Shangri La

I'm becoming such a fan of Hiram Green. I'm surprised and delighted by each new genius creation of his I smell :-) Rich, ripe, full and sweet. Shangri La opens with a burst of citrus which quickly gives way to a soft and fuzzy, bruised and sweet peach which is a little past its sell by date. The flowers are subtle and beautiful they are well blended into the whole, I don't notice the iris which is a shame. It is lovely, 3D plush and smooth and obviously expertly blended. There is no denying that it does bear a remarkable resemblance to my all time favourite Mitsouko. Perhaps it's unfair to pit this all natural against one of the greats but Shangri La is so good that I think it can handle it. So out of interest I’m doing a side by side comparison as there are a couple of significant hairs to split: The main differences to my nose are that the citrus evaporates off of the top of Shangri La much more quickly leaving the over ripe peach pulverised into the oakmoss and making the composition as a whole more immediately available. It has the very lovely Hiram style moist yet powdery thing going on and is ever so slightly gourmand (I'm sure I can smell a smudge of coconut). The flowers show themselves more than the spices do. That deep, plump smoothness is really something special. In Mitsouko, the peach is harder and more squinty juicy. The bergamot zest holds its ground right the way through the dry down, the spices show up more than the flowers do and even as the perfume sweetens into the voluptuous, sexy base, it holds together with some restraint, it stays somewhat tart and a little serious, I suspect there is more vetiver in Mitsouko. The oak moss is very sensual yet dry as a bone. I love this about it. So, Shangri La is more smooth, languid, ripe and friendly, leaning towards gourmand and Mitsouko is more dynamic but controlled, serious and demanding, leaning towards animalic. Both are beautiful compositions and I’m seriously impressed by Hiram Green.

I completely fell in love with this complex, playful fragrance. It had me at its opening spritz, and only got better from there. If I had to wear one perfume forever, this would be a serious contender. On me, it opens with a a burst of something rather like citrus, perhaps a little like lime -- a slightly bitter, mellow citrus. I don't like citrus but this isn't a synthetic harsh slice of orange, it's something ripe and still on the tree in the sun. I didn't initially identify it as citrus, which makes me think there are other notes in the opening too that I haven't figured out. Perhaps the oakmoss, which properly comes into its own in the dry-down, mixed with a glorious fragrant elusive peach. It's all so nuanced that I find it hard to smell the individual components unless I really force myself to concentrate. It makes for a glorious airy, complex whole. On me, the slight sweetness of the peach emerges on dry down -- but remains tempered by the green, slightly woody feel of oak moss. It is definitely a grown up fragrance, but not an 'old' one. It does have a slightly serious charm, yet one that is versatile and playful enough that I wouldn't hesitate to wear it to work or out for the evening with a new flame. The drydown is especially delicious to me, staying very fresh and airy for a chypre. It's like being outside in the scented fresh air in the woods and feeling the sunlight filter down through the trees. There's not just one smell, there's lots, making up the whole experience of being outdoors in the fresh air. Oakmoss. The scent of peaches drifting on the wind. The tiniest hint of jasmine in the distance. Something green. This lasts for hours on me, and although it changes it holds my interest right to the end and I don't feel the need to reapply. I am amazed that a natural perfume can have such depth, complexity and staying power.

I must admit: This was definitely not love at first sniff. But it took only a week to go from big disappointment to becoming one of my favorite perfumes. I‘d bought this one not because it’s all natural but because of the comparisons to Mitsouko and the descriptions of it being a modern take on vintage chypres. After the first spritz all I got was a cloud of spices giving me a hippie and scented candles vibe - no, definitely not love at first sniff. The next day I gave it another try and was impressed: no more hippie spices at all but a dry oakmoss note right from the beginning. That was the I point I started to get intrigued as I adore oakmoss, this nowadays nearly extinct note in perfumes. I‘ve worn this every day over a week and found the experience every time quite different from before. It really took me a while to find the peach note - at the beginning I would have said: No, there‘s plums but no peaches whatsoever. And it was day 7 that I was able to identify the citrus top notes for the first time - and wow, how beautiful is this opening! When wearing this perfume over a couple days a lot of comparisons to other scents have come to my mind: Rochas Femme, Opium or Coco Chanel, maybe even Une nuit magnitique (the plum again, I guess) but interestingly not really Mitsouko. But who cares? It is very comforting and calming and an extremely versatile perfume. A fantastic experience!

