Declaration

I agree with 50shades... it just smells like old. like not great. i feel bad it was a gift from my now ex so maybe thats a good thing but you have to be a VERY specific type of guy to wear this. NOT A SAFE BLIND BUY

First impression on the first spray: it smells like homeless person. But it doesn't make me nauseous or anything, I actually come back to smell more. I do hope this impression changes, because damn. It's still a homeless person

I'm a woman, and I rocked this in '99-'00. You either can or you can't with this one. The cumin works for you, or it doesn't. It can definitely be polarizing. But if like Cinderella's glass slipper, it fits, then it's so good. Fresh, green, aromatic, woody, hot and cool all at the same time. So good. Not a safe blind -buy. Wish I hadn't given it away!

sunny spring morning, blue skies, a few clouds, a quiet outdoor cafe, rattan chair, a gentlemen, he smells fresh in the most unique way, Declaration...

I'll leave a full review in a few days, but extremely impressed with this fragrance! The notes I'm getting from a new bottle are iris, orris, caraway, black pepper, and some citruses. Projection is very good for the first few hours. I normally don't care about the bottles, but definitely a bit unique to open...I like it. Love the smell though! If you’re sub 25 years old, sampling this is mandatory before a full purchase...that caraway can be offensive off certain skins (fortunately, I don't have this problem). Undoubtedly masculine. Complex but ethereal, airy.

Good freshie. On my skin, it gets soapy in the heat and powdery in milder temperatures. Definitely something I would only use in warmer weather.

Cartier’s Declaration is the second perfume from the house that i get to smell and honestly, everytime i see the brand i think of something chic, french-elegant, done with taste and good quality but ultimately forgettable given the variety that exists these days. Nice but done a thousand and one times already. The first one i’ve smelt was Pasha de Cartier Edition Noire and that one turned out to be a more modern and dare i say generic type of masculine fragrance then i would have thought. Declaration on the other hand is a classic masculine fragrance, more in line with a legacy brand and i was initially surprised with a characterful, herbal opening. It took my nose by the reins with the bold aromatic, tea-like herbal debut and its only fitting for a fragrance called “declaration”. Once again im reminded of the way Diptyque does their green botanical perfumes, albeit a less sharp and less photo-realistic aproach. As it dries down, the herbal tea part subsides and a softer face of the perfume emerges. Its as if a sudden, intense but shortlasting rain came down upon the garden, you walk outside only seconds after the downpour stopped and everything is still drenched. All the greenery in the garden is wet and large drops of water drip from the ends of the leaves. Its a fitting evolution given how the perfumer is none other then Jean-Claude Ellena. A reviewer below mentioned how he has a way of evoking freshness that feels different and that is true. Jean-Claude Ellena’s perfumes evoke a natural stillness, a weightlessness and a moment of natural relaxation, one not forced or pushed in front like an agenda. Declaration is a great example on the way he does freshness. He doesn’t employ tried and tested methods to force freshness out of a composition. He doesn’t drop a bunch of citruses or other “cold notes” on the table and say “Here you go! Freshness, so invigorating! Isn’t it fresh?”. He does freshness in the way you feel invigorated from taking a deep breath of clean air out in nature. It feels fresh like a gentle breeze touching your skin and hypnotizingly dancing on the wheat-fields or once again, like summer rain breaking up the heated atmosphere. Im inclined to label Cartier’s Declaration as a green aromatic with aquatic touches but that wouldn’t be true. Calling it ozonic once again feels wrong and an attempt at pigeonholing. I can’t find another word to describe Ellena’s work in Declaration other then naturally weightless. I am aware of my noseblindness to cumin so i might be oblivious to the more difficult sides of the perfume that others talk about. Ultimately its a mature fragrance, one that would be dismissed by today’s trends and tastes. I admit, at first glance i found it unexciting and i was preparing another “its nice, next!” review in my mind but the beauty of this fragrance reveals itself when you give it and yourself time to sit with it. Another masterpiece from Jean-Claude Ellena and as time goes on, im starting to realise i should look more towards his work because its where i might be able to settle down.

It’s a love story for me. ❤️

Dont diss me for this, but to me Cartier Declaration smells like a beautifuly refined, manly air freshener! To me this is a really tea heavy fragrance, in a very good way.

