Frangipani

It might sound odd but I just discovered the flower of frangipani in vacation few weeks ago at a hotel in Greece where the outside patio of our room had wonderful frangipani trees in bloom. I was totally stunned by the beauty of the flowers and the whole week I kept smelling them every time I passed by. A lady from the hotel told me it's jasmine but knowing jasmine I was very intrigued that the leaves could be jasmine. But from some short searches I discovered that those were frangipani trees, of which I've known only the fragrance or rather the interpretation of, until then. And from there started the second search as I had to have a fragrance that reproduces that wonderful sweet creamy and elegant fragrance. Now, Frangipani OJ is not really that, because the unparalleled creamyness and almost Madagascar vanilla note of the flower is diluted by the green lime notes and the (fresh, not indolic) jasmine and the lilies but overall it's a perfume that evokes now in my mind my vacation in Greece amongst the wonderful fangipani trees and flowers on our terrase. Maybe I will find a more true to the flower frangipani fragrance later on, but for now this one is sunshine in a bottle and an extremelly well done one (PS: the OJ boutique in London on Old Bond's Street customises the concentrations - their EDP comes standard in 30% oil concentration but in the boutique they can make on spot 40% and even 50%. I took mine in 40% as I found that 30% was a bit too light. But they don't do it when you buy on the site).

I've had this awhile. I'd gotten as far in my review as saying I "like" it, but no further. Hmm. I guess I still can't quite go into "love" territory, but I like it better than I thought I did. It's fairly strong on me with decent staying power, and I smell lime and then, mainly, tuberose, but that's fine with me, I like a big white floral in the heat of July. I hope I don't give anyone a headache. I do smell other things in here, a little lucky linden (lime) blossom; if you're witchy, you'll know that's a protective scent. The thing I think that disappointed me is that in my early teens a friend of mine brought a frangipani scented candle on a trip to the country. We sat up over our sleeping bags talking over that candle, and I never forgot what that candle smelled like. I have no idea what it was actually scented with - there's no real frangipani essential oil, as I understand it. I've never smelled actual frangipani or plumeria. I don't catch the magnolia, but I seem to be anosmic to magnolia; we have a beautiful old tree right outside our windows and I haven't been able to catch so much as a whiff of fragrance from it. Sad. Oh, my, but it's a beautiful tree, though!

At first blush, I suspect this would strike people as nice but nothing special. There's nothing wrong with it--it doesn't flatten or disappear after the initial citrus-floral burst, it doesn't deaden into a cliche woody base, and it lasts well given its effervescent character. Even the ratings here bear out that most people think this is just fine: out of 1,079 reviews at the time of this writing, the greatest plurality likes it (41%), and 56% of people either like it or think it's "ok". But for me, this perfume contains beautiful contrasts between bright, crystalline sparkle and hazy, fuzzy, fruits. This perfume is ultimately a fuzzy peach with a bright citrus-cedar duet providing an enchanting sparkle. It's the contrast between the summer haze and sparkle that keeps my interest. An uncomplicated, casual choice for summer days and white linen blowing in the breeze. Tiare and Osmanthus from the same house try something similar, but in my view this is the only one that gets it right.

Frangipani is a fresh and zesty summer take on a tropical floral. It is interesting while still staying familiar. I like the use of lime and linden blossom and plum here. It keeps a very strong floral like frangipani light and reduces the cloying aspects of that flower. I've been looking for a frangipani perfume for my collection. I don't know if this will be the one, I will choose but it is in the running. I don't find this overly aquatic at all. After the initial blast of lime, and linden and plum this ends up smelling very much like the frangipani trees I remember from my honeymoon w/ lingering plum, linden, lime, water lily and a light musk. This is one of the better offerings from this house. It still manages to capture nature but still smell like a perfume and not a spa. A very pretty and unique take on a rarely used flower in perfumery.

To me.. this smells !!!!EXACTLY!!!! like Versace - Bright Crystal!!!!!! The best part about this, is that I am allergic to bright crystal, and Frangipani is absolutely fine for me, no reaction at all! I loved bright crystal and I am very happy to find a dupe for it that does not make me suffocate :)). Also, Frangipani does not have that synthetic note that bright crystal has and lasts way longer. If you want to know what this fragrance smells like, go to your local drugstore and smell bright crystal (at least where I live, all drugstores carry bright crystal) and you'll know exactly what it smells like, minus synthetic and bitter notes. Bottom line - Frangipani is the best!