First spray opens with a strong retro scent of full oak moss. The first time I tried the perfume I immediately dismissed it as too old fashioned for my taste. Half an hour later however, the oak moss had stepped back to form a gorgeous earthy foundation for the spices and soft fresh peach to shine from. The perfume feels stylish and sure of itself. Classic without being mumsy. Richer and less dusty than Mitsouko without being too sweet. A little fizz of vetiver, wafts of iris and rose. A slight hint of syrupy tuberose. Though the citrus doesn't jump out at me, I wonder if it is the bitter quality citrus can sometimes have which is keeping the peach from becoming too sticky sweet. Beautiful. Lush. Addictive. Ordered from Ave Parfum.

A nice nod to Mitsouko, but Shangri-la is warmer, less melancholy, and perhaps easier to wear (for those of us who love Mitsouko but feel as though we're playing dress up when we wear it). I use this scent as an example of a perfume that does texture well - you can definitely smell the soft peach skin texture here! Opening with a touch of medicinal vetiver, Shangri-la then smooths down to a lovely vintage oakmoss and peach scent. It's definitely a natural perfume with that lovely soft glowing diffusion where it melts into your skin chemistry nicely and doesn't project too strongly. The only downside is a slight waxy undertone.

A gorgeous, old school chypre. I get juicy spiced peach with a dash of citrus that deepens into a sensual mossy base. There is something leathered and animalic as well. Not overpowering, but definitely present. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something very womanly about this perfume, definitely not for little girls. I'm amazed that this is an all-natural since it has amazing longevity and has a complexity that I wouldn't have associated with a "natural".

A hauntingly gorgeous peach heavy chypre that will allude me forever. Uplifting and tart in the opening, spicy and mysterious on the drydown. I sadly burned through my 5ml decant quickly. If you have a spare bottle of this please contact me! I will buy it! Peace and love

The Hiram Green site says this is coming back! I heard it was initially discontinued because of a recently restricted ingredient, so it may come back noticeably changed I would be very interested in hearing comparisons from anyone who tries both versions.

It definitely smells like an old school Guerlain...true deep chypre. This is what you wear during a heavy rain. This is what earth smells like. Chypre scents remind me how to connect to nature and its beauty.

Shangri-La by Hiram Green The opening to this is sweet and floral. There’s an airiness to it, like standing in front of an air conditioner when you’re a kid, except there's a bouquet of flowers behind it. I’ve tried my hand at making soaps and I know I’ve smelled an essential oil like this before. Full disclosure: was once a ‘natural gal’ - only wanted anything if it was ‘natural’ - so per “thegoob”s review below: guilty as charged. 20 minutes in and it softens, like peach skin. I’ve seen some say that this reminds them of Mitsouko. I don’t smell any similarities in the first hour. The Mitsouko’s I’ve tried (both vintage: one parfum and one edt) were heavier and smokier. Shangri la has an airiness to it that is difficult to describe. I can imagine tarot cards smelling like this. I’m trying this in the winter now, but the last time I tried it in the summer. It seems to adapt to the seasons. I had more fruity, stickiness last time, which I enjoyed. Summer, Shangri la, strappy sandals, sundress - all these belong together. 4.5 hours in. Shangri la still wafting up from my wrist. Sweetness. Some similarity to Mitsouko parfum now (both floral and a bit soapy). Total time for this was at least 10 hours. I got some of this on a shirt yesterday when I tried it. I put the shirt on today and it was still there. It actually transferred to my skin and lasted a couple of hours there. So it has pretty good staying power. Shangri la is just as feminine as Moon Bloom and I would say they’re the most feminine of all the Hiram Green fragrances. (For reference: Arbole Arbole is feminine but quieter than Moon Bloom and Shangri la. Slow Dive and Dilettante are in the center. Hyde is masculine. According to my nose anyway, I’m sure others will have different experiences.) You know how there are some fragrances that people describe as ‘French’? I don’t know why but this just says ‘American’ to me. Not contemporary America, but America in the 50’s. Like there’s a family outing in the country and they’ve driven two hours out on a Saturday morning. The father is wearing his weekend casual and his wife is wearing a plaid dress. That morning she sprayed Shangri la on her wrists and the back of her neck, so as they climb the hill for their picnic her husband can smell Shangri la whenever she turns her head... Final notes: This is a demi-mature scent. No one will say you smell like their grandma, but you’ll feel like a woman. Shangri la is the scent you wear in the summer when you go to your local fair - the one that sells sno-kones and hotdogs for a local charity. Perfect lazy day scent. Having worn this a few times, I find myself associating it with the 1958 film “The Long Hot Summer”. I picture Clara Varner wearing this: pretty and elegant in a naive way, but quite clearly possessing ‘quality’. “Summertime: when the living is easy.” -Ben Quick, The Long Hot Summer

