When I saw the initial reviews comparing Revolución to Tuscan Leather, I wasn’t overly enthused about sampling Carner Barcelona’s 2023 release. But as fate would have it, I received a sample of the scent as a gift with purchase. I sprayed it on and was pleasantly surprised.
If I were to compare it to a Tom Ford, Tuscan Leather wouldn’t be the first thing that came to mind. It’s more diaphanous and doesn’t have the distinctive raspberry facet. Indeed, I find it more similar to Ombré Leather Parfum and its marriage of ozonic and leather components. Revolución doesn’t smell exactly like this Tom Ford either, though. It’s smoky, rubbery, and even tarry, undoubtedly shaped by saffron and olibanum. This smoky, rubbery facet conjures up images of a mechanic’s garage cluttered with oil, tyres, and metal parts.
In contrast, the leather accord smells fresh and smooth, brightened, and given air by violet leaf/ozonic notes. There’s no rough, around-the-edges harsh feel à la Tuscan Leather. Therefore, I don’t think of well-worn leather jackets or new car seats, but something more refined, like a good-quality leather bag, or maybe a leather belt or shoes.
Still, for that first hour or so, there’s something grimy and greasy here (the perfumes nod to the Industrial Revolution), and the juxtaposition between the clean ozonic and dirty smoky facets is fabulous. This interplay is odd and perhaps a tad unsettling, almost as if that brand-new leather handbag sits strangely out of place on a dirty factory conveyor belt.
In addition to its ozonic quality, I notice some bitterness and earthiness from maté tea. And perhaps it’s this herbal injection that gives Revolución its slightly off-kilter idiosyncratic profile. By no means, at least for its first half, is Revolución a crowd-pleaser as it smoulders under a smoky silhouette. These smoke aspects reminded me of Bois d’Ascese by Naomi Goodsir. However, it doesn’t evoke meats cooking on the barbecue or bonfire smoke like that one does. I’d have loved the quirkiness to continue for over an hour or two. But Revolución dries into an elegant, leathery, woody finish with only a whisper of smoke. So, in the end, it may not be entirely revolutionary, but it’s worth a try if you enjoy your leathers.
Parfumo cites Benoist Lapouza as the perfumer.
Have you sampled this one? Do you have a favourite from the house? Mine is D600.
All photos are my own.
