I love figs. Usually, by now I would be getting fresh figs and eating them with goat cheese and wine or making flatbread with prosciutto and red onion (and eating it with wine). But for some reason this year we still haven’t had figs at the local farmers market. And those that I see at stores just do not look appealing enough for the price. Speaking of prices… It feels like everything suddenly got 20% – 25% more expensive. Very annoying.
Saturday Question #126:
Do You Wear Fig Perfumes?
Do you have strong favorites? Does this note attract you in perfumes, repel or leave you indifferent?
Do you like eating figs?
My Answer
I don’t think I either like or dislike fig perfumes. I can wear them. But I wouldn’t be tempted much by reading about another fig perfume.
Many years ago I did a couple of posts for my Single Note Exploration series. My first favorite, Sonoma Scent Studio‘s Fig Tree, about which I wrote in the first post, is long gone, and I haven’t repurchased it. I have a couple of drops in my bottle of Jo Malone‘s Wild Fig & Cassis, but I don’t want to finish it because I cannot replenish it – stupid, I know: it will spoil eventually. How do I know? Because another perfume that I kind of liked, though I’ve bought it mostly for the bottle, Premier Figuier Extrême by L’Artisan Parfumeur has gone off. Well… Now I can keep it outside as a decorative object not risking it being spoiled by exposure to light.
The only fig perfume I still wear from time to time is Ashoka by Neela Vermeire Creations. Of course, it’s much more than just fig perfume, and I enjoy wearing it, especially in summer.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Yes I do
Love Pacifica Mediterranean Fig although I no longer have it in my collection because it’s discontinued.
Had SSS Fig Tree but sent my bottle to a dear friend who was interested in exploring fig notes.
Also loved the discontinued Bath and Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig.
Finally Kyse Ficco et…name escapes me but I know I earned an enabler pin from Undina as she bought a bottle.
LikeLike
The Kyse is called Ficci et Panna and it’s so delicious. Definitely full bottle worthy.
LikeLike
I forgot! I do like that Kyse perfume! Thank you!
LikeLike
I liked Fico d Amalfi, would not mind a bottle. But i have s fig tree in my garden and have esten my first ripe figs this week, delicious!
LikeLike
I envy you! But hopefully I’ll get some in August (at least I can hope :) ).
LikeLike
Fig is one of the notes I really struggle with. There again I can’t really smell figs themselves. I have always put that down to supermarket figs but maybe I’m anosmic. I do enjoy honey baked figs with a sharp cheese or salty Parma or Serrano ham.
To me every fig perfume I’ve tried have been “meh”, other than Mugler Womanity. That I find smells like the devil’s bin juice! It’s even more so than ELDO Secretions Magnifique!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣 great description of Womanity – it’s ick.
LikeLike
Funny – I kind of like Womanity on occasion (Angel, on my skin, is Devil juice):
LikeLike
alityke, if you were to follow the second link in the post, you’d discover why you can’t smell figs (and some other unexpected facts about figs :) ).
LikeLike
Whoa! Crunchy wasp eggs 🤣 fewer wasps I guess.!
I think I knew it was fig sap & leaves or the equivalent aromachemical notes that are used in perfumery.
Thank you for the interesting fig facts
LikeLiked by 1 person
Un Jardin en Mediterranee was one of my rabbit-hole scents, because fig. Maybe not so much the note, as the fact that a fig note existed, and appeared after some time in a fragrance. I hadn’t worn a perfume with a fig note for a long time (I gave Un Jardin en Mediterranee away), but I bought one of the Guerlain Allegoria’s on impulse before our holiday on the airport. Nerolia Vetiver. I really liked it a lot, and it has a fig note! I love to eat figs, and I love the scent of figtrees ‘in the wild’. I made some fig chutney of dried figs last Christmas, which was lovely.
LikeLike
Un Jardin en Mediterranee was nice, but I’ve never got to buying it (and I’m sure it has changed multiple times since then).
