Petroleum Histoires de Parfums for women and men

This is one of the strangest and most nostalgic things I've ever smelled in my entire life. It actually makes me quite emotional.

My fathers dirty toolbox, his worn in newly washed working clothes that still smell of oil, leather, burnt tires and sweet salty sea air.

The scent remind me so much of my father. I remember riding at the back of his working bike through the culverts of the hospital in the town where I grew up. I was about six years old back then. He worked at the hospital keeping big machines running, the only thing I really saw from his job was when he took an hour off to follow me to the dentist. And he smelled clean but strongly of oil and zingy metal.

When he got off work he spent a lot of time fixing cars and street racing, that's my second big connection to this perfume. The leather smells just like the sunken in car seats with four point seat belts, and it's combined with a soft burnt rubber scent, almost sweet.

All of these cold, dirty, harsh notes are combined with warming skin like notes which balances it all up, but also something incredibly ozonic and aldehydic, especially at the opening. If I didn't know better I would almost call it "cucumber-y" or "melon-y". Just a huge blast of aquatic, sweet, sharp cleanliness which I really don't like, but it excites me so much that I can't help smelling it over and over again. It makes the scent completely transparent. So so so strange.

What i like about Histoire de Parfums is there uniqueness. No one does what they do. Thumb up for that. Is it wearable, or sexy i am not sure. But for sure it is an olfactive experience and Petroleum is 100% in that spirit. What i get is something that smell like a vaseline that would have been made for the aristocrats and could have been named Vaseline no.9. Another thumb up for the experience. A must try.

Petroleum is pretty bizarre indeed being entirely built and conceived on juxtapositions. Resinous and intense but at the same time sort of fresh and "ozonic", deep and obscure but surrounded by aldehydic notes, dark and animalic yet "clear" and somehow light. All the elements are handled in an almost "unseen" way. The oud/rose combo is nowhere similimar or somehow close to any of the previous interpretations of the accord, It's amphasized in its woody freshness avoiding the burnt-sugar and medicinal effect. Rose is detectable but masterfully blended with the rest. Deepness is provided by a consistent dose of resinous notes while civet juxtaposed to aldehydes and ozonic hints gives birth to a destabilizing and pleasantly dissonant accord during the musky/ambery drydown. The base. This is the real point of strength of Petroleum.

Petroleum is not just wearable, is extremely wearable and a true standout. The fragrance has a nice projection but it never become overwhelming or claustrophobic. It has a remarkable presence but, fortunately, is not overpowering as I expected.

Lately I've noticed a mineral quality to it that adds even more complexity. Surely a winner for me and among the best releases of the year but I believe this is going to be a polarizing fragrance because of its ozonic undertones which, together with aldehydes, create a bizarre juxtaposition with the rest. Paradoxically there's no challenging power coming from the supposed petrol note (which is definitely more mineral/natural smelling than the gasoline-like accord of, let's say, Fahrenheit, Nostalgia or even Knize Ten). The ozonic aspect, instead, adds a slightly weird and destabilizing nuance that may result off-putting to someone. IMO it perfectly blends with the rest adding a compelling, sort of off-centre, aspect.

Overall Petroleum has a very distinctive character and, just like many of the HDP compositions, it perfectly achieves an incredible balance between traditional perfumery and modernity. Full bodied but somehow weightless.

Rating: 8.5/10