Reviews of Palais Jamais by Etro
Palais Jamais is moor and heath in a bottle: highlands with high rains and lowlands with blazing sun. It starts damp, fertile, grasses, hay, dewy citrus and sun showers. The petitgrain is muted in pewter mist and smoky clary sage, the imagery in mind includes that of plants with tendrils, ivy perhaps, clinging to ancient stone or abandoned wooden structures. I have this view from a porch, sipping tea, overcoming the shellshock of a far too frenzied and hectic world we live in, and I get to come home to this.
Some music that accompanies the Palais Jamais: Brian Eno and Harmonia's "Luneberg Heath," mid-70s Genesis albums.
The heart has hints of jasmine in its tea and smoked woods. As the morning turns to mid-day, the sun sheds the dampness and dries the landscape, including the mosses, and the vetiver comes into relief, but is tempered by all the tea and leathery birch, oaky bark, the vegetal, sunny heath. The mist is now completely clear and the dry down reveals the rawness of the oakmoss and vetiver fully immersed in auric musk. Dusty, smoky, faded greens, and an ever changing landscape is what we find in this "Never Palace" and it's singular. What a scent.
Some music that accompanies the Palais Jamais: Brian Eno and Harmonia's "Luneberg Heath," mid-70s Genesis albums.
The heart has hints of jasmine in its tea and smoked woods. As the morning turns to mid-day, the sun sheds the dampness and dries the landscape, including the mosses, and the vetiver comes into relief, but is tempered by all the tea and leathery birch, oaky bark, the vegetal, sunny heath. The mist is now completely clear and the dry down reveals the rawness of the oakmoss and vetiver fully immersed in auric musk. Dusty, smoky, faded greens, and an ever changing landscape is what we find in this "Never Palace" and it's singular. What a scent.
Etro Palais Jamais is distinctly personal and freeing. I liken Palais Jamais to the beginnings of each season, particularly spring and fall, where the landscape is reborn to eventually decompose; the evolving beauty taking evocative turns along with the ensuing scents that emanate from this ethereal cycle. There is seductive pull to this wonderland where the wooing is innate and fully whole, resulting in an uplift and a reset for all… Palais Jamais is a bottled aromatic of that process. With its initial citrus spritz shaped by a sharp coriander and a cardamom hint, there is a some kind of wonderful in the making towards a naturally dry, yet refined floral greenery. The leathery birchwood, the fragrant jasmine sambac, and the bitter orange foliage of Paraguayan petitgrain shape the tobacco hay slight of the maté absolute into a smoked, herbaceous green tea only to be augmented with a tasteful pepper, before the mossy dews, the rich vetiver strains and the soft sweetness of clary sage elevate as an ensemble towards a dusty green aura of freedom and change. Ahh, to begin the begin… Lovely!
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Love the way it is constructed. Somehow the jasmine kills vetiver's green bite and vetiver destroys jasmine's skank. Or perhaps they mask it. In any case just superb.
Then there is the smell of tea which stays throughout in the background.
The vintage bottle had an apt tagline - Tea in the garden of Allah.
Buy the vintage gold cap bottle.
Love the way it is constructed. Somehow the jasmine kills vetiver's green bite and vetiver destroys jasmine's skank. Or perhaps they mask it. In any case just superb.
Then there is the smell of tea which stays throughout in the background.
The vintage bottle had an apt tagline - Tea in the garden of Allah.
Buy the vintage gold cap bottle.
Very interesting and a sparkling beginning which goes into a more interesting and complex evolution. Green, earthy and woody. It has vetiver, tea, it's herbal, aromatic and smoky. And what a great name: "Palais Jamais".
If you miss the vintage formulation of L'air de Rien, try Palais Jamais. They are not identical, PJ is somewhat more citrus-oriented, but they definitely share that hazy, oak moss-y, halfway-between-organic-and-human feel that makes both of them such unusual and impossible to define scents. PJ has a bit more of a tea note going on, while L'air contains more dusty incense. I would also say that the Miller Harris frag lasts somewhat longer than the Etro. Regardless, if what you're after is an earthy but edgy, bohemian scent, this one has your name written all over it.
This is my second Etro sampling. I liked Etro Vetiver more than this one.
The opening of Palais Jamais has promise, and it's an interesting fragrance worth smelling, but it's not something I especially enjoy wearing. As it develops, it gets worse: more artificial smelling, less floral, more cloying.