The is a beautiful chypre in the classic style, a bit vintage, rich and mossy in the drydown. I have to scratch my head when I read that some people think this smells like Mitsouko. No, not at all. Mitsouko is a fruity, peachy chypre and that's about as far as similarity goes, as they smell totally different in my opinion. If you have experience with smelling many, many chypres, mostly vintage, then you will not find these similar. If there is anything I can place in this perfume that has a resemblance to another, it would be just a slight similarity to some notes in the original and thus vintage, Chanel Coco. This doesn't smell like Coco however. It's really nice and I like it a lot. I have too many vintage chypres at the moment to justify a full bottle but one never knows. I think it's a great perfume for those who want to get their hands on a real chypre that smells like one. So called "Modern Chypres" rarely do it for me.

I thought I ́d love this, being a huge fan of green chypres. I don ́t. The ripe peach/indolic jasmine combo proves too much for my nose – I find it obnoxious. However, this is objectively an enjoyable and cleverly constructed perfume, elegant and timeless – or rather, managing to exude both a genuine seventies vibe and a very modern tribute to the chypre genre. If it floats your boat, it has a strong chance of becoming one ́s signature scent. It possesses that unique something. On a side note, did anyone find the opening very similar to YSL Opium? Or is it just my skin? There ́s one identical note but I can ́t put my finger on it.

Adding jasmine on a chypre structure is weird This is why a lot of reviewers seems to get pissy vibes from the fragrance The whole thing is a very good interpretation of mitsuoko Comparing the scents I’d say this one has a more balanced or nuanced peach that is better than mitsoukos Most probably the urine side of the jasmine made it appear a little aldehydic which is again strange To sum up my experience it’s different and daring not for others it seems pleasant to other but for the wearer Performance was great I enjoyed it

Amazing that this is a perfume made with natural essences, as it has a very distinct presence and longevity. A true old-world type chypre, combining a short-lived citrus opening with unobtrusive ripe fruity notes, followed by the development of the earthy base, the whole underscored by a wonderful spiciness. There is a dryness to this fragrance, a "dustiness" that remains throughout which is the only note that gives me pause (thankfully, for my wallet) otherwise it would have been an immediate full-bottle order!

leather chypré with old-school glamour and musky sensuality...all the others review here below have already perfectly discribe it (except of course mohsen95...how is possible to lost his time to copy 5/10 in the review of 2.500 perfumes? Is it a virus who try to understand what is a perfume in the reality world?) Fascinating and admirable

Testing my sample, this is Hiram Green's take on Mitsouko; deeply earthy & spicy chypre with heavy nuances of overripened peach and a slightly powdery floral, I assume iris? It's slightly warmer and sweeter than its inspiration. Cool/warmish weather, can't be too hot or cold. Projects like a beacon off my skin.

This one really surprised me. I found the opening so revolting that I almost scrubbed immediately. It was hyper sweet and medicinal. I'm glad that I left it on. Within a half hour I was in love. The peach note, never my favorite, is delicious and the Moss heart is just my cup of tea. Wonderful.

This is probably the most bitter perfume I've ever smelled. Bitterness of oak bark powder, and everything else is there somewhere, but you can't tell through the moss dust and acorn coffee powder. It seems gendered masculine or Yang. Warmed and nourished me in the cold.

I’m told by Hiram Green themselves that this is officially discontinued, so I’ll never get to try it sadly.

This is so much like Mitsouko and Shalimar... Oriental chypre? The peach and oakmoss are characteristic.

I really don’t like peach. This starts off really annoying cloying peachy, almost nauseating to me. I do like oakmoss tho and after a while the peach gives way a bit for the oakmoss. This is moist and fleshy. I find nothing dry in here which is a bit atypical for oakmoss to me, and I like that. A nice portion of sweetness comes out together with the soft oakmoss when it dries down. Drydown I like lot. Longevity is very good. Still noticeable after 12 hrs. The sprayer is not the best. And the perfume evapourates from this bottle. I have had it for 6 yrs and not used it many times but almost half of it is gone.

