It was the natural perfumers who brought my attention to the botanical musk of ambrette seeds. I loved the softness of this animalic scent from plants. The perfume version of plant-based meats. It is that less ferocious nature that makes it appealing. I have come to look forward to any perfume which uses it smartly. Clean Reserve Radiant Nectar joins that list.
Greg Black
One of the things creative director Greg Black wanted out of this collection was to become a trendsetter within the field of transparent fragrances. It seemed like the trends finally bent to where Clean has always been. With Clean Reserve Mr. Black has turned my initial skepticism completely around. Now every Clean Reserve release has my attention. They still have an irksome habit of not letting me know who the perfumer is. It bothers me because the work has been of such a high quality, I’d like to give credit. I will eventually find out and update it but for now I don’t know who made this.
It revolves around a top accord of ambrette seeds and pear. I usually am not a fan of the juicy version of pear used here. The ambrette makes it much more palatable as it wraps soft musky tendrils around the ebullient fruit. What really sold me on this perfume is what comes next. A combination of carrot seed, iris, and tobacco flower. This is a transparent style of fragrance so what you get are opaque versions of all three. It is an intelligent accord which lets the carrot seed provide an alternate soft sweetness to the pair while also harmonizing with the ambrette seeds. The iris and tobacco flower provide silky veils of each. It ends on a synthetic woody base.
Radiant Nectar has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
This is an ideal perfume for midsummer especially if you’ve tired of the colognes. Radiant Nectar offers a soft alternative though the seeds of desire at its heart.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample supplied by Clean Reserve.
–Mark Behnke
