Forever Now Eau de Parfum

Aldehydes are the first thing listed on Min New York Forever Now Eau de Parfum, and anyone who knows what they do will already have a sense of how this one behaves.

They give the opening a bright, slightly abstract fizz, a clean sparkle that sits above everything else and makes the first minutes feel polished rather than fruity or green. Coriander follows with a dry, seedy bitterness, pink pepper adds a prickle, and geranium cuts through with a green, faintly metallic sharpness. The middle is short and sets the direction firmly. Incense is dry, clean and faintly smoky, and cedarwood is sharp and dry beside it, and together they take the composition away from anything soft. The base is leather, labdanum and sandalwood. Leather is worn and faintly animal, labdanum is sticky and sweet with a dark resinous pull, and sandalwood supplies the creaminess that makes the ending comfortable rather than austere. Nine materials, arranged in a clear line from bright to dark, with no detours and nothing included for decoration. In wear it is long lasting and moderate in reach, settling close to the skin after the first hour. It is a cold weather fragrance and an evening one, and it reads unisex while leaning slightly formal. It suits occasions where you want to appear considered rather than approachable, and it is a better choice for a dinner or a meeting that matters than for a Saturday afternoon.

Retail came first for this label. Chad Murawczyk's New York apothecary and flagship store carried a tightly chosen range long before the house made anything of its own, and what it makes now is produced in Grasse under the Scent Stories and Experimental names.