French niche line Phaedon, which launched last year with six fragrances, has added two more to the line: Verveine Figuier & Coton Egyptien.
Verveine Figuier (shown) ~ “Since the pioneering Premier Figuier by L’Artisan Parfumeur introduced the fig note in fine fragrance, it has become a classic. Pierre Guillaume’s charming idea for Phaedon has been to light up the green-tinged and milky flesh of the fruit with a generous splash of verbena, whose citrusy-green scent brings freshness to the blend…”
Coton Egyptien ~ “Though the name may conjure visions of crisply ironed bed linen, you won’t find a clean laundry molecule in this scent. Rather, the enigmatically-named “Egyptian cotton” accord is a soft floral blend with accents of iris, jasmine, lily, lily of the valley and orange blossom, introduced by a slightly resinous galbanum top note that brings to mind 1970s green chypres. When the contrasted base of dry cedar wood and sweet fluffy musk takes over…”
Phaedon Verveine Figuier & Coton Egyptien are $125 each for 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and can be found now at Luckyscent.
(via luckyscent)
16 Comments
Read more about commenting at Now Smell This.
Wow! Verbena and Fig. So revolutionary! Why am I not surprised. Is fig the new pink pepper?
A couple weeks ago French fragrance chain Marionnaud presented exclusively Thierry Mugler’s Womanity Figue & Caviar (wasn’t caviar there already?) at the same time as their very own collection La Bastidane, very L’Occitane-like, featuring a cedar & fig eau de cologne.
Who’s next to issue a fig frag do you think?
There may be people out there who need another fig. So far none has beaten Un Jardin en Mediterannée and Premier Figuier Extreme.
It is true, fig, and even fig + lemon, is not hard to come by.
Most French brands, maybe aside from the old school houses like Dior/Chanel/Guerlain/Caron have a fig scent, from the cheapest to the more expensive – probably because fig is very prominent in France as a fruit, at least a wild one. In the South just go out driving outside of the cities and the roadsides are lined with fig trees. And fig is probably always a good summer seller for scents in France. Fragonard do a great cheap one that used to be called Garrigues? and is now Fleur de Figuier but I believe it’s the same scent.
Verveine Figuier totally intrigues me. I’ve bought one of the Phaedon’s (Dzhari) and tried one other (Noir Marine), and while I like the scents and quality, the concentration/strength/projection are sort of lacking. Still, I think this new one is something I’d like to try.
I liked a couple of the original set — the incense one, and the date one. But you’re right, they’re not as strong as I expected for the price.
I tried Verveine Figuier last night. It’s a nice verbena, but verbena seems to be such a strong note that other elements don’t stand up to it well — there’s a nice bit of fig leaf that weaves in and out for awhile, but ultimately, one’s left with verbena. I decided that my budget will do better buying a half-ounce bottle of L’Occitane verbena for $20 and possibly layering it over Philosykos. I’ve been wanting a fresh verbena scent for awhile.
Good to know, thanks! Will skip this one.
The first fig frag that I recall was the Cote Bastide. This line is new to me. I will have to sample-up at Luckyscent.
Oh, then you must try the L’Artisan, and Diptyque Philosykos!
Thanks! Will seek them out.
I’m kinda liking the sound of the Coton Egyptien, now that I see it doesn’t smell like a laundry basket full of clean sheets (were they clean sun-dried sheets, maybe). I’ve had a bit of a weakness in my heart for greeny florals lately. My collection is rife with headier stuff and sometimes I just want pretty.
Do report back if it’s excellent — I like green florals too!
Ordered the Coton Egyptien from Luckyscent, and it it narcotic. Will have to pop for a bottle soon.
Reporting back! It is really nice. Not so much a green floral, as a sunny floral. Sheets sun-dried in the garden. Does that make sense? I love it – I will blow through my decant in 0 time and will have a bottle.
Thanks so much — yes, makes sense!
Hi
I’ve been testing Verveine Figuier this week as I had a sample I love the initial verbena its very strong (almost syrupy) but it lasts all of five minutes before the fig takes over. The verbena and the fig fight it out for about five minutes the fig wins and even that is gone after about an hour.