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04/16/2014
DarkMatter
24 Reviews
DarkMatter
Helpful Review
4
Discordant Notes...
I was intrigued to try this fragrance for several reasons. Firstly, I love vanilla, freesia and lychee. I imagined the beauty that these three notes brought together would create. Secondly, Korres market their products as being natural and vegan. There is a long list of types of usual chemicals that they state are not in their fragrances. Now in itself this isn't necessary a new concept, but with so many ingredients being slowly whittled away from the perfume industry I wanted to see what else there was and whether it matched in quality. Finally, it was very reasonably priced. I received a full 50ml bottle via next day delivery from Amazon Prime for only £22! Win!
Upon first application I find myself rather confused. The vanilla, freesia and lychee are all equally evident and seem to vie with one another for dominance. It creates for an uncomfortable medley of notes and it actually makes my stomach feel uneasy. I've heard people mention unease when it comes to other perfumes before, but I've never experienced it. For me perfumes have always fallen into three categories, I love it, it's mediocre, or I dislike it intensely. But at this point I am really not sure where to place VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE. I try not to sniff the perfume as I let it settle to the dry-down. But I keep getting whiffs of it and what really strikes me is that even though this is marketed as a "natural" product, the lychee smells extremely synthetic. I understand that lychee cannot be distilled, therefore all of the lychee notes that we experience are artificial, however, I am very surprised to come across something that smells so obviously synthetic in a purported "natural" product.
I have often stated that I'm no expert and am just an enthusiastic collector. However, Korres have raised a thorny question within my brain that needs to be answered so I did a little reading. It didn't take much to find the answers I was looking for. Neither freesia nor vanilla are natural within the perfume world. Every perfume uses a synthetic version. In the case of vanilla it is because it is far too expensive to use the real thing and would not be financially viable. As far as I can find out, freesia cannot be distilled (but I would be fascinated to know why as I couldn't find this information). So once again this note is usually created via a combination of synthetic and natural ingredients (such as noted by Luca Turin in the fragrance Antonia's Flowers which was 90% linalool and 10% violet notes).
This interesting little bottle has cause for celebration. It has made me think. It has made me research (a little) and it has piqued my curiosity. But alas, it has done this for all the wrong reasons. I wish it was because I wanted to find out how something could smell so amazing. But, my interest has be piqued as to how a "natural" product can smell so terribly synthetic.
It is several hours since I applied the perfume and it has settled down to a peppery/sweet vanilla that has a slight "hairspray" quality to it. It's not very pleasant and not what I expected at all. I usually find that so-called "natural" fragrances are beautiful, yet short lived and I need to reapply constantly. With VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE this is not the case. I have had the perfume on for approximately six hours and it is still pungent.
I shan't be wearing this perfume again as it is very disturbing both artistically and intellectually. I am very disappointed and am not encouraged to try other products by Korres. At the moment I smell like a scoop of peppery vanilla ice-cream and it's highly unpleasant. The discordant nature of the notes hasn't left me and I shall be having a shower now and applying something more relaxing afterward to calm my jumbled thoughts.
VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE is a hyperactive toddler with ice-cream smeared around their mouth and grubby hands from playing in the dirt.
Upon first application I find myself rather confused. The vanilla, freesia and lychee are all equally evident and seem to vie with one another for dominance. It creates for an uncomfortable medley of notes and it actually makes my stomach feel uneasy. I've heard people mention unease when it comes to other perfumes before, but I've never experienced it. For me perfumes have always fallen into three categories, I love it, it's mediocre, or I dislike it intensely. But at this point I am really not sure where to place VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE. I try not to sniff the perfume as I let it settle to the dry-down. But I keep getting whiffs of it and what really strikes me is that even though this is marketed as a "natural" product, the lychee smells extremely synthetic. I understand that lychee cannot be distilled, therefore all of the lychee notes that we experience are artificial, however, I am very surprised to come across something that smells so obviously synthetic in a purported "natural" product.
I have often stated that I'm no expert and am just an enthusiastic collector. However, Korres have raised a thorny question within my brain that needs to be answered so I did a little reading. It didn't take much to find the answers I was looking for. Neither freesia nor vanilla are natural within the perfume world. Every perfume uses a synthetic version. In the case of vanilla it is because it is far too expensive to use the real thing and would not be financially viable. As far as I can find out, freesia cannot be distilled (but I would be fascinated to know why as I couldn't find this information). So once again this note is usually created via a combination of synthetic and natural ingredients (such as noted by Luca Turin in the fragrance Antonia's Flowers which was 90% linalool and 10% violet notes).
This interesting little bottle has cause for celebration. It has made me think. It has made me research (a little) and it has piqued my curiosity. But alas, it has done this for all the wrong reasons. I wish it was because I wanted to find out how something could smell so amazing. But, my interest has be piqued as to how a "natural" product can smell so terribly synthetic.
It is several hours since I applied the perfume and it has settled down to a peppery/sweet vanilla that has a slight "hairspray" quality to it. It's not very pleasant and not what I expected at all. I usually find that so-called "natural" fragrances are beautiful, yet short lived and I need to reapply constantly. With VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE this is not the case. I have had the perfume on for approximately six hours and it is still pungent.
I shan't be wearing this perfume again as it is very disturbing both artistically and intellectually. I am very disappointed and am not encouraged to try other products by Korres. At the moment I smell like a scoop of peppery vanilla ice-cream and it's highly unpleasant. The discordant nature of the notes hasn't left me and I shall be having a shower now and applying something more relaxing afterward to calm my jumbled thoughts.
VANILLA/FREESIA/LYCHEE is a hyperactive toddler with ice-cream smeared around their mouth and grubby hands from playing in the dirt.
