PERNOIRE
AMORAL
2022
PERFUMER
Andreas Wilhelm
Lime
Black Tea
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Cumin
Plum
Violet
Iris
Oud
Cypriol
Orange Blossom
Amber
Sandalwood
Tonka Bean
A while before I talked about the 3 first releases from Swiss house Pernoire. They were rather artistic (especially the first version; they have been reformulated since), with Vitias being the brightest and easiest to wear for me, but Tierra ultimately being my favorite, while the animalic Masar was hard to wear for me personally. How does Amoral fit in?
Well, to get straight to the point, I prefer Amoral over the first line. For those that have smelled the others; I’d say this is closest to Tierra from those; being unique and not instantly mass appealing, but growing sweeter (very sweet in this case).
Amoral is a great combination of what I perceive as 3 layers. The first thing that hits me is a dusty, powdery heavy woodiness. I even get some suede leather in it. It surprises me that there’s no saffron listed, but it has this fruity leather vibe (there is plum in this). The woods are substantial.
Once the dust settles and my nose adjusts to it, the brighter layer shines through for a while. Lime, tea and spices. Cumin is prominent, but not sweaty, more a kitchen cabinet cumin powder. The brightness from the lime is important in making the scent more uplifting. It reminds me a bit of a darker Kerosene’s Unknown Pleasures in that regards.
As mentioned, Amoral gets sweeter than it’s 3 predecessors. The sweetness is there from the start, but after a while the brightness fades, followed by the leathery touch. The spicy cumin tinge sticks around longer, but ultimately fades as well and you have a (long lasting) sweet iris and (sandal)woody scent; slightly milky, aided by tonka. At this stage Amoral is probably the most crowd-pleasing offering from Pernoire and it happens to suit my taste the most as well.
Pernoire wasn’t really for me up until this point, but I appreciated the uniqueness; I’m happy to say with Amoral they’ve won me over, while it fits in their line at the same time.
