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Post by Ainslie Walker

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I have a soft spot for fig. I always try any perfume, hand cream, candle, bath product etc containing fig… But my truest love is standing under or near a fig tree and breathing in it’s complete smell. The whole tree. The woody, slightly milky, slightly coconut, a little sweet and a little sharp and vast green smell gives me a sense of stillness.

The first fig fragrance I wore was Diptych Philosokos and I wore it for at least 10 years almost religiously. I was in London during that whole time and the perfume always took me straight back to Australia when I sprtitzed it, to memories of my favorite Moreton Bay fig tree in Sydney that I used to climb and sniff in the early 90s. The fragrance encompasses the whole tree and is a very green and robust scent with beautiful coconutty undertones.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

In my travels I’ve smelt many a fig tree. In Sardinia growing in a cave, in London parks, on Greek Islands, in Spain, Perth, Brisbane, Byron Bay, in Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Corfu, Italy…the list goes on. Always bringing my first thought back to that tree in Sydney.

I have also smelt many a fig based perfume; L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier and Intense Figeur, Hermes, Aqua Di Parma Fico di Amalfi, Marc Jacobs, Theirry Mugler’s Womanity and of course Figeur Eden.

Armani Prive Figuier Eden by Mane for Giorgio Armani 2012

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin, bergamot, red pepper
Heart: Tea, grass, green fig
Base: Moroccan iris, amber

And then, 2 weeks ago a gorgeous and generous friend gave me her bottle of Armani Prive Figeur Eden. Sadly, rejected by her husband, this fragrance was neglected on her shelf. I’d tried this fragrance a number of times over the years and found it soft with no real impact…perhaps as I usually smelt it after a full sniff through a beauty hall such as Selfridges or Myers, or perhaps as I’d never wanted a fig fragrance to bring more than just pure fig? But this time I was on a solo 16 hour drive through country NSW and Victoria and it was the only fragrance I had access too!! Just me, the road and a bottle of Figuer Eden….

Photo Stolen Serge Melki  Flickr

After dousing myself and starting the drive I started to get excited…was I smelling a fresher, zestier less heady fig…perhaps even a prettier more feminine fig? My first thought was to drive back, tell my friend to ditch her hubby and take the bottle back…my second thought was to step on the accelerator and enjoy every spritz of this new found love.

The prettiness comes slightly powdery and could be a soft iris note. It is not dense and heady as expected, but it is almost airy like a cool breeze carrying the scent. I feel a light fragrant citrus note like a light green tea, perhaps bergamot. It’s a harmony of smells, rather than my robust, phylosikos, which is straight up fig tree. It’s not sweet, plenty of soft blonde woods..sandal rather than cedar, of philosokos, perhaps, and a dry olive tree scent help keep the sweetness to a minimum? There is something spicey but not black or green pepper that I a familiar with….*enter google*…RED PEPPER! I am impressed. Fig leaves are taken down a notch revealing more of a grass note, as if one is lying under the tree on the lawn. The coconut in the breeze reminiscent of someone upwind drinking a pina colada…or similar.

Photo Stolen Shamefullyso Flickr

Further reading: The Non Blonde and Perfume Diary
Myer has $140/100ml (Australia only)
House Of Fraser has £82/100ml (UK only)
Bergdorf Goodman has $160/100ml (USA & Canada only)
Surrender To Chance starts at $5/ml

There is something rounded and natural about this one, which I love. The drydown is gorgeous! Gentle and yet unique. Perfect for layering, even with something else…any suggestions out there???