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Cut daffodils and humid greens
Opens with a cut bouquet and I’m immediately filled with delight because to my nose it’s not the promised chrysanthemum or tulip, but daffodils.
The delight continues 20 minutes later, as looking at the notes I expected the heart to be dominated by rose — instead, it’s water lily that comes to the fore. A little spicy marigold emerges in the base, but those daffodils stay front and centre, wrapped in humid cut greens.
In the end, it’s no surprise that I love this — I adore photorealistic flowers that are complete with snapped stems and leaves. The incredible
Saskia (heady cut florals and slight underlying florist funk) is my holy grail but this is right up there, and I particularly love that James gave the starring role to flowers less common in perfumery.
Projection is on the softer side of moderate, and longevity is around 6-7 hours. Gender is unisex — who doesn’t want fresh flowers in their life?
As an aside, I’m so sad that the Filigree & Shadow studio is closing in a couple of days. I may need to pick this up before it’s gone forever…
The delight continues 20 minutes later, as looking at the notes I expected the heart to be dominated by rose — instead, it’s water lily that comes to the fore. A little spicy marigold emerges in the base, but those daffodils stay front and centre, wrapped in humid cut greens.
In the end, it’s no surprise that I love this — I adore photorealistic flowers that are complete with snapped stems and leaves. The incredible
Saskia (heady cut florals and slight underlying florist funk) is my holy grail but this is right up there, and I particularly love that James gave the starring role to flowers less common in perfumery. Projection is on the softer side of moderate, and longevity is around 6-7 hours. Gender is unisex — who doesn’t want fresh flowers in their life?
As an aside, I’m so sad that the Filigree & Shadow studio is closing in a couple of days. I may need to pick this up before it’s gone forever…
Fireworks in the herb garden
A big energetic opening of fresh, naturalistic handfuls of crushed mint backed by basil, citrus and eucalyptus. 15 minutes later, that crisp herbal edge eases a bit, with juicy green figs and tart berries joining the party. After an hour this has mellowed even further, settling into a soft woody-green scent.
It’s a joyously explosive herbal cocktail of a fragrance that puts a smile on my face.
That said, although I’m a green scent lover, I generally prefer my greens rich and earthy (
La Feuille ) or pale and watercolour ( 
II ) over sharp edged ones like mint and eucalyptus. So although I thoroughly enjoyed testing this, it isn’t full bottle worthy for me (although I very well may have purchased it earlier in my fragrance journey, before I honed in more tightly on my preferences).
Projection starts at the high end of moderate before sliding into mild. Longevity, well — you pay for all that fresh greenness with a shorter scent life (around 4-5 hours). Herb gardens know no gender, so this is utterly and completely unisex.
It’s a joyously explosive herbal cocktail of a fragrance that puts a smile on my face.
That said, although I’m a green scent lover, I generally prefer my greens rich and earthy (
La Feuille ) or pale and watercolour ( II ) over sharp edged ones like mint and eucalyptus. So although I thoroughly enjoyed testing this, it isn’t full bottle worthy for me (although I very well may have purchased it earlier in my fragrance journey, before I honed in more tightly on my preferences).Projection starts at the high end of moderate before sliding into mild. Longevity, well — you pay for all that fresh greenness with a shorter scent life (around 4-5 hours). Herb gardens know no gender, so this is utterly and completely unisex.
A dark and smoky night
Opens with a burst of cloves and a smoky, woody, almost leathery cypriol. It’s fairly strong — I’m a little worried that I shouldn’t have tested this one right before going to the grocery store, and mentally apologise to the public in advance before heading out the door.
Luckily that hefty projection fades to a much more manageable level after about 30 min. The floral and apricot heart notes are missing entirely to my nose, and I’m left with a dark, rich base of vanilla, tobacco, and what I swear is an ebony wood note.
In the end, this isn’t for me but I can see why it has a diehard fanbase — I’m not familiar with clove cigarettes so I can’t say how much this fragrance resembles them, but it’s darkly spicy and a little sensually sweet.
Overall, projection is moderate (once you get past that initial hit) and longevity is solid, around 8 hours. It’s gender neutral, and although I don’t love assigning seasonality to fragrances, I bet this would sing in cold weather.
Luckily that hefty projection fades to a much more manageable level after about 30 min. The floral and apricot heart notes are missing entirely to my nose, and I’m left with a dark, rich base of vanilla, tobacco, and what I swear is an ebony wood note.
In the end, this isn’t for me but I can see why it has a diehard fanbase — I’m not familiar with clove cigarettes so I can’t say how much this fragrance resembles them, but it’s darkly spicy and a little sensually sweet.
Overall, projection is moderate (once you get past that initial hit) and longevity is solid, around 8 hours. It’s gender neutral, and although I don’t love assigning seasonality to fragrances, I bet this would sing in cold weather.
Serenity at the spa
Opens with a sweet, almost gourmand lavender. The iris and rum emerge after about 30 minutes, followed by a light, creamy floral and sandalwood base.
True to its name, this is a remarkably relaxing fragrance. You’re sitting in a fancy spa, eating dainty rum-and-cream cakes, with fresh flowers and a little light aromatherapy going on in the background. Although not groundbreaking, it is quite lovely: smooth, serene, and impeccably blended.
As always though, there is the Penhaligon Price Point Question: is it $450AUD of lovely? And as is almost always the case for me, the answer is “no” — but I’m definitely going to enjoy using the rest of my sample.
Projection is soft, nearly a skin scent, as befits this type of fragrance. Longevity is surprisingly robust (it lasted the entire work day) and gender is unisex.
True to its name, this is a remarkably relaxing fragrance. You’re sitting in a fancy spa, eating dainty rum-and-cream cakes, with fresh flowers and a little light aromatherapy going on in the background. Although not groundbreaking, it is quite lovely: smooth, serene, and impeccably blended.
As always though, there is the Penhaligon Price Point Question: is it $450AUD of lovely? And as is almost always the case for me, the answer is “no” — but I’m definitely going to enjoy using the rest of my sample.
Projection is soft, nearly a skin scent, as befits this type of fragrance. Longevity is surprisingly robust (it lasted the entire work day) and gender is unisex.
Fables and Friands
Opens with a hint of very pretty, creamy rose that lasts all of 30 seconds.
After that…look, I don’t know where all the floral and earthy notes from the description are, because this fragrance smells like mildly sweet, buttery baked goods (think croissant or maybe brioche). If you’ve read Legends and Lattes, this is what Thimble would smell like.
Is it bad? Not at all! In fact it’s a rather nice gourmand that isn’t heavy or overly sugary. But it’s also not at all what the notes promise, which was something of a letdown for my clover loving heart.
Projection is mild, longevity is on the low end of moderate, gender is ratkin baker from a cozy fantasy book.
After that…look, I don’t know where all the floral and earthy notes from the description are, because this fragrance smells like mildly sweet, buttery baked goods (think croissant or maybe brioche). If you’ve read Legends and Lattes, this is what Thimble would smell like.
Is it bad? Not at all! In fact it’s a rather nice gourmand that isn’t heavy or overly sugary. But it’s also not at all what the notes promise, which was something of a letdown for my clover loving heart.
Projection is mild, longevity is on the low end of moderate, gender is ratkin baker from a cozy fantasy book.
