Namaka

Perfume oil review: First impressions, mmmm fatty florals! I get a lot of coconut, white flowers and mimosa. Coconut is milky and sweetened only by the natural florals. But almost immediately (within 5 minutes) the grapefruit and eucalyptus swoop in and add sourness and astringency. I've found this pattern to be true in several of this line (fatty base, layered with astringent, sour or citric mid-notes). These layers quickly merge, but I'm not too impressed with the result. Why Eucalyptus? I didn't smell that aroma at all in Hawaii. I also find the woody (I swear there's something like rosewood in here) or nutmeg note a bit dry and sour and the perfume gets a slightly camphorous vibe over fatty coconut and mild sweet florals. On the dry down, I start getting more coconut again. In all, this is a pleasant skin scent with about 2 hours max lasting power, I would wish for a bit more simplicity or cohesiveness in this one. EDIT: A year later: this oil has changed. I don't get the Eucalyptus as much and the whole camphorous vibe has toned way down. The perfume is now a lovely slightly salty, coconut milk and oceanic white flower fragrance. If I could buy THIS fragrance without waiting a year for it to mature, I would! EDIT2: I ended up not buying a fragrance from this house. You decide if this is a perfumer you want to support (from a recent marketing email): "Many of you know that I'm writing a book ... a hybrid memoir and investigation into ... sensuous embodiment as a radical resistance against colonization, white supremacy and patriarchal damage." I prefer not to buy from an ideologue, you may feel differently.

I don't normally go for white florals or coconut, but this perfume oil is heavenly. The white flowers and coconut are nothing artificial and it's just the sweet smell of living by the ocean somewhere warm! Gosh, I'd get a whole bottle if I could - alas for the end of Hi Wildflower! I've yet to try anything by Tanais, which is the perfumer's current brand, but if it's half as good as this then I need to get some yesterday. Now if only the scent lasted more than a couple hours... but what a couple of hours to have.