Stylessence

Bernard Ellena's Stylessence strips the Jil Sander aesthetic down to its architectural bones—clean white florals illuminated by sharp citrus aromatics, then grounded in pale blonde wood. The opening crackles with the resinous bite of cardamom against bitter orange leaf, that green-brown astringency cutting through freesia's soapy transparency before petitgrain adds its characteristic metallic tang. This isn't the lush, indolic orange blossom you'd find in a soliflore; instead, Ellena orchestrates a constellation of white flowers—neroli's fresh bitterness, jasmine's waxy greenness, orange blossom's honeyed facets, and violet's powdery iris-like quality—into something deliberately restrained, almost austere. The floral heart reads as a single luminous impression rather than distinct blooms, like light filtering through rice paper.

What makes Stylessence compelling is how hinoki wood in the base transforms the composition from merely pretty into something with genuine character. That Japanese cypress brings a cool, almost aqueous woodiness with subtle camphoraceous edges, its cleanliness reinforcing rather than weighing down the white florals above. The musk and amber remain gossamer-thin, providing just enough warmth to prevent the scent from feeling sterile. This is for those who've exhausted the endless parade of gourmands and want to return to precision—the fragrance equivalent of a Tadao Ando interior. Wear it when you want to feel quietly impeccable, when you're seeking presence without announcement. It's resolutely unisex in that specifically minimalist way, smelling neither traditionally masculine nor feminine but simply composed.