Devil In Disguise
Mark Buxton (2012)

Born to be a god among salesmen
Working the skinny tie
Slugging down fruit juice
Extra tall, extra wide
Blue-Eyed devil...

The opening of Devil in Disguise in peculiar: sweet, slightly caramelised with balsamic nuances, with a bizarre prominent note which I would describe as of a sort of cocoa-ginger flavoured muffin. Not a gourmand note, as I tend to think gourmand notes as more "creamier" and richer: this is instead quite dusty, dry, light instead, but still dense and realistic. I guess this "thing" is due to patchouli (quite sweet and rooty on the cocoa beans side) and ginger, with also a whiff of aniseed, perhaps a resin (olibanum?) and vanilla, even if they are not listed. Rhubarb provides a subtle and bittersweet fruity-rooty-earthy feel underneath, still in a quite realistic and "organic" way. Then vetiver on the base, which works quite brilliantly with these middle/head notes, and aromatic citrus head notes, and that's it. Overall it's pleasant, and pleasantly unusual, both for the composition and for the choice of the materials. I basically don't "recognize" any conventional accord, even if nothing is too daring here, it's still creative and well built. It's one of those scents which smell "fresh" (meaning "new"), and if you ask me, it works great. It's basically a sort of futuristic woody-fruity-citrus-rooty scent with a zesty head and overall "dirtened" by a sweet yet earthy dust smelling halfway cocoa beans, tea leaves and incense. My description may sound meaningless, so just try it, as it's funny and worth it. It's synthetic, at least partially, showing a decidedly contemporary personality, but it's not abstract, minimalist or cold; it's light and thin, in its own way, but at the same time dense, lively and vibrant. The initial part is really interesting and captivating, then it gets soon a bit more dry and simpler, ending on a woody-rooty accord with gentle floral-spicy echoes and still a touch of rhubarb, with its peculiar sort of rooty-boozy-fruity smell, but overall a bit duller than before. An interesting and pleasant scent, perhaps a bit weak quicker than expected (I mean it gets lighter quite soon and does not last that long), but nice. As I said, worth a try!

7,5/10

Imagine the opening of the new Aedes De Venustas EDP, green, fizzy, kinda "sweet and sour" and you'll get an idea on how Devil In Disguise strikes "upon application" (D&S docet). The fragrance darkens quite a bit during the middle pahse and the drydown. A patchouli note (not the earthy quality) joins the party and together with a woody-musky accord give birth to a terrific dridown which is not very far from Mohur by Neela Vermeire and a sort of Jubilation XXV minus the incense.

There's the typical synthetic quality of many of the Buxton's compositions. It's quite pleasant and give the fragrance an extremely modern vibe. Beside that, Devil In Disguise smells much more like a Duchaufour's ctration than a Mark Buxton's but I guess these guys influenced each other quite a bit during their collaboration with Comme Des Garcons.

Good stuff!

Simply stunning and a new favorite of mine. A sparkling and washing beginning (a tad a la Byredo or CdG) with the key note of rhubarb splashing the air and starting influencing the whole olfactory fatigue since the beginning with its enirgizing and sultry booziness. The note of ginger reinforces the fruitiness and opens the projection pushing out an hefty chord of neroli and magnolia that is the sophisticated, fruity-floral pungent spark of the fragrance, something almost edible, thirsty and deep (almost pungent in its deep sweet fruity tartness). A secret hint of cherries in the fruity-floral chord? I don't know but the tart pungent and deep fruitiness imprints this feeling at me. A stout patchouli flanks the fruity-floral accord imprinting boldness and mystery before the juice has an insight in a woody-musky territory, almost impenetrable and mastered by a liquid vetiver linked with the watery rhubarb (keeping basically fluidy the juice). Some deeper woodiness starts finally to come out in the latest  phase of the evolution. Uncompromisingly a feminine one in my opinion. You can wear it equally in a dark winter night or in the  sultriest of the summery evenings out. Extremely sensual, enigmatic and sophisticated in the night. On my skin it is more tenacious than the other Buxton's i know.