Réciproque by Solonoi

A strong opening of white chocolate, oak and brandy; it smells phenomenal. It lasts about 5 to 10 minutes, then gives way to the heart of the fragrance, where walnut, hazelnut and chestnuts dominate in harmony with a slightly dominant brandy. The heart lasts around 2 hours. Then it starts to settle on the skin into a base of cocoa, sandalwood, nuts and brown sugar, for about another 2 hours, giving off occasional bursts of the heart. After 4 hours it becomes a skin scent, but it still has presence; anyone who gets close enough will smell the fragrance without effort. This final base lasts about 4 more hours, and the smell is sweet red berries to the max (I have very lucky skin; on me the fragrance lasts more than 12 hours in total). What a pity it’s a limited edition; it seems to me a gem of perfumery in general. It’s a night-time scent, but not very playful; it’s sexy but reserved, as if it marked an invisible distance between you and the other person. Very interesting.

A strong opening of white chocolate, oak and brandy; it smells phenomenal. It lasts about 5 to 10 minutes, then gives way to the heart of the fragrance, where walnut, hazelnut and chestnuts dominate in harmony with a slightly dominant brandy. The heart lasts around 2 hours. Then it starts to settle on the skin into a base of cocoa, sandalwood, nuts and brown sugar, for about another 2 hours, giving off occasional bursts of the heart. After 4 hours it becomes a skin scent, but it still has presence; anyone who gets close enough will smell the fragrance without effort. This final base lasts about 4 more hours, and the smell is sweet red berries to the max (I have very lucky skin; on me the fragrance lasts more than 12 hours in total). What a pity it’s a limited edition; it seems to me a gem of perfumery in general. It’s a night-time scent, but not very playful; it’s sexy but reserved, as if it marked an invisible distance between you and the other person. Very interesting.

First of all, Solonoi seems to me to be an excellent house, and Recíproque expresses very well everything that makes it special. Recíproque is one of those perfumes that speaks to me not just through notes, but through a scene. It’s warm, deep and elegant, but not in a modern or shiny sense. It’s an old elegance, lived-in and full of history. It takes me to those huge, refined houses with carved wooden furniture, libraries, old books, works of art, leather armchairs and low light coming through the window. It doesn’t smell like an abandoned old place. To me, it smells like a well-kept old house – noble, cultured and quiet, but inhabited. My fiancée liked it okay. She doesn’t dislike it, though she told me there are perfumes she finds richer. But she recognised that it was a very ‘me’ smell, and my best friend said something similar. To me, that says a lot. It’s not necessarily the easiest or most pleasing perfume, but it does have something that fits deeply with my personal world. Also, this perfume was recommended to me by Alejandro himself. I had the chance to meet him and talk with him alone, and that’s when I understood better why I connected with Solonoi so quickly. Alejandro doesn’t just make perfumes. He creates olfactory scenes. His creative side seems to come a lot from literature, reading and writing. As a fun fact, he’s a Dante fanatic, and I hope someday he makes a perfume or a collection inspired by that work. The very story of how Alejandro created Recíproque is worth it on its own. It’s not just a composition designed to smell good, but a piece that is also born from Solonoi’s journey as a house, from Alejandro himself and from the bond that has been built with those who follow his work. The name makes a lot of sense there. It’s as if Recíproque expressed that mutual affection between him, his work and his audience. And I think that shows in the perfume. It has something intimate, grateful and deeply personal. When I told him about my experience and that I was getting married in October, he recommended Recíproque for the wedding. And for me, he didn’t miss the mark. I bought it, I’ve been wearing it and I’ve decided it’s going to be my scent for my wedding reception. For the religious ceremony, I’m going to wear Terre d’Hermès, which represents that understated and luminous elegance I want in the church. But for the afternoon and evening, I needed something else, something more intimate, artistic, warm and personal. Recíproque is exactly what I was missing. Old wood, liqueur, dried fruits, library, leather and memory. An elegant, sensitive perfume, and very much mine.