A nice take on the old-school chypre. However ... old-school chypres were never all that nice. On first spray there’s a unique accord of cloves couched in tropical humidity that has me intrigued. As it wears though it becomes a more straightforward, approachable peach with just a touch of oakmoss. It’s a rather sanitized take on the past, what we'd like to imagine our chaste great-grannies wearing ... rather than whatever they were really getting up to in their Tabu’s, Bandit’s, etc - the real classic scents with their unabashed touch of skank.

As many have said, this fragrance has a lot in common with Mistouko. It is a modern interpretation of a chypre and it has barely any bitterness; there is no powder as well. It is a warmer weather fragrance; I would ideally see it in early fall as the ripe peach note is fairly dominant, especially during the first hour. The moss becomes more present afterwards. This is for people who somewhat like chypre but find them difficult to wear and possibly intimidating; it is very approachable. The peach note is too sweet and too present for me but still very well done.

Smells like sickly medicine / cough drop. Not for me.

Hmm! Did I really just pay for this sample? What in the world did I miss in the notes that would have lead me to purchase this abominable barnyard Chypre? 1. Shangrila is classified as a true Chypre, and was supposed to open with citrus, I smell zero! 2. Features 100% Natural Ingredients. Well, barnyard is natural, rotten peaches and dying Fall foliage are 100% natural. 3. The opening nearly threw me into a fit of hysteria from the onslaught of indolic notes of vintage staleness and animalic feces, soured pools of animal urine or decay. It appears that descriptions are severely in need of adjectives these days because the general description from Hiram Green on this fragrance are a complete 180°from what you would imagine in your hopeful mind and nose. Hiram, you naughty little trickster, you! Shangrila would be attractive to those who are of the “Goth” aesthetic for many reasons. Not a safe blind buy for true Chypre lovers or discerners of finely crafted fragrances. A cleansing ritual is in order at this point.

Unfortunately this one goes very weird on me. Starts off like honey but then descends into Urinal Cake smell....Really don't like.

"An ode to the classical chypre fragrances of the past." Shangri-La is a 2014 fragrance from Hiram Green, a niche natural perfume house from the Netherlands that has garnered quite a following in the fragrance. The house has caught my attention as of late because of its distinctive fragrances, and praises from blogger Kafkaesque. On my skin, it opens with a blast of sweet juicy peach, tangy citrus and bitter earthy oakmoss. It bears a stark resemblance to the legendary Mitsouko by Guerlain because of the peach-oakmoss combo. It's difficult for me to tell the exact differences between the two fragrances; to me, Shangri-La is the contemporary twist and an ode to the chypre genre. The key factor of Shangri-La and all other HG fragrances is that they are all natural fragrances that supposedly do not contain synthetics. It doesn't smell synthetic to me at all, which is a plus, but I am a little concerned if that adversely affects the performance in terms of projection. Shangri-La doesn't project much; it wears closely to my skin as most natural fragrances would. At least it's wearable in office settings and I don't have to worry about offending my colleagues with its potency. This is a fragrance best enjoyed in cooler weathers, especially in autumn. It performs fairly well on my skin, lasting half to a full day if I don't spent much time outdoors (I live in a tropical climate). Is it bottle worthy to me? It's hard to say; should I choose this over Mitsouko when I can't really tell them apart? Hmm. But it's a great fragrance nonetheless. Love it. edit: I start to notice the difference in the drydown between Mitsouko and Shangri La. I mentioned before that the former has a strange animalic note in the drydown but the latter doesn't. It's much cleaner and more pleasant, which I think would appeal to more people. Plus, I haven't noticed any change in the notes over time so there's no pyramid in this fragrance (whereas I notice a gradual change in Mitsouko).

This is a very beautiful but not overpowering, lush, moist, exotic forest smell. It is a lovely depiction of the eponymous paradise, done naturally and botanically. An outdoor lover's enchanted home in the woods. Every note is detectable to my amateur nose. I get warmly spicy oakmoss with a ripened peach note and delicate florals. An oriental touch upon a floral chypre. One thing invoking my ambivalence about this is the all-natural composition; the perfume, though lovely, is resultantly aromatherapy-like. I hesitate to say I love this given how naturalistic it is for the price. It is undeniably pleasant and well-rounded, but it does lack bells and whistles. If that is what you're looking for, however, you will love it. Hiram Green's 'Shangri La' is a spiritual girl's Shangri La. Natural gals will love this-- fans of herbal soaps, gardening and vintage furniture. I really don't see it as unisex-- far too old-fashioned pretty. If you are looking for an elaborate tapestry of notes like you would see in a commercial depiction of this concept, you are probably looking in the wrong place with Shangri La and likely Hiram Green in general. If I could add anything to the juice as it is, it would probably be a dark berry or raisin accord. All this said, 4.5/5, nice stuff.

