1A-33 J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin for women and men

When do I really appreciate a good cologne?

I remembered the day when I put on the "wrong" perfume on my way to work and it bothered me all day. The unbearable sweetness that enveloped me and disturbed my concentration... Terrible. That evening I came home and before going to bed washed my hair with Acqua di Parma Colonia shampoo, showered with Colonia shower gel and applied Colonia body lotion. At that moment, after a whole day of bombarding my senses with too heavy, too sweet and overpowering scent, all I longed for was the clean, sharp and soapy smell of cologne. And I was so grateful for it's uncomplicated and clear notes.

These days I'm trying Schwarzlose fragrances. And I approach them with a slight sense of dread because many people have warned me about their intensity, gravitas and "heaviness".

I'm wearing 1A-33 today. The peppery linden flower is cemented in this perfume in a "German way", the composition is quite serious, but it is undoubtedly a quality and interesting, mature fragrance. In the middle of the day, I found myself thinking about reapplying the fragrance because I was too mild in the morning. So much for that "monstrous power" and uncomfortable weight...

If anyone has made it to the end of this exposé, the conclusion is that there are moments when we will really appreciate a good cologne and what it offers us. :-D

A surprisingly wearable fragrance, I'm thinking about a bottle...

1A-33 is a radiant cologne - fitting for a German perfume brand. Good quality and reasonably traditional in structure but with some points of interest, it is an ideal everyday scent for warm weather. The name bore no significance for me before reading the description above, but it is fitting (old Berlin meets contemporary Berlin), given that this is a cologne in the German tradition, but "modernised" by more unusual notes like sweet florals. It feels quite mid-century in style, perhaps timeless, and is unisex despite its sweetness.

1A-33 opens with bright citrus notes, with orange leading the way. I get some lemon/lime too, paving the way to the linden blossom that comes to the fore after a little while. There is a fresh greenness to the opening, dewy and light. Some pink pepper adds rosy spice up top, an inspired addition.

As it develops, sweet white florals emerge, adding body in the background. The linden blossom adds a soft, powdery yellow floral aspect, but the citrus accord dominates this scent. The florals becomes more powdery as it begins to dry down, but I don't detect iris individually. Soft, woody notes creep in during the late stages, a predictable if pleasant finale to a decent cologne. The greenness in the background persists. Sillage and longevity are moderate - better performance than the average cologne.

An elegant unisex cologne made from high-quality ingredients, this is a very wearable everyday option for spring/summer. 1A-33 errs on the side of tradition after all. 3.5/5.

Pleasant.

A deep cologne aspect, slightly "spiced up" by some sweet white flower notes on the top. Clearly, the citrus aspect is dominating, and I have difficulty reading the iris or even the cedar base.

A classic composition very nicely reworked, but nothing completely memorable though.

Woody citrus cooled down by floral..

After seeing fougair online in esxence 2022 and listening to one of the youtubers who reviews fragrances meeting with the brand owners to explain few about their blends i got excited so i decided to re-visit this brand again.

1A-33 begun citrusy with more of oranges and settled to woody with floral. i sense some slight sweetness and i believe its from the magnolia. pink pepper is very minimized but beautiful, the iris is there but barely detectedbut the linden and cedar is the dominant.

The brand stated in short that 1A-33 is "The entire spirit of Berlin", and they wrote that it's from the 50s which i can relate to and sense quite obvious the 50s style. I wasn't that much impressed as for the top note nor after sniffing the blend but after reading their explanation on their website that it belongs to the 50s, it became quite interesting and bless to sniff. Pretty.

1A-33 by J.F. Schwarzlose Berlin from the distinctly sour juste pulvérisé, to the dry the citrus note, fresh, absolutely unexpected, the clear note of linden (which I love madly) with a slight lively note of pink pepper emerges surprising. The heart is a light white floral fan, with accords of magnolia and jasmine, an evanescent woody background almost imperceptible for the floral triumph. This fragrance reminds me of late spring, a walk in an avenue of lime trees with distant white floral scents, the last tributes of creation before summer (an absolutely obscene season). I fully agree with the rare graceful, evanescent and underperforming fragrance.

Lots of citrus and magnolia, I am not getting that sweet honeyed linden at all. I love linden, maybe I am used to a more dominant yellow floral - to me it's fairly subtle in this one. Lots of that cedar and iris make it fairly unisex. Has a freshie unisex feel, even through all the white florals. A little grainy too as if there was a petitgrain note in there. Dries down sweeter and greener.

Edit: wow! Citrus is still there an hour later. That is RARE! Zesty :)

** 200+ samples for swap UK- check my customs, pm me for a bundle swap! **

1A-33 is a very delicate sweet citrus, linden blossom and magnolia fragrance. A light cedar and musk dry down. I wish the floral notes stayed around longer because they are so pretty. I dislike the name of this perfume, strange. It's a name you give a robot. The magnolia and linden blossom in here are very realistic and beautiful. I can see over spraying this on a warm spring day and just luxuriating in the beautiful perfume of blooming trees. It is a beauty but fleeting.

This shows such potential on first spray. beautiful woody and slightly floral citrus, skilfully rendered. Unfortunately the dry down is light-speed and it becomes a very lightly scented woody musky skin scent. It is so ethereal that one would need time lapse photography to pick up such a ghost of a scent. Some of these schwarzlose fragrances are so intimate that I can only conclude their sole purpose is the be sprayed on before sex. It would take that level of closeness to be able to detect it on someone.

pleasant, nice, easy, floral, a dash of citrus.

i was hoping for something with more of a linden punch having fallen in love with the real thing of streets filled with blooming linden.

this ain't it.

if wallpaper wore fragrance this would be perfect for it. in the background, noticeable if one is looking for it, but otherwise easy to confuse with someone who has just washed with a perfumed gel or soap.

this is a quiet, dare i say unassuming, scent.

