“2017 welcomed the most recent two perfumes in the line. The cypriol-forward 20 MARS 2022 continues the line’s incense journey, cohering it more closely to the brand’s aesthetic with a soot-dark shade of violet liquid in their iconic glass canisters. Its shaded coloration contrasts the punchy brightness in 20 MARS, a harum-scarum in a Sheldrakian harem of gooey, spiced nuances. In this one, Landi achieves something closer to holiness in a configuration of the now-established RUNDHOLZ tropes that is more radiant, more balsamic, and frankly more transportive. Our beloved John Biebel chose 20 MARS for a recent editors’ roundup of goth and metal fragrances.

Luxuriating in the long, slow opening, one might be enjoying gulab jamun, those syrup-soaked dessert bites enjoyed in the Indian subcontinent. From there, a gnawing bittersweetness spends hours languidly developing into the pleasurable sting of lustrous, oozing pine sap.

Strawberry is a funny name for the beguiling fruit stain that marks this and quite a few other fragrances Landi has overseen. It’s not really that ethyl methyl phenyl glycidate conjuring trick that has become so familiar in sweet berry notes. This quality could as easily be dubbed pinot noir or even salt water taffy. It’s a changeling baby sent by the faeries that Landi has slipped into the censer. Shimmering along the edges are tonka facets that remind me of things my father would wear when I was growing up. Coppery saffron reinforces the overall glow that emanates from 20 MARS.

The woods in this one are hyper descriptive, with your pilgrim’s journey arriving at a cedar sweat lodge. Salty vetiver and splinters of sandalwood build out the reverie. An animalic dribble signals flesh within the wood and clay golem of your own consciousness. The initial fruit-sweet fireworks dissipate into a quiet but pronounced smoky, forested base. The loamy cinnamon that lingers past the initial spicy acrobatics is profound and comforting. It invites a contemplative, withdrawn state that would appear introverted out in public life but is exceedingly welcome during shelter in place lockdown.” — Matt Morris, Fragrantica

NOTES

black pepper
strawberry
parsley
saffron
cinnamon
lily of the valley
rose
jasmine
olibanum
cypriol
labdanum
cedar
hay
amber
vetiver
patchouli
castoreum
tonka bean
civet
sandalwood
vanilla
musk

NOSE — Arturetto Landi

Germany, 2017

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