigue rather than fruity effervescence. This is where Clive Christian's vision crystallises: jasmine shouldn't smell innocent here.
The heart reveals a fascinating tension between mat (likely the slightly earthy, almost vegetal Iso E Super-adjacent drydown accord) and dual jasmines—Chinese jasmine's green, slightly bitter edge cutting against Sambac's creamy indolence. Gaiac wood enters with its characteristically smoky, almost leather-like quality, preventing the composition from tipping into conventional florality. The woody accord (88% density) isn't background furniture; it's a structural pillar alongside the spice, creating a austere framework for the flowers to inhabit rather than dominate.
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4.0/5 (377)