Foret de Becharre by Nez a Nez

Grapefruit, Licorice, Cedar, Cinnamon, Amber, Leather, Vanilla.

It may be just me, but I can't seem to associate the theme of this fragrance to what transpires on my skin. The light, the dark, the forest perimeter and then deep inside the enchanting woods are transitions that must have happened in the mind of someone else. It surely didn't happen to me.

That said, I still like my sample wearings of Foret de Becharre. Misnaming a scent isn't a crime in the fragrance world and it happens quite often. What's important is what has always been crucial when sampling. Is it good and does it justify its price?

Foret de Becharre is more of a comfort scent with some subtle sensuality thrown in for good measure. It's neither light or heavy, yet becomes more noticeable once the base and drydown come to fruition. Even at that stage, it maintains a certain buoyancy.

The listed notes do become realized during the samplings, but they are toned down by way of blending and vanilla is the one note that really asserts itself above its brethren. The opening and heart accords are actually very good in spite of being blurred.

The opening is a well executed citrus and the rendition of grapefruit is enjoyable. The "licorice" is more of an accent as is the cinnamon on my skin. It only takes about 3 minutes before the vanilla becomes evident. It slowly picks up momentum as the wearings ensue, but it's a very good implementation and never heavy. There's a languid version of leather in the mix and it seems to be content playing second fiddle to the vanilla. There's also a soft, undercurrent of wood and once again, the tuning of these notes produces no real standouts other than well done vanilla.

Sillage is good and longevity is approximately 6 hours on me. The price point of $160 per ml. may be "pushing it" a bit, but bottom line is that Foret de Becharre is a nice smelling, shared fragrance. Thumbs up from Aromi for yet another Nez a Nez and as always, a sample wear is recommended.