Synthetic Nature

For quite a while I've considered FM's line-up to be curated to the point of livelessness, resembling marble statues designed for appreciation, but not necessarily fitting into the lives of us ordinary people. Time has passed and now, having experienced waaay too many UNDERcurated offerings of other brands, be it niche or mainstream, I appreciate Malle's perfectionist approach much more. Synthetic Jungle/Nature (btw, I've loved the original name!) was definitely a risky undertaking. Green to the extreme, with edges so sharp they can cut your fingers like blades of grass. This is Lily of the Valley, but capitalized and carnivorous, you know, the Little Shop of Horrors variety. Wearing it nowadays is bound to cause a stir, as it's so different and, well, NOT VANILLA or AMBERWOODS. It stems (wink, wink) from the green chypres of yesteryear, but lacks the intimate, morning breath nuance that was often present in them, which results in it smelling perfectly modern. Glorious in the air (I would not recommend wearing it indoors), it brought me a surprising amount of compliments from people impressed with its overall briskness and uniqueness. Is it similar to l'Ombre dans l'Eau? Yes, but here the titular shadow is of sth big, ominous, and you should probably consider running the hell away from this swamp Right.Now. ;) Have I mentioned that I love it?

This is incredibly unique wild green yet floral profile. I think its genuinely unisex (i share with my partner). First of all, the comparison to Synthetic Jungle, the notes show galbanum has been removed, so yes maybe its a bit less resinous and i detect a tad more floral but more elegant than the original - i suspect the reformulation has made it More unisex. However, i do not detect any difference in performance, both are nuclear in my opinion (on par with say Amouage). My instant comparison in terms of style is to Beach Hut Man, the difference being that the Amouage fragrance is mint led, but the overall style and profile is very similar. This is however more wearable and cery versatile in my opinion across seasons and occasions.

In my search for basil and green notes, I stumbled upon this fragrance, tried a sample, and found myself at a loss for words. I need this like I need the touch of a human being, like a touch-deprived being. All I can say is: green, green, green, and incredibly fresh, but for a split second, I feel choked up by something else (perhaps the hyacinth). It's soapy, reminiscent of those toilet spray fragrances, but in the best way possible, of course. Later, the scents fight for their life as they cling to my skin, and I can't resist smelling myself. Despite being named 'synthetic,' I'm engulfed in revived memories of childhood on the playground—focusing, of course, on the good parts. Alluringly, 100/10

Easily one of my new signature scents! An improvement for me over its predecessor, Synthetic Jungle, but less masculine, less stark, it takes the same fresh grassy punch of Synthetic Jungle and adds a whiff of floral and an almost imperceptible hint of fruit. Once I finish my bottle of Synthetic Jungle which I regularly spray on my husband, I will only be buying Synthetic Nature in its place.

Synthetic Nature, an interesting rebranding for sure! I love this fragrance, but I am a sucker for most, if not all, green fragrances! This is a green BOMB. “Nature” over “Jungle” is more fitting. With “Jungle” one expects the foliage and sharp leafs along with the damp, mossy, the muddy, swampy. This definitely smells more like “Nature” albeit a “synthetic” one, of course ;)

Same perfume/formula as Synthetic Jungle, different name. Apparently people were put off, not realising the name was an artistic choice, and that the perfume is no more or less synthetic than the next. I'm relieved, as Synthetic Jungle/Nature is a bold and unique perfume, almost unwearable admittedly, but I love it.

To be honest, I think this is a better name than Synthetic Jungle. I never got much “Jungle” from the original, and I think it sort of set people up with an idea of what the fragrance would be when it isn’t... so I think this name makes a lot more sense imo. 👍🏻

I’m totally in love with this perfume. It’s incredibly memorable, very fresh but absolutely atmospheric and complex. It’s by far the greenest perfume I have, and even when it dries down to a clean white, it’s never uninteresting to me

Whatever, I love this! Feels like clean laundry and verdant aromatic plants, not a boring same same refreshing fragrance. Uplifting and for me one to wear in any weather. Feels very spring-like

From what I understand, it’s identical with synthetic jungle, just a new name. Dont listen to the little chickys on here saying otherwise.

