Unknown Pleasure Mysterious Woods Eau de Parfum 100ml

Of the Unknown Pleasure releases, John Richmond Unknown Pleasure Mysterious Woods Eau de Parfum 100ml is the one aimed at people who want weight rather than brightness.

It starts briskly and does not linger there. Bergamot gives a short, clean lift and black pepper arrives almost on top of it, dry and rattling, setting a spiced tone within the first minute. The middle is the unusual part. Orange blossom brings a clean white floral note, slightly green and a little soapy in the good sense, and licorice is set directly against it. Licorice is a difficult material to use well, sweet and faintly medicinal with an aniseed bite, and here it gives the heart a dark, chewy quality that the flower on its own would never produce. That pairing is what the fragrance is really about.

Underneath, sandalwood is creamy and soft, amber is resinous and warm, and white musk keeps the dry down clean rather than heavy. Eight materials, and the shape of it is simple: a quick bright opening, an odd and memorable middle, a soft landing.

Six to eight hours is realistic at this concentration, with modest projection after the first half hour. It leans masculine without being closed off to anyone, and cold weather does it a favour, since the licorice and amber both gain from a little chill around them. Evenings suit it better than mornings.

The designer behind the name was born in Manchester in 1960 and set up under his own label as soon as he left Kingston Fashion School, keeping design in London while production went to Italy. The clothes made their name on denim and on rock and roll styling, including the Seven Deadly Sins prints, and the brand has belonged to the Arav group since 2017.