Molecule Tales
Jan. 13th, 2024 09:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingbootISO E Super, also known as Tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalene, OTNE, Timbersilk, and Amberlan, is one of the most commonly used aromachemicals in the world. If you've ever smelled Eternity by Calvin Klein, that underlying scent is what we are talking about. It's woody, amber-like, a bit sweet. It's basically faux cedar, no trees harmed.
But hats off to Escentric Molecules for making this note the basis of an immensely successful marketing campaign. Escentric Molecules 01 'celebrates the hyper-abstraction of ISO E Super'... what is a hyper-abstraction I wonder? Apparently this scent is something you may not notice yourself but that will delight others because of the way it reacts with your skin. However, as all perfumes react with your skin, this is like someone saying you are going to enjoy the soup they make because of its special down-the-throat pouriness. EM01 = pencil shavings for around £100 per 100 ml.
However, one claim that does get made by perfumistas is that this really works as a layering perfume, adding to sillage and longevity. Bored by it within 40 minutes, I decided to try it with another tester, a big hoofing monster, Amouage Interlude Woman.
I can't even properly identify the notes in AIW. It's a thing of glory and terror. There's amber, there's nuts, there's... look, I don't know. But it's probably safe to say that in the orchestra of perfumery, this thing's the tuba. Gotta respect it.
Anyhoo, sprayed on top of dull old EM01, the result was quickly gorgeous, like unbaked cake dough without being too sweet, plus the odd occasional slightly weird herbal blast. When it gave way - and it took a while, those reports were right - the result was a very pleasant incense scent that managed to stay away from non-descript smokiness. Impressive. But you're generally looking at upwards of £300 for AIW at 100 ml, so this combination hits £400 if one is using equal amounts. That's a plane ticket to somewhere excellent and anyway my heart rebels at the idea of funding Escentric Molecules' sheer BS. So nope.
But hats off to Escentric Molecules for making this note the basis of an immensely successful marketing campaign. Escentric Molecules 01 'celebrates the hyper-abstraction of ISO E Super'... what is a hyper-abstraction I wonder? Apparently this scent is something you may not notice yourself but that will delight others because of the way it reacts with your skin. However, as all perfumes react with your skin, this is like someone saying you are going to enjoy the soup they make because of its special down-the-throat pouriness. EM01 = pencil shavings for around £100 per 100 ml.
However, one claim that does get made by perfumistas is that this really works as a layering perfume, adding to sillage and longevity. Bored by it within 40 minutes, I decided to try it with another tester, a big hoofing monster, Amouage Interlude Woman.
I can't even properly identify the notes in AIW. It's a thing of glory and terror. There's amber, there's nuts, there's... look, I don't know. But it's probably safe to say that in the orchestra of perfumery, this thing's the tuba. Gotta respect it.
Anyhoo, sprayed on top of dull old EM01, the result was quickly gorgeous, like unbaked cake dough without being too sweet, plus the odd occasional slightly weird herbal blast. When it gave way - and it took a while, those reports were right - the result was a very pleasant incense scent that managed to stay away from non-descript smokiness. Impressive. But you're generally looking at upwards of £300 for AIW at 100 ml, so this combination hits £400 if one is using equal amounts. That's a plane ticket to somewhere excellent and anyway my heart rebels at the idea of funding Escentric Molecules' sheer BS. So nope.
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