u/0niWarrior

Recently got the House of Kanzan Passage 1 samplers and decided to do a first impression review.

I did a blind strip test of each one of them along with my friend to pick the one we like.

Note that I haven't tested them on skin or how long they last.

I have personally loved every single one of these and they are exactly the kind of profiles I personally love - green, fresh, very well balanced. Also the batch seemed well macerated already but I gave it 2 days of idle time before testing.

Here are the first impressions (ordered by most liked first):

1. Sora's Bicycle Route - Very fresh opening with a fresh citrusy and fresh watered grass opening (the citrus here is not very lemony which most frags usually are). Dries down into a very soft woody and musky profile.

2. Ko Samurai - This is exactly as the website described it. Feels like standing in an open green field on a chilly windy morning. Notes of tea are evident in the opening and I had to focus a bit hard to notice the subtle spice. Dry down has a very subtle incense woody smell but the incense is subtle and not like straight up agarbatti.

3. Kazeyo - This can be a little polarising to some but I really liked it. I keep it on 3rd because it might not be mass appealing. It's a very earthy/leathery/rustic smell. Imagine the kind of smell you would get from an old mans blazer who does gardening and reads a lot. Some might love it, some won't.

4. Seian Monastery - The first image I get when I smelled it is of a bronze bowl filled with cold water with some flowers floating in it with some incense in the background. This does smell like the inside of a monastery. This one had a stronger note of incense but again not the regular sharp home incense. Dry down is better than the opening with a nice leathery/woody vibe.

5. Cafe Kintsugi - I may be a little biased here because I'm sick of vanilla profiles at this point. This is a very well balanced version of a vanilla fragrance. The vanilla is evidently there but it's not overpowering like the usual vanilla scents. While the opening is on a soft sweeter side, the dry down was amazing with a very nice vanilla, musk and powdery feeling to it. If you like sweet, vanilla frags like the Qahwa but want something a little more subtle, this is a good pick.

I will be trying these out over the next 5 days to notice how well they last.

I'm inclined to get a full bottle of the Sora and Samurai if it goes well on my skin.

I think this house is doing a fantastic job and I like that there are Indian perfume houses like this. I remember someone posted a review of Daily Compounds samplers too which I plan on trying next.

Would also like to add that the packaging was very well done.

I've been experimenting a bit with finding a few good summer perfumes and accidentally stumbled upon this.

Key notes: Citrusy and Musky with notes of patchouli. I recently made a post mentioning that I don't like cheap synthetic patchouli notes used in budget perfumes (Menworks Bleu, Wild Stone code, etc) but the patchouli notes here are very well balanced.

Appropriate for: Perfect for daytime, works well for night. They also have a Theoreme Matrix version which reviewers say is very appropriate for evenings but I haven't tried that.

I personally think it's a perfect office fragrance during summers.

The projection and sillage are decent and I keep getting whiffs of it when I spray it on my wrists. I would say it's just the right amount and doesn't scream in the room while being softly noticeable.

Longevity wise, I'm able to get around 2-3 hours of performance after 4-6 sprays. Post that the notes are very subtle but evidently there. It doesn't completely disappear into nothingness.

Personal take: I think this is a very mature fragrance with well rounded soft notes. The scent profile is not very complex but the few notes that are evidently there are very well balanced. I think it's something that can be worn throughout the year although Fragrantica says it's not winter appropriate.

I think I'll give this one to my dad after enjoying it for a few more days.

Price: 1.6-1.7k (don't remember exactly) - the theoreme matrix costs a few 100 more and if you're getting one for yourself I'd recommend you get that one over this if you're young.