Archetype by Parera

ARCHETYPE is listed as Aromatic Green and it’s a total hit. It just lacks mountain resins and a dry, wild component to be a divine Chypre, and certainly it’s not a Fougère, because it lacks that dark, humid tone of wet leaves and dark lichens so beloved by Fougères. But it does have a green vibe that makes me want to be green, with that indefinable aromatic component you either feel it or you don’t, and which is barely explainable. ARCHETYPE is green because its citrus notes are: a green, acidic blend of grapefruit, bergamot, and lemon, but in its rawest, less juicy version. In this aspect, it has a light Chypre touch, because the combination of caraway and hyssop pushes those morning hesperidic joys inward and gives it that seriousness of Chypres. The Chypre Family isn’t for mundane nonsense. It’s a family that wakes up early, sleeps late, works in the fields, and knows what it means to earn a living. True, some relatives went to the city and became Aldehydic Chypres, or some stayed in the village and dressed up as Floral Chypres. But they always have that aura of professionalism, work, and perseverance. ARCHETYPE is Aromatic because it encompasses undefined notes (who defines an Aromatic perfume?) that vary from floral to woody, from barber shop to leather, from spiced to citrus. They are undefined but very ‘aromatic’ scents. It is, for me, the most undefinable and free family, for escaping strict protocols. ARCHETYPE is aromatic because it mixes the sweet woody tones of amber, sandalwood, patchouli, and tobacco, and distills a very soft sweet floral aroma. I even perceive a certain faint greasy tone, more proper of a cardamom and nutmeg blend. It is a very soft and balanced fragrance from the eighties. To wear daily and be well-perfumed without stridency or circumlocutions. To share with others in light puffs of chivalry and say ‘after you’. Of course, it is a vintage, discontinued perfume from that beloved Spanish brand, PARERA, which I was able to try and which, within its prudence, has acceptable longevity. PARERA, MYRURGIA, GAL, I love you and I miss you.

Throughout my journey through Spanish vintage perfumes, I’ve reached an empirical conclusion: most are very bad. Even the ones considered the best or most longed for. Pure nostalgia. Finding one with true personality costs too much, and in most cases, they are limited to following the trends of the era or being lukewarm copies of the true classics. Some, from time to time, have charisma. It’s certainly not what I usually expect. That’s why I only buy them when the price matches the expectation. And that means constant searching through lost neighborhood shops, always attentive to that bottle lost on the shelf, accumulating dust since the eighties, forgotten by everyone, almost crying out with a painful and fragile voice: ‘Please, kill me’. Today was one of those days. On the lowest shelf, next to the counter, I discovered a ‘Everything for 5 euros’ sign where several faded boxes were stacked. I didn’t hesitate to increase my stock of Trophy Yacht Man, which I am a fervent admirer of, skip the massage bottles of Only for Men by Julio Iglesias, and take, purely for completeness, this ‘Archetype’ by Parera that I had seen elsewhere, on other occasions, but never attracted my attention enough. Well, Archetype has quality and charisma. In spades. It is an elegant and very green men’s perfume in which, above all, the strong prominence of pine stands out, as the quintessential element, wrapped, how not, by the already classic citrus top structure, woody base, and oak moss filling the spaces. Sober, very mature, but with enough shine and freshness to make it distinct from what happened back then (I’m thinking, how not, Quorum). With more than acceptable sillage and longevity, and a zest that makes it possible to enjoy it completely throughout the many hours it stays on the skin. If they ask you where you’ve been and you happen to be wearing ‘Archetype’, you can answer without a problem that you’ve been chopping trees in the forest. Note: 9/10