As a journalist and blogger I get approached all the time by people thinking I will “just love” a certain product. About 80% of the time they’re being wildly optimistic (an essential quality if you’re a PR I suspect) but very occasionally they’re spot on, as is the case with German boutique fragrance Dreckig Bleiben.
Meaning “stay dirty” (a name which only makes me love it more) I got sent a sample a while back with a note from the company saying they thought I’d like it. And they were right. Created by perfumer Mark Buxton, a man who’s worked with the likes of Le Labo, Givenchy, Cartier and Burberry it’s fantastically warm, smoky, woody and earthy and you can see immediately why he also has Commes des Garcons on his CV. It’s actually very Comme in its feel (well, Comme back in the day, when they were in the zone, fragrance-wise).
It’s certainly interesting and the more I smell it, the more I think there’s something faintly industrial in amongst the natural woodiness (think an oily factory floor). Anyway, it could simply be that today’s teensy hangover is affecting my nasal receptors but if it’s intentional then it’s a juxtaposition I love.
Seemingly, the brief for the fragrance was to come up with something that rejected superficiality and Dreckig bleiben certainly has depth, while little details like the fact that the wood of the lid is made from centuries old reclaimed housing timber and the fragrance itself is limited to just 999 bottles certainly adds to the allure. A dirty pleasure? Absolutely.
The notes
Top: Calabrian bergamot, Tunisian neroli, Sicilain Mandarin, Chinese Ginger
Middle: Cistus, Gurjum Oil, elemi
Base: cedarwood, oil of guaiacum, sandalwood, vanilla.
