Excellence

Excellence by Franck Olivier is a men's fragrance built on pepper and incense. Everyone who describes it calls it spicy, and about half also find it woody, musky, floral and ambery.

Black pepper gives a sharp, dry heat from the first moment, and there is little fruit or citrus to soften it. Incense follows with a smoky, resinous lift. Iris is the surprise in the middle: cool, powdery and slightly rooty, it tempers the spice and gives the scent a polished, almost formal feel. Sandalwood brings a creamy warmth to the base, and musk rounds the drydown so it settles close to the skin.

The pepper-and-incense structure points to autumn and winter, and to evenings or smart occasions rather than the gym or the beach. It should suit men who like dry, spicy scents with a powdery twist and no obvious sweetness.

Excellence — for men fragrance by Franck Olivier. Notes: Black Pepper, Incense, Iris, Musk, Pepper, Sandalwood. — Parfica open fragrance database