Niclas Lydeen & Christine Gustaffson

I am pretty sure that if we were playing Family Feud and I asked you the question “Name a country known for making perfume” Sweden would not be the number one answer. While that might be true the creative team behind Agonist Parfums have been working hard to try and make Sweden not seem like a ridiculous answer to that question. That creative team of Christine Gustaffson and Niclas Lydeen have released three previous fragrances; Kallocain, The Infidels, and Liquid Crystal. Those releases came in exclusive sculptural glass bottles from Swedish glass works Kosta Boda. The combination of sculptural and olfactory art had a high price tag and in the case of both The Infidels and Liquid Crystal I felt it was a shame that those perfumes wouldn’t find a wider audience. That has all changed in the latter part of 2012. Agonist Parfums has now released those two perfumes and four others in plain glass rectangular bottles. If you want the sculptural art along with your olfactory art those are available in the new fragrances as well.

The four new fragrances are Arctic Jade, Black Amber, Onyx Pearl, and Vanilla Marble and while they are not as progressive as The Infidels or Liquid Crystal they do manage to have a Nordic vibe all their own to them and I found them all to be very good with one really standing out.

Arctic Jade is the one closest in style to the two previous release as it has a lot of contrasting, one might say clashing, groups of notes. That bit of olfactory cacophony is not going to be to everyone’s liking but it does make things interesting. The idea behind Arctic Jade is to represent an Arctic icescape and despite the jousting for position that is going on throughout its development it does remind me of snowshoeing in the White Mountains of Vermont as Arctic Jade has that bit of cruel edginess that a deep breath on the snow pack also has.

The battle of notes begins right away as orange and cranberry pair up to have it out with freesia. This is not a happy fruity floral opening this is something entirely different. Raspberry adds to the fruitiness quotient and eventually overwhelms the freesia. Then jasmine and ylang-ylang fight back for the floral side before a very large shot of cedar knocks all of it for a loop. Sandalwood arrives and a very herbal patchouli also adds its power. Just when you think the woods have won, a sharp ambrette and sweet vanilla start the ruckus back up. This kind of orthogonal perfume making can be tough to wear because it veers from being pleasant to unpleasant for stretches at a time. It is a bit of a ride but one I have found myself taking more than a few times.

Black Amber is maybe the most noir perfume I’ve tried this year. It is certainly more noir than any of the perfumes which contain that in the name. Black Amber takes an assemblage of some of the most intense dark notes in perfumery and asks the wearer to take journey into a fragrant heart of darkness. It is a journey that will lead to pleasure instead of madness for most.

Black Amber wastes no time at all in shutting out the light as incense, labdanum, and davana wood take you into the night. An incredibly intense vetiver and an almost narcotic tobacco flower continue to exclude anything resembling the daylight. Sandalwood, patchouli, and amber finish the descent into the abyss. There are two notes which arrive very late in the development and I wish they weren’t there as vanilla and styrax combine to create that manufactured plastic accord and for me it distracts from the nearly perfect dark combination which came before. I really like Black Amber but the plastic finish is almost too distracting for me.

Onyx Pearl is aptly named as it feels like a shiny sphere of olfactory notes which somehow also swallow the light. Onyx Pearl has an impenetrable core and I felt like I was trying, unsuccessfully, to find something underneath. Until I realized that it was that surface that I was supposed to be observing all along.

A very medicinal oud is paired with a very unrefined leather accord to start. If you are not a fan of oud’s rougher characteristics or you need your leather suede soft that is not what you will find in Onyx Pearl. The heart notes soothe the rough edges as patchouli and amber add warmth to the top notes. A very austere woody duet of cedar and sandalwood are made astringent with a sharp white musk. It hearkens back to the top notes as we have traveled full circle back to something which is right on the edge of harsh. Onyx Pearl is a shiny object full of bright reflections and it is something to be admired for its reflective nature.

Vanilla Marble is the easiest to wear fragrance Agonist Parfums has ever put out and that is because it is vanilla through and through paired with an assortment of notes which make it sensual and sinuous instead of candy-like.

Vanilla Marble begins with the vanilla along with almond and tiare. It is a very sweet beginning but it never tilts to the too-sweet side of things and that is because the tiare adds a bit of sunshine to the early going. A milky fig comes to life in the heart along with patchouli and amber. This is where Vanilla Marble turns seductress as it now feels like a femme fatale come hither fragrance. By the end of things sandalwood, benzoin and tonka take the vanilla to a slightly sweet resinous resting place. I am often bored to death by vanilla fragrances but Vanilla Marble is a cut above the majority of the multitude of vanilla fragrances available.

All of these four new Agonist Parfums are listed as 100% natural by Agonist but I have to say I am skeptical because of the nature of the fixatives and the longevity on my skin. I am not going to break out my gas chromatograph to prove it but I am not sold that these are 100% natural. They all have average sillage.

I am very pleased to see the original The Infidels and Liquid Crystal have the opportunity to find a larger audience. I am also happy to see that with the other four new releases Sweden might not be such a crazy answer to the question “name a country known for making perfume”.

Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by Intertrade Europe.

–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor