Issey Miyake
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and grapefruit collide in a tart, almost effervescent burst that feels scrubbed clean of any sweetness—this is citrus rendered in sharp, angular lines. The aquatic accord materialises immediately beneath, not ozonic or marine in the conventional sense, but rather like cold water running over smooth stones. Within minutes, cashmeran begins its creep, that distinctive woody-musky hum already audible through the citrus veil.
The ambergris remains frustratingly elusive, more an idea of saltiness than an actual saline presence, while cashmeran fully assumes control with its peculiar, almost plastic-y warmth. The fragrance flattens somewhat here, settling into a persistent woody-aquatic hum that's more textural than aromatic. There's a dryness to it, an almost papery quality that feels intentionally spare.
What remains is primarily cashmeran's signature—that abstract, musky woodiness with faint mineral undertones that could read as either skin-like or oddly synthetic depending on your perspective. The aquatic character persists as a memory rather than a presence, a ghost of coolness clinging to the diffusive, almost translucent base. It sits close, a whisper of engineered cleanliness that fades to nearly nothing.
L'Eau Majeure d'Issey reads like a manifesto for synthetic perfumery, and Aurélien Guichard makes no apologies. This is aquatic modernism stripped to its elemental framework—bergamot and grapefruit providing the briefest citrus shimmer before cashmeran takes centre stage, flexing its musky, woody abstraction with unapologetic dominance. The ambergris feels more theoretical than tactile, a saline whisper that gestures toward the ocean without ever quite touching it. What makes this compelling, despite its modest rating, is its refusal to seduce through warmth or richness. Instead, it presents a cool, almost astringent take on freshness—the olfactory equivalent of frosted glass or polished concrete. There's an intentional sterility here, a calculated cleanness that borders on austere. This is for those who've grown weary of citrus-marine hybrids that try too hard, who appreciate cashmeran's peculiar ability to hover between woody dryness and something vaguely mineral. You'll find this on architects sketching in minimalist studios, on gallery attendees contemplating installation art, on anyone who views fragrance as design rather than decoration. It won't announce itself across a room—the modest sillage ensures that—but up close, it's a study in contemporary restraint. Not groundbreaking, certainly, but honest in its synthetic construction, asking to be appreciated for its transparency rather than its complexity.
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2.9/5 (101)