Jusbox Night Flow Review – Julien Rasquinet; 2020

Is it all right to have more than you need of something when it’s a very, very good thing? I suspect most of you reading these words would be quite content never to smell another low-grade fruity-patchouli composition aimed at women, or another mindless woody-ambery concoction designed for men. We’ve got our fair share of amoeboid scent-clones clogging up the shelves and we certainly don’t need any more. But what if a brand has taken ‘inspiration’ – I use the word loosely – from an excellent perfume, and has done a pretty good job of recreating it? Do we forgive them this… how can I put it… this avoidance of the requirement for some measure of originality? Well, it’s a question you might have to ask yourself if you smell the new Jusbox Night Flow, as it bears more than a passing resemblance to Tom Ford Tuscan Leather.

Of course, even Tuscan Leather doesn’t score the highest marks under the ‘innovation’ category. The 2007 release composed by Harry Fremont and Jacques Cavallier traces its leathery lineage right back to the beginnings of modern perfumery: that distinctive ‘tart fruit + tannery’ accord has been featured in several compositions, notably Knize Ten. But when it appeared, Tuscan Leather managed to bring something new to the form, making it sufficiently different from its precursors to justify its own existence. To my nose, its distinguishing feature is an even dryer deportment compared to Knize‘s. Perhaps through its use of a pronounced saffron note, or of cleaner, crisper woods in the base, it presents a more streamlined, more modern rendition of leathers, while also pushing the accord towards Arabian shores.

Night Flow is an excellent homage to Tuscan Leather, but I’m not sure it possesses a clear enough personality of its own to warrant taking up more space on those aforementioned over-crowded shelves. All of the required elements – the acidic fruit, the bitter hide, the bone-parched woods – are present and accounted for, perhaps in a marginally sweeter form. And, from beginning to end, they create pretty much the same impact as they do in the Tom Ford. So, yes, if I’m going to be presented with something I’ve smelt before, I’d rather it’s something I’ll enjoy smelling. But the art of perfumery isn’t furthered by creators pursuing the path of least resistance and refusing to take a single risk.

Persolaise

[Jusbox Night Flow review based on a sample of eau de parfum provided by the brand in 2020.]

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