Micallef Gaiac

I don't know all that much about the Micallef line. I have sampled Oud Homme, which is a delightful, fairly straightforward oud number, so thought I would try another from the line, Gaiac. The notes are listed as bergamot, clove, jasmin, vetiver, gaiacwood and vanilla. I think what surprised me most was how feminine Gaiac developed on my skin. Gaiacwood is not that often the focus of a fragrance; very often it plays a supporting role and in my limited experience, is used more in masculine fragrances (but please correct me if I am wrong). The opening of Gaiac is a weird citrusy and herby combination, which is surprisingly sweet. it quickly becomes peppery, which I take to be the clove, which incidentally is not my favourite note in perfume. I don't really enjoy cloves in baking and cooking either, but this is clearly a very personal perception. The vanilla note emerges soon enough to combine with the gaiacwood, which is slightly smoky, yet sour. I hate to say this, but this does not appeal to me at all. The longer I wear Gaiac, the more cloying it becomes and although I usually enjoy a pairing of woods and vanilla, it doesn't work for me in this case. I don't even know if I detect jasmin or vetiver. I hoped that Gaiac would improve into the dry down, but it just continues to develop in a very strange way on my skin. I wish I had a more succinct and elegant way of describing it, but in the end only one word comes to mind - weird. Unsatisfactory, I know, but there you have it. It's not often that I give a blatant thumbs down to a perfume, but having worn this a number of times, I eventually gave the sample away to a female friend, on whose skin hopefully Gaiac works better than on mine.