When I was five -years old; and when I had hair, I was not one of those children who resisted going to the barbershop. My father and I would go every four weeks. I would get a crew cut and he would get a shave along with his trim. This was in the mid 1960’s before barbershops tried for cachet. They were functional emporiums who took more pride in turning the chairs over efficiently. I think, unlike some of my other friends, I enjoyed my visits to the barbershop because of the scents within. There was lavender, orange blossom scented Florida Water, the talcum powder, polished wood, and for me a piece of vanilla taffy after I was done. I can close my eyes and still smell it all over fifty years later. I haven’t encountered a perfume which captured this until I received my sample set of the new Franck Boclet releases. In there, my memories were waiting.
Franck Boclet
Franck Boclet is a European designer of men’s clothing. Starting in 2013 he began a fragrance line with four debut releases. Each perfume was named for an ingredient which would be the putative keynote. Which in most of the cases it was. I have found the perfumes to be a solidly executed concept through all the ones I have tried. I am interested enough that the samples don’t get shunted aside when they arrive because I always sort of expected there would be one which would resonate for me. The new release Geranium is that perfume.
Sebastien Chambenoist
This works because it is not just geranium and a bunch of supporting players. It is a fragrance of three distinctive phases which perfumer Sebastien Chambenoist blends together quite pleasantly. The geranium is more like the first among equals.
Geranium opens with a tart citrus and lavender top accord. It is like a bracing tonic. The lavender elevates the lime and grapefruit. Orange blossom connects the top accord to the geranium in the heart which is then given a light powdery finish with heliotropin. The base is sandalwood sweetened with vanilla and deepened with a bit of musk.
Geranium has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.
Everything about Geranium has crisp attached to it. It is an all-business versatile fragrance that could easily be used for any occasion. When my dad and I would walk outside after our haircuts he would look down and give me a wink. Geranium feels like that wink turned into a perfume.
Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by Franck Boclet.
–Mark Behnke
