Molecule 01 + Champaca

Full disclaimer, as you may have seen in previous reviews of mine, I'm a big fan of this house and I own all of their perfumes and I always buy the full bottles blind ASAP upon release because I feel they disappoint so rarely and WELL that even when they're not at their best the perfumes are still very, very wearable. Again I was forced to import this privately from Denmark because it's not sold to Sweden from the Escentric Molecules EU webshop, so it took me a bit longer than usual to get my hands on this. First I would like to commend the bottle design. The outer package is the "standard" M01+ design language, however with the same side-opening box like the M01+Cistus, which I'm very happy about, but the bottle has a very beautiful design version of a the champaca flower on it, and I certainly see why they chose this deep red colour for the whole ad campaign around this scent because it does look stunning. The scent itself? Well, I WAS a little bit worried about escentric molecules entering flowery territory, even if we can argue that they've done it before with Iris, the champaca, the red flower, all of it made me think that maybe they will have gone TOO floral? But as I sprayed the first spritz and the surprising first waft of ORANGE hit me, my concerns were immediately lifted. Yes, the orange is a top note and yes, it fades VERY fast, but there's a DNA strand of that that lingers in the interpretation of the flower note as well that just goes SO nicely together, it's definitely a kind of continuation of the scent that just goes deeper and more red and, yes, floral. I'd say it's a very sophisticated floral, still, and I have for sure smelled a lot of perfumes that are way more "feminine" coded leaning than this, BUT in the same way that the M01+Patchouli DEFINITELY leans masculine, this one definitely leans feminine. I don't mind it personally, a study I read of has deduced that both men and women actually PREFER feminine leaning scents, so I'm all for it, but it might be a tougher sell for those struggling with the comfort of their masculinity. I got "rich old lady" by some who smelled me, which I also get sometimes when I wear the M01+Iris, so that's classy floral for you, BUT one comment that I wasn't expecting was that of a friend who is originally from the Philippines who said it reminded him very specifically of the scents the flowers they use in his part of the country for FUNERALS, and so we looked it up and damn right if the flower in question wasn't of the Champaca family! So this can definitely also be worth considering if you'll be travelling to a South-East Asian country. It's not a BAD thing, but yes, the risk is that you could come off as a bit funereal. Anyway, I like it a lot, it has a bit longer longevity than most M01+ scents and it shakes up the collection a bit. However I do worry that the M01+ line is starting to take over the entire Escentric Molecules house? Isn't it about time we get Escentric/Molecule 06 soon?

Imo, one of the best if not the best from EM. I've already spent way too much time with my nose glued to my skin just trying to take it all in. Yes, it's intimate and has rather weak projection, but it also depends a lot on your skin chemistry. Great for layering as well, especially with other floral perfumes or maybe even tea fragrances. My colleague tried it on both wrists: on one she wore Chanel Mademoiselle, the other was left plain. It smelled so different on each wrist, yet both combinations were gorgeous. We probably spent at least 10 minutes smelling each other's wrists :D For me, it was an instant buy. For my colleague, it was more like: "I need to remind my husband that our wedding anniversary is coming up soon..." As a huge fan of inoffensive, calming, second-skin fragrances, this is easily one of my top choices at the moment.

ISO E Super is such an interesting and enjoyable ingredient to me. I become anosmic to it after about an hour, but only for maybe 20 minutes or so, and then it comes roaring back to life. I love that sudden burst. This is a beauuutiful sparkling white floral. The orange blossom opens, bright and warm, and that warmth stays inside the champaca over the first half hour. The Michelia champaca tree is a heady, magical scent, but it’s hard to capture in the flower as a breeze will quickly carry it away. This is such a faithful reproduction—a breezy, decadent wear.

In love with this scent, feels so cosy on me and can suit for spring, summer and fall imo. A very subtle combination of the woody scent with a soft but lively orange blossom is what I like here. Bought a sample of it to test its performance, which is unfortunately very weak. Not sure yet if others around me cant smell it too after these hours - I should test this. Trying to compare it to the other Molecules as the original and Molecule+BlackTea seems to do more on performance with me.

A lovely fresh floral note which , as other reviews have noted, comes and goes in iso super's 3 D way. I'm not familiar enough with champaca to comment on the fidelity of the note here except to say that it's lighter than Ormonde Jayne's Champaca. I plan to wear it for a wedding later in July because it's not too heavy or overpowering. I suspect that longevity and perception might get confused with this one because it's still quite noticeable when I sort my laundry.

