Best Shihan (Sensei) by Piotr Czarnecki Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Perfumer: Prin Lomros

Please note this 2020 formulation by Prin is a new vision of the Rhinocerous theme and is not a replacement (neither conceptually and nor technically) for the prevous discontinued formulation. 

Prin Lomros tells this bold leather story in his favorite witchy herbal incense style with a few nods to the first chapter (the boozy theme of rum and whiskey).

Zoologist's concept for the perfume:

"Under the searing gaze of an unrelenting sun, the ornery rhinoceros surveys his dusty territory. A tough, battered hide is his armour against the erosive onslaught of sand, whipped into a frenzy by a hot, merciless wind, as he stands strong, defending his domain.

On the first spray of Zoologist Rhinoceros, heady notes of sweet rum and whiskey collide with mellow coffee before the scent settles into its lingering journey. Rich leather, oud and incense are carried in a cloud of smoky red tobacco along a dusty amber path, dotted with hints of patchouli and moss. Rhinoceros is a sophisticated and robust scent that makes a bold, unapologetic statement. Go forth and explore your world. Don’t ask permission."

Zoologist Rhinoceros does not use animal products.

A rich whisky aroma, intertwined with the sweetness of caramel, coffee and dark chocolate, which truly tickles the senses. With the sophistication of a dandy, the moreish aromas give way to hints of ash and smoke.

Perfumer: Bertrand Duchaufour

Visual artist: landscape artist/photographer Martin Hill.

The same way in which Martin goes to a sight and rearranges what nature left there into an installation, the perfumer rearranged some molecules and materials to put the beauty of a natural material into focus.

Also Martin aims to let his structures be absorbed back into natural chaos. Perfume evaporates into the environment in a similar fashion, beautiful but transient.

In Vanilla Shot all of the focus is on vanilla (natural, dark and balsamic). The concept of the perfume is inspired by a photo of a piece of Martin Hill's land art shot at dreamy dusk (below). The twigs used in the structure balanced over the lake are reminiscent of vanilla beans. The installation transcends two planes - liquid and ether and in the perfume vanilla spans the sweet and bitter corners of the scented universe. Vanilla Shot is not an ordinary sweet gourmand. In this perfume all nuances of natural vanilla get proper attention: balsamic, fruity, spicy, sweet and even leathery.

Perfumer: Julien Rasquinet.

Naomi Goodsir’s Bois d’Ascese is perhaps the smokiest peaty and charred-whiskey-barrels smelling perfume out there. But the smoke in this fragrance is quite contemplative, it’s not the hints of gunpowder or fireworks, neither is it anything foody. The smoke and woods in this perfume are dry and romantically ascetic, rather introvert and they practice self-discipline.

Silphium was a plant widely renowned as a spice, medicinal herb and perfume ingredient throughout the empires of classical antiquity, outshining both saffron and cinnamon. It was praised by Greek philosophers and writers, as well as Roman emperors and cookbook authors. The demand for Silphium eventually became so overwhelming that it was harvested to extinction, and the taste and smell of the once greatest spice in the world were lost in time.

This extinct plant was reconstructed by researching assumed relatives of Silphium, using aromachemicals (the molecular building blocks of scents) to create an accord reflecting historical descriptions. This is set against a background of ancient incense, woods and leather.

Oily, big and blissful, Black Afgano is all the browns: coffee, hashish incense, oud and tobacco. The notes refer to substances that induce temporary bliss, but with Black Afgano’s considerable hangtime, the pleasure of this perfume is practically permanent.

“Shaan” is a Sanskrit name meaning greatness and majesty. The  perfumer intertwines the name with the legend of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose, the conquering leader whose final battle was foretold by the oracles. Ember Shaan is a fragrance that shifts and evolves, reflecting the concept of victory intertwined with sorrow. With a variety of ouds and frankincenses, this extrait explores how a bright fire fades into a smouldering ember, while also deepening into something more profound. Coffee, rose and sandalwood combine their rich effects into an olfactory syrup that infuses the woods, while spicy opoponax and stony gunpowder add punctuation and surprise.

Love around the campfire. Heavily peated, spiced scotch in the wet woods

PERFUMER
FLORIAN GALLO

The finest gum extracts from Somaliland — frankincense, myrrh and opoponax — combine in this resinous and sophisticated scent. Berbera is a powerful woody amber suitable for layering, as is common in the Middle East, as well as a standalone manifesto. Opoponax brings nuances of leather and old wood, myrrh swirls in a cola note, and frankincense soars high and dry. A charred-around-the-edges fragrance to uplift your soul and deepen your mystique.