LikeLike
Love eating and wearing figs, dear Undina. Recently discovered LAP Caligna, a very intriguing take on fig.
LikeLike
I think I have somewhere a sample, but have absolutely no recollection. Will give it another try.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I do like figs-very rare to even find them in the grocery stores here. Hermes Jardin Mediterrannee was my gateway fig, then L’rtisans, and of course Diptyque’s beautiful fig candles. The Aqua di Parma fig is good, too. I have some Fig and cassis left, and like you, Undina, I don’t really use it because I can’t replace it. I loved the hand and body wash of fig and cassis the most. When I used it the house smelled of it-I loved that.
Excellent Saturday question, as always. I leave this site like a cat washing its face after a good meal. Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend filled with what ever good things you love the most.
Best regards,
Carole
LikeLike
The Jo Malone Fig and Cassis shows up every once in a while online in the Archive collection. I will check to see if it’s still there.
LikeLike
Well sadly it’s not there but I would keep checking. French Lime Blossom and Black Cafe Vetiver are also no longer there. I also notice a big increase in prices for the bottles!
LikeLike
I loved all three f those Jo Malones-But I wish they’d just bring them back. 100 ml is quite big. I love their elegant little 30 ml sizes. And I forgot-Ninfeo Mio by Goutal. I adore the citrus opening, and then that sort of raspy fig goodness-awesome!
LikeLike
I smiled at your cat analogy. Thank you, Carole.
I think I’d like a fig candle – it’s the right note for an ambiance scent. I should investigate who makes anything interesting with it.
LikeLike
Not a fan of fig anything, but I do like Byredo Pulp, which among other things has a noticeable fig note.
LikeLike
I like Pulp a lot, though I’ve never thought about it as of a fig scent. Will think about it when I wear it next time.
LikeLike
Yes I like figs, to eat in hot climates, to wear anytime. I have 3 of the ones you mentioned – Fig Tree (my favourite of my tiny bunch) Premiere Figuiere Extreme & Ashoka.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Recently seen a bottle of the PFE for small money, in the original bottle. Might have to buy it😉
LikeLike
I think you should decide quickly one way or the other because if it disappears while you’re thinking, you’ll feel like you missed out, while if you decide not to buy, it will bother you not as much :)
LikeLike
I love fig! My favorite fig perfume is Olfactory NYC Leo, which I had “customized” to boost the fig part. Also love Ninfeo Mio and someday I wouldn’t mind getting Fico di Amalfi. Ashoka is beautiful as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not familiar with the Olfactory brand, so I don’t know anything about the customization (or don’t remember if you wrote about it before and I read it).
I went back-and-forth on Ninfeo Mio: I wanted to get a bottle, wasn’t sure, waited for a better deal… and then they changed bottles. Since I like modern bottles (all of the iterations) less than I liked the frosted colored glass, I decided I didn’t need it after all.
LikeLike
Olfactory NYC aims to provide “luxury” perfumes at an accessible price, and they have premade accords that you can choose to add more of relative to the others that make up each perfume.
I’m glad I got possibly the last “old” bottle of Ninfeo Mio at the Elizabeth St boutique! It wasn’t frosted as it was a tester, but it was in the previous style.
LikeLike
I love fig. Don’t often encounter fresh figs but always have some fig jam in the fridge. I own Philosykos, sss Fig Tree (although my travel spray seems to have gone off); a small bottle of Womanity I got in a swap; Kierin NYC 10 am Flirt; travel spray of Essential Fig Infusion; Nicolaï Fig-tea (fleeting fig note)…. Definitely a note that I’m almost always willing to try!
LikeLike
Fig jam is also a staple in my household!
