Absinth
Nasomatto (2007)

Very sharp, green, minty and woody, also boozy. This is the perfect St. Patrick's Day scent, its green and festive, fun, yet masculine and sophisticated. This reminds me of Amouage Memoir Man. This and Baraonda are by far my favorite Nasomatto scents, without a single doubt. Get a green tailored suit for this beauty, and wait for March.

It just so happens that Absinth is an oldie but goodie for me. I encountered the Nasomatto line way back in 2008, the time that I opened the Pandora's Box of "niche perfume" whilst strolling through Barney's New York. I was struck by their bottles, with their wooden caps and minimal presentation (this was a time when it wasn't necessarily ubiquitous). I found most of what I sampled to be a bit too surly or turgid for my tastes, including the beloved Black Afgano. However, I noticed one named Absinth and since absinthe had become legal in the US for the first time in nearly a hundred years the year prior, I had developed a yen for it.

Absinth (and absinthe) propelled me into a full-fledged love for wormwood, lusting after the essential oil, wanting to dose it to the allowable limit in one day composing the most wormwood-y of wormwood fragrances. I wore Absinth during what seemed to be simpler times (they always seem to be in hindsight), spraying some on before hitting indie rock shows by bands like Smog or Low and visiting friends' gallery openings. It's sharp, bitter green slowly smooths out to a woody, sweet, fuzzy dry down—reminding me of warm, dry pine needles and dusty old roots. A soft vetiver rounds out the experience, while the sensation of wormwood, while more subtle than I would like, supported by a fennel/anise, carries through all the way to its traces on my skin. There are lots of memories associated with this one.

This fragrance offers a distinctively sweet and green aroma. While it is slightly weaker compared to other scents in the same line, it still presents a pleasant fragrance. The green note in this scent is not a natural green, but rather a unique interpretation. It may remind some individuals of a sweet toothpaste for babies, with its gentle and comforting character. On a scale of 1 to 5, it receives a rating of 3. The drydown of this fragrance bears resemblance to the DNA of Comme des Garçons fragrances.

My first sniff of this was in the summer when I was looking for a non citrus non aquatic freshy which ended up being Creed Viking. I perchance came across my sample bottle on Christmas Day and smelt it again.
Excellent.
This is a backbone of wormwood round which vetiver and dark green notes have grown like vines feeding off it and morphing and fermenting into its character.

Without having smelt or tasted absinth this feels like the smell of a concentrated liqueur or more accurately the inside of an aged oak barrel reminiscent of craftsmanship of a bygone era where it has been stored for decades accruing ridiculous monetary value over which connoisseurs dote , holding fine cut crystal glasses filled with priceless liquid up to the light, sniffing, tasting, swilling, discussing.
This is what Nasomatto has bottled for us.
Rich without the over heavy musk of houses like Amouage. Incidentally imagine a sharp Interlude Man without the thick musky oudy treackle which gives it so much body it struggles to get up your nose.
This is not to say Absinth is not heavy but it is smooooooth as well as potent and delivers its punch dead centre to your olfactory senses not stopping there but going forwards into the depths of your soul.
It juxtaposes sweetness and sharpness and makes it suitable for daily wear rather than just evening that alot of Amouages are including Journey Man which used to be a favourite of mine but I tired of it because of its silken sweetness.
Absinth lasts several hours on my skin and it gives me pleasure without suffering olfactory fatigue that many strong scents cause.
Is that not a sign of true mastery, making it look easy?
Who is this for? Confident strong men who make a clean sharp statement. This is so good it will give you confidence and as they say you can fake it till you make it.


Fragrance: 8.5/10
Projection: 8/10
Longevity: 8/10

Absinth has a nice sweet/woody essence that reminds me of Amouage Sunshine Man in that there is this sweetly, sharp green contrast with the woodsy background. I am not sure of the note breakdown, but there seems to be some incense, woods, semi-sweets, bitter pines, and some smokiness all wrapped into this fragrance.

As the dry down emerges, the fragrance settles into a nice woodsy sweet, yet slightly smoky fragrance that I think is very nice!

No green fairies, but man it does smell great. Absinthe is underrated and not talked about. We all know about Pardon and Black Afgano. This is very good in the summer time day or night. You will appreciate the wormwood and vetiver along with green notes. Easily one of my favorite vetiver fragrances. The only problem is the price and bottle size. Blind buy, probably not. You need to understand that this isn't going away after 3 hours- try more like 8 hours of sillage. This is what you wear for yourself and those who get close to you will either hate the woodyness of the fragrance or compliment how clean you smell.