The opening of Palais Jamais has promise, and it's an interesting fragrance worth smelling, but it's not something I especially enjoy wearing. As it develops, it gets worse: more artificial smelling, less floral, more cloying.
Palais Jamais is unique and original, as I am finding a number of Etros to be.
This is a light green herbal/citrus blend that descends from an anise opening to a smoky, woody, leather heart. There is just enough birch, oak moss and vetiver to give it weight, without drawing attention to any of those indvidual notes, suspended in perfect balance.
It's quietly and assuredly masculine. My image is that of a young man in turtleneck and leather jacket, who has just come in from the yard, arms full of wood, and is sitting at an open fireplace, stirring up the ash and assembling the wood to bring the new, slightly damp, wood to life. His citrus and lavender cologne mixes with the natural odors, emanating from his task.
This is a masterpiece in my opinion. About as different from the mainstream masculines as can be, while still assuredly being one of its best products.
Highly recommended.
This is a light green herbal/citrus blend that descends from an anise opening to a smoky, woody, leather heart. There is just enough birch, oak moss and vetiver to give it weight, without drawing attention to any of those indvidual notes, suspended in perfect balance.
It's quietly and assuredly masculine. My image is that of a young man in turtleneck and leather jacket, who has just come in from the yard, arms full of wood, and is sitting at an open fireplace, stirring up the ash and assembling the wood to bring the new, slightly damp, wood to life. His citrus and lavender cologne mixes with the natural odors, emanating from his task.
This is a masterpiece in my opinion. About as different from the mainstream masculines as can be, while still assuredly being one of its best products.
Highly recommended.
I'm Irish and I have a secret: I don't like the color green. Maybe it's because it's the color of the uniform that I had to wear day in, day out for eight years under the unforgiving glare of the nuns at the convent school I attended. Or maybe it's because it's the color of the grass in Ireland, which only got that way because it never stops bloody raining. Personally, I blame my mother (don't we all?) for making me ingest boiled-to-death kale at least twice a week until I was old enough to say, No thanks, I'll be having some of those French fries instead.
In perfume terms, a green perfume is either one of two things to me an idealized representation of a bucolic meadow in springtime (Le Temps d'Une Fete, Chamade), or a bitchy, cold green chypre or green floral designed to put the fear of God into you (Cristalle, No. 19, Gucci No. 3). The first is pretty and elegant, but a little too pastoral for this urban chick. The second, well, I find green chypres to be excessively formal and more than a little unfriendly.
But last year, in an effort to be more rounded or Catholic' in my tastes, I went on a bit of a green perfume spree to try to find one that clicked with me. Patrica de Nicolai's wonderful Vie de Chateau Intense came very close, but Palais Jamais was the one that won out in the end. In a way, I could say that Palais Jamais chose me, and not the other way around. It has such a definite character of its own that you suspect that it might have native intelligence and chooses to cooperate with your skin (or not).
Palais Jamais is urban. It is a moody creature of tea, smoke, rubber, tobacco, moss, leather, vetiver, and birch. Green it may be, but it is the green of collected urban habits smoking cigarettes, wearing a black leather jacket, and smelling the scorched rubber smell of the motorbike you boyfriend just left on. It is kind of kinky, actually. On the one hand, it is silky smooth in texture, so I get an image of a silk paisley tie and a conservative silk suit. But the smoke, leather, and all-round badass attitude kind of brings to mind a man in a rubber sex mask in an East Berlin gay bar. So, Palais Jamais = both urban and urbane.
Palais Jamais chose me. And sometimes it still chooses me. But it acts kind of like those mood rings we used to wear back in the day you know, the ones that turn red for angry, and blue for sad, and so on. Some days, this smells downright glorious on me. On other days, it surrounds me with a poisonous cloud of bad attitude. With Palais Jamais, you just have to judge the moment.
In perfume terms, a green perfume is either one of two things to me an idealized representation of a bucolic meadow in springtime (Le Temps d'Une Fete, Chamade), or a bitchy, cold green chypre or green floral designed to put the fear of God into you (Cristalle, No. 19, Gucci No. 3). The first is pretty and elegant, but a little too pastoral for this urban chick. The second, well, I find green chypres to be excessively formal and more than a little unfriendly.
But last year, in an effort to be more rounded or Catholic' in my tastes, I went on a bit of a green perfume spree to try to find one that clicked with me. Patrica de Nicolai's wonderful Vie de Chateau Intense came very close, but Palais Jamais was the one that won out in the end. In a way, I could say that Palais Jamais chose me, and not the other way around. It has such a definite character of its own that you suspect that it might have native intelligence and chooses to cooperate with your skin (or not).
