Sample

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris
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Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

Hey there ULGers, Back in 2023 my mate Cinnamon from Perfume Posse talked about some new Miller Harris. I’m not sure when or where I got a boxed manufacturers spray sample of Hydra Figue. Maybe it came as a GWP? While going through stuff cleaning up my mess in the perfume room it turned up. YAY!

This from the company: “The scent of the artist’s idyll. Journey, to a Greek Bohemian paradise. A complex woody, citrus and marine fragrance combining the fruit of the fig with sea salt, Greek saffron and upcycled oakwood.”

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris 2023

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

Miller Harris gives these featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Saffron Greece, Cardamom, Ginger, Lemon, Ouzo Accord
Heart: Fig, Tuberose, Sea Salt, Sage, Marine Accord, Mirabilis Jalapa
Base: OakWood, Sandalwood, Ambroxan, Velvet Musk

Citrus zest, fig and zingy ginger all lightly salted. So good! A bright burst of glorious sunshine.

Hydra Figue’s heart stays salty fig and becomes enmeshed in a dark, slightly toxic greenery. Stunning, and so far removed from what I expect from the usually safe Miller Harris house. Reminiscent of Mugler Womanity but much less antagonistic. Darker, more interesting and the kind of perfume I could easily imagine the evil witch wearing in Snow White.

The heart lives for hours and gets darker and woodsier. As we head towards dry down there is a definite twist of sweaty humanity underscoring the beautiful woodsy/figgy depths.

How can Hydra Figue not have become a full on stellar fan favourite?

It’s unisex, full on, interesting and has a fabulous life story. I can seriously imagine the beast mode bros falling over themselves to smell this fabulous.

Hydra Figue by Miller Harris

HA! This is so good I just looked it up and bought a bottle.

Probably not for everyone but I’ll be glad to have it.

Salt seems to be having a few years of reprise. I’m so happy for it.
What about you? Does Hydra Figue sound wearable?
Portia xx

Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian
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Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian

Heya Crew, Yes, I know. MORE recently purchased decants from Surrender To Chance. That this decant cost about half of last fortnights Guerlain may surprise you all, it did me. Remember when By Kilian were one of the most aspirational priced perfume houses in the world? Sure, they’re still expensive US$295 for a refillable Sunkissed Goddess 50ml from the By Killian site but that only seems pricey now rather than outrageous.

Since 2016 when Estée Lauder acquired By Kilian I’ve kept a little eye out, not really focussing but now that they’ve released this Limited Edition fragrance based on the Polynesian staple Manoi oil I’m interested. One of the brands famous pillars is Bronze Goddess which retails about US$85 for 50ml EdT (US$98 BGNuit EdP) and is a favourite of both Undina and myself. My memory (correct for once!) tells me Undina loves to take it on tropical holidays and I tend to use it to blow away the winter blues. It’s a staple. Plus the Lauder crew have also been doing a slew of Soleils over at the Tom Ford counter that range from US$300-405 in 50ml EdP. So they’ve deduced that tropical sunscreen with a boozy beverage sells (rightly so) and made them in accessible to aspirational offerings. Clever.

Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian 2024

By Killian gives these featured accords:
Ylang-Ylang essence, Tiare Flower, Coconut

On first spritz my mind goes in a hundred directions. Oh yes, tropical beach suntanning in the late afternoon with a Pina Colada in a big glass and sunscreen slathered on. The slight prickle of salt still on your skin and through your hair and the smell of hot sand. I remember a few years ago Manoi oil became a thing here in Oz. Particularly among the early 20s club kids. For a brief moment, maybe a couple of summers, you’d walk in the club and it would smell like you’d found paradise. The older girls sun baking by the local swimming pool, their skin glistening with Reef Oil when we were kids. It’s all here in the first whiff.

Ylang in spades, coconut and vanilla all rolled together in some very luxe body lotion that does smell good. Really good. The heart into the base gets a lovely green banana leaf that lifts the experience. Apart from that Sunkissed Goddess is pretty linear and lasts well. Good projection for the first couple of hours then a whispering skin scent.

Sunkissed Goddess by By Kilian decant

So then, does Sunkissed Goddess smell like it’s worth more than three times Bronze Goddess? Yes and no. While Sunkissed Goddess does seem more luxurious and 5* hotel lotion-y I enjoy the story that the Bronze Goddess line tells. They seem more interesting, especially the Eau Fraiche ones with their citrus top over the rest. 2019s Bronze Goddess, with remarkably similar notes list still manages to be less ponderous and more jumping with life.

Now I’d like to read your thoughts please. Do you have favourites? Is this a genre you like?
Portia xx

 

 

Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere
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Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere

Hey there ULGers, Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere has been sitting on my desk awaiting the Northern Hemispheres cooling. It feels like a good time to give you some good perfume news. I’m pretty sure this arrived with a Libertine Parfumerie order as a GWP. I do love a boxed manufacturers sample, so cool. This is one of my favourites from the line and I’ve given myself the odd spritz while in the big Sydney city department stores.

Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere 2019

Encens Suave Matiere Premiere

Accords include:
Top: Coffee
Heart: Incense, Madagascar Vanilla
Base: Benzoin, Labdanum

That coffee note is really rich, more like chocolate on me. Dark chocolate. It’s a very interesting opening that is soon cut through with a smoky, very Asiatic incense and warm sweet resinous amber. For all the simplicity of my words Encens Suave is very nuanced and a some beautiful trajectory.

Once it hits dry down, an hour or more in the fragrance becomes a lightly smoky amber, with some charred woods. There’s sweetness but it’s low key for me, though on other people it seems to wear sweeter. This is my favorite part of the ride and it hums away for hours and hours. We are now in very linear territory and I love to get random huffs throughout the day/evening.

Encens Suave by Matiere Premiere 2019

Unisex, very fragrant and longevity is off the charts. Encens Suave is definitely pandering to the Beast Mode Bros love of all things enormous and everlasting. The first time I wore it while out frag sniffing with a couple of mates I may have gone a bit overboard. It was HUGE and eternal.

One thing I really like is that Matiere Premiere offer 6ml, 50ml and 100ml. This is one perfume brand that I think is worth the extra $$$ and still manages to be within my boundaries. 50ml is €155 from the brand.

Have you? Would you try Encens Suave?
Portia xx

Beekeeper’s Daughter by Sucreabeille
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Beekeeper’s Daughter by Sucreabeille

Hi Crew, This is another blind buy decant from Surrender To Chance. Suceabeille seems new to the STC site but Beekeeper’s Daughter was released in 2019. On looking up Parfumo there seem to be dozens of perfumes by Sucreabeille and this fragrance is so affordable, especially for its being vegan and cruelty free. Extra plus is that it’s woman owned, Andrea. Based in Washington state USA. Also it comes in oil or EdP. Sucreabeille site sends to most of the world except the EU

Beekeeper’s Daughter by Sucreabeille

The Beekeeper's daughter by Sucreabeille

Sucreabeille gives these featured accords:
Pure honeycomb, freshly harvested from the hive; a blooming herb garden full of clary sage, fennel, and thyme; peach blossoms and a touch of medicinal camphor.

O M G! Rich honey, funky and herbal. We get our honey from friends who get it directly from their hives. It is so tapestried and flavoursome that it doesn’t even compare to the stuff in the shops. Every batch is slightly different. Sometimes it has a green tinge, exactly like this. Honey from the shops is much cleaner, sweeter and far less animal.

I can smell the garden through the heart but it’s still honey in the forefront. There is also a reference to the smell of dogs paws, well my beautiful dog’s paws smell like it. Also, the super sweet smell of men’s urinals from outside the block. Not that disgusting foulness from inside, up close. It’s one of my favourite animalics and honey quite often reflects it.

Beekeeper's Daughter by Sucreabeille

This is not for the faint of heart. Absolutely unisex and delightfully feral. From wrist length it smells much less confrontational but bring it up to my nose and it’s all the growly honey. Amazing. I seriously can’t recommend this highly enough if off the charts honey is your jam.

Does vegan and cruelty free make you more interested?
Portia xx

Lost Alice by Masque Milano NEW! NEW!
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Lost Alice by Masque Milano NEW! NEW!

Hi Crew, Lost Alice by Masque Milano is one of the decants to arrive in my latest Surrender To Chance order. Yeah, I’m affiliated with them because the STC crew are my mates. That doesn’t change the facts; they are terrific, have an excellent range and you can be guaranteed their stuff is the real deal. (OK unpaid ad over!). Lost Alice is an excellent title and the reason I bought this decant. Didn’t even look at the notes, it caught my eye as I was browsing their NEW section.

Lost Alice by Masque Milano 2021

Lost Alice by Masque Milano

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Ambrette (Musk Mallow), Black Pepper, Bergamot, Clary Sage
Heart: Black Tea, Orris, Carrot, White Rose
Base: Milk, Sandalwood, Broom

A clear and airy open, warm and cool vie against each other and are bridged by what I’m smelling as the two main players ambrette and iris. How is there no vanilla in this perfume? Maybe it’s the milk and sandalwood playing early but it doesn’t smell like them to me. The pepper and tea would normally give me a dry ache in my throat but here I get nothing.

Lost Alice is a strangely beautiful fragrance. It definitely has the feeling of yearning towards something. Maybe the blending is so good that parsing the notes is impossible (for me). It reminds me of two things without being like either of them. You know that rush of steam that blasts out if you open the dishwasher too soon? It’s a clean, hot, glasses fogging experience. Partly that feeling. The second thing is boiled lollies, not the taste but how smooth they become after you’ve sucked the edges off, just before you inevitably crunch it up.

Lost Alice by Masque Milano 2021

The whole fragrance feels barely there but is so distinctively unusual that it’s a constant presence. Do I like it? No, I haven’t fallen in love with it but Lost Alice is compelling, I’m forced to sniff it and sniff it again. Did you ever smell Dama Koupa by Baruti? Though the smell is quite different, the general attitude is the same.

After the initial fireworks burn off the thing I’m most reminded of is French Vanilla ice cream. Totally unexpected from the note list and my imaginings of what a Lost Alice would smell like. Finally, about an hour or so in a terrific, creamy sandalwood takes the spotlight and stays there for ages till fade. The whole fragrance comes together and it feels like Alice may not be so lost anymore.

