Pierre Guillaume
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The first spray is a green-sharp jolt—lime zest meets coriander's soapy-herbal bite, with bergamot providing just enough rounding to prevent it feeling astringent. There's an immediate peppery fizz from the Sichuan that makes your nose tingle, whilst the blackcurrant lurks beneath, more feral cat than fruit bowl.
As it settles, that animalic musk begins to surface, creating an odd, compelling friction against the still-present citrus brightness. The blackcurrant blooms fuller now, jammy yet tart, whilst the cocoa emerges as a dusty, unsweetened backdrop that adds weight without heaviness. The spice becomes rounder, less sharp, wrapping around the fruit in a way that feels almost edible.
What remains is a close-to-skin warmth where the two musks—white and animalic—tussle for dominance, neither quite winning. The woods provide a gentle, papery dryness, whilst ghost notes of citrus still flicker at the edges. It's intimate and subtly provocative, the kind of scent you notice when someone leans in close.
Aqaysos is a study in contrasts, where tart greenness meets a subtle animalic hum that prevents it from tipping into clean cologne territory. Pierre Guillaume opens with a particularly verdant interpretation of citrus—lime and bergamot rendered almost stem-like by the coriander, which lends its leafy, crushed-seed pungency rather than any soft sweetness. The blackcurrant arrives sharp and catty, its buds rather than berries, whilst the Sichuan pepper provides that peculiar, tongue-numbing tingle that sits somewhere between spice and electric fizz. What makes this compelling is the tension in its base: white musk attempts to launder everything into freshness, but the animalic musk underneath refuses domestication, adding a skin-close warmth that feels alive. The cocoa bean doesn't read as chocolate so much as a dry, woody bitterness—think raw cacao nibs rather than Dairy Milk—whilst the woods provide structure without shouting. The overall effect is bright yet grounded, fresh yet feral, as if someone bottled the scent of citrus zest on heated skin after a long walk through scrubland. This is for those who find aquatics too hollow and citrus colognes too forgettable—someone who wants brightness with backbone, freshness with bite. It suits humid weather when heavier orientals would suffocate, worn by those confident enough to smell interesting rather than merely pleasant.
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3.5/5 (105)