Skydiver92

In my entire perfume journey, I have never received so many comments from people around me about a scent. It seems to move people. In the elevator, I hear someone take a deep breath just to tell me that what is wafting from me smells simply amazing. Once, the scent lingered in the air in my apartment, and even guests had to admit upon entering my front door that this smell does something positive to you. When friends browse through my collection, this one always ranks at the top. People associate the leather with an expensive handbag, new car seats in a fancy sports car, and generally the scent of high quality. I love this fragrance; it blends perfectly with my skin chemistry. It contains everything I love. It has leather, which makes it a bit edgy, it smells clean due to the sandalwood, but it also has a floral aspect from the mimosa and bergamot, and it is beautifully powdery.
When you sweat, this scent truly blossoms and radiates. On clothing, it lasts forever. The sillage is just right, about an arm's length. A loud scent would not be suitable for this fragrance direction at all.

I especially like the scent when the juice in the bottle has already turned reddish and is well-aged; then it is at its most intense and reveals all its magic.

A top fragrance from Byredo and my absolute favorite from the house. No wonder I have already started my second bottle.

I want to champion this fragrance. This scent is of the highest quality. For me, it ranks among the top fresh bergamot/neroli fragrances like Le Labo 22, L'eau neroli Diptyque, Wu long Cha, Vibrato Sospiro, Bo Bo Carner, Ani. The top note is breathtakingly beautiful and of such quality, as if you were crushing an orange peel in your hand and releasing the juice from its tiny pores into the air. Later, a herbal blend emerges that reminds me of my favorite Thai massage salon. This indescribable mixture is the epitome of relaxation for me. I can hardly understand the mediocre reviews. It's like standing in front of a portrait where everyone sees something different; for one, it's art that evokes emotions, while for another, it's just meaningless scribbles. What excites me about this fragrance is its complexity. As the skin warms, this scent evaporates a different nuance each time; sometimes a floral garden of lily of the valley and orange blossom, sometimes a green note comes through so intensely, as if you were tearing a leaf from a tree, crumpling it, and smelling it or biting into a green pepper. The base smells of warm wood in the sauna, sandalwood in the style of Tam Dao. Simply perfect. This fragrance is for me a fulfillment, a blessing, poetry, and just a grand cinematic experience. I can smell the emotions in this perfume, and I don't know how one can create something like this. It’s probably the combination of quality raw materials and the experience of a perfumer who has crafted his art with love and perfectionism. Rosendo Mateu will forever be one of my favorite perfumers.

I love fig scents. They evoke the ultimate freshness and vacation feeling for me, like no other fruit. When I am traveling and feel musty because I’ve been sitting all day on a train or plane, and then lying in a hotel room longing for that ultimate feeling of cleanliness, just give me fig and I feel completely rejuvenated again. I find that purely from an artistic perspective, the Philosykos EDP is unattainable. It is and remains art for me. It’s a mystery to me how a cinematic sequence of mown grass, branch, trunk, fig milk, and fruit can come together so perfectly. I have finished the bottle. Subsequently, I quickly went through the EDT for a change. This one is significantly more fig-fruity and sweeter with lower longevity. Although both fragrances are incredibly good, they have not proven to be lasting companions. The 4th and 5th figs I can compare are Ichnusa and Fico di Amalfi. With Ichnusa, I was overwhelmed by the punch of pine forest, while with Fico di Amalfi, I had a
dishwashing impulse, too much grapefruit hand soap vibes. In Fico Nero, I have finally found an overall composition, a linear fig scent that blends and stirs all components directly together without running through a disjointed sequence of fragrance notes. This can be perceived as disturbing and "mushy" by some, while for others, that is exactly what is desired. I want fig, all at once. Done. I often read that many find the coconut note in fig scents disturbing. I actually love this note and was very sad that it was far too brief in the Philosykos EDT. I would have wished for the coconut from the EDP for the EDT. In Fico Nero, it smells more like a light coconut water, which is noticeable but not overpowering. The rather disturbing peppery, woody note from Philosykos EDP is completely absent here. As I said, the Philosykos remains unchallenged as a work of art, and I enjoy looking at this artwork from afar (sniffing it when I’m in a perfume store again), but as an everyday companion, I have stuck with Fico Nero.

Happy to have found my fig scent.

Liqueur cherry, pickled, fermented, tipsy, mulled wine red, followed by peppery sharp dry cinnamon à la Big-red gum, together with a sack full of incense (why is this hardly mentioned here?). It smells like a church service, then transitions into an earthy dark almost dirty patchouli base. The patchouli is so dark, combined with the sharp cinnamon, that it almost reminds me of licorice or black leather. Before I bought it, I was afraid that my favorite Arabesque would become redundant. However, the two fragrances differ in that in Arabesque the plum top note almost completely disappears after a short time, transitioning into a skin-close tonka scent. Khaltat Night, on the other hand, is an earthy dark patchouli scent at the base. The cherry note in Khaltat Night, however, lasts and lasts and lasts and lasts. With every sweat, it is reignited by the warmth. I smell it continuously all day. For me, this is the biggest difference between the two fragrances, and I must honestly say, I wish the plum in Arabesque would last that long. In fact, KN is, in my opinion, a more affordable alternative to Arabesque; they are very similar in type. I wear KN when I want to smell a bit darker and less pleasing. It is dirtier. KN is the perfect scent for a party night in the club for me; due to its strength, it is also noticeable in this environment. Arabesque is, for me, the perfect beauty where everything is finely tuned. Too precious for a club night, a waste. I see the scent at a café meeting, to feel comfortable and beautiful. I love both.

Btw, usage is not only limited to the winter season. I indulge in this addictive cherry even in the height of summer. Who's going to stop me? ;)

For a long time, I searched for the perfect good mood fragrance, mood lifter, cocktail Caribbean, Sunday stroll scent à la Bal d'afrique. I used this one regularly for a long time and liked the scent itself very much; however, the performance was not satisfactory for me. It lacked the overflowing energy. That little bit of sunshine. I kept sniffing around and thought I had finally found the long-awaited treasure in Contralto. A scent like a scream of joy, so much sun lies in this bottle (the color of the velvet is fitting), and yet something held me back from wearing it. It simply smelled too intense for me shortly after waking up, when the olfactory receptors are most sensitive, having just emerged from the odorless calm of sleep. I think it is Ambroxan that acts as a catalyst here and allows the Bal d'afrique formula to project well. I recently read a statement that every perfume formula has its own olfactory projection optimum and that this good mood scent generally belongs to those with a quieter optimum. Good things come in threes. Indeed, I have found in Al Rayhan the perfect middle ground (for me) between Bal d'afrique and Contralto. This further illustrates that the price of a perfume is not always congruent with individual tastes. According to the motto, more is more. The fragrance pyramid should not be misleading. I do not perceive the scent as artificially sweetened, but rather naturally sweetened with fruits, if that makes sense. I smell neither pralines nor candies. Rather, I detect juicy, zesty fruits like pineapple and mango. Normally, I am put off by too much candy shop, as I believe that there is often an attempt to cover up a lack of complexity and refinement with a hint of sweetness (that never works). I find it very exciting, and it truly combines everything I had hoped for, namely Bal d'afrique without vetiver and Contralto without a strong balsam note. Perhaps there are people out there who also ponder this fragrance DNA.
Best regards
S.