Vaporocindro
January Scent Project (2017)

I've really come to appreciate Vaporocindro from John Biebel's January Scent Project over the years. It is light and wispy with incredible staying power, which I love a lot in this perfume. You can spray lightly, but still smell it and enjoy it's vaporpcindorous trail for the whole day. I love the opening perhaps the most with it's lilac and green notes of apple and deciduous leaves. There is also an almost soil/dirt vibe mingling in with the lilac and apple/leaves accord that brings an outdoor garden feel which I really enjoy. As we transition into the mids, I get a spicy accord along with the narcissus flower. Some perfumes are very narcissus forward, and I enjoy many of them, but Vaporocindro doesn't push the narcissus too far out in front, and I think that John used this note perfectly for this particular perfume. Excellent blending for my tastes on this one. The spiciness is achieved with a noticeable black pepper and apparently turmeric, which I don't recognize in isolation as a note here, but I should familiarize myself with turmeric more. The drydown has a slight saltiness which I've always felt, more than smelled from narcissus flower anyway, but is representative of ambergris at this point, along with a quiet black currant, which is another note I'm quite fond of. There is some woodiness and thankfully the cumin isn't jumping out at me like a yellow armpitted gym sweater...no, it is blended into the overall composition and is well behaved. Oud is also quiet in this mix, but the coffee note is noticeable and smells nice as the sandalwood is very reserved and adds to the overall smoothness of the perfume. Just a great wear on skin that doesn't tire out my nose, which is a good thing as it has excellent longevity as mentioned in the beginning of this review. Wonderful fragrance by Mr. John Biebel.

This has the JSP signature DNA I get from many of the brand’s fragrances, especially that waxy quality in the floral notes. With a lot of JSP scents, I find them hard to describe simply because I haven’t smelled anything quite like them before. My partner’s first impression was salty woods, which I assume comes from the mahogany and ambergris. She also picked up on a touch of oud, which surprised me since this isn’t really an oudy fragrance. In the opening, I get lilac and greenery, though the lilac isn’t overly intense since it shares the stage with other florals. It’s not the most photorealistic lilac, but it’s clearly present in its own way. The green notes are prominent too—not grassy, but more of a dewy green accord.

As it develops, the florals remain but transition into narcissus. I start to get a lightly honeyed nuance, likely from the narcissus, along with the emergence of the woody base, ambergris, and a hint of blackcurrant. There’s a faint fruitiness underneath that adds a touch of sweetness, though much of that sweetness feels naturally derived from the florals themselves. I don’t personally pick up much coffee, but I can see it being there to round off certain edges. The cumin is also subtle and seems more about adding depth and complexity than standing out.

I haven’t spent much time around mahogany wood in real life, but here it adds a nice warmth and mild earthiness. Definitely not dry or sharp like cedar. I also notice light tobacco nuances, which could be coming from the narcissus, since it naturally has hay- and tobacco-like facets.

Throughout most of the wear, the florals sit on top of the woods and lightly salty ambergris. In the drydown, the florals, woods, and soft blackcurrant sweetness merge into a single, cohesive scent. It’s very smooth, with no rough edges, no headache-inducing powderiness, and nothing floral that feels off. The scent stays natural throughout and carries the same refined smoothness I’ve found in other releases from the brand.

Despite being indie, this is still very wearable. Serin and Gong feel more experimental by comparison. This one is essentially lilac, green notes, and light woody earthiness brought together into a unified composition. It’s more complex than that description suggests, but this is one you really need to smell for yourself. I slightly prefer the bell pepper and blueberry musk accord in Gong, so while the florals here are executed beautifully, this one isn’t quite my personal taste and probably not a full-bottle purchase for me. Lilac is notoriously difficult to recreate in perfumery, so I understand why it remains more of a top-note feature. That said, if the brand ever focused on building the ultimate lilac-centered fragrance, I’d buy multiple bottles without hesitation.

Performance is solid, with full-day longevity and moderate projection. It works well in fall, spring, and winter. While floral-forward, it still has enough weight from the woody, salty base to give it substance. This remains in my top three from the brand so far—alongside Gong and Selperniku. It would have fallen flat if it focused solely on florals, but the way the green notes, woods, and subtle fruitiness are blended is genuinely masterful.

Starts off a spicy woods fragrance with floral/black currant notes like Givenchy Insense. There is an amber note about halfway through. Dries down to a middle-of-the-road synthetic woods note. Disappointing.

This starts out pretty fine. I dig the lilac, green leaves, and apple, although a little more apple would have been better. The top moves into the middle notes smoothly, with the spicy smokiness of turmeric and pepper. I can't quite discern any narcissus note individually. Perhaps it's smashed into everything else. The base begins to show towards, the end of the middle. The mahogany, cumin, coffee notes made me smile. The oud sort of erased that smile. I don't think the oud and sandalwood belong here. When all that is left is the base, this becomes just ordinary IMO. Yet another "artistic" scent from this house so I'll give it 3 stars. It isn't one I would wear often.

All of the January fragrances are interesting and unique. Vaporocindro opens with a floral statement possibly with narcissus and lilac and with brown spices and musk on the side. The florals later withdraw and the stage is set for a musky/spicy dry down.

It is unique and quite beautiful and rather long lasting. Unisex.

Lilac and Apple opens with a bloom, kinda like Baruti's Melkmeisje. I next expected either a green fir and/or a move to sweetened Amber. Nope. I suppose that the sliver of Narcisse is what bends this to a leathery vegetalic accord. Remarkable, is, a very true, backdrop of Turmeric with it's bouquet of dusty Dryness, that leads my nose to a Bone parched and Aromatic Oud. An offer of buttery Sandal smooths the palate. Cumin? Black Pepper? Ambergris?
Perhaps a touch,to just mildly season. It dries down to a gentle, spicy, contemplative Wood.
There is such a wonderful blending, to create an unique overall accord, so very interesting, balanced, and pleasing, to my palate.
Lovely.