Whenever I spray this on, I feel like I’m transforming into POISON IVY 🌱🌿🌹

Like rolling around with a sexy stoner lawn guy on a pile of freshly cut grass. In some ways Synthetic Nature reminds me of Estee Lauder Eau de Private Collection, only without the ladylike aldehydes. I love lily-of-the-valley, basil, hyacinth, and galbanum (I'm not sure why this perfume ever had "jungle" in the name with those distinctly unjungley notes), and here you get the whole flowers, with all the leaves and dirt, instead of the more sublimated florals of Eau de Private Collection, which I am relieved to say I prefer, insofar as it is far less expensive. Even so, Synthetic Nature is still quite lovely, and I would recommend this gorgeous greenie as a welcome corrective to the ubiquitous gourmands. I'll be sorry when my tiny sample vial is depleted, but not sorry enough to buy a full bottle. I think if I had Malle money, I'd spring for Carnal Flower instead.

This one is all about the fresh, vibrant, distinct smell of greenery. A very cassis-forward scent, bursting with life and just a sprinkle pungent. Synthetic Nature opens with a crisp snap of basil and a flood of blackcurrant, rich yet tart, like crushed leaves releasing their sharp, inky sweetness. There’s an airy, forest-floor freshness to it, filled with delicate florals and wisps of vegetation, never heavy or overgrown. If L’Ombre Dans L’Eau is deep, shadowy foliage, this is its lighter, more open counterpart. The “Synthetic” in its name refers not to the quality of plants but the synthetic nature of this artificially crafted rainforest enviornment, lush but controlled, purposely made more dewy than humid. Nature curated; nature but with its saturation turned up. A modern take on green, crisp, and effortlessly fresh.

Tried today at Mecca Australia. Room filling bomb of green, massive spiky tomato leaf, capsicum. Dries to some floral elements. Daughter hated it, I thought it was OK once it dried down. Very similar to CK Truth for men (seriously it is). CK much better, far more wearable green fragrance, without the nuclear projection and cutting bitter elements. A really interesting fragrance for collectors, definitely wouldn't spend the big bucks on this one.

I remember this (either this or the older version) being very close to Diptyque L'Ombre dans L'eau but I smelled it again today and it's nothing like L'Ombre! In the opening they're very similar but once the perfume sets I really sense no similarity and on me this is a lily of the valley fragrance. I'll even go as far to say that I think it's quite similar to Diorissimo! Love it either way.

Synthetic Nature by Frederic Malle – 5/10 Another green perfume with a rainy forest vibe. It used to perform better, but after the reformulation it feels weaker. Still a nice scent, just not what it used to be.

It is fresh and green; but it doesn't project much.

FINALLY got to the store to try this on. It’s been on my list for months and I was considering blind buying because I was obsessed with the reviews boasting how green it is, plus the name is sick. Fragrantica is right on with the accords listing white florals as the highest, though, and I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. Kinda soapy with the basil and florals, It’s a great scent, but it doesn’t live up to the name. As many have said, lily of the valley is not the most exotic plant (may be why it was renamed jungle-> nature?), and I was expecting something more unique as for the synthetic claim. My standards are too Debaser coded for this :/

Well-balanced green fresh opening that settles down to a pleasant floral with some soapy sweetness. This is the perfume that ELDO's You or Someone Like You wishes it was.

Stupid how they had or felt like they had to change the name due to various outside reasons etc when the name is fine. The only thing to really pick at is "synthetic" funnily enough the part of the name that remains unchanged. A lot of people, including myself, thought the fragrance would contain a lot of synthetic ingredients and such when it doesnt, in the case of synthetic jungle, the synthetic part simply refers to it resembling the smell of a jungle, therefore being a "synthetic jungle". Synthetic nature as a name however doesnt really do much for me, its quite boring and really doesnt make sense, since the fragrance is supposed to emulate a jungle, which it does, and nothing else. I dont smell a mountain valley or a flower-ridden field.

I was hoping for something else. I really didn't enjoy it, but I also don't like the kind of loud 80s perfumes it's apparently paying homage to. Loud, unpleasant, yet nostalgic. I guess the references it provoked aren't familiar enough to me. It feels like going through an old magazine or watching old TV ads and feeling dizzy from the anxiety that goes along with old things that were trendy once but are totally outdated now. It's like an homage to being old money during the 80s, well I can't share that nostalgia. Cool name though.

@hsimov you cannot always rely on the information on here. According to the press release there was never Galbanum or Almond. Original website description: Basil, Lily of the Valley, Jasmine, Patchouli Bright and lush, mysterious and provocative, Synthetic Jungle is a stylized landscape in technicolor greens. An ode to cult perfumes of the 1970s, Synthetic Jungle offers a modern vision of nature reimagined. Flipo retained the opulent basil of the original composition, along with a recomposed bouquet of hyacinth, lily of the valley, natural jasmine, and Ylang Ylang oil. To modernize and sharpen, she then added synthetic black currant and styralyl acetate, effectively putting the bouquet through a glossy, sparkling filter. Flipo simplified the Chypre and leather notes, resulting in a cleaner, more streamlined accord. Finally, she added patchouli. To be honest, I never got Almond from it anyway? Though I get Galbanum, but maybe that’s just a basil/LOTV combo.