I’ll lead with I’m a bit Bias! I enjoy this whole house, that said this one is very approachable if you’re remotely familiar with Molecule 01 in general! Not sure but it’s really close to beautiful mind series Intelligence and Fantasy.

Beautiful unisex Champaca and woody notes. Lasts on clothing for days even with moderate spraying. The projections isn't the best so I overspray it. Reminds me of Bali vacations. Very sophisticated and unique scent profile.

A great addition to the collection. Although it breaks the rules of the M+ series somewhat, the orange blossom, champaca and ISO gamma super work so well together. The orange blossom isn’t screechy or synthetic or soapy, it’s very natural smelling and refreshing. The scent almost has the effect of a photorealistic frangipani, but more sheer and versatile. Really good stuff. It’s a little too sweet (it isn’t a bad kind of sweet) for my tastes, but I’m glad to have a tester to use. Too early to comment on longevity. Unisex leaning femme (more femme than M+Iris imo).

Smells great and truly unisex, but the performance is very weak. Even 5 sprays on clothes barely last 2 hours.

After my favourite Champaca perfume (Champaca absolute- Tom Ford) was discontinued. I had high hopes for this Champaca perfume. So I did a blind by via the internet but Oh boy how wrong was I. I really do not smell any Champaca at all. Maybe it has to do that one ingredient which is needed to let the Champaca smell to enfold is now forbidden in the EU and the USA (I was told). But I really dislike this perfume. I have some other Molecules versions and I like them a lot. But I will resell this bottle.

Non-lasting D&G - Light blue..that does not last at all, not even a minute.

Disappointed with the scent. It smelled like urine :(

Well.. i dont dislike it! Its just kind of disappointing. Instead of champaca i mainly get a white tea note, but not a realistic one. It basically smells like every green tea perfume (citrusy and fresh) with a pronounced iso e super. Luckily this tea aspect is well done and i dont find it extremely boring and its definitely not unpleasant. But what about the champaca? I dont even pick up on anything vaguely floral, let alone champaca. This is annoying because the whole point of this line is to emphasize an ingredient paired with iso e super. The iris one is excellent for example, and i love the patchouli as well. So why is the champaca in here not noticeable? I tested it on skin and walked around with it on me all day to see if theres something im missing but no, i only get tea and iso e super. Still, this combination alone is quite pleasant. Just not for me.

Champaca trees grow in my garden. White champaca (Michaelia alba) is infinitely beautiful but red Champaca is indescribably more wonderful by a magnitude. This fragrance really does feature prominently a red Champaca note and is truly beautiful. Slightly feminine but objectively this scent is a blessing to anyone who smells it. I purchased a full bottle at Harrods for a reasonable price£135. For comparison, the only other red Champaca fragrance I found there was a oud from Henry Jaques and was £4,000 (!!).... and smelled like mud. Very happy with my purchase, I smell like a beautiful summers day in paradise.

I wanted to like this sooo bad couldn't wait to get my nose on this latest release of the series. I think my expectations were that it was going to smell like frangipani flower...a heavy spicy narcotic floral with the Iso E Super woody background. I've come to realize champaca flower smells like when you hug an older woman like late 60's from church or a great aunt. It has that old woman floral vibe to it. That's not a bad thing it's just not a smell I like and definitely not what I want to wear. It's very Grandma-esque. Definitely not for younger women and definitely not for men.

Just got mine a couple of days ago. I enjoy it, I think the combination works. The champaca note dissipates quite quickly after a couple of hours (if that) and you are left with iso E that sits close to the skin. Not a loud one, for certain. Still very enjoyable for everyday. Unisex leaning feminine. UPDATE: This is now my room air freshener. No lasting power at all and a complete waste of money.

More than 2 notes in M+? I remember an interview with Geza Schoen when M+ was just out and he said the idea was to check what happens if you combine Iso E Super with only 1 other note. I guess after so many combinations it's time now for something more complex. Looking forward to trying this!

Wicked spicy/peppery freeshia scent. I love it, however cannot get any creamy champaca at all. Overall good but a bit linear compared to other escentric molecules creations. For UK folks you can try it at Space NK.

I love this fragrance. Yes it becomes a skin scent within an hour or so. If you love champaca fragrances get your hands on CDG Luxe Champaca. Though it's an EDT it longevity is 8 hours and sillage is divine.

Why are people already rating a scent that isn't even out yet by optimal season and time of day to wear....? Anyways, very looking forward to trying this, hopefully will impress me similarly to m+ cistus