Like some other users, I sprang for Shangri La after reading the Mitsouko comparisons. The similarities are definitely evident—peach, oakmoss, spices, etc.—but their differences are more intriguing. For me, Mitsouko feels most appropriate for chilly (or frigid!), overcast days, reflecting the gloomy, melancholic edge of less-than-ideal weather, cloaking its vessel with a spiced warmth as protection from the cold. Shangri La is brighter (though not "bright," just less dark), airier (though not "airy," just less dense). Still most fitting for autumn or winter, but on sunny, rather than cloudy, days. Perhaps most notably to my nose, Shangri La twists Mitsouko's "warm comfort" vibe into a much more sensual, sexier realm. This is Mitsouko, but her lover has returned from the war. Tonight, her pining ends as they embrace after the long absence, their lips inseparable... [I will stop here so as not to verge into Fragrantic-erotica!]

Hmm.. Very interesting tho. Sharp spices with oakmoss with some sweetened kind of cloying peaches that lightens the sharpness of the combination of oak and spices, as it turns into a quite vintage sharp fragrance. I see their 3 fragrances are connected together somehow which makes them mesmerizing to me. (Edit 12th Feb 2016) WOW... just WOW ... peaches, citrus, and the kind of spice that strengthen the citrus note over the powerful peach note. The oakmoss then appears slowly to overcome the whole juice & later the jasmine show up rancing the atmosphere, and i guess this is the friendly version of moon bloom. I was wearing this from a sample i bought while "We're In This Love Together" By "Al Jarreau" was playing in the radio, OH MY... you can't believe how my mind soared and flown away to an imaginative daydream! This house amazes me with their fragrances.

I'm so shocked this doesn't have ylang ylang. I tried it without ever having seen the notes, and just thought "ylang ylang bomb." Maybe it's the peach and jasmine together, but yea this smells like my ylang ylang essential oil. Or even narcissus. Yes, to me this is a waxy yellow floral. So I'm surprised by the notes and the comparison to vintage chypres. There is a slight dusty green note (oakmoss) but it's definitely a full-bodied, mature floral. It reminds me a little bit of Le Labo Ylang 49, just a cousin of it. In the drydown the oakmoss is becoming more prominent, giving it that vintage vibe I see!

My first sample from the brand. I was not impressed. I actually had to wash it off, which I try never to do when sampling. I knew it was going to be a fruity chypre, but the opening was a syrupy sweet peach. I also detected some dusty vetiver. I have not been feeling tip-top this week, and Shangri La really kind of turned my stomach. I will save the sample for another day and try again before giving a definitive rating.

It took me a while to make up my mind about Shangri La. It does have a retro vibe I wasn't sure about. The peach with the oakmoss is interesting, like a mature fruity scent and are the strongest and longest lasting notes on me. The more I wear it the more I like it. To me Shangri La feels both intellectual and artistic. The perfect place to wear it would be at a museum or an art event.

SMells like a vintage Chypre reminiscent of mitsuoko. And no i am not just saying that because it has peach, it smells quite similar to the fragrance as a whole with slightly more depth. Peach, Oakmoss, and Iris give it a powdery vintage feel.

I was looking for a modern interpretation of classic chypre and I think this is it. Shangri la reminds me of Opium or Mitsouko, but without smelling dated. It smells earthy and spicy, but stays gentle and feminine. Very nice.

Beautiful high end department store smell. Someone with a bunch of jewelry on would buy this. Oakmoss and peach. It’s way better than something like Mitsouko, which was never very well blended and was very funky.

A smoother, less complex, less funky version of Rochas Femme. I prefer the complexity, funk, and price tag of Femme over this, but it's definitely nice!

A beautiful wearable soft chypre. Starts like a classsic vintage chypre, on the dry down becomes softer and creamier. 7/10

Spice Cake. Coco edp. Again, Haribo Colas. Cinnamon powder. S T U N N I N G.