Be 21

Be 21 unfolds as a peculiar study in restraint—a fragrance that whispers rather than declares, built on a foundation of velvety powderiness that dominates its character. Richard Herpin has constructed something deliberately soft-focus here, a scent that prioritises comfort over projection. The opening red peach arrives with gentle spice (cinnamon and cardamom threading through), but these bright top notes dissolve rapidly into the heart's creamy floral core, where ylang ylang and iris converge. The ylang ylang, typically indolic and honeyed, reads here as tamed, almost genteel—iris providing a counterbalancing dry iris-root quality that prevents the composition from cloying. Where Be 21 truly distinguishes itself is in its base, where Herpin layers sandalwood (both Mysore's buttery warmth and cashmere wood's subtle wood-grain character) beneath a heliotrope-tonka-vanilla triumvirate that generates genuine creaminess rather than gourmand heaviness. The tonka-heliotrope marriage is the composition's emotional centre: slightly almond-like, softly powdered, reminiscent of vanilla-tinged face powder rather than dessert.

This is a scent for the person seeking intimacy over impact—suitable for office environments where presence shouldn't announce itself, for layering beneath other compositions, or for those moments when you want to smell of nothing but powdered comfort and warm skin. It's unisex by necessity rather than design; the floral-creamy axis reads traditionally feminine, yet the structural restraint and woody underpinning prevent any cloying reading. Be 21 rewards proximity; it demands you lean in to fully appreciate its nuances.