Palais Jamais is urban. It is a moody creature of tea, smoke, rubber, tobacco, moss, leather, vetiver, and birch. Green it may be, but it is the green of collected urban habits smoking cigarettes, wearing a black leather jacket, and smelling the scorched rubber smell of the motorbike you boyfriend just left on. It is kind of kinky, actually. On the one hand, it is silky smooth in texture, so I get an image of a silk paisley tie and a conservative silk suit. But the smoke, leather, and all-round badass attitude kind of brings to mind a man in a rubber sex mask in an East Berlin gay bar. So, Palais Jamais = both urban and urbane.
Palais Jamais chose me. And sometimes it still chooses me. But it acts kind of like those mood rings we used to wear back in the day you know, the ones that turn red for angry, and blue for sad, and so on. Some days, this smells downright glorious on me. On other days, it surrounds me with a poisonous cloud of bad attitude. With Palais Jamais, you just have to judge the moment.
Broodingly austere, Palais Jamais is the fascinating outcome of citrus, jasmine, and green tea with a solid mossy-herbal base. This is a very bitter fragrance, and I have seen it aptly described as intellectual. Certainly, this is not a warm ingratiating scent, it has a very different character: chilly, restrained, and perhaps not immediately accessible at first encounter. But do not dismiss it: in due course, Palais Jamais turns out to be very rewarding, almost soothing, delivering a fresh and uplifting green bitterness as addictive as it is completely unique. Quite formal and without much development, Palais Jamais exudes confidence and calm dignity. Very interesting, easily wearable. and one of the best Etros.
My review is based on a vintage EDT bottle of this. Incredible, unique opening of oak moss (great, earthy, stale), vetiver, herbaceous notes, tobacco, a light leather note, dense and humid floral notes (the typical "masculine" ones, like lavender and carnation), a genius tea note providing a beautiful thin fruity aroma, then a nuance of licorice, which I also smell in Etro Vetiver. A real triumph of natural mysticism, hard to describe but easy to love, powerful and deep, "rural" somehow but incredibly charming and refined it its woody silkiness. There is also a slightly salty-animalic base note which adds ambiguous and dark sensuality to an already decadent and elegant carnal scent a concoction which effortlessly manages to appear Oriental, exotic, savage and mysterious but at the same time, amazingly sophisticated, gentle, "European" in its austere, aristocratic meaning. The notes themselves may appear common, but this scent is truly unique, enigmatic, elusive, dense to sum up and give you a "rough figure", however, a mossy-woody-tobacco Oriental blend with resins, flowers (as I said, the typical fougère ones), and an aromatic fog comprising nuances of leather and licorice. A bit linear and quite long-lasting, so be sure to try it before wearing it otherwise you may get bored after a while. To me, an incredible gem totally worth at least a try (one of those scents which truly smell "niche" to me... you need gallons of today's niche stuff to reach such a creative zenith!).
9/10
9/10
Genre: Leather
If you like Yatagan or Parfum d'Habit, try Palais Jamais. It's of the same testosterone-drenched wood and leather clan, though it does manage to walk its own path.
While Yatagan and Parfum d'Habit lean heavily on conifer notes, Palais Jamais surrounds its leather with a veil of smoke. The other two are very much rugged, outdoor scents, not too far removed from the forest. Palais Jamais is more urbane: a shot of whiskey and a Cuban cigar enjoyed in a leather chair. Except for its brief, citrus sweetened opening salvo, this is a dry, and I mean bone-dry scent. Even the green notes at the heart are crisp and desiccated.
Interestingly for something so aggressively masculine, my wife smelled it on me and pronounced emphatically that it was NOT sexy. Too much of the stuffy men's club, as opposed to the caveman vibe? Beats me. If you are looking for a mucho macho leather scent with a strong dose of smoke, I suggest a test of Ayala Moriel's brilliant Rebellius. Now that's sexy!
If you like Yatagan or Parfum d'Habit, try Palais Jamais. It's of the same testosterone-drenched wood and leather clan, though it does manage to walk its own path.
While Yatagan and Parfum d'Habit lean heavily on conifer notes, Palais Jamais surrounds its leather with a veil of smoke. The other two are very much rugged, outdoor scents, not too far removed from the forest. Palais Jamais is more urbane: a shot of whiskey and a Cuban cigar enjoyed in a leather chair. Except for its brief, citrus sweetened opening salvo, this is a dry, and I mean bone-dry scent. Even the green notes at the heart are crisp and desiccated.
