Elemis Exotic Eau de Parfum

I first tried Elemis Exotic a couple of years ago. There's something I really like about this fragrance and I keep going back to it. It's warm and woody without being too heavy and the florals for me are just right. It smells very natural and non-synthetic. It's gorgeous for night-time all throughout the year.

Elemis Exotic Eau de Parfum centers itself around ylang-ylange that's nicely blended and natural backed up with a light veil of resins and darkened by clove. However, it lacks real structure, fixation and concept so it will never be on par with the full-blown, elaborately created exotic floral compositions from big houses such as Kenzo or Guerlain. The real drawbacks for me however were the lack of balance, the missing structure and the overpowering ylang note. I would have preferred a distinctly woodier and more resinous base that would have balanced out the florals better and given Exotic a deeper, more exotic oriental feel. To sum up, Exotic Eau de Parfum is quite expensive for what it is albeit being natural. When I need my ylang-ylang fix, I’d reach for Kenzo or Guerlain or if in an especially natural mood, I’d be probably better off throwing together a blend of ylang-ylang, spices, cedar and frankincense without making a huge dent in my wallet.

The opening of this perfume reminds me immediately of gingerbread - in a good way. That's not surprising, given the cloves and cinnamon; for that reason, I find it very similar to Lolita Lempicka L. I don't really notice any particularly floral scent, it simply fades linearly (in about 4 hours) to a sweet woody scent. I got this for about £26 at Debenhams and I'm glad I did, it is just so different from the usual fruity florals on the market these days.