Loewe Esencia Eau De Parfum 100ml

Product Information

Loewe have for a long time impressed me with solid quality and reasonable prices. They are really good on aromatic flavors, and this is their best. Technically Esencia is a chypre. Of chypres you have leathery (Polo), woody (Yatagan), fruity (Mitsouko), fresh (Pour Monsiur), citrus (Eau Sauvage) and so on. Then there is the fougeres, and there you have amongst others the aromatic genre (Loewe pour homme). The spicy ones are usually orientals (with bases of vanilla, amber, incense...). I see it far below, both in quality and in distinction, or creativity, of releases such as "Loewe 7" or its "Anonymous" flanker. With much less elaboration and nuances than these, apart from that we are talking about a copy of other perfumes that have been in the market for some time.

With that being said, I must warn those unfamiliar that the opening can be a bit off-putting. In both versions I own, something in the top notes comes off a bit sour. Kind of like when a fragrance is starting to turn. Almost like a wet mop or towel, but that does dissipate within a few minutes of wear and becomes a very nice clean aromatic green soapy scent. But as it started to dry down I was amazed at what I was experiencing - it went from "meh" to "WOW" within ten minutes. The herbal weight of the middle notes really started to register just as some of the sweeter notes begin to negate the opening acidity. by the time it fully dries down it becomes a rich, patchouli-heavy resinous evergreen slab of deep green delights. The final phase keeps the citrus and white flower top notes but switches out the iris and rose for the more resinous notes: amber, styrax, galbanaum and a touch of musk and vetiver. I'm not that kind of person who throws around statements such as "best ever", "best of" ," top three", "best of its kind" because i firmly believe that each and every perfumer puts his or her best effort and knowledge into every single one of their creations. So it would be unfair to other green creations if go over board with praise for this Loewe's creation. Don't get me wrong, this fragrance is a take on Aventus, but it is managing to project a similar scent with different notes that are easy to peak on if you bother. It is darker and not smoky, yet still reminds you of that aventus.I kept smelling and smelling and this perfume was literally under my nose and i was trying to understand where it came from... i was sure it was from 2 people sitting on another terrace around 10m far from me. As for the performance, here I think it is going well. It is powerful, especially at the start. Coarse and squeaky. I think that much more than the "Aventus" itself and even the unbearable (for my taste) "Club de Nuit Intense", which is the one that has reminded me the most, for that squeaky look. In the cardboard, although it has lost strength, I still smell it 24 hours later.

Inspite of the four notes listed here, this still smells like Aventus (the OG or the cologne, don't really know or care) I do not understand the comparison to Polo other than the color scheme of the original bottle. Both fragrances transport me to lush-damp forest, but they do it in very different ways. Polo is the scent of forest floor in late Autumn whereas this is the scent of winter air amongst high altitude evergreens. Polo is dense whereas this is much lighter in structure and feel. I assume that some of the initial spray had gone stale in the sprayer tube and this was what I got.Very pleasant smell though nothing ground breaking even for someone not so experienced like me. Unfortunately, performance is poor on my skin and at €75 for 50ml or €150/ 100ml I'd rather look at other options until I find it (heavily) discounted. I have also heard about severe reformulations..., but this is quite a common problem in the industry nowadays. A little spoiler: I hope the longevity of Esencia would be appropriate, because this was constructed masterfully. Update: ended up getting a bottle on a good deal. It's starting to pop up discounted on some retailers. After several wears, and especially now with the colder weather this part of the world, the longevity issues are quite evident. It is a splendid version, with refined content and no synthetic vibes. Longevity is quite good, but the projection and sillage moderate. So my first thought was, why do I not just spring for a cheaper clone, ala CDNIM EDT, EDP or Parfum or the other impression houses? Summer follows with a deeper and less crisp green with the warmth of Geranium and very soft floral touches supporting the green pine elephant in the room. The florals warm up the green a bit.