By Dane
Let me just start by saying that I loathe the smell of the original A*men (Angel Men). I affectionately (not really) call it "cake from hell". If you ever told me that I'd own a bottle of A*men in the future, I'd have laughed...if you told me I'd own an A*men FLANKER of all things, I wouldn't even have wasted my time laughing.
So that brings me to to Pure Coffee. What can I say? Its a dark, aromatic coffee scent blended with chocolate, patchouli, cedar, vetiver, moss and musk, and its pure genius (no pun intended). Its difficult to describe how anything with notes like that can actually smell light, but it does (even if not comparing it to the original). The notes move seamlessly back and forth on your skin and the whole experience is quite breathtaking.
The topnotes of Pure Coffee are exactly that...pure coffee. Apparently a CO2 extraction method was used to give the most sincere essence of coffee. Slowly the dark chocolate note moves in, and although two mouth-watering notes are present, it doesn't really feel "foody" at all. The wood, cedar, and vetiver notes successfully keep you from chewing on your arm. It feels both dark (a la Serge Lutens), but still transparent (a la Jean-Claude Ellena).
The patchouli note from the original scent becomes more apparent in the heart of the scent. At this point it reminds me a bit of Borneo 1834 (Lutens), but less rich and more wearable. A musk and amber accord present themselves in the drydown, which is quite prolonged (no surprise there). I can also detect a licorice/anise note, and perhaps even a bit of the mint present in the original.
Sweet vanilla and caramel notes are present throughout, but are tempered by what I guess would be the moss and other earthy notes. Its challenging to create a perfume on a tight budget and keep things smelling natural, but Jacques Huclier (also the nose for the original A*men) managed to create a scent that is both expensive smelling, and reasonably priced. There is an odd synthetic note that pops up now and then, and seems out of place with its slightly camphorous coldness among the other warm notes.
The packaging for Pure Coffee is great. The box is reminiscent of a bag of coffee...scented pressure-valve and all. The rubber flask itself seems to also be scented...not so much with Pure Coffee, but something a bit strange and soapy.
Although Pure Coffee is a limited edition scent, don't be surprised to see this in their regular line in the near future.
Year: 2008
Perfumer: Jacques Huclier
