Cricket Song Floraïku 2017 Eau de Parfum

Crisp opening, velvet-smooth floral heart and a soft woody background. This cool-radiant combination of bergamot and magnolia feels a bit too familiar. It is not far off Eau de Magnolia. Maybe a bit more shampooey rendering of florals and a more straightforward base of vetiver-musk. Not all bad, but it falls short when comparing with Malle and it comes with a higher price tag. The stunning bottle design almost makes up for that, though.

I have tried the fragrance several times over different seasons from my discovery set by Floraiku and after much back and forth, I remain with my initial assessment of the scent. First of all, the bottles from Floraiku are, in my opinion, among the most beautiful I know, and the fragrance is also visually appealing. However, one must be aware of the vibe of this scent. The fragrance is very floral; the association I had was that it smells like something my grandmother, or rather an older lady, would wear. A visual association for me would be a classic plate with flowers on it. Furthermore, I would like to say that while I think the fragrance smells good, even if it suited me, which it does not, I believe it does not perform in accordance with the price tag and is not special enough for that.

Magnolias and shrub peonies have one or two things in common. They take a few years to reach a reasonable size. But once they do, the pompous bloom of these plants is one of the highlights of the gardening year. And they have something else in common. I think both are represented in the present fragrance.

First, however, the official magnolia direction gets its turn. "Direction" because the good one may indeed have more in its luggage. A tuberose thought has already been expressed, and a line could be drawn to the specimen from Naomi Goodsir's 'Nuit de Bakélite'.

But soon someone knocks and wants to confirm my suspicion: In the background, I perceive a sour-watery peony sting, its trace of fruitiness rounds off the scent. A contribution from blackcurrant could also be argued. With bergamot alone, I certainly can't get there. After about an hour, the "peak" has passed - the bitterness, however, remains. Quite bitter. My magnolias don't take it that far, though; there's definitely some punch here!

Unfortunately, the previously noble appearance is clouded around noon in two ways by unpleasant fruit. On one hand, one might think of dried fruit, on the other hand, the reference to canned cocktail fruit is not far off either. I suspect that diffuse laboratory general fruit, which allows associations with pear, apricot, peach, etc. at will.

As the day progresses, I find myself in the evening amidst a sluggish ping-pong game between the bitter tea scent of magnolia & co. and the double fruit. Played out on a barely perceptible wooden plate. Far back, something like a white flower honey with a sting wakes me up again, and in the finish, a bit of (musk) cream might be involved. No idea, basically, I've long since said goodbye. Too bad - the first hours promised more.

I thank Verbena for the sample.

"cricket song" layered with "between two trees" - one of the two shadow perfumes in the series, underscores the lush magnolia with a dark, sweet-dampening hue.
What previously seemed somewhat superficial and one-dimensional becomes dynamic and vibrant. The magnolia now appears more serious, almost a little tragic... a beauty that has lost its playful side and draws the observer into the depths. A clear, dark green depth... intense and translucent at the same time....

It seems to me that one only truly understands the scents of this fragrance series when one also discovers their respective shadow variants. And here we easily approach the realm of C.G. Jung: for who wouldn't find it appealing to sometimes switch their own "shadow"?