juliasaragaw

This is the scent of a last summer night with friends. The buzz of cicadas, the glow of fairy lights, the warmth of a citronella candle. If you’ve ever smelled a citronella candle and wished it could be elevated into a perfume, this is it. Sicilian lemon zested with vetiver blends with fig leaf and earthy patchouli, creating a rounded and beautiful finish.

You have not smelled an aquatic like this one. It is the deep, crisp sea with loud crashing waves, the air drying your lips with sea salt. A transparent lotus floats in the background. This perfume can be interpreted in many ways: the dark sea, cooling cucumber, chilled watermelon, or even metallic copper. It is the true scent of the ocean’s dark shade of blue.

I’ve never encountered such a distinctive take on bergamot. The caramelized note greets you warmly, opening the door to the rest of the fragrance. A touch of aged dust mingles with boozy cognac, while orris ties everything together with a vintage ribbon. It’s the ballroom of an aristocrat’s palace. Powdered wigs bopping around and footsteps echoing across varnished parquet floors.

I’ve sampled a wide range of lilac perfumes as part of my personal research project to find the most photorealistic lilac scent. Lilac City isn't exactly photorealistic, but it scratches a very specific itch. It captures an intimate, dirty lilac in a way that feels deeply sensual. Like a crack in the concrete sidewalk slowly exhaling a humid, floral vapor, this fragrance oozes with something raw and intoxicating. The jasmine sambac weaves seamlessly into this affair.

This perfume is not fresh or airy. it's dusty, indolic, and deeply intimate. There’s nothing clean about it, and that’s precisely what makes it so compelling. The moment I spot a full bottle, I’ll be running to get it.

This isn’t my preferred perfume profile, but I wanted something sweet and cozy in my collection for the colder months ahead.

That said, the actual scent turned out quite different from what I expected. I was imagining something like sweet marshmallow, reminiscent of a raspberry vanilla bean frappuccino from Starbucks (back when the syrup still had red 40 dye).

But this is not that. Instead, it leans more toward a fruity, powdery scent. The candied almond and orange blossom form the heart of the fragrance, while the marshmallow note contributes more of a soft, powdery texture rather than a creamy, fluffy sweetness. As expected, it eventually dries down to that signature JHAG ambroxan musk.

Surprisingly though, I’ve grown to like it. At first, I wasn’t convinced, but after spraying it before bed, it felt like being wrapped in a soft, fluffy robe. A full bottle would be too much for me, but I’m happy to keep a travel size around for those moments when I’m in the mood for something a bit more designer-esque.