I am full of cabin fever as we come to the end of February. I want to feel the sun on my face combined with the smell of green growing things. These final days of winter are always the worst for me. Thankfully I have found perfume can often fill my desire for the scent of spring. I found Thomas Kosmala No. 8 Tonic Vert provided some of what I was craving.
Thomas Kosmala is an independent perfumer based in London. After selling locally for a few years in 2018 he released his debut collection internationally. Nine perfumes numbered 1-9 provided a set which mostly focused on Orientals. Six of the nine were in that style. I think Mr. Kosmala is a good perfumer but having most of your collection clustered in one style tended to blur it into something indistinct. It was the three which were not Orientals which stood apart for me. None more so than No. 8 Tonic Vert.
Thomas Kosmala
Tonic Vert is an unrelenting green perfume. Mr. Kosmala keeps layering it on. By the time he reaches his base ingredients it glows like the deep green facets of an emerald.
The first layer is the tart citrusy green of lime. Mr. Kosmala uses lemon and mandarin to tune the lime to achieve a specific effect. By softening the tartness with the sweeter citrus it enhances the zestiness of the lime; making it greener. Grapefruit bolsters the citrus effect while the green rosiness of geranium and mint take the green a shade deeper. The mint works better than I would have imagined in contrast to the grapefruit. If there is a breathtaking tonic within Tonic Vert here is where I was nearest to encountering it. The base notes are a very green vetiver partnered with a sharp oakmoss. This would be a spiky accord if left on its own. Mr. Kosmala uses a set of musks to blunt the sharpness. What remains is a velvety green accord to wrap around you.
Tonic Vert has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
The Thomas Kosmala line has just arrived in the US. Besides Tonic Vert I also enjoyed No. 1 Tonic Blanc and No. 7 Le Sel De La Terre. Mr. Kosmala gave me an image of spring with Tonic Vert which is helping get me through to the actual thing.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Bloomingdale’s.
–Mark Behnke
