Voyage

There's a sense of the exotic here, but the "voyage" for me was one of memory. Or rather, of a memory just out of reach. Within the first 10 minutes I get a blast of something that reminds me of a solid perfume in a cloisonné compact my grandmother wore. Sometimes before taking me home to my parents she would allow me a little dab of it (I'm certain it was just to infuriate my father). ;) Beyond this moment there're fleeting senses of familiarity, too. The amber incense tinged paper of a Hare Krishna prayer book. A particularly beautiful homemade gulab jamun. Above all else, there's a tremendous sense of joy and playfulness. The citrus/vanilla combination doesn't steer into creamsicle territory, and although I don't get much of the suede, there's something grounding this. Although I initially loved Voyage, I had refrained from buying it. It wasn't something that I thought would "represent me". There's no pretense of confidence or sophistication. It seemed too friendly to be taken seriously (particularly on a male). But again, that playfulness was something I couldn't turn my back on. So yes... I bought it. It may be one to wear on days off around the house, or perhaps to a more bohemian gathering. Maybe it's just my own scent memories, but the vignettes of joy in Voyage are something I just can't ignore. Particularly knowing it's a limited run.

Thank goodness for other reviews out there. I sprayed on my sizeable sample from STC and thought they had mixed up some bottles! If it were not for K***s review noting heaping doses of cardamom and ginger, I could SWEAR I was smelling Kenzo Jungle L'elephant. This is almost a dead ringer. I love Kenzo JLE, so I'm liking this a lot as well. The simple notes listed above are not the "entirety" of this perfume; there is obviously cardamom. If you enjoy spicy unusual fragrances, go for it. This has a similar sweetness to Kenzo, but there is less "ooomph!" in terms of silage and longevity. I think Kenzo is essentially the older, stronger (think 80's type strength) sibling. They definitely share the same DNA. In terms of "quality ingredients, and so forth"--perhaps HG has the edge there; I don't know. This is quieter, perhaps even a bit sweeter than Kenzo. I think I have already reviewed Kenzo, but I smell that one for days on items of clothing. I love Hiram Green perfumes so far, but I'm going to pass on a FB because my giant bottle of Kenzo is pleading with me to use it up. I highly recommend this perfume if you are moving away from "florals" or straight-up woods, resins/incense. This is the spice bazaar! You'll want to eat your arm.

The milky, rubbery vanilla in this one reminds me of the Dior 'Poison' line-- Hypnotic Poison most of all. The initial citrus/spice blast was not entirely pleasant, but I'm really enjoying the middle notes of this weird vanilla. I'll update once I get to the dry-down. -- Dry down: vanilla amber. Smells delicious. This fragrance isn't ground-breaking, but it is a thoroughly enjoyable 100% natural alternative to your other vanilla ambers. I also think the small batch size is cool! It certainly ensures that you don't have back-stock accumulating of this indie fragrance. Last I heard, they had already sold 125+ of the 250 bottles made.

As a general rule I never order samples of discontinued perfumes or limited edition because for me it's like kissing a married man or tasting someone else's meal in restaurant, even if you like it, it will never be yours. I made an exception for Voyage, I was too curious. My first impression was that I would have guess it was an Hiram Green creation. Voyage reminds me a lot of Shangri-La but sweeter, because of the vanilla. I like it and am glad I have a sample but I am not heartbroken for I never will have a bottle of it.

Remember the days as a child when you were forced to visit that dotty old aunt, and being led into the 'parlour', noting that all the furniture was covered in plastic and that the plastic emanated a soapy-bee-waxy smell. Voila - that is Voyage to my nose.... a sort of classic treasured vintage bottle of an old non descript Guerlain, but covered in double layers of plastic. Not to forget the beeswax. Does have staying power (plastic usually does) - and like plastic, it reeks of synthetics to me. I do like my parlours clean though, so I will give it a neutral. Forgot to mention the drydown (who is dotty now?). As it is a simple static diminuition of the original notes, where is the voyage?