Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant by Kenzo (1996)



Nose: Dominique Ropion

The opening of Kenzo Jungle Elephant is really peculiar and intriguing (as all its evolution will be): it’s quite sweet but with a dusty, almost sandy texture, and played around an odd and playful concoction of mild notes, somehow gourmand-fruity on the “exotic” side, but quite more bizarre and fascinating than the usual “exotic” clichés. I almost don’t get any note precisely, as this scent is really thick and harmonic; I get more just a sort of psychedelic talc-spicy gourmand blend permeated with a warm, ambery, culinary sweetness and scented with spices (ginger and cumin, to me), a floral-soapy-pollen breeze comprising mostly heliotrope, cardamom, tonka, a fresh green head accord, on a base of sweet notes with a more substantial and shady texture (like white musks with something woodier or earthier underneath). Hallucinogen and totally fun, but it works great: take the world of Teint de Neige by Villoresi or Boucheron’s Jaipur, that kind of “clean”, cozy, slightly formal Oriental powderiness, and bring it upside down, colouring it with a crazy sci-fi jungle/tiki feel: wet flowers, crunchy branches, shades and bright beams, odd sweet flavours of someone cooking God knows what psychotropic candies somewhere deep in the forest. Lively, playful, shameless, raw... but at the same time perfectly solid, pleasant, elegant, cozy and versatile. Just a tad tacky perhaps, but that's part of the fun. Not sure if my review makes sense, but L’Elephant is worth a try for sure – another cheap, under-the-radar designer scent easily overpassing recent niche fragrances to all extents (creativity, uniqueness, quality).

8/10


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