The first 2 rock albums I ever purchased were Santana Abraxas and Neil Young's Harvest in the very early 1970's. I would have never imagined Carlos being linked with a fragrance.....let alone one that has some merit. Almost 35 years later in 2005, his notes have changed from a patented staccato style to notes implemented in fragrance accords.
The first thing I noticed from 2 healthy spritzes of Santana for Men is that it's a rouge offering that has some substance......and more earth shattering for me is its similarity to one of my all time favorites; namely Shiseido Basala. Yes.......I said it.......Basala dammit. ( I was forced to do a side by side and while Basala was a shade brighter and one degree woodier, these two are so close it's scary).
Santana opens up on the skin already blended. It may smell this way because the accords from top to bottom are a bit unconventional in their structure. What normally passes as heart and base notes are in the top accord. I like it. The citrus and lavender are in the mix, but do not dominate the topnotes until they give way to the other culprits. They are implemented in the middle of the accords and it seems to work well. Cinnamon, wood and tonka ease their way into the aroma very evenly and eventually open the door for a smooth accord of musk, vanilla , cedar and a wispy apple note.
The transitions, however subtle, are there for the noticing if you put your mind to it; however, Santana for Men is more suited for wearing when one does not want to "focus" or concentrate on their fragrance. This is for spritzing it on and forgetting about it. It will do its thing.......and do it well I might add.
To finally stumble across a celebrity scent worth owning has made me happy. I'm not normally a rouge offering type of guy, but this ( along with Basala) most assuredly have a place in my drobe. Big thumbs up from Aromi for Carlos Santana and his musical juice.
I had the pleasure of testing this in a blind sniff game recently... and figured out that it was a celebrity scent, and then figured out the notes all but for the apple. So it stumped me. I was *that* close to guessing it right but got tripped up by the apple. An intriguing scent, and when I find time to apply it a little less robustly (I probably spritzed it ten times trying to figure out the notes, and at that strength it wanted scrubbing off) so that I can enjoy it properly. Did you find that the initial spritz "went underground" and you could smell "nothing" for a little while before the other notes developed? The other blind testers and I all remarked about that. Curious characteristic.
ReplyDeleteLots of vanillic woodies out there, but this one has a lot more going on and the wood isn't too strong, so I can see myself wearing it now and then, whereas the other VWs are just too boring.
ReplyDeleteHi actias ! I didn't get the "phantom" initial spritz like you mentioned. I did get a more pronounced accord however after about 5 minutes. It seems the volume increased, but I did smell the scent from the moment I applied it. The progressions were blurred to me, but very enjoyable with only 2 spritzes.
ReplyDeleteWe probably sniffed the molecules right off our hands in an effort to identify them! (made ourselves slightly anosmic for a few minutes by deep sniffage is more likely.) I'll have to see if it has that affect next try.
ReplyDeleteThis fragrance is awesome. The best celebrity fragrance I've ever smelled.
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