I've never heard of this brand until it recently appeared in the shopping centre near me. I picked up several of their scents to test and as usual they were an instant no-go. I always loved fragrance and whenever I have an occasion I will test a few here and there. However, because it is extremely hard for me to find parfums that I like and that don't give me a headache, it takes me years to buy something new. So I did not really expect to like 1A-33, let alone love it! I was so surprised that I kept sniffing it throughout the day and went back one more time to test it on my skin to be sure again. It is quite expensive, so I could only afford a small 25ml vial, but even a drop makes me so happy!

A floral composition with a beautiful balance of notes. To me, linden blossom is the main accord, leading the way with a calm, clean scent. The other notes are less obvious. It’s a nice perfume, unobtrusive, clean, elegant and easy to wear. The dry down keeps the calm vibe but with a woodsy base.
As I wrote before, it’s a elegant and refined fragrance.

This is the most beautiful and positive fragrance I've ever come across. Tops even Givenchy's Insensé. So well crafted, sunny, bright, classy & uplifting that I am truly lost for words. I have a collection of over 300 fragrances plus 500 decants and THIS tops them all.

This fragrance was in my sample pack and I was very eager to try Schwarzlose's 1A-33, which I find to be a very nice floral-citrus scent that is perfect for the Spring and Summer days...and perhaps also an warm weather evening scent too.

Unfortunately, performance 1A was less than stellar on my skin - more like 4F in that it lasted between 3-4 hours and sat softly. Moreover, to my nose it initially reminded me of Neroli Portofino for the first few moments before quickly transitioning to a sister scent to Jo Malone French Lime Blossom (not identical), which I may like even better.

While I solidly like this fragrance on the ladies--let's be honest, it's a woman's perfume--there is no way any testosterone laden man can rock this scent outside the privacy of their home. But still a very nice uplifting floral fragrance.

For me, this is the smell of happiness and springtime. It's very welcome today in the current harsh political climate.

The notes differ slightly on the Schwarzlose Berlin website:

Mandarin, Pink Pepper,“Spree” River Droplets Accord. Jasmine Sambac, Linden Blossom, Magnolia, Cedarwood & Iris Powder.

8/10

Very interesting yet common [by that I mean not exactly mind-blowing original]. I totally agree with DoraRoxx that the opening is very TF Neroli Portofino yet within seconds, on my skin, it morphs into a dupe of Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic. So I ask you, is it worth the price tag?

This is such a nice classic perfume. it opens up with mandarine and something spicy, might be pepper! Then it cools down and smells very magnolia like to me. I love it on men, but wore it myself, too. I sprayed it on my clothes and it lasted for days.

Again, I keep asking myself the same questions as many have already about the nature of these revived old houses and formulae. The central marketing message is about nostalgia, the revival of an old brand, the feel of their website and the design of the bottles seems to go toward a deco/modernist, utilitarian look (although the individual webpage of each perfume is resolutely modern). Are these fragrances a faithful recreation of old perfumes? By now I don’t think anybody is expecting a re-issue of old, unchanged versions, and we have set our expectations around the loose field of re-interpretation of old recipes or an approximation of the zeitgeist of the days these perfumes are meant to be about. There will be an element of modernity, for all sorts of reasons, and we have probably learnt to live with this tension.
The next question is to what extent the balance is inclined toward the modern and what does that mean (mass market? generic, inoffensive, bland?). I am struggling a bit with this house to find answers to these questions and I had to have a third go at sniffing the samples before writing up anything about them. I’ll try to go through all four of their current line-up as soon as I have the time.
The first one on my list, 1A-33, is probably my favourite. It does come up with some vibes that connect it to other times, so the redesign of a classic fragrance (which I have never experienced) could be more credible. It starts with an interesting linden accord, sharpened by some citrus and pepper. Linden trees and also linden tisane are more popular on the continent where I come from, so it is a bit difficult to find many comparable linden fragrances over here. I have made myself a cup of linden tisane to have something to compare it with, although I refrained from putting honey and lemon in it (which was what one was supposed to do when having a cold or a cough). There is a good resemblance, so this aspect is quite authentic. When testing it on my Anglo-Saxon partner, the reaction wasn’t great – linden is not carrying the same cultural connotations or memories as it does for me.
The second phase kicks in quite fast and becomes a floral citrusy combo, with vague hints of the head notes. The base is tenacious and quite strong, but it is probably where I part company as it enters the modern territory of somewhat generic scents that could be anything, anywhere.
I have to say that I recognise something in this fragrance from perfumes, cosmetics or hairspray my mother was using in the 60s and 70s. I am prepared to be convinced that the balance is slightly tilted in favour of a classic vibe and this is an interesting reinterpretation. There is a certain degree of simplicity here, as I don’t get an impression of lavishness or luxury. Good lasting and staying power, good projection. Overall score, 7.5 out of 10.

Lovely Composition.

I bought it in Germany for 118€ (50 ml).I would say it is opening like Tom Fords Neroli Portofino but not that sharp in my nose. I get pepper, orange blossom and linden blossom. Not to fresh like OWARI from ODIN or Little Italy from BOND. I get sweet flowers after some hours which i really like, maybe some magnolia too. The pepper is gone after an hour, Jasmine stays
.In total it last 4 to 6 hours.

Lovely rounded Parfum that wil impress you if you like Neroli Portofino in another Light. More strong, sweet and with a bigger projection.

Try it yourself!I enjoy it at work in the office and also by going out to a nice restaurant. It is wearable 24 hours. You will sniff your arms again and again. I promise! Thumbs up!


scent: 9/10
longevity: 6/10
sillage: 7/10