I love vibrant Green fragrances, but I'd like this to be toned down, freshened and more natural. Synthetic is in the name, so its not being hidden, but it does come off as a loud recreation of nature's greenery, and certainly not photorealistic (osmorealistic?). Its the type of scent that needs to be experience diffused "in the air", not sniffed directly, and that was my mistake. I need to revisit Chanel No. 19, as that mossy Green scent profile is more appropriately tame, if I recall correctly. Maybe if Synthetic Nature were halfway between its current profile and something like the "watercolor" impressions of one of Jean Paul Elena's Un Jardin series with Hermès. Maybe Un Jardin Sur le Nil, which certainly is Green. As it is, as someone below wrote, Synthetic Nature isn't a fresh realistic garden, it's more like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.

To me, it doesn’t smell like any kind of forest or greenhouse or any kind of living greenery. The opening is okay, very synthetic, indeed, but not in a bad way—it's plants made of polyester and glass, cold and sharp. But the drydown is just disgustingly sour, smelling like dried saliva. This is not the first time I've encountered this “dried saliva note” in this brand. It's a very, very unpleasant smell, purely on a physiological level, which is more important than any theoretical reasoning about the beauty of the composition. If we are talking about some kind of nature, then this perfume reminds me of footage of a female praying mantis slowly eating the head of her lover. That's how it smells. Creepy.

Something about this scent reminds me of when I was growing up and what I could smell in the garden during the summer. I believe it's the combination of hyacinth, lily of the valley and black currant. I'm certain that there's some captive IFF ingredients in here as well. How do I feel about the fragrance overall - it's one of the sweetest "green" frags I can remember smelling. Too sweet. In the warmer weather, it projects, people will notice it! The black currant accord dominates and is there into the dry down, supported by the floral notes. I like it, but I wouldn't wear it myself...

I just want to start by saying this really pairs well with L’Ombre Dans L’eau. Now I want to say I don’t think I will continue to wear this. I have a full bottle and it cost a ton. There’s a deadness to the the scent- it kind of chokes me. I let a friend smell it and he said, “It doesn’t dissipate.” It has this effect of being an airless, matte spray paint. I think the smell is great- and I like it even better when L’Ombre Dans L’Eau adds a high note atop the green plastic grass mat of this fragrance.

Thank you @TheSniffer. Regarding Lilial, I learned this from Wikipedia: "Lilial (a trade name for lily aldehyde, also known as lysmeral) is a chemical compound commonly used as a perfume in cosmetic preparations and laundry powders, often under the name butylphenyl methylpropional." "Butylphenyl methylpropional" is the first ingredient listed on older(?) packaging of En Passant.

take l'ombre dans l'eau, but dial down the rose and the fruity black currant. add some galbanum for extra green notes, and add a subtle chypre-floral base to give it a bit of soapy cleanliness. galbanum, black currant leaf, light floral chypre base. very 70s but more minimal.

An employee at the Frederic Malle store said the new name was due to copyright issues. She didn’t mention a reformulation. Are we sure it’s been changed aside from the name? Haven’t smelled this version yet so I’m wondering.

Hey, this is strange as if I compare the notes of synthetic nature to synthetic jungle, in the new one the almond and galbanum are missing, is that correct and is there a reformulation?

Same perfume as Synthetic Jungle. They certainly had to change the name because of another brand using the word Jungle. Probably Kenzo, owned by LVMH.

I think this is different from Synthetic jungle because Galbanum has been removed. I love the galbanum note so I'm glad I've got Synthetic Jungle.

Oh no .. thanks IFRA once again... I hope the reformulation stays true to the OG one :( IFRA is destroying all the green fragrances

It should be exactly the same as synthetic jungle. The reason for the rename was the word jungle didn't fit for many people.

Now that it has been reformulated with cheaper ingredients and less performance will the price go down 🤔

They had to change the name because of Kenzo Jungle—this is the same juice.

Im selling this one 50/50 ml full presentation if someone is interested.

“Synthetic” who in this world would like this name on their parfum???

Many people to be confused because of a similar name again :/

Love me some Synthetic Jungle. Let’s see how this goes!