Unisex, low to moderate projection but surprisingly good longevity.

Do you want to smell like a Masque Milano version of Lost Alice?
Portia xx

Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
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Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Hey there ULG, Here’s a bit of a story. Back in 2015 the gorgeous Tara from A Bottled Rose sent me a package. It must have arrived with a few other packages. Maybe I was about to go off on a holiday, moving house or extremely busy but these packages all got put in a box. On top of the packages were a few small sniffed sample packs and some papers. Over the six years the box has been in various places in my office and I never went through it, thinking they were only already sniffed sample sets. Slowly, through the last year I’ve been going through my boxes and finding lost treasures. This box is one of the last to be explored and what treasure! Tara sent me a big decant of Tart’s Knicker Drawer by 4160 Tuesdays and a pair of Amyris 5ml(?) manufacturers samples! WOW! So let’s meet this 2012 duo together, eh?

Amyris Femme and Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Amyris Femme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange, Lemon blossom
Heart: Amyris, Iris
Base: Ambergris, Vetiver

I had a decant of this way back when. Gosh! Now I know why I loved it so much. Like a cologne style but with a lighter, more relaxed approach. The opening is like a breath of fresh air. Softly citrus white floral with green accents. So elegant and utterly unisex. Amyris Femme is a full blown version of those perfectly soft whisperings of the magnolia inspired perfumes. This smells like a perfume for someone who is unafraid to change the air around them and get attention.
Not a blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination, no reflection of those 1980/90s superscents, here we have a fully fragrant expression of refined and luxurious life. I know MFK is quite an expensive brand but Amyris femme smells expensive, thoughtfully produced and beautiful to me.

Amyris Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Virginia cedar, Brazilian tonka bean absolute, Saffron, Caribbean amyris, Florentine iris, Sicilian mandarin orange, Moroccan rosemary

So interesting! The opening for me is greenery and citrus with a resinous background. Very pretty, slightly sweet. I would never have picked it as being made for a masculine market. The underlay seems to be one of this ubiquitous modern woodsy bases but tricked up a little to give it more depth and breadth. There also seems to be a lightly salty aquatic note through the heart that is very interesting and really helps to make the fragrance shine. I am finding the whole fragrance a completely unexpected journey. The tonka keeps it sweet but not sugary or ice creamy. Considering this was created 10 years ago I’m surprised it smells so avant-garde.
Amyris Homme smells like a sweet woody L’Eau d’Issey flanker with luxe ingredients. I really like it.

Did you ever wear these Amyris perfumes?
Portia xx

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand
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Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Hey there ULG, I know a lot of you are caught in the depths of winter so I thought we could look forward to spring through fragrance today. Muguet Fleuri is Lily of the Valley. That glorious harbinger of spring. On May 1 the whole of Paris smells of it and little bouquets and flowering pots can be bought on street corners. It’s heavenly.

In 2014 I first visited Hugo and Franck of Oriza L Legrand at their 18 Rue Saint-Augustin, Paris store. The brand is a modern resurrection of a long lost perfume house. They took us through their collection and I purchased some soaps and a bottle of Jardin d’Armide. This was the defining moment of my love affair with the brand. The space is gorgeous and chock full of soaps, candles and fine fragrance. Since then I’ve been back to the store a few times. Their affordable product and FREE postage over €100 to Australia means I often buy their soaps and fragrances for gifts.

Did you know that the original Oriza L Legrand patented the idea of solid perfume?

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand 2014

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Green leaves, grass, lily-of-the-valley
Heart : Galbanum, angelica, violet leaf, lily-of-the-valley
Base: Lily-of-the-valley, oakmoss, lily

I love the calm feeling of a Lily of the Valley fragrance, dewy and air conditioned. The Muguet Fleuri opening is cool and slightly mentholated. I get nothing grassy particularly but much more like the juice of Aloe Vera (yes, got a bit sunburned helping my BFF Kath high pressure hose her dad’s driveway). Flore by Carolina Herrera has a very similar plastic Lily of the Valley note but in Muguet Fleuri I find it subtle and refreshing, helped by galbanum and angelica to keep everything super green. None of the modern cucumber/aquatic note like in Muguet Porcelain by Hermès.

It’s excellent to me how they keep the focus so firmly on Lily of the Valley in Muguet Fleuri. The scent feels luxurious and refined while creating  a very nice silage for the first hour or so. Fairly linear througfhout its life, there are slight increments of difference and a gradual earthing of the scent towards the end.

If you often, or even sometimes, wish for a fragrance as true to cut Lily of the Valley stems from the florist as possible but still interesting and beautiful then I would send you immediately to try Muguet Fleuri. Only the first two hours are fragrant, then it hums along quietly as a soft, background wash.

Muguet Fleuri by Oriza L. Legrand

Oriza L Legrand has a €30/choose your 6 x 2ml Sample Set (delivered worldwide). My review today is from an old sample I refound in my collection, looking for something cool and summery.

Are you a Lily of the Valley fan? Do you have a favourite?
Portia xx