Pnoi

This is it: after thousands of samples, hundreds of bottles, and two decades of collecting, Pnoi is my favorite fragrance of all time. Pnoi opens with a bright, soapy splash of neroli, violet leaf and flower, citrus, green muguet, and aldehydes. The heart becomes more floral: around a violet core, rose, jasmine, spicy carnation, and mimosa a delicate birch tar adding a gentle leather sandalwood, and rosewood adding creamy woods. The base moves away from violet and into woods, resins, hay, and tobacco joining the fray, becoming powdery, mossy, and musky. I can distinguish a lot of notes (though far short of 267), but overall the impression is of smoothness, cohesion soft, and suave.