Philyrae

It’s a very refreshing and properly salty ocean scent. The lemon is more prominent and long lasting than expected, lasting halfway through the 6-7 hour performance on me. It’s quite linear and less photorealistic than Un Air de Bretagne or Salish Sea, both of which are equally briny. Unfortunately, Sel Marin is also much less interesting than Acqua di Sale or Megamare. A pass for me but it may be a good pick for someone looking to upgrade from Acqua di Gio and wants one step closer to a naturalistic marine scent.

When I think of feminine “clean skin” scents in the sea of Clean Reserve fragrances, Glossier, Blanche, JHAG etc, Fleur de Peau is one of the best in the category.

The interplay of iris, carrot and angelica is what makes this one just a little more interesting and takes it beyond a simple ambroxan + pepper + florals scent. It must be sampled on skin where the musk can bloom. On paper, this is too powdery and flat.

When worn, this is as comforting and soft as a gauzy muslin blanket and suitable for wearing year round in quiet environments.

The one caveat is that the blend of aldehydes and ambrette has since become ubiquitous in laundry products so newer visitors to this scent will likely associate it with soaps and detergents, for better or worse.

A chypre musk, but while there is powderiness in the drydown, it’s hardly your grandmother’s rose soap. It’s animalic with hints of warm bourbon and tobacco inside the patchouli and a full bodied rose. It’s not too sweet and not soft or youthful, despite the white florals. It can be easily worn by men or a woman with confidence and self-assurance. This would be amazing to smell in wool sweater weather. Bonus point for being so well priced.

This is like stepping out of a misty pine forest in late winter on the cusp of early spring. The air is cold and wet and you can smell the pine needles and drops of dew in the grass.

Like many L’Artisan fragrances, there’s more delicate complexity than bold punches to your face. This is a beautiful blend of frankincense with naturalistic woods that’s also incredibly fresh and green with its use of plant juice notes. It’s not as dark or mysterious as the ad copy describes but it realistically captures the feeling of a meandering walk out of the foggy woods.

Unfortunately the performance is abysmal. This becomes a skin scent within the first half hour and doesn’t last more than 4 hours on me. A real shame.

…and sweet. There’s a strong saffron note not listed here and it’s what this opens with, along with an interesting lime and hints of pomegranate in the top notes. The woods here are dark and smoky, I find this much more of a guaiac wood scent than a sandalwood one. It’s a gorgeous incense-y wood scent for fall/winter, though I personally find it ultimately too sweet to be worn in anything other than cold weather. The saffron is prominent on me and melts seamlessly into the vanilla musk base.

Like many Atelier Colognes, it’s a fragrance that justifies its price, it smells expensive and expertly blended. Performance and longevity are fantastic, great sillage, easily lasts 18+ hours on me.