Philosykos Eau de Toilette

How do I even write a review that does my signature scent justice? I can simply say, it smells amazing, and that it's Timeless, chic, modern, and trendy. A perfect 10/10, but to me it's much more. To me, Philosykos is nostalgia in a bottle along with all the things to come In the future. I was 15yd at the Colette fashion boutique begging my mom to buy me something. She bought me the edt version and 13 years later it's still the bottle I reach for the most. I was bummed out when I got to the hotel and sprayed it for the first time. I thought it smelled nasty. My mom said "I bought it, so you have to wear it". Since then I have come to love this fragrance. I grew up with this fragrance and it has been with with me through all the important moments of my life. My first pimple & facial hair, my first relationship & heart break, learning to drive & my first concert. Along with all the peaks and vallys of my life. When ever I spray Philosykos it always brings me back to multiple moments in time. To me the EDT & EDP smell the same with the EDP having more heft and lasting power on your skin. The smell: This is hands down the best realistic fig on the market. At first sniff, you get a very green, soiliy fig that develops into a fresh, transparent, watery, airy scent. Imagine walking up to a fig tree that's on a cliff overlooking the shore. You pick a fig and a fig leaf up off the ground, and rip the leaf in half. Now, put both up to your nose, and that's the initial smell you get. Then, you pick a fresh fig and start to eat it while enjoying the view of the beautiful coastline. You taste and smell the juicy fig as a cool ocean breeze hits you; it cuts down the smell of the fig, making it something delicate and airy while feeling a clean cooling sensation. That's how Philosykos dries down. I don't get any milky or lotion-like vibes from this fragrance at all. It's not listed in the notes but multiple people have said it. I believe there is ISO E Super in this fragrance; which might be the reason some people get a milky/lotion-like feel. It would also explain why a lot of people think it smells bad. ISO E Super doesn't mix well with some people's skin chemistry, so test before you buy. On my skin, especially in the dry down, I get a clean, fresh, airy, watery scent with a delicate light fig in the background. I think the ISO E Super is the reason I get that fresh feel on my skin. If I could put a song to Philosykos it would be The Smashing pumpkins 1979

I love love love fig fragrances, and this is my favorite. I’d go as far as to say it’s my favourite perfume ever, at least in my top 3. This is therapy in a bottle. Every time I feel I need to snap out of an anxious or depressed state, I spray Philosykos and it always helps, even if it’s for just one second. This perfume is such a strong way to “distract” yourself: the photorealism is so great that your focus is immediately redirected towards a new mindscape. It simply doesn’t smell like “perfume”, it smells like art, like an adventure. It tells a story. I get the grass, the trees, the leaves, the fruit at its different stages of ripeness, and a lovely but light lactonic dry down. There’s zero coconut by the way. It is milky in a fresh way, as in, not powdery at all, but I don’t get any coconut. I see why one would think about coconut, but I think it’s an association of ideas, rather than the scent being actually there. But isn’t it what’s wonderful about perfumes? Longevity is good on me. The fragrances I love tend to have poor projection, sillage and longevity, so I think I’ve developed a more sensitive attention to them. Over time, I can smell it longer and longer on my skin, and on my clothes. It lasts all day, in one form or another. I get whiffs of it all the time, that’s perfect for me, I like to be gently reminded throughout the day, I don’t like “in your face” perfumes. And I only do 2-3 sprays. Funnily enough, I am wearing this in the dead of winter and I find it perfect. I can wear citrus or floral scents in winter, but it often feels like I’m trying to create a vibe out of thin air, and it feels a bit too out of place to be properly enjoyed. But not with this one, for some reason. It works really well in winter, at least for me :) I haven’t tried the EDP but from the reviews I’ve read it’s a bit more fruity/floral and a bit more woodsy on the dry down, and I don’t think those areas are where the perfume is telling its story, so I’ll stick with the EDT for now.

