Geo F Trumper Eucris

Geo Trumper is one of those seemingly quaint businesses that can only be found in England. There is quite a history to Trumper, gentlemen perfumers  from Jermyn Street in St James, London. I used to work a couple of blocks away from Jermyn Street, on the dividing line between Piccadilly and Mayfair, and I spent many a lunchtime strolling the arcades between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street. St James itself is home to many gentleman clubs and one can still find many venerable institutions on and around Jermyn Street such as Dunhill, Trufitt and Hill, Trumper, Fortnum & Mason and Paxton & Whitfield (cheeses) to name but a few. I have been waiting to try Eucris for some time. We have a local chemist that stocks a surprisingly extensive range of Trumper products and within the last month they've started stocking Eucris. The notes include blackcurrant, cumin, coriander, jasmin, muguet, musk, sandalwood and moss. Now, if that isn't an intriguing list then I don't know what is. Eucris opens with a tart, fruity note, tinged with green, that I presume is the blackcurrant. It smells like both the fruit and the leaf. Although not listed, it smells like there is a bit of citrus in here too. After this initial opening, I detect a powdery oakmoss  emerging, which strengthens considerably. Eucris, like many of the other Trumper fragrances, smells very cologne-like and quite traditional. Despite the list of notes, I don't detect much florals here, nor spiciness. I don't know if it is a skin chemistry thing, but I failed to pick up much more than just a hint of cumin, while the jasmine and muguet completely eluded me; if they are here, they are very well disguised, or my nose is not trained well enough. One thing there is no shortage of is oakmoss. It is apparent from just after the opening right the way through to the far dry down and lends the perfume quite a dry, mossy chypre style. Again, the woods don't make a huge impact on my skin either and in the end Eucris wears on my skin as quite a severe, dry chypre. In a way it felt a bit like Mitsouko to me, not so much in exact smell, but perhaps a little in style, but more overtly masculine.

Do I like Eucris? Well, I'm not sure. It is a strange perfume and I think I need to give it a few more wearings to make a truly fair assessment. It is not quite like anything else I've worn before, which makes it quite intriguing to me, but I can see this as being a bit hit or miss for many. I don't know how many of you ladies are familiar with the Trumper line. Perhaps give some of them a go - there are other oddities in the line too, such as Eau de Quinine for example, while many are unapologetically masculine, but don't let that scare you. After all, if I can wear tuberose to work, you can stray over to the dark side that is Geo F Trumper!