Behique by Renier Perfumes

It’s a bomb of patchouli and herbs, like smelling the grass after a rain: earthy and green. I didn’t notice the marijuana touch. As it dries, it vaguely reminds me of Puig’s Agua Brava, but with a different quality. Behique smells old-school and retro, elegant, like someone with plenty of money and an intellectual profile. Ideal with a tweed jacket and leather elbow patches in autumn or winter. You can tell it uses high-quality natural ingredients. I tried it at Cruz & Valencia, Galería Lastarria, Santiago.

The opening is the strangest but more digestible than Cacique’s. Smoky and earthy like burning green grass; after a few minutes it calms down and moves to a cannabis phase with smoky wood (not burnt leaf), something mentholated and bitter that reminds me of an ashtray with several consumed butts multiplied by 10. I don’t feel the tobacco as such, but rather the patchouli in its earthy-medical phase and black pepper. Rum? Maybe could be. Already after half an hour, the aggressive notes calm down to give way to a totally aromatic and more masculine phase with an elegant and dry tobacco. Finally, after 10 hours, there’s no trace of the smoky or cannabis. What I perceive is a nice sandalwood accompanied by notes that say they are in the heart, not in the base: basil and anise, what a lovely phase. Overall, Behique isn’t my taste, but it’s not a bad perfume; it’s a whole olfactory experience, just not something I’d want to wear. Unisex masculine with a noticeable trail, lasts a lot, and has excellent sillage. Pity having to wait so long for what I liked the most, which was its dry-down that started at 9 hours. Oh, I forgot to mention that during the first hours it reminded me of being in a damp cave with an earth floor, which reminds me of Zoologist’s Bat.

The aroma of Behique is the most artistic in the brand. If I put it in a metaphor, it smells to wet earth and herbs with a dark tone, flambéed with rum or another distillate. It’s a dark and deep perfume with presence but with a hidden side, slightly sweet and mysterious. From the Taino collection, it’s the most complex and hardest to digest. At first, it smelled to me like hot depilatory wax, but today I understand its composition better; it’s a whole experience to know it. As it progresses, patchouli, tobacco, and vetiver appear clearly, but the sensation of earth, liquor, and that dense, opaque green dominate from start to finish. I see it as much more masculine with brutal performance, original, for cold and temperate climates, special occasions, day and night. If you’re looking for character, resolution, and a challenging point, this is a must try. Personally, I value its many layers and high quality, but it’s a bit mature for me. Note: 7.5/10. Sampled at Cruz & Valencia, Chile.

It reminds me a little of Taormina’s Cedro. They share basil, cedar, black pepper, and vetiver. One has labdanum and the other amber. It has a quite mature aftertaste that also doesn’t go much with me. Quite dryness with the pepper, vetiver, cedar, tobacco flower, and basil, although it has a very salty counterpoint from the anise (in my taste, I’d raise it a bit). This dryness can remind of an empty box of cigars, with the tobacco scent still impregnated. It also has a little of the Black Afgano DNA, although personally it DOESN’T smell like marijuana to me. The performance is very good, but honestly, I can’t support these prices.

Trying it again leaves me with a small disappointment with the brand, not because of the perfume itself which isn’t bad nor has low-quality ingredients, but because of the high expectations created. It’s not true that it’s one of the most potent or with greater projection as they say around; I didn’t notice it to me. Behique smells good, it’s green and spiced with a very notable and spicy tobacco at the start. As it dries, it becomes warmer and resinous with woods that take body. However, the ensemble seems to me more of a daily perfume than for special or night occasions. The performance is good: it lasts 8 hours on skin, more on clothes, and although it’s an extrait de parfum, it doesn’t project especially high nor does it feel oily. I see it as unisex, although the tobacco inclines it towards the masculine. It’s a good option for winter days or spring/summer nights. In short, it smells great, but I don’t know if it compensates paying more than 200€ when there are similar options for less. Now that I know the range of Renier’s extraits (Behique De Lirius Habana 500), I feel like trying the Rain line which are eaux de parfum and cost half as much. Maybe there I’ll find something that seduces me. Aroma: 8 Longevity: 8 Projection: 8 Quality/Price: 4 Versatility: 7 Originality: 7 Global: 8.