Miyako

I was looking to find a signature oud when Antonia at Tigerlily urged me to try this, based on my preferences, despite its not being an oud. It astonished me, and when I took it home and wore it kept on surprising me. Its best elements stayed consistent, the leather has lasted days on my clothes. Never before has a scent that actually smells good lasted as long. The musk in it smells like warm leather and is not at all sleazy. My only critique would be that it is a LITTLE too fruity off the bat; I like darker scents, typically. But I am willing to put up with the volume 9 of the apricot in exchange for Auphorie not tinkering more with it and ruining what really seems like a magical combination. This is the kind of smell I called the boutique I got the sample at (Tigerlily, in San Francisco--what a lovely place with bubbly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic people: I would love to spend my days working or living at a place like that) the very next day to ask them to set one aside and thank Antonia for having me smell it. They were sold out. Apparently the fragrance has won awards and is a fast mover; I am stocking up on it as soon as I get it. Four days later I called again to check on its progress: my early enthusiasm had not been false: the fragrance had not changed on me (I kept sampling it over those days--I don't mean it didn't change over 4 days on my clothes, although certain notes of it have seemed to last at least that long on my sweatshirt cuff, shockingly). It is so hard to write about fragrance; it is like dancing about color, or hearing taste. And I am new to the world of niche fragrances and being really discerning and a fragrance hobbyist, although I have always been more into smells than peers and have worn a perfume since age 12 (Chanel no5--I don't know many other high school freshmen who hang around pefume counters and like old lady fragrances but am grateful to my mom for entertaining, educating, and paying for this interest) and by age 15, amber oil for day and Opium for evening. So while I'm not an expert, I hope my review bears some relation to what might be true for others, especially when I say: TRY THIS OR BUY THIS FRAGRANCE NOW, especially if you like skin or leather. It's not a scent I would have bought blind based on the pyramid nor even tried based on description. I can imagine a hundred other scents with the exact same ingredients that would do nothing for me. This one is unique. I think it may become my signature, though I hesitate to wear it so often that I stop being able to smell it myself. It has a polite sillage and can definitely be worn to work. It works in the evening, too, because it seems like the sillage of the brither, fruitier notes is greater than of the leather, muskier ones (I suppose this is a general truth). It makes a good signature in that way. It is the kind of smell that I have to keep opening the bottle and sniffing every time I pass by the bathroom, or have to discreetly keep smelling my arm at work. Something about it is truly addictive and comforting.

Miyako, a winner of The Art and Olfaction Awards 2016, wows me with it's fruity yet earthy opening of dried apricots, swiftly followed by its fresh osmanthus flowers and its compelling and distinct note of rough, animalic leather. When the base creeps up, there is something distinctly green about it. A couple of hours into the drydown, I get an almost chocolatey effect that I find very comforting. I also notice something that smells like incense, as though it is clinging to the skin and hair after having walked out of a sacred temple. This perfume is like a lesson in abstract art. There are so many notes tumbling around, weaving in and out of one another. You have the darkness of earthy notes and brightness of botanical notes contrasting one another with every fascinating inhalation. Miyako showcases what perfumers can achieve with modern botanical interpretations of "animalic" notes. The leather note is huge and so believable! I did not see the notes ahead of time, but I when I smelled it, I knew it was leather, and I was surprised because I know Auphorie does not use real animal essences. Please try this if you love love love leather but you do NOT love animal cruelty. Miyako takes me back to a memory of a thrift shop I poked around when I was last at Tahoe. Sniffing from a distance, the perfume has this old, worn-in scent about it, like the scent of clothes with just a bit of mildew, old books, and old leather jackets that might or might not have been worn by a smoker, but they have definitely been worn. If I put my schnozz close to my skin, I really pick up that beautiful, clean, fruity and sweet osmanthus. Leather is definitely not my favorite note, but oddly I enjoy the (few) excellent botanical interpretations of it much more than the real animalic stuff. Miyako is one of those perfumes that feels like it becomes part of you, just like your favorite leather jacket. This perfume is beautifully done and cruelty-free. Projection is great. Love it! Edit: Coming back to read reviews since writing my own, it's important to remember that this is an EXTRAIT, not EDP, so it's wise to go easy on the trigger and apply more only if desired. Disclosure: I wrote my review some time ago. I now stock Auphorie at aveparfum.com, and they are my perfumers for House of Gray, but my personal opinions always remain my own.

