The Different Company's newest fragrance Adjatay was mentioned in glowing terms by several bloggers following its debut at Esxence 2016 in Milan this spring. Anytime I hear tuberose mentioned as a main player in perfume, I'm interested. Leather on the other hand can be hit or miss for me. If it works, it's beautiful and adds richness and depth. My skin doesn't always adapt well to leather notes though, and when the note is wrong it can ruin a perfume for me.
The copy on The Different Company website cites this story as the inspiration for Adjatay. Luc Gabriel, who heads the company, said he had a forgotten tuberose flower from a trip to Grasse in his black leather bag. When he later discovered the flower hidden in the depths of the bag, the narcotic qualities of the tuberose had melded with the leather to bring out the best in both materials. He had perfumer Alexandra Monet bring this beautiful partnering to life as a new perfume for the line.
I had been wanting to try Adjatay so when Takashimaya here in Singapore got it I raced over to give it a spray. The first few minutes were not love. Top notes are mandarin and ylang ylang. I have sprayed it several times now and have never caught the mandarin note but I smell the ylang ylang. Ylang ylang can be all over the place when you read people's different descriptions. I pass a ylang ylang tree when I walk the Botanic Garden here in Singapore and its scent really releases at dusk. To me it smell floral, something like jasmine without the strength or indolic characteristic, and with a more musky, sometimes slightly powdery aspect. Occasionally I get slight hints of banana creaminess from ylang ylang. I smell a combination of these facets of ylang ylang in the opening of Adjatay and I enjoy that moment. The leather enters rather quickly, and it is at this stage that I'm not sure I will like the perfume. When the leather first manifests on my skin it has a bit of a funky smell to me, maybe slightly plastic. This is not an uncommon happening when I try leather scents.
But in a mere ten minutes the scent begins to change. Suddenly the leather begins to smell like the finest of Italian leathers, that soft supple bag you've carried forever and just keeps getting more beautiful with age. It is a satiny sensuous leather. This stage lasts for at least an hour on my skin before the tuberose enters the picture. I am surprised at this restraint of the tuberose note as it is known for being a powerhouse. The first hint of the tuberose is a fleeting smell, almost as if it is buried at the bottom of the leather bag, just as Adjatay's creation story illustrates. Slowly the tuberose presence grows and for the next few hours it is a merry dance between the two notes with neither one dominating. I found this a unique marriage of notes, as at least in my experience I've not tried a scent with the leather and tuberose combination before. The leather tempers the exuberance of the tuberose, giving it a more serious air. Conversely the tuberose gives the leather a softer and sweeter appeal. This joining of the two notes insure that Adjatay is a unisex perfume.
Notes like heliotrope, tonka bean, musk, and sandalwood give the perfume a creamy softness as it dries down in the next few hours. I got a full eight hours or more wear out of this perfume. I found that the longer it was on my skin the more beautiful it became, becoming richer, smoother, and more opulent with time. The full name of the perfume is Adjatay Cuir Narcotique and the addition of tuberose to the leather certainly does turn the scent into a softly sensual experience. I really enjoyed wearing this perfume and it is one of my favorite introductions of 2016 as the year draws close to an end.
Photo from Dreaming In Blue. Samples sprayed at Takashimaya Singapore, thanks very much!
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