Marc Gebauer
Marc Gebauer
298 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Eucalyptus crashes into frankincense with startling force, the combination reading almost pharmaceutical before pink pepper adds a metallic, tingling spice that radiates outward. Bergamot flickers at the edges, citric and fleeting, whilst that green-resinous core dominates with an almost feral intensity.
Smoke becomes the narrative here—not sweet, ambery smoke but something more industrial, tarry, laced with cedar's pencil-shaving dryness and patchouli's damp earth. The spice mellows into a sustained warmth rather than sharp heat, whilst the woody elements begin their slow takeover, grounding the composition's wilder impulses.
Sandalwood and amber finally soften the edges, bringing a creamy, almost comforting warmth that feels incongruous after the opening salvo. Vanilla adds roundness without sweetness, whilst vetiver and musk provide a clean, slightly soapy finish that whispers rather than shouts.
Berserker earns its name through sheer olfactory aggression—this is frankincense as war paint, not meditation. Christian Carbonnel opens with a eucalyptus-spiked resin that feels almost medicinal in its intensity, the camphoraceous bite cutting through the frankincense's natural sweetness like a blade through incense smoke. Pink pepper adds a metallic, almost blood-like tingle that refuses to play nice, whilst bergamot struggles to civilise the chaos, its citrus oils quickly overwhelmed by the green, feral energy of that eucalyptus-cedar pairing. This isn't the polished, Ormonde Jayne approach to incense; it's rawer, more unhinged.
The smoke that billows through the heart feels deliberately acrid, as though Carbonnel wanted the scent of burning rather than burnt—there's a tarry, almost vetiver-like quality that emerges before the actual vetiver even arrives. Patchouli adds earth and darkness without going full hippy, whilst cedar provides the structural backbone that prevents the composition from collapsing into pure chaos. The spicy accord never relents, maintaining that peppery, green-tinged heat throughout.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.8/5 (153)