Jean-Claude Ellena is a master of evoking depth through citrus accords. No one does it better. When you wear this or Terre d'Hermes, be prepared to experience a masterclass in exploring every corner possible in working with citrus accords. He also has a way of evoking freshness in his scents, not from citrus itself, but from other notes instead. Declaration is mostly bitter oranges and raw cardamom on my skin, but with layers and layers of funky spices and woods. The scent feels simple and two-dimensional at first, but as you inhale deeper and live with it longer, you'll start noticing that it's constantly "moving" like a living entity on skin, teasing you with freshness on one side and sensual depth and complexity on the other side. There is a sense of calmness and grounding in Declaration, the same exact way it's there in Terre d'Hermes. What a perfumer. What a legend.

Low key, I get about 70% cumin. Was I just bussin tables at an Indian restaurant… or did I just spray on this cologne? Why would they make it like this?? Not good, not even close.

I have a love/hate with this frag. Sometimes It's feel pretty clean, green and smooth, but other days that cumin note is too strong and never develop. Like the guy below said is about chemistry. Test first this and how this develop on your skin.

Look, I really like this fragrance and JCE is the GOAT as far as I'm concerned, but this is a very skin chemistry dependent composition. It wears as it should on me -fresh spices up front, calms down through the drydown and remains very pleasant floral-woody with some kick throughout. Try this first. Again, Try this first. If you're unfortunately in the camp where your skin amplifies cumin, this isn't going to work for you. That being said, DO try this. It's a beautiful composition and I haven't smelled much, if anything, like it.

بعض العطور هي مجرد عطور و البعض الآخر هو فكرة، الأفكار لا تموت و كذلك هذه العطور القليلة المتفردة التي تصنع الفرق و تمهد الطريق لعشرات المحاكيات لتصبح نوعا بنفسها من العطور ديكلارسيون من كارتييه هو عطر متفرد، عطر حمضي تابلي خشبي دخاني، أعتقد أنه لا يوجد عطر آخر في الفترة بين كوول وواتر و حتى ديور هوم 2005 كان بقوة و جمال و تأثير هذه الأيقونة من الفنان جان كلود إلينا الافتتاحية حمضية من البرتقال مع البرغموت مع اضافة تابلية من الكاروية و لمسة دخانية من أخشاب البتولا، يبدأ بعدها قلب العطر و هو امتداد للمقدمة مع تركيز على التوابل هي الهيل و الفلفل الأسود ثم يختتم بقاعدة خشبية مع الفيتفر حفل التوابل هذا في الواقع متناغم جدا و غير منفر بل بالعكس يبدو رجوليا و فخما، هذه الحرفية هي ما نقل إلينا بعدها ليكون عطار دار هرمز و ليصنع معهم أنجح عطورهم الرجالية تيري هيرمز الذي بالمناسبة يستوحي الفكرة الأساسية من هذا العطر مع الكثير من التجريد: الحمضيات و التوابل و الأخشاب العطر ألهم العديد من المحاكيات و كذلك ترك بصمة واضحة في عديد الاصدارات العالمية بعده، ايحاء و تدرج ديكلارسيون بالنسبة لي لا يخفى في ديور هوم 2005 أو تيري هيرمز عطر يناسب جميع الأوقات و المناسبات ، يبدع أكثر في صباح الأجواء المعتدلة مثل الربيع و الخريف الأداء جيد جدا بثبات يصل ل 10 ساعات و فوحان جيد خلال أول 2-4 ساعات التقييم 4.85/5

A perfect 10 out of 10. This smells like everything that's masculine about a mature man. Elegant, discrete, powerful. I don't know why people smell sweat, perhaps it's the skin chemistry. On my skin it smells amazing. Too bad for the average longevity. Get it before it gets discontinued. Blind buy safe!

How delightful it was to discover, in the good old Déclaration by Cartier, the progenitor of all the subsequent beautiful creations by Monsieur Ellena — all those voyages, lands, and gardens: Voyage d’Hermès, the Un Jardin series, Bigarrade Concentré and so on. They all share an incomparable note of dreamy, spicy freshness... It's a shame that after a stunningly beautiful opening you are left with a rather stuffy base overloaded with Iso E Super and some kind of bodily musks. A bit too stinging my taste. It’s a love-hate relationship for me. Beautiful opening and something heavy in the basenotes.

For the last reviewer: I wouldn't waste time either. There are two options for you. Either you need a better deo, because you may be smelling yourself, or you need a nose job.

CARTIER DÉCLARATION: THE OVERPRICED SPICE-SWEAT I won’t waste many words on this because it’s simply not worth it. To me, this smells exactly like someone who ate spicy Indian food and is now sweating it out. It’s an overpriced, sweaty-spice mess. I actually chose to throw my 60 Euro bottle away rather than letting it take up any more space on my shelf. If you want to smell like body odor and cumin, go for it - otherwise, stay away. It’s a total disappointment.

