Kapsule Light
Lagerfeld (2008)

Generic yet classy...

Kapsule Light is a fragrance which is Karl Lagerfeld's take on a generic, light crowd pleaser... done in a fun, playful way. I also like the fact that it is not trying to be phenomenal or ground-breaking in any way. Instead, we get light florals, with wood and spice. The addition of nutmeg is a unique feature and is welcome here. I do enjoy it very much. The citrus is nice, and gives me an eau de cologne impression. I think this would work almost anywhere. It would probably shine in hot weather and perform great. I do see this as a casual and fun fragrance which is inoffensive yet still done with taste and class when compared to later releases etc. Not spectacular but still enjoyable enough if you're looking for a casual scent.

An intentionally unremarkable commonplace masculine. The combination of nutmeg and bleach reminds me of Kenneth Cole Black, so it's basically your run-of-the-mill office scent. If you enjoy Hugo Boss-style discount men's "woody amber" aquatic scents that can be found dirt-cheap online, this is for you, but don't go in expecting anything new or clever.

A pleasant spice scent. Not sweet, not heavy.
Generic but acceptable. Don't get any bitter orange.

No, I don't like woody/citrus/spicy fragrances, and no I generally don't like light scents. And yes, this is both light and generic. And no, I've never tried layering this with the other Kapsule perfumes. Despite all this, I think this is a great scent.

Even if a perfume is generic in style, I can sometimes enjoy it if it's done well. Kapsule Light is one of the best blended woody spicy fragrances I've ever tried. Every note, every facet is handled with great care and with a light hand, so that all its various facets work together beautifully. The woody notes are perfectly balanced with clove and other spicy notes. Everything is rounded off with a soft, creamy but subtle base of tonka and musk, giving the whole scent a buffed out sweetness, but never weighing it down.

There are so many other fragrances just like this, but few if any are done as well as this. Big thumbs up!

MY RATING: 8.5/10

This actually smells like a cleaner, more washed-out version of Kouros Cologne Sport-- but much, much lighter. Probably too light for some people, however I like it.

Subtle or boring? Well, it's all a matter of personal values, I suppose. KAPSULE LIGHT, to me, is a subtle, slightly masculine-leaning cologne. The dominant cedarish quality is I gather imparted by iso-E-super? So I guess that what I loved about WOODY was not the iso-E-super, because here the spices are at the threshold of being undetectable. To my nose, the overall feeling is closer to Molecule 01 than to WOODY. Yes, LIGHT, as advertised, is light. This would be a fine scent for the modern wall-less open office. I am also sure that this would mix well with more intense perfumes, to mellow them out a bit. I am going to try mixing this one with some of the harder-hitting offerings from the house of Comme des Garçons...

Although the individual perfumes of this collection are not earthshatteringly brilliant, overall, I am happy with the KAPSULE collection. Great concept, splendid aesthetic execution on all fronts. Why even the silver-and-white-accented, textured black cardboard boxes are beautiful! Did I mention that Karl's signature is stamped (with raised lettering as in Braille) on the bottom of the bottles? The color of this bottle, by the way, is a lighter version of the tealish-smokey blue of the WOODY bottle. They look so sleek lined up together. Bravo, Karl!

In this originally compelling and then totally disapointing Kapsule series, this is the worst one out of three.

Completely, from top to the bottom, boring and presumable watery fresh scent with a faint citrus-floral accord. Weak and short lived, and an absolute waste of time not to mention money.

This feels like M7 Fresh Light. I really get the agarwood/soapy musk. Clove is a dominant note as well but not as big as stuff in the Diptyque scents. A nice scent if you enjoy these aspects.

oh, no. tangerine, some generic 'fruits' and soapy musk.

I like this but, not as much as the other two. It does seem like something akin to a fresh shower gel. But lets remember that this series is meant to be layered. Therefore don't be to critical of each scent. Each one plays upon the other. This is a fun and different alternative to the usual scents out there. Give it a try.

Something for the apologetic perfume wearer who wants to smell freshly-washed, as though having just stepped out of the shower with the faint aroma of cleanser wafting off the skin. A clean, gently soapy citrus fades quickly to a skin scent. I can't dislike it, but I want my perfumes to do much more than this