New Perfume Review Zaharoff Brass & Soul- Invigorating Collaboration

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There are some perfume brands which are happy to interact with the fragrance community. George Zaharoff is one of those. He is always available for a quote from the writers or an appearance on a video. One thing shines brightly, he loves making fragrance. He also loves talking about it. I seemed only a matter of time until he invited some of those from the fragrance online community to collaborate with him. Zaharoff Brass & Soul is the result of this.

George Zaharoff

Mr. Zaharoff calls this the Zed Creators collection. He invited three different YouTube reviewers the chance to create a perfume with him. For Brass & Soul he asked Justin Copeland the man behind Stay Fresh Productions to make a fragrance. Perfumer Vincent Kuczinski would complete the creative team.

Justin Copeland

The brief was to create the “experience of performing as a musician in a jazz concert.” Based on my experience I would amend that to after midnight at a jazz bar. They wanted a cool accord and a warm accord. One to represent the brass of the instruments the other the vibe of great jazz.

Vincent Kuczinski

The choice of a cool accord is to make an icy gin and tonic accord surrounded by citrus. In the earliest moments there is a flare of citrus along with the bite of juniper berry. The wateriness of the tonic appears to complete the G&T effect. This is a refreshing choice that is as cold as a glass of gin over ice sweating droplets meandering down the side. The cool is tuned in a fresh floral direction as muguet adds a vegetal green.

The warmth is that sense of a crowded club. Body heat adding to a humidity the players on stage use handkerchiefs to blot off their forehead. A smooth leather and an earthy patchouli form the core. As with the top accord there are a couple of clever choices to round it out. One is bushman’s candle which is a sweet ambery resin. It has a unique scent profile especially the sweetness. Vanilla is the complement to it. It creates a deeper overall amber accord with more of the desired warmth.

Brass & Soul has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

This is the first of the Zed Creators collection I’ve tried. It has made me want to track down the other two. I suspect they are going to be good as well. That’s because the passion of Mr. Zaharoff has an infectious way of elevating everyone around him. Brass & Soul is the result of an invigorating collaboration.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Zaharoff Signature pour Homme- Behind the Curve, Again

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I think those who read this blog regularly know how much I enjoy finding new perfumes. It is one of the things which keeps me going that sense of search. Even though I try I just keep ending up behind the curve of certain brands. There is one brand I keep finding out about because someone else is wearing or talking about it.

George Zaharoff

In 2006 I was told about Zaharoff pour Homme by a friend who told me it was the only perfume he owned. At the time I had never heard of it. Once I tried it, I wondered why I hadn’t heard of it. George Zaharoff was a men’s fashion designer who made classic men’s clothing. I knew of him because of my time in New York City. I had no idea he had made a men’s fragrance in 1999 called Zaharoff pour Homme. When my friend introduced me to it, I was impressed at the niche-quality construction in a mainstream release. Perfumer Claude Dir made a fantastic men’s Oriental which has remained one of my favorites since obtaining a bottle in 2011 when it re-launched. Zaharoff pour Homme is one of the most successful fusions of niche sensibility inside a mainstream framework.

Claude Dir

Now in 2019 I was going through a couple of my favorite vloggers on perfume and what do I see there is a new release; Zaharoff Signature pour Homme. It took me a couple of months to finally track down a sample. When I did, I had a bit of déjà vu as the same creative team of Mr. Zaharoff and M. Dir have again taken current niche trends and fused them into a mainstream style fragrance.

What is also quite nice about Zaharoff Signature pour Homme is it is a clear follow-up to Zaharoff pour Homme sharing a central axis of lavender, allspice and ginger, along with oud and sandalwood. Where it is very different is M. Dir adds in some newer trends to that foundation.

Lavender is used as the focal point of the top accord but this time M. Dir spears it with twin spicy prongs of black pepper and cardamom. These add a freshness to the lavender by teasing out the herbal quality. The transition to the heart comes via a precisely balanced iris it matches the lavender in intensity as the ginger and allspice make their return. The base accord become a paean to woods with some resinous depth thrown in. Sandalwood, oud accord, cedar, and balsam provide that sturdy masculine woody base loved by many.

Zaharoff Signature pour Homme has 12-14 hour longevity an average sillage.

Like Zaharoff pour Homme, Zaharoff Signature pour Homme is the kind of perfume for the man who only has a couple of bottles of perfume on his dresser. What sets it apart is Mr. Zaharoff and M. Dir know how to make that style of perfume smell just like it could be your signature scent, as well. I have enjoyed this new Zaharoff Signature pour Homme even though I am hopelessly behind the curve, again.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Nordstrom.

–Mark Behnke