LikeLike
Ooh figs! I ❤️ eating figs better than wearing them. I have Diptyque Philosykos and SSS Fig Tree and I am 100% sure I have others. As to eating, I could have sworn I already had a few weeks of them from Whole Foods but that could have been last year. In any case, I peel and halve them along the long edge, add balsamic glaze (balsamic vinegar will do as well but it has to be balsamic) and wrap prosciutto around the fig for a very satisfying meal. My mouth is now watering …
LikeLike
Do you peel figs? I’ve never seen that. Interesting.
This weekend I’ll get fresh figs no matter what. And eat them with balsamic vinegar (I have a very good one) and prosciutto!
LikeLike
I love fig scents! To me it smells a little like summer skin with a slight sheen of sweat. I have both the old basics– L’Artisan Premier Figieure and Diptyque Phlosykos. I also love a couple of lighter ones I have by Roger & Gallet, and also a Fragonard from a couple of years ago called Beau de Provence. I am a fan of Womanity in cold weather, and I too used to love the B&BW Fig and Brown Sugar. I feel like its time to bring that back. They would have a whole new audience. Lastly, your Ashoka would certainly be the queen of fig featuring perfumes. Anything by NV is amazing, in my books.
LikeLike
I should revisit Diptyque’s fig: I wonder if now I will like it more. I mean, I never disliked it, but it didn’t become my favorite either.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever tried anything from R&G line. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that brand in real life. And I never ever go in any of those “smelly” shops: the scent overwhelms me just from the openings into the mall as I pass by. Because of that I’m not familiar with any of perfumes sold there.
LikeLike
I enjoy eating figs and wearing fig scents. We had some figs recently at our farmer’s market, but they were small and rather mushy. I think it’s too wet for them this year. I enjoy fig fragrances. I like diptyque’s Philosykos in the solid perfume and the body lotion is wonderful also. I like Fico de Amalfi from Acqua di Parma and Nicolai’s Fig Tea. I find that I like a fig note accompanied by citrus and/or tea notes. Otherwise the fig can be too sweet and rather cloying, to my nose.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re not the first person who mentioned Fico de Amalfi. Now I’m curious to try it.
It’s interesting about the sweetness: I can’t think of any fig perfume that I would consider sweet.
LikeLike
Hi Undina,
FIG!!! I love it in perfume and actively seek them out. There are a few around here, including the Figures and Caligna from L’Artisan, Ashoka NVC and others
The only way I like the fruit to eat is poached, preferably with proscuitto.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I’m not sure I’ve tried a poached fig. Interesting. How do you cook it?
LikeLike
I’ve never cooked them Undina, just had them at friends and restaurants.
LikeLike
I don’t own any fig perfumes, but I have had samples down the years eg from PG, L’Artisan, and Diptyque. My friend Clare is nuts about the note, so I ended up giving most of them away, as her need was greater than mine. ;)
LikeLike
I remember you had fig perfume from some small brand that you visited, I think in France.
LikeLike
I think that because of that bottle I had you down as more of a fig person, than you are 😊 and yes Ashoka is my one and only fig. That one is amazing! As you say, Ashoka is so much more..
LikeLike
But that bottle! :)
LikeLike
I love ripe figs, when I can get them. Most of the stuff offered where I live is almost tasteless.
Now the fig note in most perfumes has nothing to do with fig the fruit, rather focusing on the milky, sun-creamy aspects of fig milk, or on fig leaf. Nothing wrong with that, but if it gets too coconutty or sunscreeny it’s not my thing. Perfumes that focus exclusively on fig tend to bore me. That being said, there are two perfumes with fig that I love: Ichnusa by Profumum Roma, and the just recently released Vanuatu by Sora Dora. Both are alluring and optimistic green-white scents, Ichnusa changing very elegantly from one green hue to the next while maintaining a gentle creaminess, Vanuatu starting very crisply and then combining fig milk to happy effect with sandalwood.
LikeLike
When they harvest figs that are good for transporting, they often are not good for eating. If I get such, I bake them on a flatbread, which helps.
I’m not familiar with any of the two perfumes you mentioned, but I must say that you made them both sound quite appealing.
LikeLike