Der Duft Discovery Set

Thanks to the generosity of Anselm Skogstad, founder of DER DUFT der-douft fragrance house, and thanks to the talented Cristian Marianciuc who connected me to Anselm, I received a discovery set to explore the DER DUFT offerings.

An experience like no other, I might say. These are creative potions, born as a result of the collaboration with various perfumers who set out to embed their own vision and personality in each release, giving birth to a melange of styles and moods that exude from each released fragrance.

I received a booklet along with the set, that tells the vision and story of the brand, as well as a few words from each perfumer, about their own contribution to the collection:

• Anne-Sophie Behaghel for MATCH
• Anselm Skogstad for MONOPTEROS
• Antonio Alessandria for IN FLAGRANTI
• Freddie Albrighton for CANVAS
• Miguel Matos for CINEMATIC & PRIDE
• Nathalie Feisthauer for PRIVILEGE
• Prin Lomros for ACT

I will write a bit about each in the exact order of my personal preferences.

First and foremost, out of all the creative concoctions in the DER DUFT collection, I fell in love with PRIDE, created by Miguel Matos.

It is, honestly, the first Miguel Matos fragrance I resonate deeply with.

To me, PRIDE evokes a feeling of suspense. I imagine sneaking out at night in a greenhouse, where a chair is set next to an old wooden table, with a lit candle on top.

You can smell the flowers of the night, you can smell the Jasmine, the Narcissus in the background. The dim lit space houses carrot plantations, lemongrass patches and the cold night air, mixed with the humidity inside, reminds of wet moss, and damp soil.

Pride is my favorite of them, and it really is something I would gladly wear.

On to the next one in my personal preference list, I must give my second place to MATCH by Anne-Sophie Behaghel. It touches upon some of the notes that always manage to capture my attention, which are Orris, Vetiver, Sandalwood.

This one reminds me of a careless week-end, all to myself, spare time that I can use walking around on a chilly early spring afternoon, in a smart casual outfit, with my trusty camera.

I am not one for labelling styles to fragrances, as I believe one can wear anything, anywhere, anytime, in accordance to one’s personal mood, but this brings up the word “elegant” in my mind. I tend to shy away from extremely upfront Orris notes, that are too powdery, but this one is more like a glass of fine champagne. A fizzy, spicy orris on a bed of soft suede. I love it, I get a feel-good mood from MATCH.

Third in line, ironically, is one I personally would not be able to wear, but I must give it third place since I think it is masterfully done.

And I am talking about ACT by Prin Lomros. I am a big fan of Prin’s work and what he did with ACT is nothing short of amazing – but it definitely is not my personal style. I wouldn’t wear it, at least not in this stage of my life. To me, it plays with dark/bright facets. It is a citric with a dark, animalic side – the ambergris and musks give it this dark facet, which I couldn’t possibly wear, since it is pretty intense, but I can’t ignore the exotic nature of it. It makes me think of being in a lush, green forest or garden, but I am being watched through the bushes, or through the tree branches by a wild predator, ready to strike at any time. I can’t put my finger on it, but either way, it’s a creative release.

The rest of the fragrances I enjoyed from the discovery set, are CANVAS, CINEMATIC, MONOPTEROS, PRIVILEGE and IN FLAGRANTI.

CANVAS, by Freddie Albrighton reminds me of some sweets I used to receive from a family friend, when I was a young boy. I associate this smell with the idea of surprise and happiness, and rightfully so – it is a positive, uplifting, joyful scent.

CINEMATIC, by Miguel Matos is a creamy ginger profile, some sweet floral notes also in there that convey about the same feeling I get from CANVAS. I find it to be almost in the same universe from a mood standpoint. It is the first one from the house that I crossed paths with, two years ago. Back then I was unable to completely understand CINEMATIC. To be honest, actually, back then I was attracted to discover it simply because the name was on par with my passion and hobby. Today, as I retry CINEMATIC, having gathered more experience throughout two years of exploring fragrances, and I can see the connection of the fragrance to the name, at least, just like Miguel Matos says in the booklet. “[…] a retro and modern mix […] that tells you an abstract story through very concrete elements.”

MONOPTEROS by Anselm Skogstad is completely surprising, in the sense that I find it totally contrasting – it mixes coffee notes with very sweet notes. It is a bit excentric, in a way flashy, which I would find fitting for times when one feels he or she might want to stand out. I see it like wearing a bright, highlighter green jacket – in a big crowd, you will stand out clearly. I just used the “highlighter green” reference to illustrate how excentric I find it, but the scent in itself is nowhere near the color “green” – more like a purple, or a burgundy mixed with dark brown.

PRIVILEGE by Nathalie Feisthauer, is a quiet, calm fragrance that reminds me of fluffy clean sweaters. Reminds me of the sensation of how you feel after a long, refreshing bath. Some hints of forest fruit mixed with marine/watery notes, and the same hints of sweet, faded rhubarb notes, present in the CANVAS release.

The last on my list is IN FLAGRANTI by Antonio Alessandria. I placed it last as I find it takes me in the same realm and mood as CANVAS and CINEMATIC. Leaning sweet smelling and reminding me of deserts and cotton candy in a theme park, IN FLAGRANTI does take a side-step from CANVAS and CINEMATIC, though, having something a tad green or bitter in the base, a note that comes out toward the dry-down. I can’t say I am personally in tone with the mood of this note, but generally, I don’t tend to connect with fragrances that have a dominant sweetness.

All in all, I really appreciate the fact that there are creatives who gather talented perfumers and let them express their vision freely, and end up with such diverse offerings that can satisfy all the curiosities of fragrance fans.

It’s all about personal taste, personal style and personal experiences. Someone, somewhere, will identify with any release. The secret is for people to manage to get to know and encounter that particular scent that they are in search for.

Thank you, once again, Anselm Skogstad, for the experience to discover the offerings of DER DUFT.