Interestingly for something so aggressively masculine, my wife smelled it on me and pronounced emphatically that it was NOT sexy. Too much of the stuffy men's club, as opposed to the caveman vibe? Beats me. If you are looking for a mucho macho leather scent with a strong dose of smoke, I suggest a test of Ayala Moriel's brilliant Rebellius. Now that's sexy!
Dry MasterpiecePalais Jamais is easily one of the five greatest smelling fragrances I've ever smelled (probably tied with Timbuktu for overall favorite). Dry Herbal/tea Masculine Poetic VictorianIf you have an affinity for these types of scents, you owe it to yourself to try this.Pros: Dry, masculine, poeticCons: None"
Calm restraintThe top note exudes gentle freshness, with a mild citrus and bergamot combined. Then the yerba tea note, a mild green tea impression, is introduced and forms the core for a while, with a green sage note with a flowery component in the background. At the end smidgeon of a mild coffee aroma is transiently notable. This is an elegantly restrained composition that is never sweet, with very limited silage and projection on my skin, and a longevity of over four hours. The antithesis of a loud scent.
smoked tea comfort the absinthe-coloured juice sits patiently in the myriad bottles waiting for the precisely correct time to be worn; it's a coolish, overcast summers day, a hint of menace in the clouds. this smokey, mossy tea - with a stout vetiver heart - elixir has its moment..... pj always imparts a contemplative, comforting impression when the right occasion appears. very nice
There is some confusion as to notes, so I am going to wing this without a note pyramid. Very Green like an evening outdoors when the snow is just starting to melt, potent green grasses poking up through the mud, slightly astringent. I like it!
Palais Jamais should be a mess. Citrus, floral, smoky, herbal, vetiver. Was that rubber? Was it supposed to be leather? Palais Jamais somehow keeps its parts distinct and well behaved. From top to base, PJ maintains an ungainly balance. The elements don't come together---that would be the mess---they just follow their courses. The lighter elements recede, the heavier notes come forward, and PJ's drydown is suggestive of a sharp, dry, smoky tea. PJ manages to suggest dry, wet and burnt simultaneously. Great trick, actually. Always captivates me.
There's something objective in tone about PJ. It doesn't come off as blended or harmonious. It doesn't become a skin scent. It stays put and asks you to approach it, to consider or admire it as you might a piece of abstract art. A successful if oddly modern attitude for such a staid design house like Etro.
There's something objective in tone about PJ. It doesn't come off as blended or harmonious. It doesn't become a skin scent. It stays put and asks you to approach it, to consider or admire it as you might a piece of abstract art. A successful if oddly modern attitude for such a staid design house like Etro.
Another Etro that being a component of this wonderful brand is a bit poetic, indolent, aristocratic, evocative, nostalgic and Victorian. Those are the qualities of fragrances as Vicolo dei Fiori and Patchouly, Shaal Nur and Royal Pavillon, Eliotrope and Sandalo. This one is a silent aromatic leathery scent of the morning. The opening is citrusy and floral with a starring tangerine, some aromatic greens and notable violet and jasmine than the fragrance becomes mossy and characterized by a sheer note of tobacco and the final boise' touch of vetiver. The combination of tobacco, moss, vetiver, musk and leather (also civet is listed) turns it very intimate and corporeal but not in an aggressive way. Apart from the usual dustiness of Etro (cardamom), the woodsy and tobacco dry down is not aggressive o powerful but smoothed by a leathery note similar to suede. The note of tobacco is dominant but is cleverly combined with greens and citrus in the way the smell turns out light, fresh and a bit indolent. The smell is multifaceted, bitter-sweet, grassy-floral and very natural as a deep breath of cool air in the middle of the country early at morning. Coming from far shelters and angles, sheds and farm houses you can inhale the smell of fire and flowers, wood and moss, roasted meat and plants. I agree with Shamu1, this is a pleasant fragrance but is basically tranquil, evocative and nostalgic. It's dry and discreet and has nothing of muscular. Another great work from Etro Milano, grazie di esistere.
