Monstera | Xinú (no. 4) Xinú 2017

A monstera plant. Not much more, but so much to it. It’s leafy, green, fresh, vegetal even, slightly floral in a dewy and crisp way. It balances out to something more mellow, like a real monstera plant waving its leaves at your nose. It’s weird how complex a simple scent can really be in the sense that it’s hard to make something this simple that translates to a whole picture. A really well done green fragrance to top most other green fragrances.

I purchased this scent in San Miguel de Allende from their super-charming boutique. This was a clear favorite from Xinu's lineup. I love all green scents, and this is one of my all-time faves.

Monstera is a gorgeously assembled fragrance that mixes a photo-realistic green leaf/clorophyll scent with a juicy roundness. When I first put it on, I worried the clean freshness would descend into powderiness (which I avoid), but thankfully the green pushes through on the drydown, and I'm left with something fresh, beautifully balanced but not overpowering, tropical but not fruity. Definitely a warm weather wear.

Performance is quite good on this too! 6-8 hours easily, and I've gotten a number of compliments from both men and women on it.

My strong penchant for green fragrances has led me down an ever more circuitous path through all manner of perfume houses touting vividly verdant perfumes, some that deliver on their promise, others feeling more like a functional product through its wear (sorry, Jorum and your Pluck!). I had my eye on the Mexican house of Xinu since I was introduced to them a bit ago by Dana Sandu (A Nose Knows). I honed in on Monstera because, naturally, the idea of a lush, crunchy, succulent tropical rainforest green scent seemed to describe the zenith of my search. Frederic Malle's Synthetic Jungle, while brilliant, is not terribly jungle-like, at least in my imagination, mostly because of its incandescent lily of the valley accord. Once I finally laid my nose on Monstera, however, it exceeded my expectations for an ultra-wet rainforest, big leaf greenie.

It immediately recalls entering indoor botanic gardens, since truth be told, I have yet the privilege to visit a true equatorial rainforest (someday!). It reminds me of entering the indoor portion of The Botanic Garden at Smith College in the winter and admiring the humid flora, or more recently, visiting Logee's Greenhouse in Danielson, CT with my friend John Biebel. Monstera begins with saturated vegetation in 'surround-smell,' condensation and broken stems, sap and phloem, only slightly bitter, more tart. This tartness is like the scent that wafts when you first cut a pineapple, penetrating yet invigorating. There is even a big creeping vine berry, cucumber, melon current running through this hothouse. It grows a bit more fruity, but never quite full-on sweet, with the heart lending an almost sulfurous character that suggests passion fruit or grapefruit, but is still greener than it is ripe.

I have never smelled Monstera fruit, but apparently it shares similarities with pineapple. I also can't recall ever smelling another note here, Bull horn orchid, but I've smelled several fragrant orchids and I don't think the idea of an orchid accord of any type is far-fetched in Monstera. Daturas, however, I am acquainted with: yes, the strangely citrus-cacao-vanilla-narcotic scent of these vespertine blooms isn't a reach either. It is the general illustration of thick stalks, pendulous blooms and oversized fruits that most inhabit my wearing experience. Juicy, tart, creamy, slightly-sweet, and crushed leaf-and-smeared-petal ultra-green, Xinu's Monstera turned out to be wholly satisfying for my yen. I do hope to one day truly experience the sensory awe of a rainforest canopy, but in the meantime, this enables me to lean into the fantasy.

Monstera is the most beautiful and organic smelling green fragrance I've tried. It smells of fresh cut stems in the opening - very green, bitter, slightly sweet, and with a bit of tart fruitiness (meant to mimic monstera fruit). Spicy floral notes start to come through which adds a little more depth, but this never turns into floral or fruity fragrance. Inspired by monstera and the jungle it grows in, the "greenness" is always at the heart, even in the dry down which leaves the skin with an earthy and woody sweetness. I love green scents in general, but I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I do. It stands out, is well balanced, and gives the impression of a natural environment. The price is on the higher end, but it does have great projection and longevity. I also love the bottle. It was intentionally designed to be used in multiple ways once the perfume is finished, which is really cool.

This is at least worth sampling for anyone who loves or is looking for uplifting green fragrances!

This starts as a very earthy and bitter, wet, green scent with faint, dewy floral notes and a kind of masculine-leaning, warm, green spiciness. There’s something that feels a bit waxy and squeaky that reminds me of vetiver, and an ever so slight, wispy smokiness. The scent of the dewy petals dances lightly on top of the fresh, green bitterness. The floral scent is not strong at all, just a little bit of something. It reminds me of a mix between tulips and cyclamen. Some aspect of the scent feels a little bit leathery as well, in a vegetal and soapy way. I don’t really sense much of a fruitiness, but there’s a slight natural sweetness that balances the bitter green.

The scent is fairly linear, but impressively long lasting. It stays in this unique place between sweet green plant juice and a bitter green sap, with warm and clean, perhaps somewhat woody, green spices. There continues to be a pond-like aquatic scent, though it becomes slightly more dry, with the light sprinkle of weakly scented, delicate petals. A thin veil of smoke blows by in the wind. Much later on, I notice something darker in the base that seems ambery or resinous with a light touch of a patchouli-adjacent sweet spice.

Although I find this scent very uniquely green in a way that I am not used to smelling, I also don’t think it’s something I’m deeply drawn to. I think the unexpected (for me) masculine qualities take me out of the magic of the dewy, green, Mexican landscape. I appreciate the artistry here in making something different, but don’t think it’s something I’ll reach for much.