Eau Radieuse
Humiecki & Graef (2008)

I read all the time people complaining that all summer scents are the same and to recommend them something "different/unique". Well my fragrance friends, your ship has come in!!!

I can say that BuysBlind is pretty much bang on with his assessment of this frag. Such a paradox...very cooling menthol opening as soon as it touches your skin. Then the citrus and easily recognizable green banana leaf note come to the forefront to add some sweetness and a hint of something tropical. But also some tartness from the rhubarb, and if that wasn't enough...throw in some aquatic notes too!lol Tough to describe this fragrance work of art...really needs to be experienced in person and even then I have a heck of a time grasping everything that's going on here.(parfumsraffy has samples FYI)

Absolutely nothing about this composition smells "natural" to my nose. It is so bizarre/otherworldly/futuristic, and yet somehow IT STILL WORKS! Just when you think you've smelt most everything under the sun that the fragrance world has to offer....BAM!, you get the olfactory equivalent of a b-slap to the side of your face. Longevity is very good and this thing also leaves a very noticeable silage trail. Coming across juice like this is what makes this hobby so fun!:)

Citrusy mint that has a herbal aspect to it. Something very different. I detect a licorice note, but that may be the rhubarb note. Definitely medicinal for the first 10 minutes. I like this, but is does have an acquired smell. Nice for warmer weather. 7/10

Right, this ist not mint, it's really menthol. Usually I don't like menthol but thus combined with citrus and green banana it's a fresh fruity scent that just cheers you up. Maybe in the meantime I am positively prejudiced toward H & G fragrances but I can't find it too weird or even shocking. I think it's absolutely wearable. I tested it first time in winter and strangely enough that worked, too. Of course, it's rather supposed to refresh you in summer, but it can just as well banish you winter tiredness. – Nothing against. Just try.

Remarkable. An icy cold hyper-mentholated burst of camphorous mint and citrus notes get this one off to a rollicking start. The banana leaf adds some sweet green notes to the mix and you're left with a startlingly radiant example of freshness-pushed-over-the-edge, past all normal boundaries and into something bizarre, unique, and completely new. Synthetic? Absolutely. Eau Radieuse seems as if it was concocted in a futuristic lab complete with hazmat suits and puffy clouds of liquid nitrogen smoke.But that doesn't mean it's harsh or scratchy, only that it doesn't seem to come from nature. It's totally wearable AND the general public seems to like it. I get compliments when I wear this. It's not weird in an "eww, what's that smell?" kind of way, it has more of the, "Oh my god, what are you wearing?" type of effect. And it's not surprising that people notice it because this one PROJECTS. However, the way it projects is very unusual. Think of dispersed light rays refracting from a crystal and you'll have some idea of the physical nature of this fragrance. It's not solid. It's an aura, ethereal and radiant, befitting of its name.

Absolutely try this, as it needs to be experienced to be understood. One of my favorites, and completely different than anything else I own. Eau Radieuse is one of those fragrances that I stumbled upon and was instantly reminded as to why this is such a thrilling and enthralling hobby.

Eau Radieuse, namely an exotic cocktail with an immediate intense angular fizzy energy (red orange/pomegranate/watermelon/black cherry sort of) and a joyful tropical radiant/carefree fruitiness aroused all around. There is effectively a sort of un-ripe banana minty greenness as enveloping undertone throughout. The mint is a key element which joined with rhubarb and bamboo provides to enhance the general exoticism with its sort of Mojito type of undertone. Well, the aroma is synthetic for sure, slightly pharmaceutical and candied but this is not surprising for Humiecki&Graef and not so astonishing in reference with the final goal of this easy/youthful aroma destined to a people which probably could result slightly bored by the realistic masterworks of botanic alchemy. Just this, I find this aroma functional to its main object and not so monstrous for sure. Effectively I tend to love so much the implementation of the rhubarb note in perfumery and even in this case (as well as in the notorious renditions of the element in Buxton's Devil in Disguise, Les Liquides Imaginaire Bloody wood, may be Guerlain Homme, Apparition Homme Ungaro etc.) this element provides aqueous, slightly boozy/medicinal fizziness which is so congenial to summery sultry nights out with feasts, alcohol and parties. Yes I detect the "calonic" vibe, the aldehydic/hyper-futuristic/deodorant type/freezing/weirdly poisonous approach which Colin Maillard talked about but all the Humiecki&Graef's connoisseurs well know all this "vile pharmaceutical avant-gardism" is deliberately appointed by the "terrible guys" of this controversial brand. The rhubarb/bamboo accord is absolutely sparkling, fluidy, tea-like in vibe and exotic, exactly what the performer intended to arouse all around with a perfumed liquid like this named Eau Radieuse. Well, Humiecki&Graef does never make us to be bored about conformism or stuffs like that and in any case I really appreciate all the "debatable weirdness" this interesting brand is carring out in perfumery.
P.S= the deep dry down produces a sort of fat/humid vegetal saltiness (counteracting the fruity sweetness) which penetrates your brain in depth for long. Be ready to all this weirdness.

Quite a peculiar fragrance which (spoiler alert!) sadly does "too much" and just goes wrong, like a Frankenstein monster that escapes the lab before being "completed" and receiving the sacred gift of consistency and coherence. The opening is unique and interesting, a bit unpleasant but somehow intriguing: a cold metallic accord both citrusy and aquatic, a ton of aldehydes, a geometric and freezing linear blend with bitter green notes and a really sour heart that somehow manages to mix with a delicate floral mentholated note, coming from a sort of decomposed, futuristic geranium. Perhaps there's also verbena or something like that, I smell a cold, freezing breezy note which smells like a bag of those sugarfree, super-icy eucalipthol candies – it refreshes your nose so much you better not inspire with too much strenght. It's an interesting and avant-garde "smell" which however I frankly can not manage to keep on my skin, there is an angular and ambiguous aldehydated/metallic/breezy feel that makes it quite elusive and too unfriendly to stay there. But as I said, it's interesting. After a while, a "weird but cool" poisonous subtle note emerges, a herbal/green touch somehow icy somehow narcotic with a boozy vibe, halfway between cold gin and ether. Cool and odd, however it then vanishes quite soon. So far so good, but then, sadly it all starts going worse and worse; if until now it somehow managed to keep it interesting, it just goes more simply "wrong". The horrible sort of "tropical" note emerges with a really unwanted strenght, and finds its way adding a disturbing and totally unrelated fruity touch which really does not fit, no matter efforts you make. And with that, we're basically on the drydown, which is persistent as hell, and sadly it's the worst part: a sort of half-aquatic (calonic), half-fruity cheap deodorant, with that same exact metallic freshness of the cheapest one on the market, that just stays there for hours with all its morbid and unpleasant presence. I hardly feel anything "radieuse" here, but I guess it's ironic.

5/10