Nectars des Iles

After the "odissey" this little treasure has been into before arriving to me (from Californian shores to Italian Apennine Mountains), after having imagined the moment it would have met my skin, I'm finally able to review my prize from En Voyage contest: Nectars des Iles. This fragrance is really close to my expectations: I can confirm it's kind of a narcotic juice, thanks to the blasting ylang-ylang start..once I bought a ylang-ylang essential oil and the top notes of this scent really reminds me of the opulence of that flower's extract. I don't know if it's because of my not well educated sense of smell, but for now I can hardly detect the orange and osmanthus notes listed above, at least in the opening. To my nose the floral fruity nature of Nectars comes out after a while, when the ylang-ylang settles down into a creamy and honey-y melange of citruses and jasmine-tiare-gardenia-frangipani accord. This is the most evocative and dreamy part: Nectars des Iles is not a beach scent at all, it's more like having a walk into an intricate tropical forest full of many species of waxy and succulent flowers, whose warmth and sweetness is balanced by the delicate sourness of citruses peels from the trees above..that’s what I get from the heart of this fragrance. The whole brightness of this composition makes me feel like I’m smelling a natural scent, no chemical components are detectable here...this is the way I’d personally describe a hand-made perfume, when my mind can easily picture a landscape of notes though I’ve never seen or smelled those flowers or fruits. My exotic dream ends with a long lasting trail of vanilla and amber, blending perfectly with my skin and leading the fragrance towards a woody-musky base. Nectars des Iles is not an everyday fragrance in my opinion: it’s something you should first enjoy privately, maybe you’ll need a little time to feel it as yours, mostly if you were expecting to smell the latest tropical summer launch. No doubt this is a wonderful and unique ‘fume, it’s just a little unusual to me...I’ve been wearing and testing many “exotic” scents through the years, and this is really different from all of them: it seems like a rather new olfactive world to me. Lovers of opulent, rich, juicy and sultry floral notes (gardenia and ylang-ylang above all) are warned: this could be your next fragrance....I think it’s mine too :) Warning: compliments getter, and men magnet

I've always enjoyed creations from Shelley Waddington's line, but had never actually bought anything. When I discovered Nectars des Iles was created by Juan Perez, I bought it immediately! Years ago, I stumbled across a little shop on Etsy called The Exotic Island Perfumer, and ordered Flor Azteca just based on the notes (BIG white floral!). It. BLEW. MY. MIND!!!!!! Sadly, T.E.I.P. closed shop, and I all but forgot about this incredible perfumer, until one fateful day when I dug out an old sample of Zoologist's Dragonfly. I'd had it stashed away for years due to moves and when I applied it, I thought - my GOD this is beautiful - I must have it! Sadly, again - I found out Dragonfly had been reformulated by someone else, and no longer had the same magic it once did (whyyy, Zoologist, whyyyy??). These two perfumes were SUCH profound scent experiences I did the next best thing I could - researched the perfumer to track down anything else of his I could, which is when I found Nectars des Iles and ordered it without a moment's hesitation. It is everything I'd hoped and more - Juan Perez, being Puerto Rican - handles tropical florals brilliantly; you REALLY feel transported to a tropical paradise (as corny as that sounds), when wearing this. It's GORGEOUS, and the performance is stellar to boot!! Great lasting power and diffusion. I reaaaally love the work of Juan Perez and am eagerly awaiting some of his creations to be back in stock from his own line, Terra Mater. Big white florals in the hands of this wizard?? Swoooon. If you adore tropical florals, Nectar des Iles is a safe blind buy and super reasonably priced!

This scent reminds me of listening to Fine Young Cannibals "Good Thing." It's so beautiful and good. Perfectly blended florals with woods. The tropical freshness of this perfume is amazing. I don't get much powder in this and that's ok with me because I'm not a huge fan. The notes are going to make you think this is a power house, but it really isn't. It stays close. The dry down is amazing.I can't imagine a time of the day or year that this wouldn't be appropriate to wear.

I really really like this scent. It is fresh and clean. Very citrusy with the top notes and a solid backbone of tropical white flowers led by the frangapani . Made me feel like I was relaxing on a Hawaiian beach with a fresh coconuty vacation drink! very fun and affordable. Thanks Shelley Waddington and Juan Perez...checking out your other creations for FB purchases as well.

The Frangipani, Vanilla, Amber, and a hint of sandalwood blend to make a creamy and fleshy Coconut opening. My first thought was "Wow, that's a nice coconut." Then I thought, "Wait. No, it's so much more." It's very well blended and works beautifully. There is a hint of the osmanthus and Tiare in the background adding a bit of depth to the "coconut". The dry down was a faint skin scent that consisted mostly of Tiare and Ylang-ylang with a hint of sandalwood. It lasted about 4-5 hours and mostly clung to the skin with low projection. A very beautiful and well blended scent.