De Bachmakov
The Different Company (2010)

A gorgeous opening greets me in De Bachmakov, it makes me go "ooooh", and I immediately smell that addictive shiso leaf that makes me gobble up umeshiso maki rolls, with facets of mint, basil, and a sharp tingly top note and a spicy under current. This is divine—for the first five minutes, and then... poof.

The radiance is then muted, and while a lovely skin scent, it leaves so much more to be desired. A murmur of milky fig and feeble ambery woods is not going to keep my motor running. It's "nice", but "nice" doesn't make my heart skip a beat. So, while De Bachmakov opens with much promise and feels divine, it's front-loaded and bottoms out into something so fragile, too fragile for a big galoot like me.

The White Bridge by John Henry Twachtman 1895

First impression was a dusty scent of twigs and green leaves - something like birch leaf. Then I got a lemony freshness like hedione, some hint of Eau Sauvage and possibly Jacques Fath's Green Water, with the slightly minty nuance.

Regarding the ingredients, sheiso is mentioned, (Japanese mint), and several reviewers have also picked that out with confidence. Jane Marple's review makes a connection to Hermes Eau de Gentiane; I agree there certainly seems to be a nod to that perfume with the appealing nutty quality. Perfumes can smell different at different times and the spicy nutmeg/cinnamon is the latest to come through, most appealing.

One can sense the influence of the great French classics here but at the same time De Bachmakov is not too distant from modern interpretations of the 'natural' concept, such as Roger and Gallet's Gentle nature.

A very good fragrance, which I had no hesitation in purchasing.

Update may 2017. I now pick up the relation to Cartier's Declaration, commented on by Way off Scenter below. A sweet woody aspect that is very common in many other fragrances.

Shiso first, then nutmeg and freesia. The combination of these notes in particular makes this unusual. It's definitely a light, sharp, fresh green, very pleasant to wear. I'd put it in company with Hermes Eau de gentiane blanche, but while that is green and earthy with a good bitterness througout, this is green and watery, sharp and lightly spicy. Yes, father and daughter composers indeed. Melting snow in a springtime forest seems to me a goal it achieves. Not a long laster, but ephemerality suits its nature. I wear De Bachmakov often. It wakes me up. It gets noticed.

So ephemeral it's tough to get a good fix on De Bachmakov. Which is probably why the reviews seem to be all over the place with this one. I detected a faintly figgy note hiding behind a faintly aromatic greenery, before transitioning into talc-like freesia for most of its rather brief lifespan. It's so soft and restrained, you might be better off smelling freshly-shampooed hair or laundered clothes. In other words, INFURIATING.

Genre: Woods

After an invigorating and realistic bergamot top note, De Bachmakov settles into a transparent, understated arrangement of crisp herbs (especially the shiso in the pyramid) , cedar, citrus and nutmeg that wears very close to the skin. I agree strongly with rickbr's observation that De Bachmakov smells much like the work of nose Celine Éllena's celebrated father, Jean-Claude. As common with many of Éllena Père's compositions, De Bachmakov's overall contours read like a gloss on his magnificent Déclaration (itself closely allied with Edmond Roudnitska's Eau d'Hermès).

De Bachmakov's cedar/citrus axis owes much to Déclaration, but De Bachmakov disposes with Déclaration's leather and animalic cumin, relying on nutmeg for its spice component and on a clean musk for warmth. The result is very sheer and luminous but without any of the quietly ambiguous animal pungency that enlivens Déclaration and the more successful of its offspring. De Bachmakov winds up feeling comparatively cold and sterile, especially as the citrus and shiso fall away.

The drydown accord of cedar and white musk that remains isn't just vanishingly faint, but also disappointingly hollow – more like a trace of shampoo or body wash than the late stages of a fully realized fragrance. De Bachmakov's opening is persuasive, but the composition would have to last much longer and wind up someplace more interesting to make me want to wear it often.