Encelade by Marc-Antoine Barrois

Unique scent, for sure. Watch out: the rhubarb is a very specific green, vegetal note that dominates everything, always accompanied by an amazing vetiver. It’s a great perfume, but that rhubarb feels too invasive to me; it’s not for me, even though expectations were high. The dry-down is magnificent, so yes, testing on skin is mandatory here.

I’ll definitely buy it. Yesterday at the El Corte Inglés in Seville, the Isolee guy let me try several jewels from this beast of a perfume. I loved this one; I admit it’s not for everyone, but it transported me to a great place; the rhubarb awakens something powerful in you; it’s for strong women; if you wear it, you leave a trail of power and well-being, you feel good; it goes beyond the physical. It’s a mysterious and addictive halo; it lasted a long time on my skin and projected quite a bit. It will be my next purchase, even though it’s more of a winter scent; with controlled spraying, it adapts to any climate, and here we have plenty of heat. It’s a different scent, with character and personality. I liked it a lot, but I think you should try it before; it’s not like Tilia by the same author, which everyone likes… this one is more ‘here I am’. Tilia is sweeter and warmer, like a winter sun that everyone loves.

A very powerful perfume; I don’t know why it doesn’t have more fame. It starts with a fresh and electric rhubarb, mixed with a pleasant but earthy vetiver and a very subtle smoky touch. The evolution is beautiful: the woody nuances of cedar and clean, elegant creamy vanilla appear. I used to say Ganymede was my favorite by Marc Antoine Barrois, but now this one competes; it’s unique, top quality, and beastly performance. Projection goes over 6 hours and longevity hits 12… BEAST MODE. I use it all year round by regulating the sprays. It’s another masterpiece by Quentin Bisch.

What a wonder! It’s definitely my favorite by Marc Antoine Barrois. It comes out fresh and sparkling with rhubarb, an earthy heart, and a dry-down that is woody, creamy, and sweet. It has it all: a unique, special, and dense aroma. The performance is extraordinary; it lasts longer than a Turkish novel, ETERNAL! And the price is reasonable. Honestly, I can’t find any fault with it. Age: 25+. Unisex, but more masculine. Very dense for heat, but perfect for cold and temperate weather. Scent: 9/10. Longevity: 10/10. Duration: 12h. Projection: 9/10. Versatility: 8/10. Price: €1.95/ml. Final Score: 9.33/10.

The ‘green’ sibling of the family, a delight for sure… What rich vetiver. I wish Barrois fragrances were more different from each other, as they seem like flankers of one another… but at the same time I love all of them, so I can’t complain. Also, I think it’s very respectable that the brand follows its own distinctive line; since if there’s one thing they don’t lack, it’s personality and presence. I can only point out one downside, the price… but since these are such unique scents, I don’t see them as suitable for every day or occasion, so a decant is more than enough for me to enjoy them.

What stands out most is the rhubarb-vetiver duo, nuanced and complex; I’m sure it has more notes than listed. In the final drydown, I clearly distinguish fig leaf and other woods. A perfume of extremely high quality, original, powerful, and long-lasting, not suitable for beginners. I think it’s essential to smell it at least once. A work of art that only appears very rarely. I love it, the best in the collection for my taste.

I have a clone from Dua Fragrances of Fucking Fabulous that is identical to the Barrois perfume, 95% or more. It’s closer to Tom Ford. It’s the same but more potent than this one, so it saturated me quickly and I put it away in the collection, sometimes taking it out to scent the house by spraying the curtains. It’s nice, but I stick with FF. Between this and the clone… well, the clone is much cheaper and lasts forever. So if you like this fragrance and don’t need a pretty bottle or to show off a brand in a tacky way like a Rolex owner, don’t hesitate; the clone is your fragrance.

As mentioned earlier, this is an overwhelming perfume. It’s true that at first it’s a very distinctive scent, reminding me of nothing, and second that it projects massively for hours, which is a blessing if you love it and a curse if you don’t, as it’s one of those perfumes you either love or hate. I’m one of the latter; I didn’t like it (in contrast, I LOVE Ganymede). In fact, I had a decant and I have to say that today, after 2 or 3 months of having it, I can still detect its aroma in the drawer. It’s a very strong perfume; I smell rhubarb + smoky + something very sweet which is likely Tonka (sweet perfumes aren’t my thing). Unfortunately, I have to say that Encelade is the least favorite of the brand; the other 3 are very similar, like the same aroma with slight variations.

At first, it smells like woody smoke, but as you get closer, it seems like the haze of someone smoking weed. If you get even closer, a citrusy and sweet scent filters through underneath. Over time, the weed smell fades, leaving you with that sweet, mineral touch. Basically, that’s what Encelade feels like to me: the notes don’t say that, but that’s how it smells. It has projection, longevity, and a great evolution. Ideal for fresh autumn or spring days, but it doesn’t seem very flashy, attractive, or sexy to me. It’s not my type of perfume. It makes a cross-journey with Ganymede: its end reminds you of the beginning of that one, and vice versa. Au revoir!

Undoubtedly a great perfume. The earthy, smoky tone and that deep greenness give it a modern, trendy touch; however, that omnipresent rhubarb dominates everything. This simple ‘vegetable’ already feels heavy and unattractive after smelling it and smelling it constantly. It seems Christine Nagel at Hermès discovered rhubarb and is featuring it in all her compositions… Barrois has already used it, and for now, that’s enough… let’s just let it grow peacefully in the fields 🥱.