Sandy Papyrus Eau de Parfum by Massimo Dutti

It’s a rare scent, a ‘soft spicy masculine TM’ vibe. The smell is somewhat repetitive (it doesn’t reach the citrus or airiness of Creed Aventus, yet it’s nothing new), but you can’t help but keep smelling it without knowing why. Around 10 minutes in, it opens up; subtle notes emerge (not muted or invisible, but quite distinct) over that generic base, bringing out a more masculine and sensual air that gradually envelops the fragrance while staying in the background. This is when you realize why you couldn’t look away: all those hidden notes create a soft, light symphony in perfect harmony with the initial base. It’s incredible. Every now and then, flashes of the spicy base arrive alongside a new aroma that fits and complements perfectly. I guess that’s what people mean by ‘olfactory experience’. The most striking thing is that it’s a fairly ‘soft’ scent. It’s not an experience that will overpower nearby perfumes, overwhelm, or attack anyone who doesn’t like it. No, it’s peaceful, warm, almost ethereal; you know the perfume is there, you smell it, the notes reach you… but it feels like a complement to the person wearing it, not the protagonist. It’s not a scent you’d associate with a specific person, but rather a person you’d associate with this scent. Finally, what I liked most is that it dries down to a smell of, literally, papyrus. A smell of quality paper, walking through a library in a European mansion, evoking someone with vast academic knowledge. All of this within 1 or 2 hours. After the third hour, the perfume shifts to a closer, more intimate side. I can’t define an exact duration; it lasted perfectly for me for 8 hours outside on skin and fabrics, even after washing them. A quick note on the term ‘sensual’: the fragrance isn’t ‘sexy’. It’s not a Creed Aventus, nor a Carolina Herrera 212 VIP. It’s not the TM fragrance a young man (or an older gentleman) wears to go out at night or on a date. It’s a scent that catches attention and makes you want to know more about the person wearing it. It invites both of you to solve each other: the perfume, and the man or woman. It’s a masculine perfume (I don’t see it as too unisex, though it wouldn’t be out of place on a woman), super original, with a clean scent that evokes a date with an intellectual you met at university or a snob café in your city. It’s a warm, sensual, and slightly enigmatic aroma, perfect for autumn-winter afternoons and nights (I’d stay away from it completely in summer or closed-in spring. Max temperature 17-18°C, and that’s a hard limit). I consider the price perfect (even cheap. I don’t know why, but I associate it with costing between 60 and 100 euros).

It’s an odd perfume, a ‘soft spicy masculine’ that isn’t novel but is impossible to ignore. At 10 minutes, it opens up revealing subtle notes that create a soft symphony in harmony with the generic base. Every now and then, flashes of spices arrive that complement the scent. It’s incredibly soft, peaceful, and warm, almost ethereal; it doesn’t overwhelm, but complements the wearer, making you want to know more about the person. It dries down to a smell of papyrus, like quality paper in a European library, evoking a cultured person. It lasted 8 hours on skin and fabrics. It’s not sexy or for going out at night, but for evoking a date with an intellectual in a café. It’s warm, sensual, and enigmatic, perfect for autumn and winter at temperatures of 17-18 degrees, and I consider it a perfect price, even cheap.