JEROBOAM
Unue

2020

PERFUMER
Vanina Muracciole

bergamot
aniseed
pineapple
pink pepper

jasmine
plum
ylang-ylang

sandalwood
musk
patchouli

Unue has an interesting scent profile, not something that you smell all that often, and I ended up liking it a lot.

It’s sharp, fruity, floral, sweet, but none of those particularly stand out. It’s like the freshly washed outside of a plum mixed with mostly florals. The opening is something that you have to… get through? I mean, some people may enjoy it, but I found it surprisingly rough.

Smelling it blindly I listed tuberose as a potential main theme for this scent, but instead it lists jasmine. It’s quite a different take on either however. To me, Unue smells like vinyl and plastic from the first sniff. The initial minutes give it this glossy, sharp, aldehydic coating. Others have called it soapy and fresh linen. But to me, it’s a bit more pungent than that; it’s like smelling laundry detergent in concentrated form up close; I could even picture a hint of gasoline.

And after a couple of minutes, it settles in. Which makes for an intriguing clash of clean and daring for a while. Growing into more and more of a comfortable wear. Still very clean, subtle fruitiness, some zesty citrus tinges and a jasmine that grows warmer with a white musky woody base. As soon as the woods come into play, it becomes much more cozy.

Often compared to vintage Guerlain Samsara, but from my memory, I’d say that Unue is more fruity. The lovely sandalwood that Samsara is famous for is here, but in less and later stages. Both do have a strong aldehydic side, so I can see the comparisons, but as you can tell from the previous paragraphs, the clean/soapy side from Unue had a twist for me.

That being said, as Unue dries down, it could very well be my favorite from what I’ve smelled from Jeromboam, which is quite a departure from how I experience the first minutes. It’s classy, mature for a scent with a prominent fruity facet. It remains crisp and well-constructed throughout. I can see it being divisive, but I ended up loving it.