Named for the original car license plate of pre-war Berlin, 1A-33 is J. F. Schwarzlose’s first modern retooling of one of their heritage perfumes. If you’re thinking there’s a classic tone to this perfume, then you’d be right, especially with the scent’s emphasis on the rich aroma of linden blossom trees in full bloom along the famous Unter den Linden Boulevard in Berlin. It draws the mind immediately to the bourgeois pleasures of sipping tea and reading the morning news in a café in the dappled shade.
But this is not a perfume drowning under the weight of nostalgia - it is neither staid nor powdery. In fact, in its perfectly-judged balance between the creamy honey of magnolia, linden blossom, and jasmine and the sharpness of pink pepper and mandarin, 1A-33 reveals itself to be a thoroughly modern fragrance. It’s this peppery little kick to the gait of this perfume that makes it such a joy to wear, especially on cool, sunny mornings. One spray of this and you’re guaranteed to feel all the euphoria of spring in Berlin, flowers and leaves bursting into life above your head. A perfume with eyes set firmly forward to the future, not backwards to the past.