Well, third time is clearly the charm. I admit, I’m curious about anything Luca Turin rewards with 5 stars and try as many of them as I can. Miyako was the recipient of one of Mr Turin’s glowing 5 star reviews (and an exceptionally glowing one at that) and on top of that it was an Art & Olfaction winner, so I had to try it. Ave Parfum was kind enough to send me a sample some months back but for whatever reason I just didn’t get it. I tried it once again sometime after, and nope, nothing happening for me. Since then, I have developed a real love (almost obsession) for osmanthus so I decided to try it again today just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. And, boy, was I missing something! I have no idea what has happened other than my newfound love for osmanthus but this stuff went from “meh, don’t get it” to “what do I have to sell to get a bottle of this NOW”. Wow, it’s LOADED with osmanthus, and if it’s not absolute it certainly smells like it. I know Auphorie uses mixed media (naturals enhanced with synthetics) and it doesn’t matter to me if it’s “real” or not, it smells real, it smells fantastic and that’s all that I care about. The natural peachy leather scent of osmanthus is enhanced with more peach and leather, and also apricot, and together it’s like this world class osmanthus rivaling almost any osmanthus note I have smelled (including the legendary Nombre Noir). There are delicate and fresh notes added (green tea, yuzu) that give a slight brightness to the otherwise dark notes of osmanthus, leather and patchouli. Together with jasmine and woods, Miyako is this perfectly balanced bliss with such an underlying richness it creates a slight gourmand tone, almost like a blanket of caramel is added to the mix. How I missed all this the first time, even the second time, is beyond me. I don’t know, maybe it was my nose, my mood, or my preferences at the time but I’m EATING MY WORDS. Miyako is worthy of all the praise it has received, it’s magical, mesmerizing and quite extraordinary.

I can't decide if we're friends. First, Miyako's lid wouldn't come off. I eventually removed it after emailing Auphorie for advice as to whether I should twist or pull (not wanting to destroy it in the process). They were swift to respond and told me to "... Fret not, just slowly twist and pull the cap upward with all your might and the cap will come off in no time." My might eventually defeated my fretting and I breathed in Miyako, then reeled as I caught a fleeting whiff of fermented-fish sauce. Fish sauce! It came and went within seconds and seriously startled me before revealing itself as more animalic than fishy. I was immersed in a dusty, wooden shed in the bottom of a wet, lush garden. In this dry, woody shed an animal had been sleeping and left the funky scent of a lair. I took my nose away from my skin and made a cup of tea to refresh my senses. While the steam was wafting around me I picked up a delicious green-tea-and-apricot scent all around me and found it in the room I'd just left a few minutes later. This green-tea-and-apricot beauty had been masked by the funky animalic notes until I'd taken my attention away from them... and now a soft beauty was evolving. The Osmanthus and apricot (with a crushed peach-leaf-greenness) are radiant and sweet, perfectly balanced by a leathery-lair quality most unusual. As it developed on me, luscious patchouli appeared, sandalwood gave everything lustre and musk warmed it all up. Happy days! This is a plush, dense, crushed-green, voluptuous-Osmanthus animal's lair. It's not for those seeking comfort; it's a surprising encounter in a dark, wet place with something lurking in the shadows, just out of sight. I think I could love Miyako, but I have to figure out what kind of creature it is first. 9/08/21 EDIT: I’ve fallen unreservedly in love with Miyako. Beautiful olfactory dance of dark and light, thrills me every time I wear it... Today's haiku: a gardener's shed osmanthus in full flower small creature asleep

Miyako from Auphorie. There's a good reason this perfume is a mainstay in their line. Without a doubt, it is their crowning achievement. Art and Olfaction winner and highly praised by Luca Turin (whose rating system eludes me for the most part). Miyako was an instant love for me, and that hasn't changed over the years. If I am to keep one perfume from the house, is this one. They struck a perfect balance here, no doubt. Exploiting the best of Osmanthus as an ingredient while stretching its olfactory profile and keeping the composition on the brighter side of the spectrum, as opposed to the latest release, Osmanthe Oud. Miyako feels like a day walk through a Japanese village during Spring, the scent of tea wafting from the Tea Houses nearby. The opening is bright and invigorating. A blast of juicy yuzu and sweet peach, adorned with green tea and aromatic herbs. It cheers you up and energizes you. The middle phase is all about Osmnthus, already overlapping with the base to suggest the suede leather impression and the woods. Maybe some Orris or Jasmine is being used as well as I sense some other white floral touches and a hint of chalky-earthiness that Orris can sometimes give off. The leather impression is soft, suede-like, and almost dry in feel. The woods are on the creamy side, buttery, and not spicy or sharp as one might expect reading Cedarwood and Hinkoki among the ingredients. Some synthetic musks round up the base, and they fit in nicely. Of all synthetic musks, I feel the Au brothers are among the few who know how to use them to their maximum potential. A solid perfume in my books, and if there is one to try or even blind buy from this house, it should be this one, granted you like Osmathus and East Asian aesthetic and flavors. IG:@memory.of.scents