When I hear of European-only perfume distribution I must decide how much I want to try it. Which was why when I read about a new Italian brand, Jusbox Perfumes, I decided not to chase it down. The main reason; it was another collection inspired by rock and roll. This is a common well of non-creativity that too many new brands choose to lean on. Because of previous brands which have been unable to successfully capture the essence of what ever rock artist or genre they are touting; I passed. The other good thing I find is if it is better than I think it eventually finds its way to North America. This just happened for Jusbox Perfumes. That meant I finally had a sample set to try.
V Monkeys: Andrea and Chiaro Valda
The creative directors are a brother-sister team, Andrea and Chiaro Valda, who go by the name V Monkeys. Born in Milan they are a good example of the kind of perfume coming out of Italy. When they started the line with four perfumes in 2016 they worked with perfumers Antoine Lie and Dominique Ropion; who each did a pair. Those first four perfumes each covered a decade. They were where I started learning from my samples. I was impressed that it wasn’t as trite as I feared. After those first four I was wondering where the leather jacket rebel was. I found it in the last sample I tried, Black Powder.
Julien Rasquinet
If there is a single scent which connects to rock and roll it is the smell of the black leather jacket. When I was a young man spending evenings standing in front of a stage losing my hearing a guitar riff at a time it was what I wore. So did everyone around me. The smell of overheated humanity underneath a leather jacket is my Eau de Rock and Roll. Perfumer Julien Rasquinet does an excellent job at coming very close with Black Powder. M. Rasquinet does this by taking a very supple suede leather accord and breaking it in with some interesting choices of ingredients.
Black Powder opens with the first seconds having a too tame suede leather. M. Rasquinet begins the process of roughing it up with allspice, blackcurrant buds, and apple. The more you wore your leather jacket there was always a subtle spiciness imbued into it. The allspice produces that. The blackcurrant is at that kind of urine-like sticky green level. Which works because the smell of overworked restrooms was also a scent of many clubs in the 80’s and 90’s. Tobacco plays up the inherent sweetness of leather. Incense tans it with resins. Sandalwood provides a foundation. Patchouli adds a bit of earthiness. Once it comes together it is that black leather jacket I was searching for.
Black Powder has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
If I was designing this style of perfume the only thing which was missing was that musk of sweaty skin. What is here in Black Powder is enjoyable. I can say that about my early impressions of the rest of the Jusbox Perfumes collection. They have just become available in North America and are worth giving a try. I will probably do mini reviews of the others after I spend some time with them.
Disclosure: This review is based on samples provided by Bloomingdale’s.
–Mark Behnke
