Réminiscence
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The aniseed hits like a slap—sharp, green-tinged liquorice with clove's dusty warmth rising immediately behind it. Bergamot barely registers as citrus; it's more of a bitter brightness that gets swallowed almost instantly by the spice onslaught, leaving your nose tingling with aromatic intensity.
Honey thickens the composition into something viscous and golden, whilst almond and jasmine sambac create this peculiar push-pull between nutty sweetness and indolic floralcy. The jasmine adds a rubbery, slightly animalic quality that stops proceedings from becoming a straight-up confection, whilst that marzipan accord grows more pronounced, almost cherry-like in its stone-fruit density.
Pure tonka comfort—coumarinic, hay-like, with vanilla rounding everything into soft focus. The white musk creates an intimate, skin-close veil that's more powdered than musky, whilst ghost traces of that opening spice linger like muscle memory, reminding you this was never meant to be simple vanilla.
Réminiscence's Tonka opens with an arresting collision of aniseed and clove that reads more patisserie than perfumery—think pain d'épices fresh from the oven, all liquorice-dark spice and aromatic heat. Fabrice Pellegrin has orchestrated something deliberately indulgent here, a gourmand composition that never apologises for its sweetness but tempers it with enough spice to keep things intriguing. The aniseed lends an almost medicinal edge initially, a fennel-like sharpness that cuts through what could otherwise be cloying territory, whilst the clove adds a dusty, eugenol warmth that feels both vintage and oddly modern.
As it develops, the tonka bean—that promised star ingredient—emerges not as a solo performer but as part of a triumvirate with honey and almond. The effect is marzipan-adjacent but more sophisticated, with jasmine sambac weaving through the sweetness like incense smoke through a confectioner's shop. There's a plasticky, almost cherry-stone facet to the almond that gives the composition an unexpected texture, preventing it from sliding into straightforward gourmandise. The powdery quality builds gradually, a combination of tonka's coumarin richness and that soft white musk base, which settles into something skin-like and comforting.
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3.6/5 (98)