Goldfield & Banks
Goldfield & Banks
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A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
That first spray is a shock of cold saltwater over sun-warmed citrus, the bergamot simultaneously lifted and weighted by an aquatic note that genuinely smells maritime rather than synthetic. The lemon provides a brief moment of brightness before the aromatic elements—that sage especially—start pushing through, hinting at the green darkness to come.
The oakmoss arrives in force, a proper bitter-earth oakmoss that tastes of damp bark and shadowed forest floors, made even more complex by vetiver's smoky, rooty presence threading through it. These two powerhouses dominate for hours, the sage lending occasional herbal punctuation whilst the sandalwood begins its slow creep upward, smoothing some of the composition's more angular edges without defanging it.
What remains is a skin-close arrangement of musk, amber, and patchouli providing warmth beneath a ghostly impression of that opening saltiness, now thoroughly absorbed into the woody base. The sandalwood has turned slightly creamy, the amber adding subtle sweetness, whilst the patchouli—earthy rather than sweet—ensures the fragrance maintains its serious, outdoors character right through to its quiet fade.
Pacific Rock Moss is Goldfield & Banks' brilliant reconciliation of two seemingly incompatible ideas: the bracing salt spray of Australian coastline and the deep, resinous comfort of oakmoss absolute. François Merle-Baudoin has created something far more complex than a simple marine aromatic—this is the scent of standing on weathered basalt at dawn, where the ocean hasn't yet burnt off the morning's green dampness and the rocks themselves seem to exhale something ancient and mineral.
The opening delivers a citrus accord that's been thoroughly salted, the bergamot and lemon sharpened rather than sweetened by those sea notes, which feel more like actual brine than the usual synthetic melon-cucumber stand-ins. But it's the heart where this composition truly distinguishes itself. The oakmoss here is unapologetically full-bodied—none of that timid, IFRA-neutered whisper—meeting an equally robust vetiver in what amounts to a proper earthy confrontation. Sage adds an herbal bitterness that keeps the green accord from sliding into sweetness, whilst the woody elements begin their slow emergence, grounding everything before it becomes too sharp.
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