Perfume Review: Cosmos Parfum (HOB)

Top Notes: Metallic Notes, Musk, Whiskey, Praline

Middle Notes: Coal, Dragon's Blood Resin, Cacao

Base Notes: Smoke, Leather, Agarwood, Orris

It is rare that I am so confused, so offput and so mesmerized by a scent as I was/am by this one. I was excited to hear that HOB was coming out with a newbie seeing as Casa Blanca is one of my all time loves. When I saw the scent profile before the release I was terrified in the harshest of ways. Metallic notes, Coal, Smoke and Leather? Sounds like all of my well-known enemies were having a cookout. And in the beginning of this little journey that is exactly what it felt like. But then things changed and now I’m confused and bewildered and intrigued - so let’s break it down.

At first spray I thought I might fall over. Those were no metallic “notes” baby, this was an entire metallic song. Metal, coal and smoke were all that I could smell. Why did I randomly and fearlessly spray this ALL OVER ME? Not a clue, but I regretted it. It was polarizing and paralyzing all at once. Was it a cologne? Not even. A perfume? 100% no. So what was this? As a little time went on the scent started to round out a bit from the note of praline and Orris but that smoky metal smell was still so strong. It did start to morph into a more silky smokiness which brought out the leather note pretty drastically. This perfume was giving “Fiddler on the Roof” in the absolute worst of ways. And as with any scent you truly don’t enjoy, it was seemingly the longest lasting scent trail on earth. A little while later, I was doing some work around the house and I caught of whiff of something intriguing and couldn’t figure out what it was. I thought to smell my wrist just in case and sure enough, it was me. The ash-tastic metal had evolved into something else entirely. Now don’t get me wrong, an entrance that strong will never completely disappear, but the screechiness was gone and left a new layer of fragrance in its wake. Almost like that original smoky resin was now softly veiled with a delicate lace, or silk. The heaviness had vanished from the opening and what was now underneath was a more subtle and feminine incense. I couldn’t stop smelling my wrist repeatedly throughout the night. It’s like the more it dried down the more addicting it became to me. It changed again, becoming softer and a little sweeter as the time went on. And as any fraghead can understand, smelling something you’ve absolutely ever smelled before in your life is really special.

Would I buy this? Perhaps if it wasn’t priced out the a**. Do I think you should buy this? This is a definite and without a doubt “try before you buy”, especially at this price point. This fragrance has many layers to it, all peeling back slowly so if you are into extreme complexity in your fragrances I think you could really like this. Although you may need to brace yourself for the opening that embodies that of a chimney sweep, if you can muster through it you’ll find an extreme depth. This is no beginner niche and needs to only be handled by the niche snobs that know their stuff. The smoke and metal are for an eclectic crowd, but as someone obsessed with note relationships I can appreciate the craftsmanship here by the perfumer. Which by the way is Alberto Morillas who is the nose behind the entire Daisy line as well as the main nose behind almost all Mizensir fragrances so we already know the man loves some layers. You have a smoky, metallic and ashy scent constantly handing the baton to other notes like a relay race and taking the time in between to balance out. The use of the Dragon’s Blood Resin and Cacao in the mid created a smooth transition from a boldly smoky essence into a more grounded one, creating a flirtation with that Agarwood in the base. This also pulled out the powdery quality of the Orris to keep it from becoming too earthy and anchoring. The use of whiskey in the top definitely smoothed things out and brought out the richer side of the cacao and orris, and the praline created that lace-like delicate aura. HOB can create a complex fragrance and has never been afraid to go for something different. Naming this Cosmos was actually incredibly accurate because this truly smells other-worldly. If you were an immediate fan of Guidance, I can see you being all about this as it has that same surprising quality about it. So don’t be afraid to be the beautiful little weirdo you are and buy this to smell completely out of this world. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket that is!

With Love as Always,

The Front-Range Fraghead