Samisgal

Stumbling upon a flea market offering a couple of vintage fragrances rather inexpensively, I immediately snapped up the Cabochard and being intrigued by a miniature Bigarade, I decided to to dish out another 5 € for this. Not knowing what to expect other than bitter orange, which is what Bigarade means in French, I was at first astonished at the rather complex first whiff, which exploded with loads of dry citrus and mint. perhaps sage. Unlike most fragrances I associate with summer, and certainly unlike the popular summer fragrances today which tend to be aquatic, Bigarade does not remain fresh and crisp. Rather, it turns very warm and after 20 minutes I experienced dried fruit and bitter orange marmalade with a hint of cumin, not too distant from Rochas' Femme. The drydown leaves a very comforting and sensuous amalgamation of cedar, patchouli and candied citrus zest. On my skin it leaves an impression of a 35 degree sunny day or sultry night on the Amalfi coast, Côte d'Azur or Costa Brava or perhaps even Marocco....what a pleasant surprise....Certainly a welcome change to the lemon verveine based summers I have always known.