Coffeecat283

I have the SMN discovery set of 8 fragrances, and this was a completely unexpected standout for me. My only previous experience with a tobacco fragrance was with Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club, which was a massive failure on me (two words: wet ashtray!). So I was quite nervous about Tabacco Toscano and sampled it thinking it would be another case of instant dislike.

…and happily, I was so wrong. This is light, spicy, and woody, with a touch of smoke and sweetness. Like the scent left on your clothes after standing around a bonfire, but lighter and a tad sweeter. If you’re like me and generally hesitant about tobacco fragrances, please try this one! I promise you will not smell like a chain smoker or a barbecue grill. It has an intimate sillage, so the scent sticks close to you, and it’s just soooo cozy and evocative of fall to me.

Also, I do see a lot of men reviewing this and loving it, but I am a woman and I feel like I can wear this too. It’s truly unisex. It’s in the same general vein as soft, spicy, woodsy, vanillic scents like Diptyque Eau Duelle and MM Replica Whispers in the Library (sadly discontinued), which is what makes it so wearable in my opinion and why it appears to be such a crowd-pleaser. (I’m NOT saying it’s a dupe of those, FYI - Tabacco Toscano is less sweet and more spicy/smoky. But the general vibes are similar to me.)

Contemplating a full bottle of this one, and god knows I don’t need any more full bottles right now!

I purchased the discovery set of all 5 Harlem Perfume Co. samples, and after trying them all, THIS was the unexpected “winner” for me and the one I chose to get a full bottle of.

I’ve seen people compare this to Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club, but to me they are not similar at all. Jazz Club smelled like a wet ashtray on me, whereas Speakeasy really does realistically evoke the feeling of being in a dim, smoky club.

As you can see in the description, there’s a LOT of notes present here but they all blend really well. There’s smokiness, there’s booziness, there’s a touch of sweetness, even some fruitiness from the plum and a bit of spiciness. This also maintains an air of class and elegance, it definitely gives off a “members only” club vibe rather than a “party nightclub” vibe, if that makes sense.

This is also truly a unisex scent, in my opinion. This would be equally alluring on a man or a woman. It would obviously be perfect for a night out in fall and winter, but I love this so much I’m definitely going to be sporting this on cold fall and winter days as well.

The first in this line, Flower Ikebana Sakura, was an instant “love” for me and is completely unique in my fragrance collection, whereas this Mimosa flanker is more around a solid “like.” (It was also, oddly, very difficult to find here in the US despite being a new release…I ended up purchasing it on Fragrancebuy.) I feel like it is a bit less unique than Sakura.

That being said, Mimosa is still quite lovely. It’s floral like Sakura, but the woodiness is not as noticeable. Because of this, Mimosa comes off as a tad lighter, airier, and strictly a spring/summer fragrance. I get a bit of citrus at the top, which might be the kumquat? (I’m not sure what a kumquat smells like!) There’s some aquatic notes and a touch of powder in there too. I do not have much experience with mimosa as a fragrance note, but I enjoy it in this. It seems to be a rather light, delicate, somewhat powdery flower.

This Mimosa flanker is overall light, clean, elegant, and inoffensive. It’s perfectly office appropriate, and also good for casual daytime wear.

Look, I’ve really enjoyed Soki’s channel and I really admire her for taking this huge entrepreneurial step, but I’m also entitled to my (kindly and respectfully stated) honest opinion as a consumer. And my honest opinion is, sadly, this perfume was Just Not Good. I understand what she was going for, but I personally think the execution was a little lacking.

I had to spray my 15 ml travel spray a few times to get the true sense of the fragrance. I’m not sure what happened, maybe it was just stored for a while and didn’t keep well, but the first few sprays of this just smelled, frankly, like an unblended mess. I was getting heavy sickly strawberry, toffee, and STRONG popcorn all at the same time, but they were competing for attention rather than presenting as a smooth blend.

After spraying a few times, though, the perfume seemed to “settle.” It’s still very strong, but more of a cohesive fragrance. It is coming across to me as a mix of Jimmy Choo EDP and YSL Mon Paris with the strawberry top note. I don’t get any of the floral notes, this is primarily a sweet fruitchouli to me. You really do have to like patchouli to like this fragrance, it packs a punch.

So to be fair, if those sweet fruity gourmand-ish fragrances are your thing, you’ll probably like this! That’s not my taste though, so I’m really just not vibing with this. It’s way too heavy and sweet to wear to the office, I have other “daily driver” seasonal perfumes I’d reach for over this one, and it’s not quite my taste for a “going out” or “date night” perfume.

All that being said…I will say I have also tried the other two Soki London perfumes, Aphrodite and Artemis, and both of those are MUCH better than Empress, in my opinion. Both are full-bottle worthy. So please go try those if you’re able! It’s just a shame this one was a “miss” for me.

This was a successful blind buy for me. Gorgeous fragrance and completely unique in my collection! I am not usually a fan of “green notes” (they can often come across as “lawn clippings” or “mown grass” to me), but the green notes in Artemis are very fresh and well done. They blend quite well with the sweetness of the peach top notes, and are evocative of a forest floor without smelling too literally like a forest. This has some mystery to it. I can easily see myself wearing this any time of year. It is also properly strong and long-lasting with just 1-2 sprays.