A few days ago, I saw a blog post by A Model Recommends about Roger & Gallet and L'Occitane's new 'fig' fragrance launches and FleurDeForce talking about the Roger & Gallet one as well. I'm not that familiar with Roger & Gallet because I have never seen them in Australian stores, but I didn't realise the L'Occitane one was available in stores right away in Australia as well (since we're pretty slow in getting anything in, if not at all), and working right next to the L'Occitane store, I gave it a sniff.
First things first, I really like woody, musky and greeny scents that fig scents have - if you have ever eaten a fresh fig you will know what I mean when it say it tastes/smells like some kind of sweet tree nectar. Apparently most fig scents out there are predominantly woody smelling (well, that's literally what a fig smells like to me). And so, this new scent is supposedly meant to be a girlier and fruitier version of these strong, woody, fig smells.
The one and only thing that came to my mind when I first smelled it was Jo Malone's Nectarine Blossom and Honey perfume. I HONESTLY thought (and I still think it's pretty damn close) this was a replica of the very pricey Jo Malone perfume - it was uncanny because this literally smelled like peaches/nectarines. I don't know if it's just me.
At the first spritz, you can definitely smell the green woody fig scent, which disappears into this peachy-osmanthus scent (I also think osmanthus flowers smell peachy! And you can really smell if you have ever had osmanthus tea).
According to L'Occitane:
The fragrance opens with soaring notes of bergamot and blackcurrant, paired with a ripe,fruity fig.
The heart reveals another facet of the fig through its green leaves,
heightened by apricot tinted notes of the Osmanthus flower.
A warm base rounds off this delicious scent and leaves behind a woody trail of cedar and musk.
The heart reveals another facet of the fig through its green leaves,
heightened by apricot tinted notes of the Osmanthus flower.
A warm base rounds off this delicious scent and leaves behind a woody trail of cedar and musk.
I had a little look online comparing these two perfumes, and turns out they both have a blackcurrant top note and an apricot/nectarine middle notes. I think 'Nectarine Blossom' comes pretty close to the osmanthus scent.
It smelled a lot girlier/fruitier than I thought, because I was really wanting a musky woody fig smell. But, I still really love it because it's not one of those sickly sweet smells, a little bit girly but also a little bit musky AND it actually lasted quite a few hours on my skin. And of course, the Jo Malone perfume smells wonderful as well, so being pretty similar this one smells amazing too.
Lo and behold what I think is an excellent dupe for the Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey perfume! The new fig & osmanthus perfume is $40 for 30ml, vs $90 for 30ml from Jo Malone. That's more than 50% off the price of Ms Malone's version!
