Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel Molton Brown 2019 Eau de Parfum

It is so herbaceous and green, yet at the same time very marine and salty. I don’t veg the cardamom very strongly but the ginger does shine through. The opening is absolutely beautiful, but it dries down to a very leather heavy scent that goes a tad too masculine for me. If you’re a leather lover, or have a male in your life who is, I think this would be a total winner.

In search of an aquatic scent that smells like vacation to me, I ended up with Cypress & Sea Fennel. The descriptions sounded perfect, and I eventually bought it blind. I was all the more surprised when I wore it for the first time.

I hardly get a classic aquatic scent here. Instead, an incredibly fresh, juicy cypress dominates for my nose. It smells almost as if you were pressing green cypress needles and applying the juice directly to the skin. This feels fresh, yet distinctly herbaceous at the same time. The fragrance remains pleasantly green and juicy and never drifts into the strongly ethereal sauna direction.

Interestingly, it evokes a childhood memory for me: It reminds me of a large green bottle that my grandparents used for cleaning or ironing. To this day, I don't know what was in it, but that exact image comes back every time.

Cypress & Sea Fennel is a very puristic scent. It doesn't try to be particularly complex but consistently focuses on its green, cypress DNA. And it does that excellently. However, for my taste, it lacks a fruity facet that would round off the scent a bit. I find exactly that, for example, in Jo Malone Cypress & Grapevine, which takes a similar direction but feels more harmonious.

For me, Cypress & Sea Fennel is a scent for specific moments: linen shirt, sandals, and vacation by the sea. It conveys that relaxed feeling of life without appearing old-fashioned. At the same time, one really has to like this uncompromisingly green orientation.

That's why I enjoy wearing it, but rarely. A small bottle is more than enough for me. However, for those looking for exactly this puristic, juicy green cypress DNA, this fragrance fulfills its purpose exceptionally well.

… through Valletta in the evening. So I look for a restaurant and find the Haywharf Restaurant with a view of the bay and Manoel Island. I order a fish dish that I enjoy with a glass of white wine. I lean back, have an espresso brought to me after the meal, and relax with the view.

Upon application, the first thing that hits the nose is a citrusy fresh green spicy scent. This quickly takes on a maritime aquatic twist. Following this are woody smoky floral accords. These are underscored by an earthy dry adult leather twist. It takes on a somewhat masculine character.

The longevity and sillage are good.

Here we have a fragrance from the house of Molton Brown that is launched as a unisex scent. However, I see it more suited for gentlemen due to its masculine twist rather than for ladies. I would say the entry age is around 21 years and up. This fragrance has its main season on warm and hot days. It can be worn during the day for any occasion. In the evening, I would wear it on a date or to a beach or garden party.

Anyone who enjoys a citrusy fresh green spicy maritime aquatic woody smoky floral earthy dry adult masculine leather scent should take a look at this one.

Beautifully herbaceous-woody cypress breeze, I find the scent quite authentically cypress. Suitable for diabetics, there's nothing sweet here. I really enjoy it; I don't like to apply it too heavily. It has a masculine quality, but I like wearing it, as even current men's fragrances can sometimes be too sweet for me. The sillage and longevity are average; in the evening, you can still catch a hint on your clothes. It's more of a scent for oneself, it doesn't shout too loudly. Many categorize it as a summer fragrance, but for me, it would be more of an autumn/winter scent, though it surely works year-round and is unisex. I find the MB bottles very beautiful, and this one in particular with the dark glass and green-blue cap. In the perfume department, all MB fragrances were available to sniff on a kind of scent circle, which I found very practical, and I liked this one the best. Not wonderful for everyone, but those who enjoy a herbaceous-woody scent will be pleased to find it amidst the sweet-gourmand floral sea.