I’ve just calculated that my bottle of Déclaration is at least 20 years old. I vividly remember getting it in Clapham Junction, London in the summer of 2006. I got it for my boyfriend, as it seemed like the perfect men’s fragrance, but he never really wore it, although we still took it with us when we emigrated. Déclaration is a fresh bitter orange, with soapy bitter juniper, mossy vetiver, peppery-dry ferns and orange tea-leaves on a woody base. I love how fuzzy, dry green-powdery and aromatic it is. It smells like a dry and sunny woodland floor. After the first hour it does get more spicy cumin and caraway, so I can see why my boyfriend didn’t wear this. So clearly I wore this way more than him, so it’s unisex (but leans more masculine) but a woman can just about wear this if they want that old money gentleman’s classic clean fougère. I like it but, the cumin and caraway armpit spice is my only reservation, as it starts to take a sour-sweaty turn after the second hour. So I’ll put it back into retirement for another 20 years.

Absolutely ADOORRREEEE Declaration, such an elegant and powerful spicy fragrance, that not many people know, so many gorgeous notes that complement each other very well. Recommend to anyone who enjoys spicy fragrances.

1 year review: LOVE IT!! This one is challenging; I loved it then I didn't then I did, but after it has aged for a while, it is a beautiful and insanely unique citrus fragrance. To me it smells like deep, rich and smokey orange tea, on a woody, slightly floral base with hints of leather and a lot of spices giving it this amazing depth. Is everyone going to like this? No. But for me, besides the horrible projection, this is a masterpiece. 10/10 from me, but sample first and give it time

A feminine blend of ISO-E super and amber with a ton of aldehydes. Something like Chanel. Very light and feminine. My mother wears frags like that and I can't take it anymore. I am disgusted. Happy to have only bought a sample. Played for a fool by the designers again...

First Pass - Floral. Powdery. Dry. Slightly soapy. Leather? 2 Hours Later - Very floral. More soapy. Still powdery 4 Hours Later - Still floral. Less soapy, citrus is sharper. Aromatic spice peeking through. Faint hints of wood and leather Build varies greatly by source, but all of them agree there is orange, cardamom, and cedar. Most sources categorize this as a “spicy, woody” scent, which makes sense based on those 3 ingredients, but there’s much more at play here Notably, the strength of the florals. The wood is quite delicate, and the aromatics are nearly imperceptible, completely dominated by the blooms. Sometimes the florals combine with the citrus to emanate a soapy accord, but mostly they manifest as a deep powdery component. Overall - This scent is in the realm of Aqua di Aqua Homme (2002) and Costa Azzura (2021), both of which I have reviewed separately. I don’t like powdery or floral scents, nor do I find them masculine. For me, Declaration is unisex at best ***Scents, like tastes, are subjective. Wear what you like***

im not really sure but it feels like there has been a reformulation, there's a weird smell that doesn't feel like declaration to me at least.

Spicy orange vetiver. Gorgeous scent. It reminds me of spring, when it rains for a bit, the ground is wet and the sun comes back and you're in the middle of the city enjoying your day. Top quality. Ignore haters.

There's nothing sweaty or BO about the opening. It's a heady blend of spices and citrus sophisticatedly blended. The drydown is where the magic happens - effervescent yet creamy, spicy yet cooling, woody yet soft. This is a masterpiece.

To try Déclaration these days is an odd experience. I suspect that it has been subject to a reformulation that includes a modern aromachemical, because I really cannot recall that it smelled so predominantly of cardamom and citrus. But that is what I get, and apparently, according to the AI summary, I am not the only one: Harsh cardamom, wearying sense of synthetic woods in the base.

Untrained noses, not developed brains and narrow minded people like @nicholassua (reviews from 07/10/24 and 09/05/24) call this (and a lot of classics) "old men", "old guys", "old school", old this, old that... okay Mr. Forever Young. Waiting for the next vey insightful "old anything" review (we can't expect anything better than this, right?!).

It is an interesting perfume. It has spicy facet to it almost reminding me of curry in the first few minutes. Then the tea pops up and I slightly get rose here which make it a very pleasant scent.

In my mind, it smells like a time-share salesman or a country club golfer in the 2000’s😂 I’m not really warming up to this one quickly. It’s fresh, warm, citrusy, ginger, and some spice and tea.