Citrine
Olivier Durbano (2011)

Citrine, well. Here's what I get here: synthetic, slightly “ammonia-flavoured” citrus, a clean ginger note, resinous-balsamic hints on a cedramber note (a sort of “pencil sharpener” note, just a tad warmer and sweeter), a smell of artificial, polished incense with a subtle salty aftertaste, something slightly musky on the very base together with a light yet dark and vaguely “roasted” note, which I guess it may be a drier and darker wood. Overall a discreet yet heavily synthetic scent, in a quite uncreative way for me (just the “not-enough-budget” kind of synthetic smell). In my non-educated opinion - so take it with a grain of salt - Citrine smells just... I won't say “pointless”, but surely a bit clumsy. I find it unpleasant to wear, almost a scrubber at some point, and I find this kind of annoying because it's not some “creative” kind of unpleasant, rather just a juxtaposition of notes which just don't create anything interesting to me (anything particularly harmonic, or creatively “non-harmonic”). More clearly: it's basically a sort of citrus-woody scent with a resinous feel and some darker shades, something that if it wasn't for the “niche” label, could be easily mistaken for a whatever mediocre discounted designer scent – just reshuffled a bit to look more “creative” (but actually ending up smelling more like a designer gone wrong). Highly negligible for me.

4,5-5/10

Oud, people. Oud is prominent. Hence a smokey note, hard to pin down. Almost like grillled sausage or bacon, at other times like rubber or a plastic bandage.
Now, none of the above is bad! It is appealing if you like oud (aloewood, here as lignam vitae).
And this combines with a languid, heady rosewood note.
Not sweet, despite the rosewood and beeswax. But substantial.
Very little citrus at any point, so the name is a bit confusing.

A particular take on the incense theme by Mr Durbano which manages in this case to perform a (barely) honeyed kind of woody olibanum with a touch of smoke, a sheer peppery temperament and a musky/soapy faint evolution. The beginning is effectively fresh and fizzy with a remarkable orange/ginger chord supported by hints of roots, dry (un-sweet) spices and faint floral patterns. The general dry and airy (sort of botanical) freshness is the prelude to a slightly soapier dry down mastered by peppery olibanum, light woods, musk, balsams and beeswax which provide a sort of musky/honeyed "neutral" woodiness with a touch of balminess, becoming absolutely irresistible and almost tasty ( which i would like trying to eat). I feel around the shadowy opacity (a bit, but just a touch, creamy/cosmetic type) provided by wax, musk, pepper and soapy balsams. The spicy vibe is provided mainly by the note of pepper which is (together with the rosewood) a protagonist in the general musky/incensey/waxy atmosphere. I finally detect some neutral type of (barely honeyed) woody incense which conjures me vaguely several Heeley Cardinal's (pepper, floral notes, amber, woodsy) nuances and effectively some Mecheri Oliban's (rosewood, incense, amber, woods, a touch of smoke) olfactory flashbacks. A calm and smooth incense arousing a sense of relax and peace. Great fall scent. Durable in a close to the skin way. I like it.

CITRINE - SUNSHINE INCENSE
The stated notes for Olivier Durgano Citrine are: Sicilian Lemon, Wild Orange, Elemi incense, Ginger, Pink Pepper, Carrot seeds, Mimosa, Rosewwod, Gaiac wood, Musk, Myrrh, Grey Amber, Beeswax. As you read through the notes list you get an idea of the smell of this beautiful incense fragrance. I pigeonholed this scent as my "summer" incense fragrance because it is definitely the lighter and sunnier cousin of Black Tourmaline, Durbano's masterwork of incensed darkness. Citrine is very pleasant to wear.

Elemi resin is a pale yellow honey like resin with sharp pine and lemon resinous scent. This lemony frankincense smell is what I notice most upon application. Adding to this effect are lemon and orange notes to accentuate the tart pine, sunny resinous side while the deeper incensed spice of Citrine comes from ginger, pink pepper, elemi resin, carrot oil, rosewood and guaiac wood. Rosewood smells like the inside of a guitar - resinous warm wood. The honey and amber in the base keeps this light and gives it slight salty base that probably provides fixative qualities giving longevity to the earlier incense smells.

In a fragrant world of dozens of choices of smokey dense Oudhs, CdG Incense and Amouage superstore varieties of frankincense selections, it is easy to overlook the incredibly well done trio of incense fragrances from Olivier Durbano: Citrine, Black Tourmaline and Heliotrope. Citrine is my favorite summer incense. It's only weakness is not much brooding darkness, but this sunny disposition is also its strength when you want to walk in the light.

Considering how pretty much all of the other Durbano's creations range from being uninteresting to simply unpleasant (with the exception of Black Tourmaline) I was ready for another disappoinment but, Citrine smells good.

It opens with spicy-peppery notes joined by a huge amount of fizzy citruses. A remarkable resinous undertone is immediately detectable and opens the door to a consistent rosewood note that, IMO, is the true star of this composition. The myrrh, together with other woods get more prominent while slight flowery patterns add refinements and some complexity. In this phase Citrine is not very distant from an hypothetical mash-up between Keiko Mecheri's Olibanum and Comme Des Garcons Palisander. Amber remarks its presence with a tad of sweetness, while hints of citruses provide sparkling undertones throughout.

Good stuff.