l'Herbe Rouge

For myself this is one of the true stars in Ayala's collection. There's a wonderful symbiosis of the notes, and pretty much through the entire wear, no singular note takes complete central stage, but rather shares it with the others. For me this is truly a good thing, because when I saw carnation as a component I was admittedly nervous, as they're quite likely one of my least favourite flowers. However, Ayala very cleverly nestled that hint of sweetness in amongst the brightness of the lavender/lemongrass/juniper berry trio. The vetiver and spice anchors this firmly as a truly warm fougère. This is one that I always get comments on when I wear it. It wears close to the skin on me (to be expected of most natural perfume), but this fragrance has such a quiet confidence about it that it would almost be counterproductive for it to be any other way.