Top Notes 
Green leaves
Nectarine
Heart Notes 
Lily of the valley
Violet
Green apple
Jasmine tea
Vanilla
Base Notes 
Musk
Oakmoss
Sandalwood
Amber
11/12/2013
Apicius
224 Reviews
Apicius
Very helpful Review
6
Dior Homme pour Femme
Some fragrances are so tightly woven that it is difficult for me to sense some development – let alone notice all the notes. Such is the case with Penhaligon's Artemisia. First, I do not have a precise idea about what this plant is supposed to smell like. And then the naming might lead us a bit astray since this fragrance is not really herbal.
Artemisia is an oriental, not a fougère. I see strong bonds to Dior Homme: there is almost the same dry powdery and paper-like accord. However, it is not specific enough to remind you at orris root. There is a vanillic and slighly creamy basic appeal, but rather unsweet and not at all gooey or voluminous. And there is even something similar to Dior Homme's famous lipstick accord!
I do not agree at all with the scent description as given on Penhaligon's website – there, a respectable scent pyramid is listed with lots of ingredients that I do not smell.
If I read the word musk for this fragrance I can connect this to a very withdrawn animality. Better said, it is a characteristic that relates Artemisia directly to the person of the wearer and maybe justifies the classification “skin scent”. In a way, this perfume is more aura than fragrance. The first thought Artemisia evokes is rather “This person smells good” than “This person is wearing a great perfume”. Artemisia appears almost too intimate for a professional or office environment – but on the other side it is also too modest for a night out at the opera, and too discreet for any pub or bar.
So, it is a private fragrance, maybe for intimate moments: discreet but effective.
With its release year 2002 Artemisia already belongs to the longsellers at Penhaligon's. I can imagine that this not so spectacular fragrance may have some difficulties to find its customers. Maybe it is a longseller because it has certain long time qualities when you wear it. Due to its discreet character one does not easily get fed up with it – which generally can happen with vanillic orientals.
Artemisia is distributed as a ladies' fragrance by Penhaligon's – which I do not completely agree with. It is true that Artemisia is less distinctive than i.e. Dior Homme. But since its softness is presented with downright subtlety I'd like to regard it as unisex.
A while ago, Dior confused us with reformulations of its Dior Homme fragrances – which did no good at least to the Dior Homme Intense version. Here, Artemisia comes in as a high-classed alternative. Especially those men who are in doubt if the Dior “lipstick” accord might not be too feminine for them may feel more comfortable with the more discreet style of Artemisia. On the other side, Artemisia is highly recommendable to those ladies who like Dior Homme but do not want to wear a declared gents' cologne.
Artemisia is a beautiful discovery which found its way into my collection a while ago.
Artemisia is an oriental, not a fougère. I see strong bonds to Dior Homme: there is almost the same dry powdery and paper-like accord. However, it is not specific enough to remind you at orris root. There is a vanillic and slighly creamy basic appeal, but rather unsweet and not at all gooey or voluminous. And there is even something similar to Dior Homme's famous lipstick accord!
I do not agree at all with the scent description as given on Penhaligon's website – there, a respectable scent pyramid is listed with lots of ingredients that I do not smell.
If I read the word musk for this fragrance I can connect this to a very withdrawn animality. Better said, it is a characteristic that relates Artemisia directly to the person of the wearer and maybe justifies the classification “skin scent”. In a way, this perfume is more aura than fragrance. The first thought Artemisia evokes is rather “This person smells good” than “This person is wearing a great perfume”. Artemisia appears almost too intimate for a professional or office environment – but on the other side it is also too modest for a night out at the opera, and too discreet for any pub or bar.
So, it is a private fragrance, maybe for intimate moments: discreet but effective.
With its release year 2002 Artemisia already belongs to the longsellers at Penhaligon's. I can imagine that this not so spectacular fragrance may have some difficulties to find its customers. Maybe it is a longseller because it has certain long time qualities when you wear it. Due to its discreet character one does not easily get fed up with it – which generally can happen with vanillic orientals.
Artemisia is distributed as a ladies' fragrance by Penhaligon's – which I do not completely agree with. It is true that Artemisia is less distinctive than i.e. Dior Homme. But since its softness is presented with downright subtlety I'd like to regard it as unisex.
A while ago, Dior confused us with reformulations of its Dior Homme fragrances – which did no good at least to the Dior Homme Intense version. Here, Artemisia comes in as a high-classed alternative. Especially those men who are in doubt if the Dior “lipstick” accord might not be too feminine for them may feel more comfortable with the more discreet style of Artemisia. On the other side, Artemisia is highly recommendable to those ladies who like Dior Homme but do not want to wear a declared gents' cologne.
Artemisia is a beautiful discovery which found its way into my collection a while ago.
kittea
Lottidulli
Annebertran
Scentwitch