I went to Nordstrom's with the intention of finally purchasing a bottle of PDM Herod for my birthday. I had gotten a sample last fall and absolutely adored it and decided I'd treat myself since I had a bit of extra cash. I haven't been collecting fragrances for very long so I have a huge back log of classics I need to get my nose on. So I finally got my nose on Herod, and it was quite nice, but I actually ended up liking Oajan more and was pretty sure I'd get that. But then I noticed the Diptyque counter. I had a decant of ADP Fico di Amalfi and really loved it. So I was very interested in sampling other Fig fragrances, thus I guessed I would take a sec before buying Oajan and give Philosykos a sniff. I think every fragrance lover chases that eye popping moment when you smell something that literally stops your brain in it's tracks and transports you somewhere far away with a nostalgia for something you never knew. I didn't grow up around Fig trees and most of my experience with the leaves and fruit is culinary, but that natural and unique scent is so familiar to me, not really at all like Fico di Amalfi, but nonetheless familiar, and somehow older. Philosykos is really truly a masterpiece green fragrance, and my new summer daily driver, replacing ADG EDP. My only complaint is longevity. I got 5 hours before it was barely perceptible on skin, and it does sit close, but I think that's fine for this fragrance, you wouldn't want it to pump, just wish it lasted longer. They did not have the EDP but I believe I will have to find it.

It is always heartbreaking when a fragrance has poor sillage and poorer longevity, but the philosykos EDT is perhaps the most heartbreakingly faint and fleeting fragrance of them all, owing solely to the sheer beauty of the fragrance itself. Philosykos EDT (yes specifically the EDT; the EDP has a plethora of its own nuances that make it distinct enough to talk about separately) is almost jarringly spot on when it comes to replicating the same scent you’re probably familiar with if you grew up near fig trees. Photorealism is really the word here; it is a stunning imprisonment of one of the world’s most fragrant fruit trees in a bottle. It is unique without being edgy or off-putting, and yet it is so elegant and so refreshing that it is just impossibly easy to wear. It smells like a grandfather, in a wise and gentle way, while also smelling like an adventure to somewhere wherein you have no idea what to expect. The one thing wrong with this frag is the performance. You will have to overspray to get this juice to go anywhere past the length of your elbow, and you will have to carry it with you to reapply it for it to last longer than a few hours. It is one of those fragrances that you simply need everyone to experience, not out of a selfish desire to be complimented or to appear a certain way, but because it is so lovely that you couldn’t possibly want to keep it for yourself. Use it to layer over other figgy, woody scents; it does an excellent job of adding a little something to other fragrances.

I reviewed the EDP version of Philosykos a while ago, and wanted to compare it to the original EDT. Olivia Giacobetti is the pioneer of fig in perfume, and is the nose behind both this and its aptly-named precursor, Premier Figuier for L'Artisan Parfumeur. I had fig fatigue now, but objectively speaking, they are top-notch examples of figgy perfumes. Back to Philosykos: comparing this original EDT to the more recent EDP reveals that they are slightly different takes on fig. This incarnation is simpler, more of a "solifruit", whereas the fig in the EDP is rounded out by other notes. Philosykos EDT opens with green fig leaf, fresh and crisp, softening into the fleshy fruit as it develops. There is an inherent lactonic quality to fig itself, often enhanced by coconut in perfumes, Philosykos EDP included. Here, the fig is left alone, photorealistic and natural; sweet, jammy and lactonic. The greenness and sweetness remain a it dries down and it becomes softly musky as it fades. Sillage is intimate and longevity is moderate. It is a unisex spring/summer scent. Perhaps the purest, most realistic fig scent of all, Philosykos was groundbreaking at the time of its release, and holds up beautifully as one of the best, most iconic figs. I prefer this to the EDP. Profumum Roma Ichnusa is my favourite fig of all, a vibrant green rendering of the entire fig tree, but this is a classic. 4.5/5.