Mercer Street
A green, sharp, slightly odd summer scent is what Karl Lagerfeld Mercer Street Eau de Toilette 60ml is after, and rhubarb is the material that gets it there.
Lime and basil start it, which is a combination that ought to smell like a kitchen and instead smells clean and bracing, the basil peppery and green, the lime sharp and bitter at the rind. White pepper adds a dry prickle behind them and extends that first impression for longer than citrus usually lasts.
Rhubarb is the centre. It is tart and faintly vegetal, less a fruit than a stalk, and it has a watery sourness that makes a fragrance feel cold. Water jasmine sits beside it, airy and transparent rather than heady, and geranium contributes a crisp green floral sharpness that ties the whole middle to the basil above it.
Vetiver and musk are the only base materials and they are chosen for restraint, the vetiver dry and rooty, the musk soft and skin close. Eight materials in total, a clean shape and eau de toilette strength, which here means a bright, assertive half hour and then four or five hours sitting close to the skin. It is not a fragrance that fills a room, and for this style that is the right decision.
It reads unisex with a masculine lean, it is a summer and warm weather scent above all, and it works for daytime, work and anything outdoors. The 60ml bottle is the smaller of the two sizes the range offers. Dated 2020, it comes from a brand built on the name of Karl Lagerfeld, the German designer who was creative director of Chloe and Fendi simultaneously and of Chanel from 1983; the business is Amsterdam based and its fragrance is made under licence.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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