Aroma de Hormiguero

An anthill is not a place where most perfumers would seek inspiration. SANTI BURGAS [A] ADH - Aroma de Hormiguero imagines its very interior: moist tunnels, mushrooms, lichens, and the organized life unfolding underground.

The composition is based on formic acid derivatives, or formates, but don't expect a literal acid smell. They serve as an unusual chemical backbone around which fresh mushroom, geosmin, and a seaweed accord combine. The impression is cold, damp, and earthy, like soil after rain that someone has just turned over by hand.

Galbanum and petitgrain then introduce a sharp green note, while mastic resin, patchouli, and oakmoss push the perfume deeper into the forest. Fir balsam and vetiver give it a drier, needle-like edge, so the damp earth gradually transforms into dark greenery and roots.

Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Santi Burgas did not attempt to create a pleasant illustration of nature here. They created an abstract ecosystem where natural materials and synthetics deliberately appear somewhat alien, yet are completely interconnected.

As it remains on the skin, the mushroomy and marine tones gradually soften, and the moss, resins, and wood become calmer and more wearable. It is still unusual, only now it no longer feels like a look underground, but rather like the trace of a damp forest on clothing.

If you are looking for a clean, bright, or conventionally appealing freshness, skip this one. This is a perfume for someone for whom the words mushroom, anthill, and wet earth sound like an invitation, not a warning.