Lubin
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Juniper and bergamot crash together with gin-botanicals intensity, immediately subverted by that dusty rose and earthy saffron. Within seconds, you realise this won't smell like other fragrances you own—there's something almost austere in its refusal to bloom.
Cinnamon and cardamom emerge with genuine peppery bite, interacting with peach to create something almost savoury, whilst orange blossom and geranium keep the composition from tipping into spiced gourmand territory. The fragrance becomes more cohesive here, the scattered top notes integrating into something genuinely aromatic and warm.
Cedar and patchouli establish themselves with quiet authority, joined by a leather note that develops genuine depth—something between worn suede and cognac-stained leather. Sandalwood and amber provide minimal sweetness, whilst the base musk remains cool and restrained, fading gradually to a barely-there second skin scent that whispers rather than speaks.
Upper Ten unfolds as a deliberately restrained composition that privileges spice and wood over the typical fragrance theatre. Thomas Fontaine has constructed something architecturally sound rather than immediately seductive—a fragrance that rewards close attention rather than demanding it.
The opening salvo of juniper berry and Italian bergamot establishes a gin-like crispness, though the bergamot never achieves the brilliant, squeaky-clean intensity you'd find in a conventional citrus fragrance. Instead, it's tempered by an unexpected rose note that reads less floral and more herbal, almost dusty—as though the bloom has been preserved in dry air. Saffron threads through this opening like a warning: this won't be a cheerful composition.
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Oscar de la Renta
4.0/5 (309)