A comfortable woody scent with citrus and jasmine notes in the top and tobacco/leather notes in the heart. Oakmoss and vetiver are in the base note. The leather note in the base is slightly smoky, a definite birch tar note. This is not the kind of aromatic woody that inspires sweet thoughts; it is more masculine and rough, emphasizing the smokiness of the leather and the bitter vibe of the oakmoss. Good sillage for the first hour or two, with average longevity. A refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill scents one smells on many young men today.
This is a vivid, sparkling fragrance. Although it doesn't change dramatically towards the drydown, it simply changes its face every time I try to pay deeper attention to it. "Rubber leaves", or "rubber soft floral" - is there such thing? I mean not a combination of rubber and florals, but something that smells like a single note. In fact that's what's great here: it always smells very homogeneous. I can also notice citrus and vetiver but again, they're not "natural" or "real" - more like surreal, rubberized, more classy than nature can ever be. Earl Grey tea seems the most natural reference. But once I notice it, and it turns to some expensive lemon detergent, then into a incense stick before being burned. A playful fragrance.I tried Palais Jamais in the summer but then some sour notes made it too heavy on my skin. I wear it now in the mild winter and it cheers up the air around me without ever settling to a tranquil state. It's light and dark at the same time and while in hot weather the dark notes seem somehow unbalanced and the green/citrusy notes can seem banal, cooler temperatures reveal its true paradoxical nature. Perfect.
Fragrance notes mentioned on Etro card: yerba mate, sambac jasmine flowers, bergamot, cardamom, Arabic coffeeI mention these notes since they differ from the pyramid notes offered by PigeonMurderer. I'm not disputing those pyramid notes, in fact I am sure they are there (especially the civet). It is interesting to see the difference between the two lists. This has a nice aromatic green bergamot opening with jasmine floral notes. The scent is dusky but attractive. Then the rubber phase hits, grassy notes from the yerba mate. This is unusual but not unpleasant. Piercing whiffs of violet circle in the background. Then, a slightly sweet and skin- or leather-like note from the civet appears. This component adds a heady, old-school, perfumed character to the dry-down. The civet goes on and on, it is a longevity monster… and ultimately (IMO) gets a bit tiresome. This is not to my taste, though some may appreciate it.
Top : Tuberose, Jasmin, Ylang-Ylang, Mimosa, Violet, MandarinMiddle : Sandalwood, Vetiver, MuskBase : Leather, Tobacco, Oakmoss, Vetiver, Civet(www.parfyym.pri.ee)A marvelous, green woody fragrance with crisp citrus accents. Absolutely a great pleasure to wear during the summertime. Poetic blend of warmth and freshness. Smells very natural, could be used by men or women. Definitely unisex.This scent reminds me of the way fresh and waxy birch leaves smell; bitter and sweet, slightly smoky and medicinal. Can be both soothing and vitalisizing depending on your will, this scent of contrasts deserves thumbs way way up.
A great spice fragrance! Opening is a royal mix of warm spices that stay very assertive without stumbling over each other as in so many other spice fragrances. The warm spice is supported by a light green wood undercurrent that keeps the fragrance from getting too heavy. This base is probably vetiver with woods or a vetiver/ black tea note, but the spice is always sparkling above this green woody base. I first bought this fragrance when I was younger and loved the warm spice blend but found it too bold to wear to work or around others in an enclosed office situation. But now, years later, I appreciate the luscious blend of exotic warmth. It is a very upflifting and radiating fragrance. The spices remind me of some others, although bold, they never get dark and steely like Spezie or Espices Noir. The scent is not as intensely spicey as Spiritus Land or Coze but is in the same category of fragrance as all of these great spice scents. It is similar to Nasomatto Absinthe - an aromatic cousin. One of the best Etro has created in my view. Very nice.
YUM! I fell in love with Messe de Minuit and Palais Jamais at a store in Las Vegas. Never heard of ETRO before seeing these. PJ is leather in front of a smoky fireplace on a cold night. Pure high class luxury in a bottle. I don't get the tea, or anything green. It's not too light; not too heavy - just right!I wish ETRO had a sampler!
Oh, yes, this one is a challenge. I rather miss out on the citrus in the opening but I do get the pungency– apparently, to my nose, the birch and sage make their appearances in the top notes. I like it. I like it very much, but I must admit that it doesn't come easy. It's smoky, yes, but that doesn't dominate. It's has a rubber note, yes, but that doesn't dominate either. What dominates is a subtle but persistent green warmth that rises up from the center of the fragrance and maintains a central position with quiet strength. This is a challenging fragrance but I have found it well worth the effort to comprehend it.