Present Gambit (F7)

A chessboard usually calls for black-and-white decisions; this fragrance refuses to play by that division. TOSKOVAT' Present Gambit (F7) is an extract about learned rules, plans that destiny smiles upon, and the move you still have to make.

Sichuan pepper, basil, and citruses create a nervous, green, and sparkling opening. Apple, guava, passionfruit, quince, and nectarine then introduce many fruity colors, deliberately distant from a neat black-and-white picture.

David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi fills the middle with clove, anise, lavender, geranium, carnation, and jasmine. So many elements don't read as a list, but as a constantly changing series of moves: spicy becomes floral, fruity slides into aromatic.

The woody structure is immense: cedar, rosewood and hinoki wood, driftwood, vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood. Fir balsam, vanilla, and oakmoss add resin, sweetness, and shadowy depth, along with amber and clean musks.

On the skin, the extract develops like a game with many pieces; sometimes tropical fruit dominates, sometimes dry wood. If you prefer simple compositions with one clear note, Present Gambit might feel overwhelming. It can be layered with Hoary Date (F2) for a chocolate cake accord.

In the end, the board remains among the notes as a conceptual prop, while hinoki, moss, and the last piece of guava refuse to be categorized as black or white.