MiN New York
MiN New York
90 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The absinth and aldehydes detonate first, creating an almost astringent herbal brightness that's immediately complex—not fresh in the laundry-note sense, but green and vaguely pharmaceutical. The bergamot and lemon provide citric punctuation, whilst tarragon adds a subtle savoury spice that prevents this from reading as a standard citrus opener.
As the brightness settles, the lavender emerges with understated elegance, revealing itself as earthy rather than soapy, whilst jasmine adds a whisper of indolic depth. The vervain and rose create a subtle floral scaffold—never honeyed, never conventionally feminine—that allows the composition to breathe and expand inward rather than project outward.
Gaiac wood and opoponax take centre stage, creating a resinous, slightly woody-amber drydown with genuine staying power. The patchouli arrives as a grounding earthy anchor, and the powdery accord (52%) emerges as a subtle, almost talc-like quality that keeps everything from becoming thick or oppressive—a mature, measured conclusion.
Momento arrives with the herbal swagger of a botanist's apothecary, all sharp green angles and bitter-sweet sophistication. The bergamot and lemon establish themselves with crystalline precision, but it's the absinth that commands attention—that characteristic wormwood bitterness threading through like a whispered warning, bolstered by tarragon's peppery snap and aldehydic shimmer that adds an almost metallic sheen to the opening salvo.
What's striking about Momento is its refusal to soften into mere citrus prettiness. This is a fragrance that leans decidedly masculine-leaning unisex, built on a woody (100%) and spicy (88%) architecture that suggests someone comfortable with complexity. The heart phase introduces lavender and jasmine that don't coddle—they're positioned against vervain's green, slightly herbaceous restraint and rose that reads less romantic and more structural, holding the composition together like a framework rather than decoration.
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3.5/5 (166)