The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Excuse Mint arrived in 2025 as part of Jakub Pietrynka's expanding catalogue of small-batch compositions. The name tells you exactly what to expect and then some: a green-fresh aromatic built around a bracing eucalyptus-mint accord that opens with the force of mentholated steam. It's not a polite cologne. It's the scent of a window thrown open in a hot room, and then someone handing you a handful of crushed leaves. The mint comes through cold and clinical at first, almost like biting into something frozen, but the eucalyptus softens that chill into something more vegetal and alive within minutes. There's an immediate sense of raw, untamed greenery here, the kind of green that exists outside rather than in a curated garden bed.
The structure is what makes it more than a single-note novelty. Eucalyptus and mint carry the top, but angelica adds an earthy, root-beer warmth underneath, a grounding counterweight that keeps the coolness from becoming thin. Then the heart shifts into literal plant material: tomato leaf, grass, and sage, three notes that bring different textures to the table. Tomato leaf is the odd one out, slightly vegetal and almost bitter, and it gives the composition its edge. Without it, this would smell like a spa. With it, it smells like a garden that hasn't been manicured.
The evolution
The opening is loud, almost medicinal. Camphor and eucalyptus hit the sinuses with a clarity that demands attention, then mint settles in just behind it, cooler and sweeter. As the composition exhales, the eucalyptus softens into something greener and more transparent, and the tomato leaf starts to surface, bringing a watery, slightly bitter freshness that reads as actual vegetation rather than aromatherapy. The angelica works quietly underneath, giving the green notes a rooty warmth that keeps them grounded. The sage arrives as the composition settles into its middle stretch, herbal and dry, pushing the scent further outdoors. From there, the base takes over: cashmeran adds a soft, woody-musky skin quality, patchouli brings quiet depth without tipping into something heavy or dated, and ambroxan extends the wear with that clean, slightly mineral radiance it does so well.
Cultural impact
Excuse Mint treats green freshness as a serious composition choice, built around an eucalyptus-mint accord that doesn't soften itself for easy wear. The eucalyptus gives it a sharper, more medicinal character than most green fragrances manage, and the tomato leaf in the heart keeps the profile pointed away from anything resembling a shower-gel baseline. The result is a scent that refuses to flatten into the kind of generic fresh-clean category where green often ends up. The angelica and sage anchor it with herbal weight, and the drydown of cashmeran, patchouli, and ambroxan ensures the composition doesn't lose its grip as hours pass.
